My continuous search for even more easy-tasty-healthy breakfast continues–and does this look like the next cover of Sunset Magazine or what?

So, our Saturday pancake adventure began because of a new friend  who is looking for a more protein packed pancake.  I remembered a recipe my girlfriend, Shandy (don’t you just love that name?), had given me and decided to give it a whirl.

Carlson’s/La Leche League Cottage Pancakes (not pictured above–but I’ll get to that in a moment)

Ingredients: 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. baking powder

Directions: Beat eggs and cottage cheese with an electric mixer until almost smooth.  Add every else, mix, pour onto hot griddle and I hope you can take it from here.

Verdict: All five of us loved these pancakes!  They have an “eggier” taste than my regular cakes, kind of along the lines of a crepe.  I didn’t take a photo because they didn’t really look any different from any other pancakes.

What I did take a photo of, though, is the other pancake tangent we took Saturday morning.  I had three bowls of pancake mix going at one point and one of them turned into the fab photo you see today: Pina-colada Pancakes!

Basically I took my regular buttermilk recipe and, after pouring onto the griddle, added a few pieces of drained pineapple and a few pinches of sweetened coconut.  I had to cook the pancakes on a very low heat as the pineapple’s moisture would make them doughy.  I may try just mixing some crushed pineapple into the mix next time but in terms of presentation, I love the way the griddle seared the pineapple and coconut when the cakes were flipped.

Seriously.  Don’t they look amazing?  (Scroll back up.  Really.)

My oldest daughter proclaimed the pina-colada cakes “the best pancakes ever.”  Although only nine, she has likely tried more homemade pancakes than many adults alive today, so, you know, it’s a decent referral.

Classic Buttermilk Griddle Cakes (also posted on the breakfast recipe page)

Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup veg. oil

Directions: Mix, make!

Notes/tips: This mix should be thick, but still pour.  Sometimes I add a dash of milk to thin it.  Cook pancakes on a med. heat to cook through middle too.