Follower Friday:Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

Remember how I taught special education for a year?  Michelle was a speech therapist at one of the schools I serviced.  She was amazing!  I was always impressed by her knowledge of language in my little preschoolers.  She was always someone I could turn to and not just for intervention questions.  Enjoy her recipe!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a breakfast food freak.  Too many times a week my husband and I joke about going to Kneaders or IHOP for breakfast.  Maybe 1 out of 30 times we actually go.  But I have discovered this deliciously gratifying pancake recipe and I gotta say - I am totally hooked.  It involves making a big ole' batch of dry  pancake mix to use, the recipe of which I got from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (Great site - check it out!).  It might seem daunting but it's totally easy and it lasts a LONG time.  Then all you need to make 10 deliciously healthy, fibrous pancakes is 1 cup of the mix, 1 cup of buttermilk, and 1 egg.  See, easy! Here's what you'll need:

DRY MIX INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups quick oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour 
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable or canola oil

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a nice big bowl. A stand mixer would be nice but it's easy enough with a big spoon.  You can leave the oats whole or you can blend them.  Depends on what consistency you like.  I kind of like the lumpiness but some people don't.

 After the dry ingredients are mixed, slowly add the vegetable oil while you stir it up.  It should now look a little bit more like sand that is almost dry.  It will look kind of like this when you squeeze it in your hand: 

 

You can store it in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer. I keep it in a container like this and just taped the recipe right on it. 

To make the pancakes, simply combine 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of buttermilk, and 1 egg together. It will make about 10 medium-sized (using 1/4 cup) pancakes.  Or 8 medium ones and a big Mickey Mouse one.

 It's always the perfect amount for me, my husband, and our 3 year old, with one or two to spare.  

Now here's a fun variation.  Add some mashed up banana to the wet mix to make banana pancakes.  Then make your syrup a billion times better by adding about 1/2 cup of peanut butter to 1 cup of maple syrup.  Melt it all together in the microwave. Dip your finger in it, take a lick, and then wonder why you hadn't thought of it before. Enjoy!!

-------------------------------------------------------
PS - I made a batch of these earlier this week.  We've had them for breakfast twice and dinner once - so delicious!