Most of us have probably heard the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

I often miss out on that. I have never been a big breakfast person. I like the food all right, it’s just the timing.

I do not particularly like eating first thing in the morning. I prefer to wait a bit, usually until lunch, to eat.

It’s one of my not so great habits.

That said, when I do eat breakfast, I like to find new and inventive ways to help keep the experience fresh.

It is easy to get tired of the same old eggs and toast. Spicing things up every once and awhile helps avoid a mundane start to the day.

These pancake breakfast sliders are perhaps the most creative, and my favorite, of the recipes I have found.

It is a play on the McGriddle breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s, but it uses pancakes instead of English muffins.

The pancakes make a good casing for the traditional breakfast items found inside such as sausage or bacon as well as eggs.

I enjoyed the sandwich and thought it was a novel idea for breakfast. I am also not a fan of my food mixing on the plate (I am aware it is weird), but it worked here. The sandwich ingredients melded well together, forming a coherent meal that is quite delicious.

The next recipe I found was ham and cheese breakfast pockets.

The concept is similar to a Hot Pocket. It is ham, cheese and eggs folded into a dough pocket and baked.

It is a good, homemade alternative to Hot Pockets and it allows for some creativity. Say you don’t want eggs, you can simply leave them out. The same goes for any of the filling. You could even substitute ham for sausage if you wanted.

The last recipe I found to spice up breakfast is mini sausage pancake muffins.

These are exactly what they sound like, muffins with sausage baked in.

They are light and fluffy, while the sausage adds a nice chewy texture to each bite.

It only takes about 20 minutes to prepare them as well, making for an easy breakfast that can be taken on the go.

So, if you want to make a breakfast that is anything but traditional, I would suggest giving one of these recipes a try.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST SLIDERS

Meat patties:
1 pound ground breakfast sausage
Salt and pepper

Omelet:
6 eggs
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons softened butter
Salt and pepper

Pancakes:
1 ¼ cup flour
2/3 cup milk
2 7/8 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon salt

Finishing touches:
6 slices bacon
4 slices American cheese

■ Make the sausage patties by mixing the meat in a bowl, forming it into 4 patties, seasoning them all with salt and pepper.
■ Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook each sausage patty for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned.
■ Transfer the patties to a plate.
■ To make the omelet, place the eggs into a bowl and whisk to combine, then add the milk to the mixture and whisk again.
■ Heat a large pan over low heat with a spoonful of butter and add ¼ of the eggs into it.
■ Cook the eggs for a few minutes, then add sea salt, and flip the eggs over to cook for another minute.
■ Gently fold the omelet into thirds, then into a square towards the top of the omelet.
■ Transfer the folded egg to a plate and continue to make the other 3 omelets.
■ To make the pancakes, combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl, then add the milk, egg, butter and maple syrup and mix to combine.
■ Once the mixture is fully incorporated and the batter is thick, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with a bit of unsalted butter.
■ Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the pancake mix into the hot pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, then flip over to cook the other side for a further minute.
■ Transfer the pancake to a plate and continue to make the remaining pancake batter until you have 8 pancakes.
■ While making the remaining pancakes, cook 6 slices of bacon in a hot frying pan until crispy.
■ Once all of the ingredients are cooked, assemble the sandwich.
■ Start by placing one of the pancakes on a plate, followed by a slice of cheese, a sausage patty, an omelet, bacon and topped with another pancake.

HAM AND CHEESE BREAKFAST POCKETS

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
1 8-ounce tube crescent rolls
4 ounces thinly sliced ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

■ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
■ Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add eggs, whisking until they just begin to set. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, about 3-5 minutes; set aside.
■ Remove rolls from the can, separating them into 4 rectangles, 2 triangles each. Press each rectangle to form a 6-by-4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.
■ Fill the top half of each rectangle with eggs, ham and cheese. Fold dough from the top over the filling, pressing the edges to seal.
■ Place onto the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 12-13 minutes.

MINI SAUSAGE PANCAKE MUFFINS

1 pound ground breakfast sausage
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter

■ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray.
■ Cook the sausage, crumbling with a spatula until fully cooked. Drain fat and set aside.
■ Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. In a separate bowl beat egg then add milk and melted butter. Now mix together wet and dry ingredients.
■ Pour pancake mix into a mini muffin pan then add a spoonful of cooked sausage. Bake fort 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
■ Optional: serve with maple syrup.

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