Cheese, Sausage, Pancakes and Intrigue?

I've told you before about my alter ego....remember? Not only am I a mystery-solving caterer, in my spare time, I also run a cookie shop and bake up lots of goodies for my friends, family and neighbors. I do believe I'm getting a complex, though. I mean, each time I come up with a fabulous recipe that begs to be shared, somebody winds up dead. With a piece of my fabulous creation close at hand. Mind you, the cause of death has never been the actual food, but still...it's enough to give a girl a complex. This time was no exception... Marge shared her comforting, homey, delicious recipe for apple turnovers with me so that my partner Lisa and I could bake up a bunch to donate to the local charity event this past weekend. Several of us were kept beyond busy making and baking these for 3 days. Everybody seemed to love them. But, as luck or lack of? would have it, I found my 13th-ish dead body (sorry, that sounds so blunt...but true) the other day. And of course a half eaten apple turnover was sitting close by.

I feel like I should tell you that I'm not going to be sharing the recipe for the apple turnovers. Nope. Not today. Today I want to share some killer ba dum bum pancakes with you. My sister Michelle made them for me the other morning as I was fumbling for my morning cup of fuel at 4 am. These are not your everyday run of the mill flap jacks. No sir, they are that perfect mix of sweet and savory that I adore so much. Well, only sweet if you top them with syrup. Which I highly recommend!

Sausage and Cheese Pancakes

yield: ~16 smaller sized pancakes

1 large egg

1 c. plain yogurt

1/4 c. heavy cream

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. all-purpose flour (pack it down in cup when you measure it)

1/2 c. fried breakfast sausage, broken into pieces I used bulk Bob Evans, my fave

1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Beat the egg with a wire whisk in medium bowl until fluffy. Whisk in yogurt, cream and vegetable oil. In a small bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, and salt with the flour. Stir it around with a fork until it's evenly distributed. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir well. Add sausage and cheese to your batter and stir thoroughly. Bake as you would normal pancakes on your favorite pancake making surface.

These were sooooooo good. SO GOOD! It's like a pancake on a stick or bacon baked into your waffle. Mmmmmm. Breakfast. And honestly, I snacked on a few throughout the day at room temp (w/out syrup). Good that way, too. I doubled the recipe and ended up with a lot!

Okay, you probably guessed that I DO NOT own a cookie shop...and I don't find dead bodies on a regular basis...and I don't have a sister named Michelle. BUT, Hannah Swensen does. Hannah is the main character in the fun foodie-mystery series by Joanne Fluke. Her latest book is called Apple Turnover Murder. It's the 13th deliciously sinful guilty pleasure in the series and just as fun as the rest. I'm a mystery lover. I'm a food lover. Her books have mystery. And food (recipes included!). Need I say more? Challenging...nope. Do I care...nope. This is just one of the foodie-type mystery series' that I love (and pine for in between release dates). If you haven't read any, you should definitely check them out.

.....My inspiration for this post and my favorite pancake baking surface...my cast-iron pancake pan. Makes perfect small pancakes! Yes, sometimes I freestyle my cakes, but I love this pan for some reason.....

For a double recipe I used about 2/3 of a 1 lb. roll of Bob Evans breakfast sausage. I just sprinkled the rest over the top of the syrup for a delicious garnish.

Looking at the sun streaming in to say hello to this little plate of heaven.☺