we are quite the fans of (not basketball-related post)

Sean and I are quite the fans of breakfast for dinner and as you know if you have been reading my blog long enough especially through being pregnant, I am quite the fan of anything lemon. I am also quite the fan of finding recipes that will use up ingredients I have in my pantry or in my refrigerator. And I am quite the fan of finding all the different ways I can use these essential oils, which is my newest must-have item in the house by the way. Like the lemon oil that comes in the starter kit, you can put a few drops of lemon oil in a recipe for a great lemon flavor if you don't have lemons in your refrigerator or you can put a few drops in your water. If you are looking for a way to help shed some weight putting 2 drops each of grapefruit, lemon and peppermint oil into a capsule can help with that. 

Ok back to the main focus of this post, which is breakfast for dinner, specifically lemon ricotta pancakes.

I had ricotta to use up from making a lasagna roll-up dish and this recipe had exactly the amount of ricotta I needed to use up, 3/4 cup.

To make these lemon ricotta pancakes, you need: 1 1/2 cup flour, 3 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup ricotta, 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 2 lemons) and 2 tablespoon melted butter. If you want to add any fruit into your pancakes, go ahead, this recipe is a blank canvas. I decided to add blueberries since I love the combination of blueberries and lemons. Of course, pancakes are best served with maple syrup too but you aren't adding that into the pancake batter.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.

Make a well in the center of these dried ingredients. In another bowl, add the milk, ricotta, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined.

Then add in the melted butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the milk mixture.

If these two wet mixtures curdle a bit, it is normal. Pour the wet ingredients into the well you made in the middle of the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, it is better that way.

On a flat skillet, add some butter and let the skillet heat up before cooking the pancakes.

When the skillet is hot, pour about 1/4-1/3 cup of butter and cook until bubbles appear. When the bubbles appear, flip the pancakes onto the other side and finish cooking until golden brown.

Serve pancakes warm with maple syrup, powdered sugar or tons of whipped cream like
my husband. :-) You can also sprinkle some fresh fruit on top, spread some lemon curd, whatever your taste buds desire.

recipe found here

The result? Light and fluffy pancakes that taste super fresh because of the lemon. Usually when I make pancakes I whip up the egg whites to create the light and fluffiness and I was surprised the same results were achieved by using the ricotta!