Banana Nut Pancakes Recipe

Banana Nut Pancakes

I love banana anything and pancakes are no exception. My mother use to make pancakes for us almost every Saturday growing up as a child.  I try to do the same thing with my son. Yeah I'm HUGE on family traditions. My toddler's palette however is a little more advanced than mine was as child, (I take full, proud responsibility for that!!) so I have to mix it up a bit for him. The plain ol pancakes with maple syrup just won't cut it every weekend for him.

My husband likes a lot of fluff on his pancakes so this banana nut pancake recipe with homemade banana brown sugar syrup is what I usually make for him on special days like his birthday or whenever I want something.

This pancake recipe is very basic and really any pancake recipe will do as long as it's not a super moist pancake recipe. I love the way all the flavors just tie together and although these banana nut pancakes looks very sweet with it's powdered sugar, cool whip & syrup, the sweetness somehow balances out beautifully.

I hope that you enjoy these beautiful banana nut pancakes just as much as we do in this house!

Watch me make these banana pancakes and homemade banana brown sugar syrup from start to finish!

INGREDIENTS


Banana Pancakes
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon banana extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 -1 cup crushed pecans, finely crushed
Garnish: cool whip, powdered sugar, sliced banana, crushed pecans


Banana Brown Sugar Syrup
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon banana extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Homemade Potato Soup Recipe

Creamy Sausage & Spinach Potato Soup

I'm not a big fan of potato soup or so I thought. When I was preggers I got a weird craving for it even though I'd never tasted a good recipe for it. I started playing around with a few recipes I found online until I got it just the way I wanted it and now.....I'm in LOVE!!!

As soon as the weather starts to get cooler (which is now!) I break out this potato soup recipe. I dare any potato soup lover/hater not to like it.

This potato soup is so comforting and flavorful. I mean seriously, can you really go wrong with smoked sausage, potatoes, spinach, onions and garlic????? All combined with creamy cream cheese, chicken broth and smokey spices to make a soup that is out of this world good! Always a pleaser at pot lucks (be prepared to give out the recipe or just direct them to my site! (smile)

I like to pair this up with buttered & toasted french bread and a big ol' green salad. Easy, quick, and comforting meal for those fall and winter evenings.

Watch me make this creamy spinach and sausage potato soup from start to finish!

INGREDIENTS
4 russet potatoes
8 oz Smoked turkey dinner sausage
3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 small white or yellow onion
2 gloves garlic
3 cups chicken broth
8 oz cream cheese
few dashes pepper
few dashes salt
few dashes of liquid smoke
few dashes of smoked paprika (regular paprika will work)

Chai Tea Latte Recipe

Homemade Chai Tea Latte

When September hits I am always ready to kick summer out of the door quick, fast and in a hurry! There is just something about Fall that does it for me! It gets me in the mood to be all cuddly and stuff.

One drink that gets made a lot around my house during cold weather months is chai tea lattes. They are soothing, creamy and comforting. If you like spiced teas then you will love this latte! Not mention it is quick & easy to make!

I was so happy to discover this recipe in one of Taste of Home newsletters. I've been making it faithfully ever since.  This is a pretty basic chai tea latte recipe. You can easily adjust the spices to suite your taste. 

Watch me make this Chai Tea Latte from start to finish!!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup water
1 cup milk
2 individual tea bags ( I use orange pekoe and black tea)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons refrigerated French vanilla nondairy creamer
Whipped topping and ground nutmeg, optional

*Note* I sometimes add a dash of cardamom,  ground clove, honey and vanilla extract just to kick up the flavor a bit . If you don't like spices floating around in your drink then strain it.  Plain black teas taste better with this drink in my opinion. If you decided to use a spiced tea you might wanna cut back on the spices in the recipe.


** If you prefer a stronger tea flavor try using 3-4 tea bags, increasing the steeping time and/or brewing the tea in water first and then adding the milk once it is done brewing.

Real Fruit Smoothie Recipe

My Strawberry Banana Real Fruit Smoothie Recipe

Watch me make this smoothie from start to finish!

I'm slowly weening myself from McDonalds real fruit smoothies with my own strawberry banana smoothie recipe.  When I talk addiction I am being 100% serious here! That McCafe banana strawberry smoothie is the devil, you hear me!! I've never really been addicted to any kind of food in my life!

Yeah I like my cheesecakes and I'm a jollier chick if I start my day with Starbucks but wouldn't call myself addicted. I don't  know what it is about McDonald's smoothies though. Yeah they are tasty but I'm sure I've had better. For some reason though I just COULDN'T STOP DRINKING THEM!!  That $2.79 for a small cup adds up fast when you are chugging back 3-4 a day! I found myself begging my husband to pick me up a cup every time he'd go out. Eventually he'd tell me no and I'd completely blow up at him.

I haven't even tried the wild berry kind, God forbid I do! I'm so disappointed in myself for spending so much money on these things. I hear they aren't even all that healthy anyway. I had to come up with my own strawberry banana smoothie recipe to help the transition off this smoothie crack go easier.

I must say that rehab is going great!!! Since this blog post I have not had a McDonald's McCafe Real Fruit Smoothie in 5 days and honestly.....I'm not even craving them anymore! It may cross my mind to sneak off and get one but I just whip up this delicious smoothie recipe and my craving is nixed!!

I don't ever want to go down this path again. If you too are struggling with McDonald's Real Fruit Smoothie addiction then I hope you find help in this recipe. Remember I'm here for you, if you find yourself getting weak just drop me and email and make this smoothie immediately!!

Ingredients
1/2 cup french vanilla yogurt (I use Stoneyfields organic yogurt)
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 of a small banana
2 Tablespoons of milk or apple juice
1-2 teaspoons of sugar (I don't use sugar when I'm using apple juice)

*Note* I don't use ice since I use frozen strawberry but you can use ice if you'd like. 

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired constancy is reached.

Enjoy!!!