Banana Oatmeal Squares

The first time I made this recipe, it was a failure.  Even though the failure was no fault of mine (I remembered all the ingredients, followed the direction to a tee!), I decided to try it again.

To me these oatmeal squares are a perfect breakfast.  I'm not usually hungry in the morning so these are ideal because it's not too much food, but at the same time they seem to keep me full all morning.  The first time I made these I used an 8x8 pan just like I was instructed.  The recipe said to cook them 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick is clean.  Well I had these suckers in for 45 minutes and the toothpick was still gummy.  I thought clearly this is long enough and they will set up more when the cool.  WRONG!  I still ate them, but it was more like eating a thick oatmeal then a breakfast bar.  I like oatmeal so this wasn't horrible, but I don't recommend it.

Last Sunday I tried these suckers again.  I modified the recipe by using peanut butter instead of butter.  (I can't taste the peanut butter in the final product though so next time I'm going to use a little more or just stick with butter, although peanut butter seems healthier to me).  I also used a 9x13 pan.  Everything else was the same.  This time they cooked up nicely in about 30 minutes.  The bars are quite thin, but at least the texture is right. 

Disclaimer: These are not sweet.  In fact they are quite bland.  Again, I like oatmeal.  I eat plain oatmeal and I don't add anything to it (no sugar, fruit, milk, nothing).  I enjoy oatmeal this way. If you are the type to load up your oatmeal with sugar, then this recipe might not be for you.  I don't think you have to love oatmeal to enjoy these bars though.  I also think you can top these with fruit, honey, jelly to satisfy your sugar need.

Oh I think it's important to note where I found this recipe.  I recently discovered the blogs on Rachael Ray's website.  There's quite a few that I enjoy checking in on and it seems like a fresh place to find some more recipes to try.  This recipe is from this blog.

Because I'm not too hungry in the morning I usually eat by number of calories instead of what my tummy is telling me.  So I added up all the calories that went into this sucker.  1000 calories total...for the whole 9x13 pan.  I divide this into 6 for a whopping 166 calories per bar and pair one bar with my instant breakfast drink for the perfect breakfast!

makes ~6 bars (1 9x13 pan)
Ingredients
1 1/2 c oatmeal
1/2 c wheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 L ripe banana, mashed
2 T peanut butter
1 egg, beaten
1 c milk

Method
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease 9x13 pan.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Pour mixture into pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of pan comes out clean (important!).  Cool before cutting.  Refrigerate.  These last about a week in the refrigerator.