Walnut Banana Bread

Happy Wednesday! I found some fruit that had seen better days, so I decided to do a little baking.

Up first, the banana bread…
Ingredients

3-4 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a loaf pan. These would be great in muffin tins as well.
Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour and fold in the walnuts. Be careful not to over-mix!
In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.

Bake for 60 minutes

Next up, my peach Muffin recipe. See ya soon!

Blueberry Honey Pancakes

Happy Saturday! It has been a while (again) since I have posted, but we have been on spring break here in Georgia and cooking was pretty much non-existent. We took a little trip to Washington D.C. over the break and had a blast! The weather was beautiful and we got to see the pretty cherry-blossom trees. We went to all the monuments, lots of museums, and just enjoyed our time together as a family.

Thursday was the first night I cooked in over a week. The girls went to the store with me to help me pick out some meals for the week. Thursday night it was baked shells, which was kind of like this recipe, but with only beef and mozzarella (no ricotta). Last night I made a roast chicken. Tonight I am making a new recipe for pork shoulder; I am planning on using this massive piece of meat a couple of ways, so be on the lookout!

This morning I made these scrumptious blueberry honey pancakes. I took a few different pancake recipes I have made along with some others I have found, and kinda did my own new thing. The girls gobbled them up with a little bit of some blueberry honey reduction sauce (see below).

Blueberry Honey Pancakes

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups flour- you could use whole wheat
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons honey
1 pint of fresh blueberries

Directions

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt)and whisk together until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (oil, honey, milk, and egg).

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together until combined. Don’t overwork the batter, though. A few lumps here and there are just fine.

Grease a large skillet or pan with butter or oil over medium heat.

Using an ice cream scoop or other easy to pour measuring device, pour about a tablespoon of batter on the griddle and top with blueberries. I usually use about 4-6 on each one, but it depends on how many you have and what size they are.

After about 2 minutes, you should start to see bubbles forming on the top of your pancakes. Turn them over and cook for about 2 minutes more.

You can serve with honey, butter (ohhhhh, honey butter!), syrup, jam, or this…

Blueberry Honey Reduction Sauce – 1/2 pint of blueberries, 1 tablespoon OJ, 1 tablespoon honey- let boil, then bring down on low and reduce for 10 minutes =)

Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes

Happy weekend! We woke up late and made a yummy brunch! I hope you all have a great day full of fun!

Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Using a ladle (or spoon size of your choice) add a few scoops on your buttered griddle or pan.

Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Flip carefully and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree oven.

Continue adding more butter to the pan (I just rub the stick of butter on each time. and remaining batter. The size of your pancakes will determine how many you make; mine were on the larger size, so I had about 12.

Italian Pesto Frittata

Cleaning out my fridge for another yummy frittata! Super easy!!!

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine 2 tablespoons of Pesto with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese.

Add mixture to 8 beaten eggs. Pour in a buttered non stick oven safe pan and top with a generous helping of shredded blended Italian cheese.

Cook a few minutes on med high heat, moving your spatula along the edge every few seconds. When the edges start to firm up, pop in the oven and cook until cheese turns golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

YUM! I am on a baking kick lately. I am loving the baking process. Going to try to do one baking project a week (at least).

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 package of chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tray with non-stick cooking spray or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Slowly add to the dry ingredients. Gently fold together. Do not overwork.

Divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups and bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 375°F and bake for another 13-15 minutes. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy warm.

Blueberry Muffin Hack

I had a container of blueberries that needed some loving, so I tried this blueberry hack for copycat Otis Spunckmier muffins. SO AMAZING!!!!!!

Ingredients

1 package whole blueberries
1 Package White Cake Mix
1 Package of Instant Vanilla Pudding 4 serving size
4 Eggs (beaten)
1/2 C. Vegetable Oil
3/4 C. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions

Rinse blueberries lightly and drain well. In mixing bowl beat eggs until light. To the eggs add cake mix, pudding, vegetable oil, vanilla, and milk. Beat until smooth but do not over beat. About two to two and half minutes. Batter will be thick.

Carefully fold blueberries in batter with a spoon or spatula. try not to break the berries, they can be very tender.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes depending on the size of you muffin cups. Test with a tooth pick and taking care not to over bake. Will make about 9 large muffins or 12 – 15 small muffins.

Overnight Oats

This is one of my favorite healthy breakfasts! There are so many different combinations that you can make! Here, I used rolled oats, Sigg’s Strawberry Icelandic yogurt, strawberries and blueberries, low-fat milk, and honey. Have you made this before? If so, what combinations have you made?

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats or quick oats
1/2 cup yogurt, my new favorite is an Icelandic yogurt called Sigg’s
1/2 cup fruit of choice, plus more for the top if desired
1/2 cup milk of choice
sweetener of choice (honey, agave, brown sugar), as desired
1 pinch of salt

Directions

Add your oats on the bottom of a mason jar. Add the yogurt over top, then add the fruit. Finally, add the milk and salt. Stir everything together, put the lid on and shake the jar, then refrigerate overnight. Depending on your yogurt and milk of choice, you may wish to add sugar or your favorite sweetener, and you can add this at any time. In the morning, stir and enjoy!