This recipe is a variation of the breakfast "bakes"--little air fried mini breakfast casseroles--that I've made often and posted about previously. The new version includes plenty of cottage cheese and eggs for extra protein and to keep you fueled up for the day. The name of the breakfast bakes may sound a little weird, but they're really, really good and different from the usual breakfast foods. The little bakes get most of their sweetness from bananas rather than a ton of sugar, and they are light tasting, not heavy, like so many breakfast bakes. You won't need a lot of equipment for the bakes. I use a Pyrex quart measure and a spoon, and that's it. You can mix up the batter in a couple of minutes, and the bakes air fry in about 20 minutes. The bakes are great "as is," and they also are nice with sausages on the side. You can also make the bakes ahead and reheat them in the microwave for extra-quick breakfasts. Heat one bake on 50 percent power for a minute to a minute and a half. Enjoy!
Cottage Cheese and Banana Breakfast "Bakes" -- Makes 4
1 cup of cottage cheese (low fat is fine)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of quick oats
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 large banana, mashed
1 large banana, sliced
2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
Spritz four ramekins (3/4 - 1 cup capacity) well with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl or measure whisk or stir together well the cottage cheese, eggs, oats, cinnamon, vanilla, and mashed banana. Divide the mixture among the ramekins. Top the mixture in each ramekin with some of the banana slices, then sprinkle the dark brown sugar over the banana slices. Spritz the top of the mixture in each ramekin with a little non-stick cooking spray. This will help keep the sugar in place and from burning (although you do want it to caramelize). Put 2-4 filled ramekins in your air fryer basket (depending on the size of the basket), put the filled basket in the air fryer, and air fry the bakes at 320 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the air fryer basket (carefully!) to cool a few minutes. Serve the bakes in the ramekins, or, let them cool a little more, run a knife around the edges, and flip each one onto a small plate. Flip each back, right-side-up, onto another plate to serve it.
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