My kids beg for chocolate chip pancakes. Do yours? I've made them a handful of times and apparently the experience is stuck in their heads as the ultimate breakfast treat. I decided to use my go-to pancake recipe and added my homemade hot cocoa mix. Boom! Hot cocoa pancakes.

First, make the pancake batter. Next, add the homemade hot cocoa mix. Stir to combine.

Fry these babies in butter or coconut oil. Flip when little bubbles start to appear on top.

Woot woot!

Hot Cocoa Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk or plain kefir
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add buttermilk and oil and mix to combine, making sure not to leave any big flour lumps. Add egg and gently fold into the batter. Add flax meal, cinnamon, cocoa, sugar and vanilla extract and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Pour desired pancake size into a hot, buttered pan. Flip pancakes when tiny bubbles appear on the top. This recipe makes enough pancakes for my three kids for three breakfasts. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

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You know that person who always has a cold? I'm the opposite of that person. I am never sick. It's a point of pride, if you must know.

But I've been put in my place this winter. Any whiff of smugness that I once had about my ninja ability to stay healthy is over. Winter has smacked me in the face with two stomach bugs and now a virus with fever that has basically flattened me.

I'm not alone in this; my babysitter had it and my girls have it. Misery does not love company. My mission is to keep my son and my husband fever free and care for my girls and myself in the meantime. I'm unbelievably grateful that my babysitter is feeling better! Last night, with super low energy, I decided that instead of going through the steps to make meatballs (originally the plan before the fever hit), I'd make them deconstructed - which really just meant I'd use all of the intended ingredients but throw them together instead of carefully construct them. So I threw the ingredients in a frying pan and served them with spinach linguine, deconstructed. You know what? It was tasty. And fast. And it's something I'm going to keep tinkering with. I realize I'm posting this recipe and have only made it once, which is not typically something I like to do. But I've done it, so there.

Spinach linguine with deconstructed meatballs, sautéed spinach and strawberries. A really fast dinner!

Deconstructed Meatballs
1 clove of garlic
1/2 pound ground meat (I used ground pork but anything should do the trick)
1/4 cup of plain unseasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
olive oil for frying
Grated parmesan to sprinkle on top

Serve with pasta (we used spinach linguine)

Method:
Place olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the ground meat and stir, breaking it up into small bits. Add the breadcrumbs, egg and salt and combine well, using the side of a spatula to make it piece-y.

Continue cooking until the meat is fully cooked. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil and prepare pasta as directed. Serve the meat on top or combine as I've done. Garnish with grated Parmesan.