Banana Pancakes with Nutella Whipped Cream

If nothing else, make this nutella whipped cream to even just eat by itself!

The Three Bite Rule - Banana Pancakes with Nutella Whipped Cream

These pancakes are ebelskivers or pancake balls and all this would be just as delightful as a regular pancake but these little dip-able balls are a fun treat. Dipping into nutella whipped cream was pure magic.

Banana Pancakes with Nutella Whipped Cream
Ingredients:

Pancake mix + water (according to the mix)
1 ripe banana
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon nutella

Directions:
Put a metal mixing bowl and beaters into the freezer for at least 30 minutes before making the whipped cream.
Mix together the pancake batter according to the package (mine was 1 cup mix to 2/3 cup water but did 1:1 for a runnier mix which helps when making ebelskivers).
Chop the banana into slices for flat pancakes or dices for ebelskivers.
Add the pancake mix to the warm, sprayed pan and add in the banana.
Flip & keep warm when cooked.
For the nutella whipped cream, beat the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and confectioners sugar into whipped cream. Then add the nutella and beat until mixed.
Serve the nutella whipped cream to dip & enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Banana Pancakes with Nutella Whipped Cream

These were so fun! I forgot how much I like ebelskivers – it is the pancake version of a doughnut! Pieces of fruit and any kind of chips are great. Jelly is like molten lava and messy to add so we don’t do that anymore! They take a tiny bit of patience and practice but the small batch size is so helpful and they don’t stick to eachother when kept warm (or to freeze) so they’re easy to make in advance or bring somewhere!

You just might find me eating nutella whipped cream as dessert on the regular over here!

Breakfast Totchos

Tots turned into nachos, for breakfast! We’ve been watching The Great Food Truck Race: Alaska! and there’s a truck called “Some Like it Tot” and while I don’t envision them winning, the concept is still fun (spoiler: also their serving is about 6 tots with toppings for $15 so let’s make these at home, shall we?)

The Three Bite Rule - Totchos

These are like a loaded breakfast hash of sorts but with tator tots. I’m always seeking savory breakfasts and this was so fun! It has tots, beans, cheese, eggs, bacon, green onions, and an optional spicy syrup!

Breakfast Totchos
Ingredients: (for 2)

3 cups of tator tots (about 8-10 tots per person)
4 strips bacon
2 cups cheese
3 eggs
1/2 cup beans
2 green onions
2 tablespoons salsa
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:
Bake the tator tots according to the package (mine were 20 minutes at 375 degrees).
While the tots cook, pan fry the bacon until crisp- discarding the drippings.
In the same pan, with a coating of drippings, cook the eggs to a soft-scramble.
Layer half the cheese onto the tots and melt in the oven. Then assemble with half of the tots as a base layer, topped with half of the eggs, half the beans, half the green onions. Top with remaining tots and repeat, finishing with the remaining cheese. Bake to melt.
Stir together the hot sauce and maple syrup.
Out of the oven, add the salsa and a drizzle of spicy syrup.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Totchos

There are lots of ways to customize these- any kind of beans, guac/avocado would be excellent, a sunny side up egg sounds good, or whatever you’re into for nachos. It is also a great use for any leftover nacho ingredients- not leftover nachos, that’s terrible.

Make them a build-your-own situation! There are a lot of tots made into a casserole for breakfast but the thought of them not being crispy is blasphemy in my book.

Normally I’d be very against maple syrup touching eggs but I was thinking of it like hot honey and the bacon seemed to be the connection there- and I went really minimally. Skip it or go just for hot sauce if you’re not feeling it!

Churro French Toast Sticks

Our kindergartner is totally enthused by school lunch – he goes to school 2 days a week and lunch is provided. Chocolate milk! Square pizza! He eats anything and gets 2 choices so despite not knowing what they’re serving, I’m always interested to hear what he picks. He had french toast sticks and loved it! I decided to make our own and coated them in a little churro crunch. Anything in a dippable format is fun for all!

The Three Bite Rule - Churro French Toast Sticks

Churro French Toast Sticks
Ingredients: (serves 5-6)

1/2 loaf Italian Bread
6 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
sprinkle of nutmeg
2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:
Slice Italian bread in half horizontally, then into slices vertically for sticks.
Whisk together eggs, half & half, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, and nutmeg.

The Three Bite Rule - Churro French Toast Sticks

Pour into a shallow baking dish and add in bread in one layer, repeat if necessary. Toss well and let soak for 10 minutes. (I used a 9×9 dish for 2 batches, cooking one batch while the other soaks.)

The Three Bite Rule - Churro French Toast Sticks

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Heat a large skillet to medium heat and spray with nonstick spray and butter. Pan fry the sticks- cooking for ~2-3 minutes on each side.
Prep a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, white sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
As the french toast sticks are cooked, remove from the heat and put onto the baking sheet – rolling in the cinnamon sugar. Then keep warm while cooking other french toast sticks.

The Three Bite Rule - Churro French Toast Sticks

Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Churro French Toast Sticks

These were good! The sugary crunch and warm spices is delightful – almost doughnut-like! They’re quite sweet and would have paired nicely with bacon, but do as I say, not as I do!

Psssst! Use the leftover other half of Italian bread loaf cut into chunks to be homemade croutons or for garlic bread. Both are good decisions and reminders how pillowy white bread is!

McGriddle Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast sandwiches are my fav and let’s get into 2021 with my take on a McGriddle. McDs describes these as griddle cakes with flavors of maple syrup. I have no idea what a griddle cake is but seems like maybe I would if I were in the south? Mine is a twist on a pancake and to become a sandwich with a folded egg, a slice of American cheese, and a sausage patty.

The Three Bite Rule - McGriddles

There’s more here than what appears…

McGriddles
Ingredients: (for 2)

1 cup pancake mix
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon cinnamon chips (or butterscotch chips)
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4 cup cold water (or as the mix instructs)
2 sausage patties
2 eggs
2 slices of American Cheese

Directions:
Mix together the pancake mix, cornmeal, maple syrup, and add water. Then stir to combine but not over mixing. Cook small pancakes (think of the egg size and the sausage patty size) and add the chips before flipping.

The Three Bite Rule - McGriddles

Keep the pancakes warm while cooking the sausage. Drain the sausage on paper towels to remove excess grease.
Crack the eggs and whisk to scramble. Cook in a medium pan so the very thin egg can be folded into a square.
Melt the cheese on top.
Assemble the pancakes as the bread with a light brush of maple syrup, the sausage, the egg & cheese, and the other pancake.

The Three Bite Rule - McGriddles

I loved these. Breakfast sandwiches are my love language. I never fold the egg up like this but was going for a very McD’s style. I should have flipped it over to show you a nice smooth side with melted cheese on the flat part, but hey, here we are.

I used a few butterscotch chips I had around but cinnamon would be wayy better. They are also great in pumpkin or banana bread for all the leftovers you’d have!

BLT Quiche

I was striving to shake up lunches a bit. Somehow during this time home I began eating the same thing everyday: turkey, arugula, & provolone. I do want to get some variety going with the same “no thought required” as that daily sandwich so I made quiche! Poof! One hour of prep/baking time in advance and we have about 4 servings of lunch!

The Three Bite Rule - BLT Quiche

I went to make this and was out of tomatoes. I thought there was one left soooo I substituted a few tiny dollops of tomato paste from a tube I keep in the fridge. It was good! Go with real tomatoes but in a pinch, I’m here for ya!

BLT Quiche
Ingredients (for 4-5 servings):

1 pie crust
4 strips of bacon
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk/cream
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 cup spinach
1 teaspoon tomato paste (or ~6 cherry tomatoes, halved)
1 cup fontina cheese, grated
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
salt & pepper

Directions:
Bake the pie crust in a pie plate, as instructed. (Mine was ~10 minutes)
Chop then pan fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain excess grease.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream of tarter, and salt and pepper.
In the baked pie crust, add in some cheese, some some bacon, some spinach, and a few dots of tomato paste. Repeat to fill it up.

The Three Bite Rule - BLT Quiche

Bake for 35-40 minutes. It should puff a bit and not giggle in the center.
Let fully cool, then slice and enjoy!

I’d totally go with tomatoes but it worked so well in a pinch! Have some sun dried tomatoes in a jar? Use those! The flavor theme would have been wreaked without any and I liked it! Tomato paste is concentrated so really don’t go overboard!

I love the buttery and crumbly crust. The bacon is the star but the spinach is there to make you feel good about your life choices.

The Three Bite Rule - BLT Quiche

Quiche is such a great and balanced lunch – I went back for seconds so this will end up being 4 servings for us- a quarter of the quiche. That’s 1 egg, 1 slice of bacon, and about 1/3 of a cup of cheese per serving! There’s really not much of a veg serving here so add some salad on the side but overall that’s what I call balance!

I’ll probably tuck one into the freezer for the next time I need some variety!