Monster Pancakes / Hootenannies / German Pancakes

I had these once when I was a tween or a young teenager when I slept over at my Aunt's house.  I had forgotten about them until I dreamed about them the other day...hahahahah.  So I googled a recipe and made them for dinner tonight.  They were a hit...everyone gave them 4 out of 5 stars...even the hubby...I mean...even the kids.  Hahahahaha.  (Both hubby and kids and myself gave them 4 out of 5 stars).

They were super easy.  Really fast.  Quite cheap.  Not very many ingredients.  Very filling.

Win, win, win, win, win!

They get really big in the oven and then fall when you pull them out of the oven.

Other reviewers thought they tasted "eggy", but no one in my family thought so.

I did warm my family before we ate that even though they are called pancakes, they do not taste like pancakes, that they need to expect a whole new food.

I got the recipe from Real Mom Kitchen.
https://www.realmomkitchen.com/73/hootenannies-otherwise-known-as-german-pancakes/

1/4-1/2 C. butter (some people even use up to 1 cup) (I used 1/2 and it was great...I would try 1/4 next time just to see if they still turned out good)
1 C. milk
6 eggs
1 C. flour
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions
1.  While oven is preheating to 425 degrees, melt butter in a 9 X 13 pan.
2.  Mix remaining ingredients in a blender.
3.  Remove hot pan from oven and pour batter into melted butter
4.  Bake 15-20 minutes (They will rise, but won't overflow)
5.  Cut into squares and serve with normal french toast toppings.  One traditional topping is lemon juice and powdered sugar on top.  (We really liked the lemon juice and powdered sugar, they almost tasted like lemon squares.)

Serves 8 (I only needed 1 pan for my family of 6 eaters and we had leftovers).

Ham

This is a quick and easy way to make ham.

Buy ham that is already cut up (like John Morrell or the like). Or buy some cut thicker from the deli. Either way it is already cooked and cut up, you just have to warm it. You can do this same process for a chunk of ham (not sliced) but sliced is easier.

Spread the ham out in a pan.

Make a sauce one of the following two ways:

Option #1) Mix brown sugar and water. Make it thicker than you think (it will get thinner as it cooks). Pour over the ham. Sprinkle the top of ham with whole cloves. (Remove cloves before eating).

Option #2) Brown sugar, water, mustard, ketchup. Make it thicker than you think (it will get thinner as it cooks). Pour over the ham. Sprinkle the top of ham with whole cloves. (Remove cloves before eating).

You can also put pineapple chunks or rings on top before baking.

Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

You really cannot mess this up...it turns out no matter how you make it and what proportions of ingredients you use.

I used 1 pkg of John Morrell and it was about $7.99 at Smiths. I could have split it and made two meals from it for my family of 5 eaters.

3 dinners for under $10 total

Okay, so I didn't add up the amounts, but I think I made all three of these dinners for under $10 total. My family does not eat leftovers, so I do not save leftovers. They just go moldy, so I would rather throw them away when they smell good, than when they smell horrible. (I know, not very frugal of me---but that's the way it is.) But, if I can make it into something else, then it works. I haven't done the following plan before, but it worked out quite nicely.

10-12 medium potatoes

Toppings for baked potatoes

1 tube jimmy dean hot sausage

1 yellow onion

1/2 bottle BBQ sauce

9 eggs

S & P

Beef boullion cubes

Biscuits or biscuit ingredients

The first night we had baked potatoes. Mine were red potatoes, but it doesn't matter. Make extra for the following meals... (I think I made 10-12 medium sized potatoes for my family of 5 eaters).

Then a night or two later we had Rancho's Juevos. (My Dad always said it meant "Ranch Eggs" in spanish, but who knows?) Here is how to do it...

After the baked potatoes cool (you can just leave them in the foil and put them in the fridge) or let them cool on the counter for a few hours. Remove the foil and cube. Put them in the fridge in a ziploc until ready to use. In a large non-stick skillet put the potatoes in and brown edges and heat through. Salt and Pepper. In a separate pan cook 1 chopped yellow onion and 1 tube of jimmy dean hot sausage (by the ham and hot dogs at the grocery store). Add cooked sausage to potatoes. In a separate bowl beat some eggs. (I did 9, but it just depends on how many potatoes you have and how much egg you like). Add eggs to potatoes and cook through. Add half a bottle of any brand/flavor BBQ sauce and serve. You can also top with cheese if desired.

For the third meal I made a beef broth with water and beef boullion cubes. I did 5 bouillion cubes to half a big pan of water. (The normal recipe is 1 cube to 1 C. water...and I estimated that it was about 5 cups of water). Then I added the left over Rancho's Juevos to make a sausage and potato soup. The egg looked a little weird, but it didn't taste bad at all. In fact the soup was really really good. (I figured there is egg in egg drop soup). I also made biscuits to go with the soup. I am still looking for the perfect biscuit recipe so I will not post the recipe I used. (Anyone have any suggestions.)

And there you have it...3 cheap, easy, fast, yummy meals!