MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - OATMEAL/BANANA PANCAKE

As husband was heading out to his favorite bagel shop for breakfast, and I didn't really want bagels that morning, I stayed home and made this recipe. There is no link and I'll be the first to say that I don't think it will be everyone's cup of tea. Gregg would fit into that category. He better likes the crepe-like pancakes I make for him and even prefers those to the regular, thicker ones that I enjoy when we have gone out for breakfast. Most of the time we have the same tastes but occasionally we part ways.

My family and I used to go along the hedgerows when we were kids and pick wild blackberries to take home. Blackberries are at the top of my favorites. I always ate a hot bowl of oatmeal in the winter before setting out to school. The only pancakes I ever had were the traditional yearly ones on Shrove Tuesday (those are what I make for Gregg when he requests them). These are a little different and they might not be for you. I am adding it here for myself as I will make it again sometime. With that ringing endorsement I will continue.

Banana Oatmeal Pancake

1 banana

2 eggs

1/2 cup old fashioned oats 

A splash of vanilla extract

To put on the top:

Any favorite topping. These were on our latest shopping list: blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, quantity is up to you. 

Maple syrup

Next time I thought I would sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice which was another British tradition and how mother served them on Shrove Tuesday. 

Mash the banana in a small bowl. 

Add the eggs and mix until well combined. 

Add the splash of vanilla extract. 

Add the oats and mix well.

Heat a frying pan to medium-high. Coat frying pan with a good spray of avocado oil. Turn down to medium heat.

Pour the mixture into the pan.

I used this for one large pancake but it was a little tricky to turn over, so I will make 2 smaller ones next time.

Cover and cook 3 minutes on one side (if you think it is getting too brown, turn heat down).

Flip and cook 2 minutes on the other side.

Put on serving plate and serve with your choice of toppings. This one has a dusting of powdered sugar on the top.

We were lucky enough to have been given a jar of maple syrup from a dear friend of ours, and someone Gregg has known since early childhood. A friend of his made it (sharing a picture below). We are both in agreement here, it's delicious! Thanks dear friend!

And thank you for visiting.

I hope your week is a great one.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - BANANA STRAWBERRY CAKE

This recipe was a great cake and we both gave it a ten out of ten.  I have been looking around for a few new recipes to make for company, also desserts. It came from Kitchen Divas hosted by Karen and Ken. You will find the original recipe here.

BANANA STRAWBERRY CAKE 

Servings: 12

Calories: approximately 443 calories per serving

1-1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed and ripe

1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cups flour 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder  

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 butter at room temperature 

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1-1/2 cups buttermilk 

1/2 to 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cups buttermilk butter, room temperature 

1 package (8 ozs.) cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners sugar

Decorations:

1/4 to 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped 

6 to 10 large fresh strawberries, sliced or diced

Instructions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Prepare your 9 x 13 inch pan with grease and flour. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine mashed bananas, cinnamon and lemon juice and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on high speed until smooth and creamy, a few minutes. Scrape down the sides of your bowl if necessary.

Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined. Add dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk.

Once thoroughly combined gently add in your mashed bananas and strawberries with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. The batter will be thick and lumpy. This is okay.

Pour your batter into your prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for about 5 or 10 minutes before dumping on to a rack to cool completely. 

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth using your mixer.

Gradually add icing sugar and beat on low to medium speed until combined.

Once icing is well blended, spread all over your completely cooled cake. 

Decorate top of iced cake with nuts and strawberries if you would like to.

Kitchen Divas note:

You will need a 13 x 9 inch CAKE pan to make this recipe. An old, regular 13 x 9 inch pan will not be deep enough. Newer 13 x 9 inch pans are all made to be at least 2-1/4 inches deep. Make sure yours is before you start, to prevent the possibility of your cake overflowing over the sides of your pan.

Freezes beautifully but don’t add the strawberry decoration until completely thawed. Add them right before serving.

This was a 10 out of 10 and we both thought it was delicious.

I have never cooked a cake at a lower temperature than 350 degrees F. but it turned out perfect at 325 and was perfectly cooked. The tip of my knife came out clean, no uncooked batter.

It was also a very moist cake.

I didn’t want any strawberries left so I probably added an extra cup.

A few changes: I had no brown sugar (I thought I had but couldn’t find it anywhere).  I replaced it with regular sugar, so 2 cups of white sugar instead of one cup. A one time thing as have now added brown sugar to the shopping list. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference.

I measured out 1-1/4 teaspoons of baking powder instead of just 1. I didn’t think it would make a difference. It didn’t but I am a little compulsive over exact measurements. 

Gregg thought this would be too rich for him with the icing. I left that off and if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t miss it.  

I also left off the decorations. Probably would add both for company.

A light dusting of confection sugar would look pretty, but there again, not necessary as this cake stood well on its own.

The Kitchen Divas said this is the cake you can freeze, so that is what I did with the rest of it. 

Husband was very happy as it’s been a very long time since I baked a cake.  I only bake them for special occasions, and I extended his birthday week!  

A small portion goes a long way!

I always recommend checking these websites out. So many good recipes on there, and they always give great tips for each one. There is a video showing the steps.

Their address is below.

https://kitchendivas.com/banana-strawberry-cake/

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - JUMBO BLUEBERRY BANANA MUFFINS

For breakfast one morning I decided to make this recipe.  It comes from a food blog called "Tried and True Recipes", hosted by Kari.  My thanks to the food blog's host for sharing this delicious muffin.  I recommend visiting as she adds a lot more information than I have here, I always enjoy the photos and so many other great recipes to try.  

Jumbo Blueberry Banana Muffins - makes 12

3 ripe bananas 

2 large eggs room temperature

⅓ cup milk room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries

Topping (optional)

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon softened butter

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place muffin liners in the cups of a muffin pan or spray the pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Mash the bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add in the eggs, beating after each one. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract.

In a separate large bowl, blend together the flour, brown sugar, butter, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon using a pastry blender or the back of a fork.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Mix just until everything is combined. Don't over mix.

Using a spatula, gently fold in the blueberries.

Fill the lined jumbo muffin cups ¾ of the way full.

If making the topping mixture, put those ingredients in a small bowl, mix together until combined and sprinkle evenly over each muffin. 

Bake for 25 minutes. (If you have used regular muffin tins, bake for 15-18 minutes.) 

Let cool slightly before serving.

We enjoyed our muffin very much and served it with strawberries, as you can see in the photo.

I added a little more milk as my batter seemed too thick.

I also added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans to the batter.  Walnuts would be good also.

I didn't make the extra topping this time. It was excellent without.

I tested mine to see if they were done by pushing a wooden tooth pick in the top center.  I have also used the point of a sharp knife.  Mine came out with a little uncooked batter attached, so I put the muffin tray back in for another two to three minutes and that did the trick.  Oven temperatures vary so you might not have this problem.  Our oven runs on the cooler side.

When no longer hot, I wrapped the extra muffins in foil and put them in the freezer for another time.

You can copy and paste the following address if you prefer it to the link above.

https://jeanniestriedandtruerecipes.com/blueberry-banana-jumbo-muffins/

I feel like I have rushed this a bit tonight, so if you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section.  

Thanks for looking, have a great week and...

MONDAY RECIPE POST - BANANA PANCAKES

My favorite way to have a pancake over the past couple of years is to add blueberries.  When I saw this old recipe I had saved in 2009, I thought it might make a nice change and will make them the next time.  

I have shared this story before, but I grew up having pancakes only once a year on Shrove Tuesday.  Up to that point and for several years later until I moved to the States, I had never heard of having pancakes at any other time than on Shrove Tuesday.  

The way my Mum made pancakes was thinner than an American one, but slightly thicker than a French crepe.  Mum made the greatest pancakes and what made them even better was the fact that she used to toss them as high up in the air as she could, and much to the delight of my sister and me, she occasionally missed and one would drop on the floor.  Fits of giggles from all three of us, and an even more wonderful memory the older I get. When we were old enough Mum taught us how to toss them high, and even more landed on the floor. It was always great fun. The ones that didn't land on the floor were served sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar, delicious!

While still living in England, the first time I ate American pancakes was in a small restaurant in Torquay - pronounced "Torkee".  I was 20 years' old and worked in the legal section of the local government offices for a few years.  Occasionally I met up with friends for lunch and we would go to a small restaurant on the harbor.  One day there were American Pancakes on the dessert menu.  They sounded very exotic served with Maple Syrup (never had that before either and wondered what it tasted like). Well, the very first bite was a new taste sensation and we all said that these pancakes were amazing, and we couldn't wait to come back and try them again.  

I found this recipe at AllRecipes.

Banana Pancakes

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes  
Ready in: 15 minutes  
Yields: 12 pancakes  Servings 6

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed  

Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt.  

In a separate bowl mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.  

Stir flour mixture into banana mixture.  The batter will be slightly lumpy.  

Heat lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.  Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.  Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides.  Serve hot. 

Nutritional Information:

Servings Per Recipe: 6

Amount Per Serving.

Calories: 193 

Excellent pancakes!  The only thing I changed was adding a handful of chopped pecans as I mixed the batter.  I also sprinkled a few on the top when serving them up, and poured maple syrup.

MONDAY RECIPE POST IS BACK - OATMEAL WITH CARAMELIZED BANANAS

Oatmeal with Caramelized Bananas

This is for one serving but it would be easy to double or up.  It only takes about 15 minutes from preparation time to plate-time.

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup water
1 banana, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon of maple syrup for sautéing the bananas (you can also use 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to replace the syrup)
1 tablespoon of maple syrup (or brown sugar) for adding to your cooked oatmeal if you want it sweeter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Add oats and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, add the vanilla, also  the cinnamon if using.  Simmer until thickened.  The directions on the back of my box says this will take 5 minutes.

While the oatmeal is cooking, add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (or brown sugar) to a large sauté pan.  Once it is sizzling add the sliced bananas.  Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, then flip over gently and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.  They should be a nice golden brown by now.

When the oatmeal is done, and if you think you would like it a little sweeter, stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of syrup (or brown sugar).  Top with the caramelized bananas.  Finish off with a few chopped walnuts and you may want to add 1/2 cup of milk (or not).

This was such a delicious way to serve oatmeal I am looking forward to trying it again.