Banana Pancakes

Who doesn't love pancakes? Here is my recipe for pancakes, which are super easy and you can add to make them your own. Omit the bananas for my base pancake recipe.

This recipe makes about 2 servings, 3 medium sized pancakes per person. Double it if you want to make more.

Ingredients:

• 1 large banana, or 2 smaller bananas ( Tip: when bananas are at their ripest, remove the skin and wrap in plastic wrap; place in the freezer. They only take a few minute to thaw and this way, you can use them any time! This works great for saving bananas for banana bread, too!)
• 3/4 cup pancake mix (use any kind you want; there are some great whole wheat and whole grain ones out there)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (you can also use almond extract, but if you do so, only use 1/2 tsp-- it's really strong)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to Warm setting, or about 150 degrees. This is so you can keep your first batch of pancakes warm.
2. Preheat a large skillet to medium and let it heat up
3. Mash banana with potato masher in a medium sized bowl
4. Add pancake mix, egg, water, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir until well mixed. Feel free to add more water and pancake mix as you see fit until you get the consistency you like.
5. Spray cooking spray in the skillet and pour 3 pancakes in the skillet; they should be about 5 inches in diameter
6. When pancakes start to bubble on top, about 4 minutes, flip them over for another 3-4 minutes. Put this first batch on an oven safe plate or baking sheet and place in the oven.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all batter has been used up.
8. Serve with your favorite toppings. Some options are butter and sugar-free syrup, bananas and strawberries with honey, or whipped cream! 

You can add things to make this recipe your own. Use the base recipe (by omitting the bananas) and add blueberries or chocolate chips. I like to add chocolate chips to the banana pancake recipe as well.