Doing good just to cook...

I had wonderful dreams of teaching my children to cook this summer - each one could have a night of the week and would learn basic skills like scrambling eggs or browning hamburger meat or layering things in a casserole (even the heat-fearing 6 year olds can do that)...

But alas, I'm doing good just to cook most days. (I still do, but dinner is frequently late) I'm so used to school demanding my schedule that without it, I'm a little slack (still more regular than the neighbor kids that bang on the back door at 7 asking if my (already bathed and fed children) can come outside and get all dirty with them and not get to bed on time...

rambling...

Anyways, I have nothing new to share, but I finally figured out how to make cute pancakes like my grandma used to make for me. (I think her famous was a mickey mouse with M&Ms for a face)...

My kids are animal lovers, so animals it is!

bear

bunny

It's not hard, really. (I say this after several years of screwing up bear pancakes)

Just pour the batter (I like mine thin) into a heated pan (just like for making pancakes), but pour slowly so you can control the shape.

unicorn #1

The tricky part is to flip carefully, but if it's fully cooked on one side and starting to dry well around the edges (and you use the biggest spatula you own), it works (I didn't ruin one animal)!

unicorn #2

While the second side is cooking, add decorations to the first (cooked) side. The chocolate chips melted just right while the pancake was in the pan cooking the other side.

a butterfly

Then carefully, slide a plate under the pancake as you lift with the spatula.

Should I make a how-to video? or a step-by-step picture tutorial?

Rice & Beans

I was looking for something new and different to cook, and I found a recipe that looked promising on pinterest.  I am always looking for new crock pot meals, because it's so nice not to have to worry about cooking in the evenings.  I changed it up a bit, and the results were blog-worthy.  Definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

1 pound dry red beans
6 cups water
1 bell pepper (chopped)
3 celery stalks (chopped)
6 tbsp dried minced onion
3 tsp minced garlic
2 cans chicken broth
1 lb sausage
1 tbsp Tony's Creole Seasoning
Cooked Rice

1.  Rinse the beans in a strainer and pour them into the crock pot.  Add water & chicken broth.

2.  Add the chopped vegetables, dried onion, and garlic.  Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces and add to the crock pot as well.

3.  Add the Creole seasoning and stir.  Cook on high for about 7 hours.  --The Creole seasoning adds quite a kick, so you may want to add even less if you don't like spicy food.  The original recipe called for 2 tbsp, but I only added 1 and it was still pretty strong.

4.  Serve over rice.

I was worried that my picky hubby wouldn't like it because of all the veggies, but you really don't notice them and the flavor is great!