Apple/Pear/Almond Pancakes

Many times when my husband works late, the girls and I love having breakfast for dinner. There is just something so fun that they love when having a family favorite of cheese eggs, pancakes, quiche or even crepes for dinner. I remember too when I was little the idea of breakfast for dinner was a treat. Now why I thought this and my girls too, is a mystery but we have so much fun with it.

This past week, we created a new recipe and absolutely loved it! One of our family favorites has been apple and cinnamon pancakes. I did not have enough apples so I thought, well pears might compliment the apples. So we tried it and now we like it even better.

Enjoy!

Apple/Pear/Almond Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 pear, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Handful of sliced almonds

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and egg to the flour mixture and stir. Add the apples, pears, almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir together.

On the stovetop melt butter in a skillet, pour the pancake mixture into the skillet to the size of the pancakes that you desire. We have had fun making silver dollar pancakes in the past. It really depends on what you like. Cook until brown on one side, flip and cook on the other side until done.

* another good combination that we have enjoyed when just making our apple/cinnamon pancakes is adding 1/4 cup of oatmeal. When you do this, you may need to add a little bit more milk, due to the batter being a little thicker.

All Time Family Favorite - Red Beans and Rice

My daughters ballet practice is right before dinner once a week. I always have a hard time that day thinking, hmmm what should I make for when we get home? One recipe that is always my standby is Red Beans and Rice. My two daughters and my husband just love it. It is so easy to make and I always make sure that I have the ingredients on hand.


Red Beans and Rice
1 (16 oz) can kidney (red) beans, drain the can and then rinse the beans

1 package of turkey sausage. You can also use polish sausage or other types of sausage. Slice the sausage in nice size bites.

1 onion chopped
2 T butter
2 carrotts - slice them into nice size bites.
2 stalks of celery - finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of basil
To taste - red pepper flakes and salt
3 cups of quick brown rice

Saute the sausage in 1 inch pieces (I sometimes cut the sausage slices in half as well, so that my two year old daughter can eat it a little easier). After the sausage has been cooked, add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, basil, red pepper flakes and salt. Saute a little longer until the onions are translucent and your vegetables are also the desired tenderness your family enjoys.

In the meantime while you are sauteing the above, cook your quick brown rice. When your brown rice is done, toss in your sauted items above, red beans and toss together. You are ready to serve.

* Sometimes, I will add more carrots and celery just to add a little more variety. I have also added black beans with the red beans and rice recipe. It is a nice change. If you add them, be sure to rinse and drain the black beans so that you do not have the additional liquid to the rice. I also add the black beans at the end.