Banana Oat Pancakes: Easy and Kid Friendly!

I have been making pancakes for as long as I can remember. I mean honestly, I don't even know how long I have been making pancakes, but I have a feeling the number of years would probably make me feel old so we will just say "a long time". I have been making pancakes for a very very long time....

When I was younger, pancakes always came "from a box"... Jiffy to be precise. Then as I got older my Nana introduced me to her favorite "Krusteaz" which technically came in a bag... Then I moved away and had a child and decided that he would only eat homemade-from-scratch pancakes like my incredibly mouth watering Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate chip pancakes. But after a few years of making different versions of that recipe, I realized: there are FIFTEEN ingredients in that recipe. 15!!! Wow. Not only is that a lot of work and a lot of measuring (and we all know I loathe measuring), but that is a lot of junk in a breakfast food that really doesn't provide any kind of nutrition in the first place... 

So then I started adding more oats and whole wheat flour and less white flour and little to no sugar. I would add applesauce or a banana and use almond milk, sometimes I would add pumpkin... I reworked every version of a pancake recipe in every way you could think: but they always had flour.

Then a friend of mine said "Have you made banana pancakes yet?". And I kind of chuckled and to myself said "Well yeah I have made banana pancakes... ", referring to slicing up bananas and folding them into my batter, but instead I said "what do you mean?". And thank goodness I did because she said "all you do is mash a banana with an egg and cook it."

GAME CHANGER!

Apparently this recipe had been floating around Pinterest for a while and I have seen it but never really put much thought to it... I did try the banana and oatmeal cookies recipe that I saw on Pinterest and fell in love with them. So I decided to take my friend's pancake suggestion and merge it with the oatmeal cookie recipe and created a pancake that both my kids absolutely love... and so do I!

Banana Oat Pancakes

1-2 bananas

2 eggs

1/2 ish or so cup oats (I used quick because it is what I had. Old fashioned would certainly be a good choice but I would pulse them in a magic bullet or blender first to help the texture)

Healthy splash of vanilla (or a glug... more like a glug)

1 tsp cinnamon (it may look like a lot but these fragrant pancakes will be worth it)

Add Ins

Crazins

Chocolate Chips

Chopped nuts

Blueberries

Diced strawberries

Whatever you can think of!

I got too excited and mashed the banana and egg with some oats before I remembered to take a picture... oops!

This is a perfect job for kids. Here Landon is mashing the banana up. It was so much fun talking to him about the way the masher made little squares, how it sounded, how it looked, what did he think it would feel like if he touched it, etc etc. Getting kids in the kitchen is a wonderful way to boost their vocabulary and create some great dialogue, learning opportunities, and new experiences. It is also a great way to get kids to try stuff they wouldn't normally try - something about helping to make it takes away the fear of trying new things!

Adding the egg and whisking it all up. Landon is an awesome egg cracker! I never would have thought a 4 year old could crack an egg but I decided to teach him one day and now he likes to crack all of the eggs by himself.

After Landon got all done stirring up the eggs, banana, and oats, we added the cinnamon and the splash of vanilla. I love vanilla and cinnamon and I wanted these pancakes to have a heavy scent that filled the kitchen... oh boy did they! I was also pleased with how the addition of the vanilla and cinnamon took the spotlight off the banana and made them more reminiscent of a pancake you would expect to find at IHOP or somewhere like it.

Drop them onto a hot griddle greased with coconut oil, butter, or whatever you like to use, and sprinkle with your add ins. We added chocolate chips for the two of us, and left them plain for the baby. I did not let Landon help with this part (anything involving the oven or stove is off limits for him), so he went to set the table while I finished up. I think I had them at medium heat and they probably cooked for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Flip them carefully. These little guys are tricky to flip because they tend to slip all over the place. It is more akin to flipping a fried egg than a pancake, since this is egg based, so be careful and patient when flipping or you will end up with a folded up pancake... but don't worry, it will still taste great! (I know from experience).

So there you have it. A delicious, easy breakfast you can make with your kids, by yourself, or beg your boyfriend to make for you. Whatever suits you ;).

 

I will also say: these freeze beautifully. Make them in bulk and freeze them to have on hand for an easy breakfast. They freeze so much better than regular pancakes which get soggy when thawed and reheated... These cook right back to deliciousness in the microwave or skillet.

Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Cups

One of my all time favorite comfort foods is broccoli cheese soup from Panera... Oh. my. deliciousness... I actually made a giant batch of broccoli cheese soup a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit. I should have made a batch of bread bowls to go with it, but I was pressed for time and didn't get it done, but I definitely will post my soup recipe soon.

So you are probably wondering what Broccoli Cheese Soup has to do with breakfast... Quite simply, it was my inspiration for this tasty all in one breakfast treat. I have been making "egg cup" breakfasts for a while now: simple, quick, delicious, and a great way to sneak bits of leftover veggies or meat into breakfast. Vegetables don't normally fit in on the breakfast table, so this is a great way to squeeze another serving in to your family's diet.

These tasty little breakfast cups also have sausage in them, but the sausage could easily be substituted with ham, bacon, even some chopped up sirloin from the night before. Like I said: a great way to use up leftovers!

I have also made a meatless version of these and they were wonderful. And to accommodate my very picky grandmother, I have even made a cheeseless version and those were just as tasty! In fact, she said that it is the best thing I have EVER made for her (I took care of her and my grandfather for 8 months and did a large majority of the cooking, so that is saying something kind of huge!).

Well I hope you like these as much as my family does. I made them this morning and Landon ate FOUR of them by himself. For comparison... I only had two. Ha! And the first time I cooked my boyfriend breakfast, this is what I served... It was a huge success!

Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Cups

1/2 lb mild or spicy breakfast sausage (I used mild this morning. I have also cooked links and chopped them up in the past)
2 large heads broccoli (you will only be using the florets so if your grocer sells just the heads like mine does, buy those so you aren't paying for the stalks)
8 oz cheddar cheese cut into 1/2 inch chunks
8 eggs
milk
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 12 muffin cups. They stick pretty badly no matter how well you grease the cups, so liners are preferable... but I didn't have any on hand.

Cook the breakfast sausage until cooked through, and then chop into bite sized pieces. Distribute among the 12 muffin cups.

Chop the broccoli while the sausage is cooking. Cut into tiny florets, discarding pretty much the entire stalk. You can save it for other recipes that use the whole stalk, like soups and casseroles, but for this, we just want the florets.

Cook the broccoli florets in the grease from the sausage, adding a little bit of olive oil to the pan, and adding more as needed. The florets soak the grease up pretty quickly, so be sure not to let the pan get too dry. You could also add some diced onion or garlic here, but I kept it quick and simple and skipped those ingredients this time.

While the broccoli is sauteing, crack 8 eggs into a large measuring cup. Whisk with a fork until well blended. Salt and pepper the mixture, then add enough milk to equal 2 1/2 cups. Since most large eggs equal about 1/4 cup, you will be adding close to 1/2 cup milk, but just in case your eggs don't equal exactly 2 cups, use the milk to make up the difference. Whisk until well incorporated.

Divide the cooked broccoli and chopped cheese evenly among the 12 cups.

Carefully pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup. It should reach just below the top of each cup.

Bake at 375 for 18 minutes or until the egg whites are just set.

Run a butter knife around each egg cup right after pulling out of the oven. This will make them easier to remove from the pan. Let sit for a couple minutes before serving, then serve warm.

Enjoy!