Applesauce Banana Bread Loaf

Banana bread is good for breakfast and for anytime of day. As we near fall and all the pumpkin goodness that will now start infusing everything in our lives, I still go back to banana bread. This is a bi-monthly thing for me (should be more often) that I like to have around and make. Something about the smell in a house of fresh baked banana bread. And of course that first bite of warm banana flavored bread with hint of chocolate chips.

I'll admit, this isn't my own recipe but a VERY good one that I found. I have used different variations of banana bread recipes over and over again. I usually always sub the oil for applesauce. I find no taste difference and a more moist bread (even if over-baked for a few minutes!). I always sub chocolate chips for nuts, I'm just not a nut-in-the-bread kind of girl. And I usually make banana bread into muffins or mini loaves so they are easier to grab and go for breakfast.

{Found via my Instagram}

Ingredients:

3  ripe medium bananas
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large egg whites (1/3 cup egg whites)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 oz mini chocolate chips
Smart Balance baking spray (I used coconut oil)
Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a non-stick loaf pan with cooking spray. Again, I used coconut oil instead of regular. No taste difference.

Mash bananas in a bowl, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce, vanilla; beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl. 

Add flour mixture, then blend at low speed until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into muffin pan**; bake on the center rack for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

**I used a mini loaf pan. Bake time was about 30-40 min. I monitored to be safe. Still turned out great.

Recipe credit goes here

Breakfast Anytime {Monkey Bread

Breakfast happens to be my most favorite meal of the day. Scratch that, it's nearly my favorite meal ever. Of course, spaghetti and Italian is a close second. The point is, I could eat breakfast anytime of the day or night. So, having it for dinner is a pretty good way to end the day!

Sundays, or Saturdays, usually are a big family breakfast day (if I'm not at work, then the boys are fending for themselves. I try to make a pretty special breakfast, even if its just scrambled eggs. Waffles, pancakes and omelets are regular cast members. Monkey bread also makes an appearance from time to time. I didn't have a recipe off hand, so went straight from memory.

Monkey-See-Monkey-Do Bread

2 cans refrigerated biscuits

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

About 1 1/2 cups mixed sugar and cinnamon

A bunt pan, greased

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Cut each biscuit into 6 or 8 pieces (the smaller, the more bite size pieces you'll have). Place sugar and cinnamon mix in a bowl. Coat by rolling each biscuit piece in sugar cinnamon mix and place in bunt pan. Mix butter and brown sugar in microwave bowl and melt butter. Drizzle over cinnamon sugar biscuits. Bake for 30-35 min. Will be crispy on top, but make sure it's not too gooey underneath. Yum! Eat warm.

Easy peasy.

There may not be many leftovers if you live with boys, FYI.

                                 

                      

Egg McBacon with Cheese {recipe}

On a cooking roll? Trying to fit in where I can and make ahead to plan and organize. Win for everyone!

Another Pinterest creation and a pretty genius one I might add. I am a big breakfast person so anything dealing with breakfast I will usually jump up and down screaming all over. Another thing I'm pretty excited about is planning ahead. Being a busy full time working mom, and shift working at that, anything to help me plan ahead and make easier and cut down on time, I'll give a solid high-five to.

Original idea via Pinterest 

What did I use?

8 eggs (plus a splash of egg white I wanted to get rid of)
About 1/2 cup total: chopped red bell pepper and chopped zucchini
Salt and pepper to taste
About 1 tablespoon Wheat Germ (I use this everywhere I can!)
8 pieces of bacon
6 English muffins
5 slices of cheese

(clearly I did not measure to make them all the same. Some have cheese, all had bacon and an extra piece for me to munch on while making!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray. I mixed the eggs with the veggies, wheat germ and salt and pepper in a bowl. Place bacon on a cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes in the oven BEFORE the eggs go in. Scoop egg mix into the muffin pan slots. Once the bacon has been in 10 minutes, flip bacon and put muffin pan in the oven for another 10 minutes. By time, the bacon was done and I found the eggs needed another 1-2 minutes.

I toasted the English muffins in the toaster. Placed a slice of cheese then bacon and then the egg. You could easily add some spinach, remove the cheese, etc. I used wax paper to wrap up the sandwiches. 6 total sandwiches between the Hubby and I, should last about 3 days. I plan to make these again and make some more. Storing in the fridge with just 6 should be fine for the next few days. Take out, pop in microwave for 2-3 minutes. Wah-lah! If I can make a big enough batch, I'll store these in the freezer.

Another Pinterest Win!



*Disclaimer: Egg McBacon is a name I just made up about 25 minutes ago. Not taking credentials from any big chain restaurant. And original idea for this recipe was not my own, I just made it and made my own twist on it. Thanks!

Pinterest Wins: Pancake Muffins

Instagram'd my Pancake Muffins

Found an idea on Pinterest and BAM...made it work. Pretty tasty. Didn't have anything too crazy for toppings but Chocolate Chips and Blueberries work wonders. 

The original Pin:

Source: theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com via Char on Pinterest

And here's how I did it.

Ingredients:

Pancake Mix (yep, I used box mix. Easy)

Toppings of choice (I used chocolate chips and blueberries)

Mix batter in bowl according to directions on box. If using a from-scratch version, it will work just the same. Preheat oven to 350* degrees, or according to box directions. Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray. Spoon batter into muffin tins, about half full. The fuller, the more plump your muffins will be. Add toppings. Also would be good: Nuts, bacon, sausage...Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, again according to box directions for Muffins. Check with a toothpick. Let cool. Eat up. Eat them all. Ok, maybe not all of them.

These are super easy. Can be made ahead of time and grab 'n go for breakfast.

You'll thank me later. Or thank Pinterest. Same thing.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Fall is leaves, cool temperatures, warm socks, hot chocolate & Pumpkin anything.

I love pumpkin anything, any time of year. Since everyone else is into pumpkin baking and the only thing I've baked pumpkin-wise has been bread, thought I'd give these a try. But, why do it the easy way? Let's do everything from scratch. Don't worry, its not much more work (seriously), I just didn't have the easy stuff (pancake mix) on hand. As I'm stocking up on pumpkin now, the real ones and baking them myself, I might as well make some good stuff with them. These are great for dinner the next day, or any time of day FYI.

Pumpkin Pancakes (from scratch, original recipe by me)

1 1/2 cup milk (soy or dairy-free work well too)

1 cup pumpkin puree (room temp)

1 egg

2 tablespoons apple sauce (in place of vegetable oil)

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups flour, white or whole wheat

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground all spice

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 teaspoons ground flaxseed

*Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix milk, pumpkin, egg, apple sauce & vinegar. If using vanilla add into milk mix. In a separate bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda and spices including flaxseed. Can use more flaxseed if you'd like. Adds a nutty-er taste but hardly can tell. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just enough to combine. Not mixing too much or the batter will make the pancakes too "heavy". I still haven't perfected this. Poor onto hot griddle and flip over when 'bubbling' begins. 

I'm not the best at cooking pancakes, still working on that. These had a slight enough pumpkin flavor but not overpowering. Personally, next time I'd add more pumpkin, vanilla and more cinnamon.

Hey, Hey Little Muffin

These tasty muffins made their debut!

After sharing this photo on Instagram of these wonderful little banana muffins I made, I had a few requests for the recipe. So for all of you, here you go!

The recipe is originally from Taste of Home but, of course, I modified it a bit.

Banana Oat Muffins

1 1/2 cups old fashioned Oats
1 1/2 cups flour (I didn't have whole wheat so just used regular white)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil**
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (There is no taste with this, if anything a slightly nutty taste)

** I wanted to make it a bit more healthy so I sub'd in apple sauce for the vegetable oil, 1/4 cup apple sauce, unsweetened.

The applesauce and small amount of brown sugar are all the "sweetness" in this recipe but the bananas help to give the "flavor" a sweet touch without being too sweet. If you'd like, add more brown sugar to be sweeter as this is a healthy version.

In a small bowl combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, flax and salt. In another bowl whisk eggs, milk, oil/applesauce and vanilla. Add in mashed bananas. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just moist. 

Fill greased muffin tin cups or paper-cups (Or be super special and use the new re-useabe muffin cups you just got! 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Let cool before you dive into these and eat them all up. With this batch I was able to get 16 muffins. They are pretty hearty and fill you up. A great grab-n-go breakfast item. And Healthy!

Have a great week. And if you are super special maybe you have a short week due to the Labor Day holiday, if so, ENJOY :)

Breakfast: French-Omelet

Alert the presses. I'm back in blogger world & in the kitchen.  Haven't had a whole lot of time to be cooking anything fancy or taking pictures of it, but I'm making a better effort to try. I find myself using my phone to take pictures and send it more often.

Had some time this "weekend" (my weekend off work) to do some cooking. This consisted of making Jackson's food and some delish items for us grown ups too! Who you calling "grown up"?


French-Omelet (created by me)


8 eggs
about 1 cup milk (soy or regular)
3 slices of bread (whole wheat) tore up into 9 slices
1 bell pepper (I used red)
2 teaspoons cinnamon (or to taste)


Mix all these in a bowl. Preheat oven to 350. Use a cheesecake pan (with the outer ring that can be removed, and obviously I don't know the real name of it) and spray with non-stick or olive oil. Place slices of bread on bottom of pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on the bread. Pour egg mixture into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. **The more eggs you use/larger batch will require more baking time as it will be thicker. 

Health Nudge: Vitamins

Have you had an Emergen-C today?

image here

Yes, I'm going to plug another health topic. Who can't use the nudge for healthy stuff today? Especially with cold & flu season still here, coming back, or allergies making their stay in our bodies, I don't know about you but I can use all the help I can get.

Taking one of these drinks each day can help you feel better and is good for you!

I mix mine with water and this raspberry flavor is pretty good!

Here are the "good for you's" about it:

Antioxidants: Help protect the cells in your body. Vitamin C, Zinc, Manganese.

B Vitamins: Help metabolism for extra energy. I know I can tell when I haven't had enough of this during the day, definitely can feel that energy & not a shaky kind! 

Electrolytes: Mineral ions lost during sweat and activity. These work to regulate heart and nerve function, water and bodily fluid levels and movement of oxygen in the body. Very busy stuff! Calcium, Sodium, Potassium.

This is a great way to start your day, with a glass of Emergen-C. It tastes good, goes well with breakfast (or for those that don't have breakfast this is a great sub!), a nice afternoon push through the rest of your day...and above all, It's GOOD FOR YOU!

Stay healthy this spring!

Overnight Bliss

You want to wake up to the house smelling of cinnamon and gooeyness and goodness?? Well this should do the trick. Found this recipe and finally decided to make these. The reason I made these was for a work breakfast get together, but I had to do a trial run first so of course we benefited from that :) 


Super easy, though some prep work the night before..actually most of the work is the night before. But when you wake up you pop it in the oven and BAM, you have Cinnamon Rolls :)


Recipe from Our Best Bites site. It even has pictures to go along with so you can SEE how to do it!

Dough
1 T active dry yeast
1/2 C warm water (105 degr F/ 40 deg C)
4 1/2 C all-purpose flour (22 1/2 oz 700g)
4 large eggs
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp

Filling
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 T cinnamon

Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 T butter, melted
2 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth.  Whisk in 1/2 C of the flour.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.  

Add the eggs, sugar, butter, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture.  Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth 10-12 minutes. Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed.

Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.  

While dough is rising, prepare filling.  Take 2 T of the stick of butter and set aside.  Beat  remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish.  Transfer the dough to a floured work surface.  Roll  out into a rectangle about 15x10 in.  Spread filling onto dough and roll up length-wise.  **I made the mistake of putting too much filling near the center, so it oozed out when I cut the slices. Try to spread some closer to the ends


Use string or dental floss (Yes, I used floss, SO easy!) to score and cut the dough into rolls.  You can make 12 small rolls, 10 medium ones, or 8 large.   Place cut side up in baking dish.  Melt the reserved 2 T butter and brush on top of rolls.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. 


The next morning remove from refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour.  While rising mix glaze ingredients until combined.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.  Spread the glaze over warm rolls and serve.

Fresh out of the oven with glaze on! YUM!

It sounds like a lot of work, but it is TOTALLY worth it!! The way I made it I got 14 rolls. The first 3 were huge, so I started cutting them a little smaller, about 1- 1 1/2 inch thick. 


Linking up with Hanna over at Bouffe e Bambini for something Handmade/Homemade.

Hey Little Muffin

Starting the new year off right, and also continuing to eat healthy since being pregnant, I'm making better choices about what we eat as a family. Well Jackson doesn't really have much food choice yet, but soon enough.

I'm also striving to save as much money as I can when buying groceries. So meal planning is a must. I'm trying to make ahead as much as I can and keep our freezer stocked with pre made spaghetti sauces and muffins. I like the idea of having healthy choices for a quick grab 'n go for breakfast that isn't drive through. We don't usually do fast food anymore anyways. Gosh, it's probably been months since we've had drive through food.


Whole wheat oat muffins
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
**optional: 2 tableapoons flaxseed


The flaxseed is the extra healthy kick and good for you too! The taste doesn't change much, just gives it more of a nutty flavor.


In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients, and flaxseed if you use it. In another bowl whisk eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Pre heat oven to 400°F. Fill greased or paper lined cups in a muffin pan 2/3 the way full. I used a small ice cream scoop to fill paper cups. Bake for 15-17 min.

I couldn't wait, they were just sitting right there, staring at me. Yum!

Have a great week!

Breakfast for Dinner on my "Friday"

In my rotation for shifts Tuesday was my Friday so Happy Weekend to everyone that is not having a weekend! I'll enjoy mine for you. However, at the end of my "weekend" I'll be working overnight shifts, so there's where it turns around for me. None the less I'll have another "weekend" in the middle of the week next week. Confused yet?

Anyway, I was wanting to make breakfast for dinner for a while now and did so on Tuesday evening for my "Friday night dinner". A while back we had scrambled eggs with broccoli in them at our neighbors house and oh man were we turned on to something new and delicious. It does sound strange at first, but if you like broccoli then you'll love scrambled eggs with broccoli in them. It's also a healthy twist on breakfast. A great way to start your day with those green veggies we all need! Or in my case, start my weekend on Tuesday!

So I chopped some broccoli from the big stem and sauted them in dairy free butter for about 3-5 minutes until you could smell the broccoli and it was fairly wilted. Next I added in the eggs and scrambled them. In the scrambled eggs before I added them to the broccoli to cook I added maybe 3-4 teaspoons of Wheat Germ--protien and vitamin D (if I remember right). There isn't much taste with this small amount, but the taste is fairly light and slightly nutty. I love this stuff!

In the pancake mix I added cinnamon and vanilla extract and about 2-3 teaspoons of flaxseed--fiber and other nutrients. I love adding vanilla and cinnamon, it gives the pancakes (or waffles) a GREAT flavor!

The bacon was actually Turkey Bacon from the store and I baked the strips not fried. Baked at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes. Not as crispy as I'd like, a little on the chewy side, but it turned out great! I've been hooked on turkey bacon for quite some time now and don't think I could go back to regular bacon.

All in all, it was a pretty light and healthy twist on breakfast and it did not disappoint!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday tomorrow!