Blackberry Pancakes

About a month ago, I went out of town for my brother’s graduation.  Our hotel room had a fully equipped kitchen, so in preparation, I made (another) Target trip and stocked up on convenience foods.  Things like single serving cups of fruits and cereal.  And bags of mini oreos and teddy grahams and such (remember that Buffalo Chickpea Wrap?  I needed that after a weekend of bags of mini oreos).  After it was all said and done, I went through the checkout line and paid about 50% more than I usually do on a typical Target trip—and I wasn’t even going to be cooking most of the time!  ACK!

When I got home to my nearly bare refrigerator, I set out to Target again.  This time I stocked up on fresh fruit (strawberries, kiwi, blackberries, raspberries, & apples) and vegetables (broccoli, spinach, cucumbers, sweet corn, avocados, tomatoes) and even some fresh meat and filled my refrigerator to the brim.  And I spent $60 LESS than when I shopped for one weekend’s worth of convenience foods.  It was eye opening to say the least and proves that cooking at home from scratch truly does save money in the end.  It makes me feel a lot better about staying home instead of working full time (I only teach at the gym 3-ish hours per week) and about all of my experimentation in the kitchen.

I made these pancakes with some those delicious blackberries that I picked up on that shopping trip and enjoyed another much better than fast or convenience food meal!

Blackberry Pancakes

An Amy’s Cooking Adventures Original Recipe

1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg

½ cup blackberries, mashed

½ tbsp orange zest

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, and egg.

In a third bowl, mash the blackberries with a fork.  Stir in the orange zest.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (batter will still be very lumpy).  Fold in the blackberry mixture.

Drop 2-3 tablespoons full of batter onto a hot skillet.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned on one side.  Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side.  Serve with additional blackberries and maple syrup.

Serves 3