As usual, I was up before the rest of my crew this morning. I jumped on my bike and enjoyed this beautiful morning on a 70 minute, 15.3 mile ride. I am so grateful the warm air is here again.

Back home to find the house was still quiet. Ahhh. I enjoyed my breakfast cookie and coffee in peace. The silence was broken just as I was finishing up.

Little did they know I had a fun surprise in store for them this morning!

This a called a Flip It Pan. DuPont and Teflon sent us this pan to try out to see what we thought.

The bottom part of this pan is interchangeable, and the one we were sent definitely has a 4th of July theme with the American Flag!

Part of the reason I agreed to do this was because I knew the girls would LOVE it. Not only because it made pancakes, but also because of the American flag! This could not have been a better dish option for us, the timing was perfect. Ava is currently OBSESSED with the American flag. She loves spotting the American flag when we are out and about, in front of stores, homes, in books, magazines, anywhere!

It’s amazing the things you take for granted as an adult. She points out every American flag she sees. And oh boy, let me tell you it is everywhere! Even Maxine can recognize it now and points it out too.

Since Ava will be “missing the bus” this fall and we’ll be officially homeschooling, it’s always fun and reassuring to see the things they take an interest in and we try and take full advantage of these teachable moments whenever we see them.

Ava always listens and remembers the little tidbits I share about the American flag… I keep it to things a five year old will find interesting and understand. Red, white and blue, 13 stripes, 50 stars, why there are 50 stars, what’s the name of our state, states we’ve visited, states we have friends and family in… it’s easy to see how one little thing can lead to talking about so many other things.

But back to our patriotic breakfast this morning and our fun American flag Flip It pan, we got out the ingredients for pancakes and got to work.

I prefer homemade pancake batter, and it was only a year or so ago that I realized I could make pancakes at home, from scratch, without pancake mix. I’d much prefer to do it this way. I can control the ingredients, there’s no added preservatives and chemicals to keep the mix stable on the shelf.

Here’s the recipe we used today:

1 1/2 c flour (I use 50/50 white flour and whole wheat flour)
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (I use kosher)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 c milk (I used organic 1% cows milk)
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbsp canola oil

My girls, like any other little kid I know, LOVE to help in the kitchen. There’s so much opportunity in for learning in the kitchen. Math, science, hygiene, health, sharing, cooperation, and today, a little American history. 😉

Once our batter was ready, the girls watched as I poured 1/2 cup of batter (per the instruction for the Flip It Pan) into dish of the pan. Cooked until it started to bubble and the sides looked a little firm, and then FLIP!

This pan made it so easy to make pancakes, plus the pancakes turned out very soft and fluffy, better than they usually do when I make them in a frying pan. I didn’t even have to use a spatula, the pancake falls onto the skillet part of the pan once you flip it and then it easily slides on to a plate from there. I swear that I made much less of a mess today than I usually do when I make pancakes!

The results?

Disappearing pancakes!

I’d already had breakfast of course but I did try a couple bites and these were so soft and fluffy. American flag or not, this is a great pancake making pan!

I see in the instructions that you can also make omelets, grilled cheese, french toast or even crepes! I smell American flag grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch this week. 😉

Lucky for you, DuPont wants to share the Flip It Love and I’ve got the opportunity to do a giveaway! If you want a chance to win one of these pans, leave a comment on this post with something you love about pancakes, the 4th of July or the American flag. 😀

I’ll announce the winner on my Monday evening post, hopefully leaving plenty of time for your pan to arrive for any 4th of July pancakes or grilled cheese sandwiches you might want to make. 😉 Kids or no kids, this is a great little pan!