Food Prep Week 2 – Pancake Mix, Sausage Balls, Biscuits, and English Muffins {Recipes}

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It’s week two of prepping food to make the back to school season a little easier. This week I want to focus on breakfast so I’m going to make pancake mix, sausage balls, biscuits, and English muffins. Let’s dive in and get started!

Here are the links to the other weeks of the five week Food Prep series:
Week 1: Refried Beans, Black Beans & Enchilada Sauce
Week 2: Pancake Mix, Sausage and Cheese Balls, Biscuits, & English Muffins
Week 3: Taco Meat, Shredded Chicken, & Pizza Crusts
Week 4: PB&J, Banana Bread, Banana Muffins, & 30 Minute Dinner Rolls
Week 5: Cookie Dough, Cookie Bars, Granola Bars, & Puppy Chow

I know lots of people make a huge batch of pancakes and freeze them already cooked but I’m not a huge fan of how they reheat. Never as good as fresh! Instead I’m mixing up the dry ingredients in storage bags labeled with the wet ingredients and amounts that need to be added. This makes mornings just a little smoother because I can dump the dry ingredients in a bowl and add in the wet ingredients while the griddle heats up. Yes it may only shave a few minutes off but anything is better than nothing in my mind! And since it’s only a mix of flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bag I can continue to reuse it for the same purpose. Win-win!

I searched high and low for a pancake recipe that I loved. I think I tried at least a dozen! I love this recipe because the pancakes cook up super fluffy, not thin. They remind me of a diner style pancake because of how thick they are. Yum!

The recipe below makes about six large pancakes. Obviously that is not enough for a family of seven. I quadrupled the ingredients for each batch of mix I made and I made four batches of mix. It was a lot of flour!

 

Pancake Mix

adapted from Pocket Change Gourmet

Dry Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

2 TBSP cooking oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients.

2. Add wet ingredients and mix until ingredients come together. There will be a few lumps, this is okay.

3. Heat griddle and grease with non-stick spray.

4. Pour 1/4 cup batter on griddle and cook until golden brown.

5. Flip pancake and cook until other side is golden brown as well.

To make ahead

1. Measure dry ingredients in bowl (multiply as necessary)

2. Pour into resealable plastic bag labeled with needed wet ingredients.

3. Store in pantry for several months until ready to use!

 

I've made sausage balls two ways in my life - with raw sausage and cooked sausage. I guess those are really the only two ways to make them, right? I like the cooked sausage version because then I KNOW the meat is cooked through but I also like the raw sausage version because they seem to stay a little more moist. The ingredients are the same for both versions but you might need a little more milk for the cooked sausage version since the uncooked meat helps hold the dry ingredients together better.

Once the mixture comes together I scoop it onto cookie sheets with one of my awesome cookie scoops and stick the trays in the freezer to flash freeze. After they are frozen I place them in freezer bags so they are ready to go. When I'm ready to cook them I line them up on a tray and cook according to the directions. You will want a cookie sheet with edges if you are using raw sausage because of the extra grease so keep that in mind! 

Sausage Balls from Scratch

adapted from It's Gravy Baby

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 TBSP baking powder

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 pound breakfast sausage (cooked or not, see note*)

6 TBSP butter, melted

1/4 cup milk (see note**)

Notes:

* It's your choice to precook the sausage. If you don't cook it you will want to make sure the balls cook thoroughly in the oven.

** You may need more milk if you use precooked sausage to help the dough bind together.

Directions

1. In a large bowl or your stand mixer combine dry ingredients.

2. Gently toss the shredded cheese in dry ingredients to coat. Use your hand so the cheese doesn't get mashed together by the mixer.

3. Add in sausage, melted butter, and milk. Use your hands or the paddle attachment to combine.

4. Shape into balls or use cookie scoop to portion out balls and place on a greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with slip-mat. If sausage is raw use a cookie sheet with sides.

5. Bake in a preheated 400* oven for 25 min or until golden brown and cooked through (160*).

To make ahead/freeze

1. After ingredients are combined scoop onto trays and place trays in freezer to flash freeze.

2. Place frozen sausage balls into resealable plastic bag until ready to use, up to three months. No need to thaw prior to cooking!

3. When ready to cook, place desired amount on cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 400* oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

 

I love, love, love biscuits and gravy. There are times I think I should have been born in the south with how much I love foods like biscuits and gravy and fried chicken, and saying, "y'all." But I can't handle that heat so I'll stay further north. These biscuits are so incredibly easy to pull together and keep in the freezer. One batch lasts our family two meals so a smaller family could probably get three or maybe even four meals from this recipe depending on how many each person eats. I actually made a double batch for this prep but I listed the original recipe below. 

Freezer Biscuits

adapted from Money Saving Mom

Ingredients

4 cups flour

2 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup shortening/butter/coconut oil (I used shortening this time)

1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups milk (start with less and add more if needed)

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients together in bowl or stand mixer.

2. Add in shortening/butter/coconut oil and mix until crumbly or like coarse sand.

3. Add in milk (start with less and add more if needed) and mix until dough comes together.

4. Roll out onto floured surface and cut into biscuits using biscuit/cookie cutter or a drinking glass.

5. Place on cookie sheets and bake in preheated 450* oven for 8-12 minutes until golden brown.

To Freeze/make ahead:

1. After biscuits are on cookie sheets place in the freezer for several hours to flash freeze.

2. Remove from cookie sheets and store in resealable plastic freezer bags for up to 3 months.

3. To bake pull out desired number of biscuits and place on a cookie sheet. Let thaw for 30 minutes before baking in preheated 450* oven for 8-12 minutes. You may also bake them from frozen but they won't rise as much. Cooking time may vary if cooked from frozen state so watch closely.

 

Have you ever looked at the price of English muffins in the store? I've seen them cost between $3 and $4 for six little muffins! Occasionally you can get them on sale for $1-$2 but that can be hit or miss. I've never calculated how much this recipe costs me to make but I know it MUST be less than that for the dozen or more I'm able to make.

The key to cooking these is low heat. You don't want the outside browning before the inside has a chance to cook. Be patient and let them do their thing on the griddle and you will be rewarded! I got these going and once they were on the griddle I worked on the other foods I prepped today. I only needed to check on them every 5-10 minutes because of how low and slow they cook. 

Homemade English Muffins

adapted from The Happy Housewife

Ingredients

1 cup hot water

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp honey

2 tsp salt

4 cups flour

2 tsp dry instant yeast

3 TBSP softened butter

Cornmeal for dusting

Directions

1. Mix together hot water, milk, honey, and salt in bowl of stand mixer.

2. Add 2 cups of flour and yeast. Mix until you have a loose batter.

3. Cover mixture and let rise for 1 hour.

4. Add in softened butter and 2 cups flour and mix until combined. Dough will be somewhat sticky.

5. Roll out dough on a surface dusted with cornmeal (or flour) to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick and cut into circles.

6. Let muffins rise while you preheat the griddle to 350*.

7. Cook on 350* griddle until they are golden brown. Flip and cook on other side. It will take 5-7 minutes on each side - don't rush it or you will have raw centers!

8. Cool and store in fridge for up to 1 week or place in resealable freezer bags for up to 3 months.

Phew! I'm so pleased with everything I accomplished in this round! I know it's going to make mornings go so much smoother when I have items prepped and ready to go. If you need other ideas on how to make mornings smoother, even if you have young kids, check out this post I wrote! 

And if you missed last week's food prep post you can find that here. 

Come back next week and we will prep a few main dish items such as taco meat, shredded chicken, and pizza crusts. 

 

Are you cooking along with me? What is your favorite breakfast food? 

 

Pin this for later! 

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