This recipe is a perfect and easy solution.  Perfect for leftovers from Thanksgiving, or that roast you made on Saturday. It’s a quick put together for a weeknight meal, or with a breakfast of eggs on a Sunday morning.

I’m really trying to practice the frugality that I’ve learned over the years, and this recipe is great on the pocketbook.  Use leftover mashed potatoes – the remainder of the ingredients are usual pantry staples, with the cheese being about the only thing you might not have on hand.

Enjoy!

Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Pancakes

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter

Mix together potatoes, egg, salt & pepper, flour and cheese. You can either make patties, by hand, or drop spoonfulls onto a hot pan, and then flatten with a spatula.  They should be about 1/2 inch thick, and around 3 inches diameter.

Melt the butter on a non-stick pan.   Cook anywhere from 5-8 minutes per side, until golden brown.  I prefer about 8 minutes, as they get nicely crispy.

Notes:

There are a lot of additions that can be made to these:

• green onions or scallions
• chives
• minced onion
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• minced bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green)
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• diced ham
• bacon bits
• Parmesan

This recipe is one I got from a bed and breakfast — Sunshines Bed and Breakfast –  in upstate New York, about 10 years ago.  The b&b was lovely — a huge house, with 3 smaller cabins, on about 40 acres.  It had this lovely lake, with the most beautiful swans — I wanted to stay forever.   The woman who ran the b&b served breakfast one morning by the lake, and this is what we had — They were tender, delicious and just freaking amazing.  Best of all, she had no problem sharing the recipe, as it is one she received from a fellow b&b owner.  I have no idea where the recipe originated, but I do know that it is simply fantastic.

She served the pancakes with maple syrup, but to me that just never seemed quite right.  The maple syrup overshadowed the apples.  So, I started playing around with different syrups, and finally came up with the one that is here.  I really enjoy apples, and being able to use them in as many was as possible.  The syrup was just one more way for me to utilize the bushels of apples I always have in the Autumn.  You can use it on regular pancakes as well.  Or, use it on ice cream.. or bread pudding.. or apple bread…or spread on toast.. it’s almost endless what you can use it for.

Baked Cinnamon Apple Pancakes with Warm Apple Cider Syrup

4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/16 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
4 Tablespoons melted butter, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 medium apples *See Note

Combine the eggs, flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, baking powder, salt and the milk in a bowl, and mix until smooth.  Add in 2 tablespoons of melted butter, vanilla and the nutmeg.  Allow to sit overnight in the refrigerator. (Or, if you are like me, let it sit on the counter for about 45 minutes before using).

The next morning, (or 45 minutes later), heat the oven to 425F.  Melt the remaining butter in a large (10-12 inch) ovenproof skillet.  Spread the butter all over the pan, including the sides, and then remove from the heat.

Next, mix the sugar, cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.  Sprinkle about 1/2 of this mixture over the butter in the skillet.

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples, and layer the slices over the butter/sugar in the skillet.  Overlap if necessary, but try to keep the layers pretty thin.

Return the skillet to the stove, and over medium-high heat, cook just until you start to see small bubbles.  Pour the patter slowly over the apples.  If you pour it too fast, the apples will become unseated and move around.  You want the apples to be as evenly spread out as possible for more tasty goodness.

Move the skillet to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, reducing the heat after 15 minutes to 375, and then bake for another 10 minutes.

Serve with Warm Apple Cider Syrup (recipe here), or just sprinkle with confectioners (10x or icing sugar), and serve immediately.

Notes:

You can use 1 large apple in place of 2 medium apples.  I just like the 2 medium apples, because then I use 2 different types of apples.