Sausage Pancake Bites

If you are like most families, breakfast time can be a little hectic. Everyone is on a different schedule and there is never enough time. Making breakfast ahead of time can be a real life saver, but I've never been a fan of reheated eggs and bacon just isn't going to last overnight around here. But we love pancakes. We even eat them for dinner once a week to save time and money. So making pancakes the night before was a no-brainer.

Of course, you can't have pancakes without syrup, and my kids have yet to master the art of syrup without making a giant mess. So, I had to get creative. I started mixing the syrup into the pancake batter. It was delicious! But, I still wanted syrup for my sausage. Why not combine them all? I started making these little pancake muffins forever ago, but only recently did I discover the joys of sausage pancakes.

Ingredients needed:

pancake mix (or homemade batter, whichever you prefer)

sausage

syrup

muffin pan

 Brown the sausage

 Mix the batter, adding desired amount of syrup. I used about 1/3 cup syrup for 12 muffins, but I like mine really sweet. Do whatever makes you happy.

 Mix in the sausage

 Pour into greased muffin pan or non-stick pan

 Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes. I like mine darker, so I bake a little longer. If you did mini muffins, you could bake in about 10 minutes.

 Pop them out, set on a plate, and breakfast is ready to go!

I have also made a large "casserole" version of this dish, in which I layered the ingredients instead of combining, and baked in a large pan. It was great for larger batches and sit down meals, but I prefer the muffin form for the daily grind. I've also made versions with bacon, blueberries, and other favorite pancake toppings. The process is the same, and you can even keep the batter as-is, pour into muffin tin, then add different ingredients to each one. Everyone gets their favorite and it doesn't require much effort. I also make several batches and freeze them in small portions for easy weekend breakfasts.

Do you have any favorite make-ahead breakfast recipes?