Okay, people. I have to confess something.

I hate McDonalds. That's not the confession, but I really hate McDonalds. And Burger King. And Wendy's. I just don't like fast food. I did at one point, but somewhere along the line I started realizing that the kitchens looked gross and the food looked gross and hardly contained any ACTUAL food and just…everything was gross. I never consider it an option for a meal, no matter how desperate, not because I'm super healthy or anything but just because…ew. Grossness. So generally, I don't miss fast food at all.

Except…there is one thing I miss. I miss eating the McGriddle.

That is my confession.

For those of you unfamiliar with McDonald's breakfast, the McGriddle is a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich that has two pancakes instead of a biscuit. It's the perfect blend of salty and sweet. The perfect consistency. It's delicious. It's addictive. It's got more chemicals than actual food in it, I'm sure, but it's just SO GOOD. Yet on the rare occasion I got a McGriddle, I'd be thinking about the grossness of fast food in the back of my mind. It kept me from true McGriddle bliss.

UNTIL TODAY. The day when I finally decided to make my own McGriddle for breakfast. Several people requested I document this ADVENTURE, so here we go.

Get some sausage. This is Tayyib Chicken Sausage. The guy behind the company is Muslim, and thus can't eat pork, but thought sausage smelled delicious…so he made the world's best chicken sausage. For real. Also get some eggs and some cheese.

Now make some pancake batter. Use whatever recipe you like, but I actually think whole wheat makes for a heartier McGriddle.

Now take a crazy ass pan like this. Okay, technically you don't need a crazy ass pan. But 1) It keeps your McGriddle pancakes the same, perfect size and 2) ANIMALS ON PANCAKES.

Start the sausage cooking. Pour some pancake batter in your crazy ass pan. And then take some maple syrup– REAL maple syrup, btw, which is ten thousand times more delicious than some corn syrup in a lady-shaped bottle–

–and pour a tiny bit on top of your pancakes. Less than a teaspoon will do it.

Start the eggs. Finish the sausage. Put a little cheese on top of the sausage. Flip the pancakes. Do all of this in whatever order makes sense to you, then ASSEMBLE YOUR MCGRIDDLE.

Oh, homemade McGriddle. You are just as delicious as McDonalds, and you contain real food. It's MAGIC.