Banana Pancakes

I am not a kid person. When someone that has a baby assumes that since I have kids I must love all babies, then hands me their tiny infant, I cringe. Don't get me wrong I don't hate kids, I just don't go crazy over every one that I see. I never have. Growing up I never wanted kids, the thought of raising tiny humans was never something that made sense to me. I hated babysitting, it was horrible and babysitting boys was the worst. They destroyed things, they never sat still and honestly I always thought I should be paid more to deal with them. As an adult I still don't enjoy the company of many kids. There are always the exception, but they seem to be few and far between. I seem to be in the minority given the fact that I love my two boys, I don't want to try for a girl, and while your kid might be cute I don't feel a biological attachment to them. Maybe growing up in the late 80's/early 90's has just left my generation a little more jaded, for better or for worse I am the way that I am.

One thing that always makes me happy is pancakes. I love pancakes, I could eat them three times a day (if it wasn't nutritionally a horrible idea). My kids are pretty much the same way, but they love waffles and pancakes about equally. Since my household is also banana obsessed I make a lot of banana pancakes. The following is a recipe for banana pancakes (they freeze very well!).

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Banana Pancakes

Banana Pancakes

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Preparation Time: 0h, 5m

Cooking Time: 0h, 10m

Total Time: 0h, 15m

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Cooking Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Sift dry ingredients through a flour sifter (this step isn't necessary, but it really does make for fluffier pancakes).
3. Mash bananas either by using a potato masher, food processor, or blender. Using the blender or food processor makes for a better consistency throughout the pancakes and reduces the possibility of part of the pancakes staying uncooked.
4. In a separate bowl combine egg, milk, butter and bananas.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
6. Don't overmix, the batter will be a little lumpy.
7. Heat either a frying pan on medium heat or a griddle with melted butter or oil.
8. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter for each pancakes onto the griddle.
9. Cook until middle is set and pancake is browned on each side.

Tips: 

• The melted butter can be substituted for canola or vegetable oil or if you are watching your fats applesauce. 
• I have made this with 1 percent and non-fat milk and either one works fine. Whole or 2% would also work, I have not made it with almond or other non-dairy milks. 
• The sugar could be substituted for honey, agave, or the sweetener you prefer. 
• I have made this gluten free before by making my own oat flour. Making oat flour is very easy, just place whole oats in a food processor and process until finely ground. Homemade oat flour is a great homemade gluten free flour (make sure the oats you are using are gluten free and there are some people with gluten issues that have sensitivities to oats, so be careful if you just found out you have celiac disease etc.). 

That's it! The pancakes in the photo I added dark chocolate chips and melted peanut butter. Just place peanut butter in the microwave for 20 seconds and it pours easily over pancakes (and it's great with ice cream and other desserts too-yummy!). 

Gouda and Spinach Stuffed Pork Chops

I am a very impatient person. So much so that I am horrible about waiting to talk while having a conversation. I also have a tendency to watch a season of a show and then skip to the final episode (I blame Netflix and Hulu for this) or read the majority of a book and then skip a few pages (or 10) to get to the end faster. Part of the problem seems to be that my attention is less as I get older and partly that a lot of books and television just don't seem to be that great. I know that sounds harsh, but great books. movies etc. still can hold my interest, they just are very few and far between. I guess as I get older quality has become much more important and I don't have the patience to deal with okay or mediocre.  Life is too short to spend a lot of time on something that isn't great.

This recipe has 6 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 10 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First, since I eat gluten free I used  gluten free panko. I used a block of Gouda which I sliced into thin slices myself. As suggested by the magazine I used a rimmed baking sheet and increased the amount of horseradish mustard. Finally, I used bone-in chops and my total cooking time as 25 minutes.

Make sure to pick fatty pork chops and spray the top of the chops with canola oil. This allows the chops to have a great crispy outside and tender inside. My family really enjoyed these chops. If you aren't a fan of Gouda other types of cheese would also work, especially sharp cheddar. The same thing goes for the Creole seasoning, if you don't like the heat you could use any other type of seasoning salt and it would work just as well.

For the recipe go to Gouda and Spinach Stuffed Pork Chops.