If you have little kids, I’m certain you’ve hit the obstacle I have: the lunch rut. Stuck in a spiral of PB&Js? Find yourself scrounging together pantry lunches comprised of a handful of trail mix and dry Cheerios, half a banana, and a single flap of lunchmeat? I have a solution for you! I guarantee that even the pickiest child eaters in your brigade probably like either pancakes or fries, and this little ingenious recipe that I devised in a moment of desperation can be spun to them as being either of those things. Come on, people, half of successful parenting is just clever rhetoric, after all (for adults, go on and call them “corn cakes” and they will be equally adored).
For us, these corn cakes are the perfect thing to whip up after kindergarten pickup, when we’re all getting hangry and need something hot in a jiffy. I love that these come together with ingredients that I always have on hand, so even when I feel like I am “out of food”, these are an option to make.
As always, this flexible recipe can accommodate a bit of tinkering with, as long as you keep in mind that it should be just slightly denser than regular pancake batter (so add a tiny bit more milk/flour as needed) : shred in a bit of zucchini or carrot, add a dash of hot sauce or hot pepper flakes, or grate in a bit of cheese to make these a little more exciting. But know that the base recipe, with a healthy dollop of ketchup on the side, is more than good enough–not only for the kids, but for the parents, too ;)
Corn Cake “Fries”
1 cup flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbsp oil
½ cup kernel corn (canned or thawed frozen)
optional: other mix-ins (cheese, shredded zucchini, hot sauce, etc)
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, salt & pepper.
- In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg, and oil. Stir all at once into the dry ingredients and stir just til combined. Add in the kernel corn (or any other mix-ins) and stir only til incorporated–batter can be slightly lumpy. (At this point, add a little flour or milk as needed to make the dough like slightly thicker pancake batter).
- Let batter sit for 10 minutes to soften cornmeal. Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat.
- Grease skillet with butter, oil, or spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter at a time to form small pancakes. When bubbles begin to form, turn the pancake over and fry the other side, compressing slightly with a spatula.
- When both sides are golden and the filling is cooked through, remove pancake from the heat and cut it into strips (aka “fries”). Serve stacked up on a plate with ketchup for dipping.
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