Pioneer Woman's Breakfast for Dinner

Sausage Pancakes on a Stick, Smiley Fries, and Purple Monster Smoothies

My 8 year old has been looking forward to having this dinner we saw on an episode of The Pioneer Woman  since we watched it two weeks ago!  I think it just might be the highlight of her Spring Break Week.   Along with being our resident Cereal Monster, she's also our Sausage Monster, so she couldn't wait to try these Sausage Pancakes on a Stick.    

Let's just say, Ree Drummond did not disappoint!  These Sausage Pancakes on a Stick were yummy, yummy, yummy!  The 8 year old ate 4 of them!  What's not to like about a food you eat on a stick and dip in syrup?  This was the first time I have ever fried anything in a pot of oil.  I try to cook a little more healthy, but these certainly were good for a special treat. 

I cheated a bit from The Pioneer Woman's menu and purchased smiley face fries from McCain's.  They are similar to the ones they serve at Bob Evans on the Kids' Menu.  However, I just baked them instead of frying them in the oil.  They, too, were a treat kind of food for my kiddos.  I don't own a ricer, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to experiment making the homemade tater tots this night.  Maybe next time!

We have smoothies regularly around our house.  Usually I whip up just one or two at a time using our Magic Bullet Smoothie maker, but because I was making a large batch of the Purple Monster Smoothies, I went ahead and used the blender.  I altered Ree's recipe slightly by using two bananas and a few more strawberries instead of purple grapes because we did not have any in the frig (and they were not on sale during my last shopping trip).  I also used strawberry yogurt instead of vanilla or plain only because that's all we had.  They still were very purple and packed with taste and vitamins.  We slurped them through colored bendy straws for fun!

Here are the recipes:

Sausage Pancakes on a Stick
1 Pkg breakfast sausage links, browned and drained (I used Johnsonville)
3 cups pancake mix
1 cup yellow cornmeal
sprinkle of cinnamon
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups water
canola oil, for frying
pancake syrup, for dipping

1.  In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, cornmeal and cinnamon and mix together.
2.  Add egg, vanilla, and 1 cup of water and mix. 
3.  Continue to add water until batter is thick but not too thick.
4.  Heat some canola oil in a large pot over medium high heat until it's about 350 degrees.
5.  Place a wooden skewer or chopstick about 2/3 through each cooked sausage link.
6.  Dip the sausage into the batter.
7.  Carefully drop the battered sausage into the hot oil and cook 2-3 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.
8.  Drain excess grease on paper towels.
9.  Serve with warm pancake syrup for dipping.

Purple Monster Smoothies
2 large bananas
2 cups of frozen blueberries
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1 cup of greek yogurt
1 cup milk
1-2 Tbsp honey

1.  Place all ingredients in a blender.
2.  Blend until smooth.
3.  Pour into serving glasses.

What's your favorite Breakfast for Dinner?