Banana Baked Oatmeal

Banana Bread baked oatmeal

I made this baked oatmeal on Tuesday morning for my trio to have for breakfast before school.  We had several very ripe bananas that needed to be used after spending the long weekend in the Wisconsin Dells.  The trio love to help me cook and both Clara and Bo helped to mash the bananas and combine the ingredients, which helped them to think that breakfast was extra wonderful since they helped make it.  Anna was still asleep (by some miracle) and they were sure to encourage her to thank them for making breakfast. 😉

This recipe is a great weekday morning breakfast — it’s healthier than many breakfast options and tastes great with a smear of peanut butter on top.  I served it to the kids with glasses of milk – and enjoyed a cup of coffee with mine.

This makes 12 servings, but it is very good leftover and can be frozen in squares for an extra quick “on the go” breakfast option.

Banana Baked Oatmeal
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Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • 5 overly ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup brown sugar (you can use an alternative sweetener)
  • 3 cups quick cook oatmeal
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup almond milk (any milk you have on hand will work fine)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with PAM. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add the eggs and brown sugar and continue mashing until it is well combined. Stir in the oatmeal, baking soda, salt, and milk. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Cut into squares and serve. Great topped with a smear of peanut butter.

 

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

We had a crazy busy weekend.  How we manage to fit so many things between the hours of 4 pm Friday and 7 am Monday is always a mystery to me — but some how we do — and have fun doing it!

Mike and I spent the night in Chicago on Saturday and followed it up on Sunday with two birthday celebrations with the kids.  The first was a birthday party that we attended and the second was a family dinner with the Cetwinski family at our house to make up for Riley’s 6th birthday party we missed the previous weekend when the trio was sick.  I took some short-cuts with our meal and our dessert — mostly because we arrived home only 2 hours before our guests were set to arrive.

Instead of making a meal, we ordered pizza, and instead of making homemade cupcakes, I just fancied up a box mix.  However, the resulting cupcakes were amazing!  I loosely based this on the idea behind the Oreo Cupcakes I made previously.  These were quick to throw together and truly tasted fancy — as we discussed that evening, they were much better than some of the local cupcake shops we’ve tried.  They are definitely worth a bake!

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
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Serves: 24
 
Ingredients
  • 2 bags individual peanut butter cups
  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ¾ cup water
  • 3 eggs
  • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 5 Tbsp. butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 bag miniature peanut butter cups (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Place a peanut butter cup (regular size) in the bottom of each tin. Prepare cake mix according to package instructions. Fill each cupcake liner ¾ full. Bake for 18-22 minutes.
  2. Once the cupcakes have cooled, prepare the frosting. Cream together the peanut butter and butter. Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until well combined. Add the milk to reach the desired creaminess and texture for the frosting. I used a Ziplock bag to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
  3. To garnish, cut miniature peanut butter cups in half and place on top of each cupcake.