Elvis Pancakes

I just got back from Belize late last night.  Belize exceeded my expectations.  We saw ruins, explored caves, and swam in the ocean, among other things.  It was a warm break from the cold winter.

It's hard to chose a favorite thing among so many excellent activities, but I would say exploring the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave was the cooling thing we did if I was pressed.  The Mayans offered food and human sacrifices in this cave for hundreds of years.  

Crawling around in the caves was high intensity and high adventure.  We swam, scaled up rocks, and shimmied through crevices.  The artifacts were amazing.  There were piles of pots and human bones. There was a completely intact human skeleton.  

I was a little worried about archeological preservation with all the people traipsing through the cave, but it was an incredible experience.  We also saw several Mayan ruines:  Tikal, Cahal Pech, Xunantunich, and Lamani.  We went cave tubing, zip lining, and snorkeling.  It was adventurous  and educational.

My only regret is that I didn't go scuba diving.  My brother and sister in-law are scuba certified, and they went.  I had a month to prepare for the trip, which was enough time go through an open water certification course.  I won't let that happen again; I have already searched the web for courses in my area.

These pancakes are less exciting then my recent trip, but they were delicious.  I adjusted a banana pancake recipe to make them Elvis friendly.  I added peanut butter, bacon, and peanut butter chips.  I also reduced the amount of milk.

The ingredients are 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon white sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, 2/3 cup milk, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 ripe bananas, 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, 3 slices cooked thick cut bacon, and 1/2 cup peanut butter chips.

I whisked together the flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, I mashed the bananas.   I added the peanut butter, oil, egg, and milk into the mashed bananas.  I stirred thoroughly.

I poured the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stirred.

I added the chopped cooked bacon and peanut butter chips.

I stirred the batter once more.

I heated a greased skillet on medium-high heat.  I added a fourth to a third of a cup of batter to the skillet.  I flipped the pancakes once the edges looked dry.  I cooked the other side for a few minutes.

I ate these pancakes with vanilla yogurt.  I am a big fan of garnishing pancakes with yogurt.  It adds a little protein and is less sugary than syrup.

These pancakes were delectable.  There were savory and sweet.  The batter was tender and flavorful.

The flavors of bacon, banana, and peanut butter were all present, discernible, and balanced.

 
 The bacon was hearty and savory.  The peanut butter was nutty and smooth.  The peanut butter chips were sugary and melted.

 Overall, these were mouthwatering.  They are probably my favorite banana pancakes, which is saying something because I have many banana pancake recipes on my blog.  These coconut banana pancakes were yummy to though...