Blueberry Banana Cinnamon Muffins

I believe I have said this a hundred times before...I HATE WASTING FOOD! In an effort to avoid wasting some bananas, I decided that I would just freeze some very ripe bananas I had on hand and just use them at a later date.

I am not a fan of bananas, however both my husband and son seem to really enjoy them. I've found that I have limited knowledge of what to use ripe bananas for, besides from making banana bread, on top of that most of the banana bread recipes I've made, seem to come out very dense. In an effort to avoid an over dense banana bread I decided that I was going try to bake something else.

Then it came to me... my family really enjoy muffins in the morning so why not try to make a banana muffin. So I decided that I would make some banana muffins, but I found myself thinking about what I could add to give it some extra texture and favor, and came up with the Blueberry banana cinnamon muffin.

I hope you all enjoy, and happy baking!

Yields 20 muffins

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

3 ripe bananas mashed
1 full cup of blueberries (I used frozen ones)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of fat fee plain yogurt or apple sauce (you could use veggie oil, however I don't because I would rather try to keep it less fating)
1/2 cup of milk (I used skim)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350

In your stand mixer add eggs, yogurt (or apple sauce or veggie oil) milk, and vanilla and allow to mix until everything is well mixed.

Add sugar and allow it to mix well.

Add one cup of flour at a time to mixture until well incorporated.

Add salt and baking powder, and cinnamon allow everything to mix until batter becomes smooth.

Add blueberries and with a wooden spoon mix into batter until they are well incorporated.

Bake for 12-20 minutes depending on your muffin tin or muffin stone or until

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

I can't say much more than I love a good biscuit, every once in awhile. The other day I was craving some biscuits to go along with our chicken dinner. So I looked, and looked and found this Paula Deen recipe that was out of this world.

Jonathan liked it so much that he ended up having two biscuits with his dinner, needless to say, we didn't have too many left over. If your looking for a cheddar garlic biscuit recipe that is a copycat of the ones that you get at Red Lobster then this is the recipe you have been looking for. This is a must try for sure.

Recipe source... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/garlic-cheese-biscuits-recipe/index.html

HAPPY BAKING:

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 1/4 cups biscuit mix
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar (I like to use the fat free one)
1/2 cup water
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the biscuit mix and cheese in a small bowl.

Add the water and stir just until combined.

The dough will be slightly moist.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the biscuits are firm and beginning to brown.

while the biscuits are baking, make the garlic butter.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic powder, salt, and parsley flakes and mix well.

As soon as you bring the biscuits from the oven, brush them with the garlic butter.

Serve hot!

Cabbage Soup

Let me just say that...I LOVE cabbage soup! As a child I still remember that every week my mother would make a huge pot of soup for the week. Each week she would make a different soup, but every time she made cabbage soup I would skip "main dish" at dinner, and just have a big bowl of soup(or 2) LOL!

Now that I have my own little guy I want to make sure that he too eats the things that I grew up on. This is also a great way for me to ensure that he gets as many veggies as possible into his diet. I hope you all enjoy this as much as my family and I.

HAPPY COOKING!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

3 med/large carrots chopped into large chunks
1 med onion chopped into large chunks
4 large russet potatoes chopped into large chunks
1 garlic clove
1 can of red kidney beans
1 med size head of cabbage (I prefer a savoy cabbage)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 chicken bouillon
stock pot filled a little more than half way with water

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Put your stock pot with water on high heat, and carrots, onion, potatoes, kidney beans, garlic, and bouillon.

Once the soup begins to boil being the heat down in a med heat and allow veggies to cook about 20 minutes.

Once the veggies are cooked, remove pot from heat and puree with hand held blender.

After veggies have been pureed you will notice that the soup will have a thick creamy like appearance.

Return soup to stove top let it come to a simmer make sure that you stir the soup so that it does not stick to the bottom of your stock pot.

Once the soup has come to a simmer add your chopped/bite size pieces of cabbage, and olive oil and let cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until cabbage is cooked.

Remove from heat, and let sit for a few minutes.

Enjoy with your favorite bread.

Pad Thai with Chicken

This is a funny story. As many of you already know my husband is Chinese. I always viewed Asian cuisine as being...well nasty...however being married to an Asian man, and being given the opportunity to eat true Asian cuisine, I have learned that this is so far from being true.

The problem was I was eating all the wrong things. I hate to be the one to break the news to everyone, but the "Chinese" food that you get at your local take out joint, is NOT real Chinese food! So all my preconceived notions on what Chinese cuisine really was changed the minute I tried my in-laws cooking.

When I was about 6-7 months pregnant two of my cousins and I wanted to get together before I had my son, and before my cousin Jenn had her daughter. Our cousin Liz suggested going out for Thai food...I was kinda worried that I wouldn't like it, but the more I thought about it, the more open I was to trying something new. I was so HAPPY that I gave it a try.

We went to this little restaurant and the food was amazing! It was so good and I had so much leftover that I brought it home to eat later. Needless to say once my husband saw the leftovers...they didn't last long. About a year ago my husband said that he would like to try making Pad Thai at home. So for months I looked for a recipe and it wasn't until months later that I came across an wonderful recipe that I just needed to try.

Long story short it was really good and we have made it 2 times within the passed 3-4 weeks. I hope you enjoy this recipe as mush as we do.

Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
6-8 ounces stick noodles (I use Nasoya Chinese style noodles)
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon of Thai Kitchen roasted red chili paste
2 oz Maesri brand Pad-Thai sauce (i use this in place of the tamarid paste and it works great!)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, (use more it you like it spicy)
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 garlic clove
3 eggs
1 small head Napa cabbage, shredded
1 cup mung bean sprouts (gives this dish a nice fresh crunch)
1/2 pound skinless boneless chicken breast cut into thin strips
1/3 cup roasted peanuts, chopped (I omitted this)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt to taste

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
In stock pot bring water to a boil and add noodles let cook until noodles are tender.

Drain noodles and drizzle with one tablespoon peanut oil to keep from sticking and set aside.

Combine Pad-Thai sauce, roasted red chili paste,fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside.

Season chicken with salt and set aside until ready to cook.

Use the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when oil shimmers, add scallions and garlic and cook for about a minute.

Add eggs to pan; once they begin to set, scramble them until just done.

Add cabbage and bean sprouts and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, then add chicken.

When chicken is fully cooked add noodles to pan along with sauce.

Toss everything together to coat with sauce and combine well.

When noodles are warmed serve, and sprinkling with peanuts and garnishing with cilantro.

Serve hot! All that is left to do is enjoy you meal!

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Because Jonathan is in daycare it's hard to know if his is eating all his food during the day. By the time we drop him off at daycare he has already missed the morning snack time and doesn't eat again until 11:30, so I want to make sure that he gets a nice big breakfasts in the morning. I love making him homemade waffles and pancakes because it's so easy and most importantly, I'm able to incorporate another serving of fruit into his day.

The funny thing about Jonathan is every morning after he wakes up he says "mommy potty...mommy wash hands...mommy give be breakfast please..." I guess he knows that breakfast in the most important meal of the day! LOL! With all kidding aside, Jonathan loves this recipe because it's naturally sweet, and I love it because it's healthy.

I make a big batch on Sundays and freeze them so each morning all I have to do is take two pancakes out and heat them up, top with some maple syrup, along with a few strawberries and he is ready for the day.

I hope your little ones enjoy this as much as mine does. Happy Cooking!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 medium Golden Delicious apple, cored and finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of organic sugar free apple sauce (I like Motts)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
3/4 cup lowfat milk
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla
pinch of salt
Ingredients


WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Put the apple in a microwave-proof bowl, tightly cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high until softened, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, apple sauce, 1/2 cup of buttermilk, and honey.

Slowly whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.

If the batter seems too thick, add as much of the remaining buttermilk as necessary.

Spray a large non-stick griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per pancake into the pan and top each pancake with a heaping tablespoon of the cooked apple.

Flip when the pancake tops are covered with bubbles and the edges look cooked, about 2 minutes.

Cook until the pancakes are golden brown and cooked through, an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve immediately or transfer the cooked pancakes to an ovenproof dish and keep warm in a preheated 250 degree F oven while making the rest.

Top with powdered sugar, fresh fruits or your favorite syrup. Enjoy and happy cooking!

Bacon Eggs and Potato Salad

We were invited to a friend's house this weekend for a Memorial Day BBQ, and like always I asked what I could bring. At first she asked me to bring a pasta salad, but later she called me and asked that I bring something else because she already had someone bringing a pasta salad. Lucky I hadn't gone to the store and bought everything I needed yet, so I asked her what I could bring in place of that, her response was maybe a potato salad.

So Sunday afternoon I spent the day thinking about what I could do to make my potato salad great and like any other time when I'm in a jam I turned to the women on the nest and PearlieGirl'sMom shared a recipe that she was making and i took her recommendation and adapted it to work for me. Thanks to PearlieGirl'smom for inspiration. This was an such a great side dish!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

4 pounds small red potatoes scrubbed and quartered
1 pound bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup lite or fat free mayonnaise (You might need to add more mayo depending on your own preference)
3 tablespoons mustard
6 scallions, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely diced
i red bell pepper finely chopped (You could use any color pepper here)
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
a few sprigs of dill chopped

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Place potatoes in cold water in a large pot.

Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to medium, letting them cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. (do not over cook your potatoes you don't want them to fall apart when mixing all the ingredients together later.)

In a small pot bring eggs to a boil and let cook until eggs are hard boiled, once cool peel and chop eggs set aside for later.

In a skillet, saute bacon on low heat until crispy.

Place bacon on a paper towel and discard the grease, once cool chop bacon into small pieces.

Drain the potatoes, but DO NOT rinse them under cold water. Let them cool for about 6 to 8 minutes on a sheet pan.

In a small bowl combine vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, scallions, onion, sugar, pepper,dill, and salt and pepper.

Transfer potatoes to a mixing bowl and sprinkle bacon and hard boiled eggs over them.

Then fold mayonnaise mixture into the potatoes and put in the frig for 2 hours to cool before serving.

Happy cooking!