A Breakfast Worth Getting Up For

One of my favorite things my husband and I used to do was make breakfast on Saturday morning together. Brunch used to be Andy and my thing. We'd make all kinds of fun stuff just for the two of us on Saturday mornings and it was so great to spend that time with each other before the craziness of the weekend got underway. But honestly we haven't been doing that much lately. So after a quick Pinterest/Allrecipes search I found our brunch kickstart, Pancakes (from scratch!) and Baked Bacon.

Okay maybe I'm the only one who has never made pancakes from scratch, but man are they worth the extra enough. I don't think I'll ever make them from a pre-made mix again. We had everything we needed right in the pantry and every pancake came out perfectly. This recipe would be great to impress house guests or to make a Saturday morning in special.

Pancakes (from scratch!):

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

(I may have added a little cinnamon and mini chocolate chips. Trust me, it's amazing!)

Next came the bacon. I love bacon, but really who doesn't? I do however dislike cooking bacon. I feel like it smells up the whole house, makes the whole kitchen and you greasy, and sometimes it's hard to keep an eye on both the bacon and the pancakes to make sure they are done at the same time, but neither burn. I pinned this recipe for baked bacon ages ago and finally gave it a try. And again, I don't think I'll ever cook bacon the old way again. You just pop the bacon in the oven and it takes care of itself. All the bacon gets cooked at once, the clean up is a breeze with the tin foil lining, and your house and kitchen doesn't smell for days.

Baked Bacon

• Pre-Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with the rack in the middle.
• Lay bacon flat on a foil or parchment covered baking sheet.
• Bake for about 15-18 minutes depending on how thickly cut your bacon or to desired doneness.
• Bacon will begin to curl & crisp up, but be sure it does not burn.
• Turn the pan once during baking so your strips brown evenly.
• Remove from the oven and transfer bacon to paper towel lined plates to drain.