Pumpkin Pancake Crumbles

It took me a long time to figure out what to call this recipe.

“Weird McGeerd Pumpkin Scrambled Eggs” is probably more accurate.  But no one is going to want to make pumpkin scrambled eggs, no matter how good they actually taste.  It sounds gross-o.

Here’s the back story.  We have a recipe for paleo pumpkin pancakes that we make a lot.  I always intended to write down the recipe, but since it was bookmarked on the old laptop (from 2007…which is like a car from 1989…not old enough to be cool, but old enough to be clunky) I never needed to.  Until the old laptop got put away because we found a super good deal on a new one.  (It is fancy.  It can be use for more than 10 minutes without needing to be plugged in.  And- – – all the letters work.)

Anyway, if you just google, “Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes,” there’s a lot out there.  And ain’t nobody got time to sift through to find the right recipe.

David usually makes the pancakes, but he was gone, and I sort of remembered the recipe.

– 1 can pumpkin (unsweetened; nothing but pumpkin and can)
– some eggs?
– cinnamon
– some coconut flour

We didn’t have any coconut flour, and I wasn’t sure about the ratio of pumpkin to eggs, but I figured I could try it and see.

Elle cracked the eggs (I think she used about 9) and mixed in the other ingredients.  Then I started to make pancakes.  Which failed.  They didn’t stick together well.  Probably the missing coconut flour.  If I had been patient, I could have made them work.  But I wasn’t.

Do you know why David almost always makes the pancakes?  Because they take forEVER.  I don’t have the patience for pancakes.   So I started stirring them around in the pan like one does for scrambled eggs.  We were left with a pile of pumpkin scrambled eggs pancake crumbles.

Surprisingly they tasted GOOD.  I only used a bit of maple syrup, but they would have been fine without it as well if you’re like my kids and aren’t used to overly-sweetened things.

To serve it so the kids didn’t realize they were just eating pumpkin scrambled eggs, I chopped up a few ripe bananas and some raw almonds and tossed it like a salad.  (I did pour a little extra maple syrup on my own because I wasn’t sure how it would be all together.)

The kids loved it!

If we’re talking healthy, frugal, meals– this is a winner!  Plus it’s meatless for Fridays!  And it doesn’t take forever like real pancakes!

Frugal note:  I like to buy canned pumpkin when it’s on sale for $.89 to $1 per can around Thanksgiving.  The stuff lasts all year, so I buy a bunch.  We get eggs from a friend with chickens, but the grocery store regularly has sales for $.99 a dozen.  Coconut oil and maple syrup can be expensive, but this recipe doesn’t need either.  You could use whatever oil you happen to have.

Here is the actual recipe after I made Pumpkin Pancake Crumbles a 2nd time and measured ingredients.  This time the kids helped.

 

Pumpkin Pancake Crumbles  (serves 6ish)
1 dozen eggs
1 can pumpkin
2 T. cinnamon (or less if you’re not into cinnamon)
pinch of salt
1 T. maple syrup (or honey, or none if you’re avoiding all sugar, or more if you like it sweet)
(fresh fruit and nuts for serving)

Mix until well combined.  Heat about 2 T. coconut oil on medium.  Dump in mixture.  Occasionally stir around like scrambled eggs until everything seems dryish (like browned ground beef).  Serve with nuts and fresh fruit (and extra maple syrup if you’re being extravagant)

Huzzah.  I made it with no maple syrup for the kids.  I added some on top of my own in the kitchen secretly because I’m terrible like that.  They didn’t know the difference.  🙂 🙂 🙂

This is the recipe the we’ll be making again.  And again.  Thanks, Weird McGeerd Pumpkin Scrambled Eggs, for being awesome.