Veggie Stuffed Pancakes

Ok, obviously, with a name like that I couldn't pass up trying these! Especially because they involve mascarpone cheese...and who can resist mascarpone cheese in anything? They sounded so different, and yet, they were getting 5 stars on the foodnetwork.com. I absolutely had to try them. I had made up my mind to write a post about these before I had even tried them - whether they were delicious or not because they were just...so...interesting to me. I must admit, the main reason I made them was sheer curiosity.

And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! As I was making them I was just shaking my head thinking, "What on earth have I gotten myself into? These are just so strange!" But then it all started to come together and they turned out to be pretty darn good.Now, the first night, I planned on giving them 3 stars. Because I really liked them, and they were definitely worth making once, but they were a little rich and I didn't know that I wanted to eat them again. But then...I had so many left over, I just couldn't stomach throwing them away (literally, as evidenced by me putting them in my stomach rather than throwing them away!). So, the next 2 days I was eating these puppies for lunch. Imagine my surprise when my husband and I both said to each other, "Hey! These taste even better the next day!" Who would have thought? Pancakes? But really, they were. I am not prepared to bump them to a 3.5 star rating, which will make them really a 4. Totally worth a try. They were different and fun. They had lots of vegetables. They had pancakes and mascarpone cheese. You gotta try them once!
Instead of regular pancakes, I used a recipe I have that makes pancake-y crepes, so I'm including that here as well. Oh, and these did takes a little bit of time up front with making the crepes and all, so I did a lot of the chopping/cooking in the morning and then just popped them in the oven that evening and they were done lickity split.
I served this with freshly homemade yogurt, granola, fruit and honey, which were a nice compliment to the richness of the dish.

Recipe below and here.
Recipe for pancake-y crepes below.

Veggie Stuffed Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pancake mix (recommended: Krusteaz) or 1 recipe pancake-y crepes, found below
  
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup
• 1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 to 3/4 cups whole milk

Directions

In a medium bowl combine the pancake mix and water. Whisk the batter until smooth. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Make 12 pancakes about 5 1/2-inches in diameter. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Add the basil, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and mascarpone cheese. Stir the mixture until well mixed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 12-inch baking dish (or individual baking dishes). Using about half the vegetable mixture fill the pancakes. Lay pancake down on a work surface, top with 2 spoonfuls of vegetable mixture, sprinkle with some mozzarella cheese. Roll up the pancake around the vegetable mixture and place in the baking dish. Continue with the remaining pancakes, placing in the baking dish in 2 rows, and using up all the shredded mozzarella cheese.

Place the remaining vegetable mixture in a blender with 1/2 cup whole milk. Blend until smooth adding up to 1/4 cup more milk if necessary to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the center of the vegetable-stuffed pancakes in two rows. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until the cheese is melted and the vegetables are hot, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Pancake-y Crepes

Makes approximately 12 crepes

INGREDIENTS:

2 ¼ C flour

1 ½ Tbsp sugar

3 ¼ tsp baking powder

3 C milk

3 eggs

¾ tsp salt

¾ tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp margarine/butter

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients in blender and tentatively whip until blended, then blend steadily for 1 minutes. Will be moderately thick, for crepes. Grease a frying pan with cooking oil, cooking spray, or butter. Cook in frying pan over medium heat till just cooked.