Chocolate Chip Cookies and Banana Bread

These are my 110% go-to recipes.  I know this because a few weeks ago, Scott told me we were going to someone's house for dinner. I asked what I could take, but wasn't going to listen to his answer because I had what I had in the house. There would be no one hour round trips to the store.  I made these chocolate chip cookies.  I know that they were delicious because the first person who tried them said How do you get them like this? and everyone devoured them.

My secret for cookies in 6,000 foot altitude: Omit the salt and and add 1 1/2 times the recommended baking soda.  My recipe calls for 1 teaspoon, so I do 1 1/2 teaspoons and take out the salt, because baking soda is salty (yes, this is a mistake I learned from).

Moving onto banana bread, I've had plenty of bread flops since we moved to a high altitude location. I've discovered that the solution for me is to use the "convection" setting on my oven. "Convention" flops bread. But if you use Bisquick for my banana bread recipe and live in high altitude, I would try adding a couple extra tablespoons of the Bisquick.  Also, I bake my "bread" in an 8x8 pan. Less cooking time and less chance of it sinking in the middle. Also, my Pyrex pan that I use has a lid and WHY DO LOAF PANS NOT COME WITH LIDS? I appreciate that I can store it all week without crumbs going everywhere or the bread drying out.

I made a pan of this recipe last week and Scott proclaimed it the best banana bread ever, which is a compliment because I make a lot of banana bread. It was definitely good.  I like peanut butter on it.

Just in case you're looking to do a little weekend baking! These are my favorite things to make.

Recipe Recap (thus far) and My Grandma's Banana Bread

I'm three weeks behind on this self-imposed challenge and I kind of hate myself for doing it in the first place, but that's life.  And, truth be told, there's many things here I make regularly, so I've been uninspired to develop new stuff.  Practical and useful is more important to me in a recipe than innovative. I've also spent the better part of this year living by myself, so I tend to stick to the same foods. Here's what I've got so far:

1. Baked Crab Dip
2. Mint Oreo Ice Cream Cake
3. 30 Minute Leek and Potato Soup
4. Company Chili
5. Cookie Dough Ice Cream
6. Scott's Salmon
7. Homemade Marinara Sauce
8. Homemade Naan Pizza
9. Crockpot Chicken Curry
10.  Steak Fries
11. Sort of Homemade Chicken Stock
12. Carrot Cake Blondies
13. Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork
14. Mint Oreo Rice Krispy Treats
15. Basil-Oregano Pesto
16. Italian Couscous
17. Limeaide Margaritas
18. Burrito Bowls
19. Sausage Breakfast Bake
20. Maple Donut Muffins
21. Pumpkin Pupcakes
22. Maple Scones
23. Fajita Quinoa
24. Pineapple-Ginger Smoothie
25. Blender Guacamole
26. Caramel Rice Krispy Treats
27. Birthday Cake S'mores
28. S'mores Popcorn
29. Roasted Garlic
30. Peach Crisp
31. Lemon-Lime Bars
32. Honey-Sunbutter
33. 3-Ingredient Mango Salsa
34. (a link to) Mexican Stuffed Shells
35. Jalapeno Popper Dip
36. Grilled Zucchini
37. Pizza Lasagna
38. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
39. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
40. Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
41. Peanut Butter Frosting
42. Hershey's Kiss Cookies
43. Beef Vegetable Soup
44. Grandma's Banana Bread

If you're looking for Thanksgiving-friendly foods, I recommend #1, the Baked Crab Dip and #39 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I'm hoping to have our turkey recipe up next week (because we have to make it, of course) and you can always file it away for Christmas.  Growing up, we had turkey on Christmas too.  So, to me, Thanksgiving smells like Christmas without the presents.

Moving on...

Recipe challenge, week forty-four.

Today, I want to share a post I first wrote 5 years ago.  It was, I think, the second recipe I ever posted.  My grandma had a banana bread recipe that used Bisquick and it probably just came off of the Bisquick box. But it was written in her own handwriting and still sits in my mom's recipe binder, so I'm calling it a family recipe. I've never actually found it on a Bisquick box if that makes a difference.  This is one of my go-to recipes.  I make it multiple times a year and it's a quick and easy way to use up ripe bananas.
Practical and useful for sure.

Make sure you top it off with vanilla frosting or cheese cheese frosting or peanut butter frosting. You really can't go wrong with this recipe. 

^If you're looking for a dessert recipe, scroll through the Frosting tag.  Yum.

Everyday Banana Bread

Continuing with the trend of posting something good-for-me (and you) each week, I present Everyday Banana Bread.

You see, my family's banana bread recipe uses Crisco and Bisquick.  It sure is tasty.  I especially liked the way my grandma always put vanilla frosting on the top of it.  I picked up that habit too once I started making it on my own. 

However, I wanted to start making a banana bread that I can eat for breakfast.  Something without a lot of sugar because most of us have learned the hard way that sugar for breakfast won't make us any peppier come Monday morning at 10am.

I topped this with a little natural peanut butter and a drizzle of honey.

Everyday Banana Bread

2 mashed bananas

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

2 T. unsweetened applesauce

2 T. apple butter

2 T. oil (I used canola)

1/3 cup brown sugar (You could use molasses…I just didn't have any.)

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 cups flour

With an electric mixer, combine the bananas, egg, vanilla, applesauce, apple butter, oil, and brown sugar.  In a separate bowl, stir together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour.  Add to the wet ingredients.  

Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

(Note: You could also do this in an 8x8 pan and just adjust the baking time.)

My other favorite breakfast breads:

Apple Butter Bread

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

Healthy Cranberry and Orange Scones

Healthiness: Green Smoothie with Flax

We all need a super smoothie recipe in our arsenal, right?   Here's my new favorite.

Blue Diamond should sponsor me at the rate we go through this stuff.

Protein powder, flax, xanthum gum

My new love is ground flax.  I put it in oatmeal, regular and baked.  It's great in muffins and banana bread too.

It definitely adds a nice nutty texture to green smoothies.  I highly recommend it.  I've also tried this with wheat germ, so that's an easy substitution if you don't have flax.

Green Smoothie with Flax
makes 2 big servings (that's not all of it in the glass above)

1/2 cup blueberries
1 banana, frozen and cut into chunks
Optional: 1/2 cup other frozen fruit (strawberries, peaches, mango, mixed…whatever you feel like)
1 T ground flax (We use Bob's Red Mill.)
1-2 T vanilla protein powder (I like the flavor you get from it…I'd use more if it was before or after a cardio workout.)
Pinch of xanthum gum
1 cup almond milk (We use regular unsweetened.)
2 cups fresh spinach
Water, if needed, to help blend it

Blend it up!

{I'm not blind: I know it looks gross.  But it tastes so fresh and is very filling.  If it wasn't so much work to clean the dumb blender, I'd probably make 2 a day.}

Last week's dinners...and a smoothie recipe

Again, still trying to clean out the fridge, still making dinner from scratch when possible, still showing you last week's food because this week's will only be a smattering of leftovers and whatever's left in the freezer.

Saturday night (4/6): Roasted butternut squash and BBQ chicken wraps

Sunday (4/7):  Stromboli and asparagus

Monday (4/8):  Quinoa stir-fry (This was zucchini and frozen stir-fry mix + quinoa cooked in chicken broth)

Tuesday (4/9):  Thai Chicken (Crockpot) and Slaw (Amaaaaazingggg)  I didn't do the pineapple or the red pepper.  I used a bag of broccoli slaw that I had bought on clearance with no real plan in mind.  Then I stumbled on this recipe and I knew it'd work well.  I drizzled balsamic vinaigrette on it.  Also, I didn't have curry powder or turmeric.  After some research, I made my own "curry" powder: 1 t. cumin, 1/2 t. ground coriander, 1/2 t. chili powder, 1/2 t. ginger.

Wednesday (4/10):   Leftovers with another butternut squash.

Thursday (4/11):  Salsa Chicken Lettuce Wraps and leftover squash

Friday (4/12):  Went out to dinner at Turkey Red.  I had bread/veggies/hummus and half a steak salad. I brought Scott the moussaka.

Saturday (4/13):  Took pulled pork to Scott's co-worker's house.

Sunday (4/14):  Burritos made with the leftover salsa chicken (They include black beans and corn).

Sharing at Meal Planning Monday and Dinnertime Tuesday

I've been drinking a spinach smoothie every morning for the last week.  I've discovered that if you put in just a pinch of xanthum gum, the texture is perfect.  Smoothies for breakfast has been an adjustment.  I'm used to something crunchy (uh, cereal) in the morning with my coffee.  It's been months since I cut out the habit (uh, cereal) and it's tough.  Almost as tough as my after dinner candy habit (that's not going away anytime soon).
Oh well.  I've been drinking these on my way to work.  A frozen smoothie with the heat going full force as it's still in the single digits outside. Makes absolute sense.

Spinach Shake
makes 1 large or 2 small shakes

1/2 banana (can be frozen)
Handful frozen or fresh berries (I use strawberries)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 T. (or one scoop) protein powder
1 heaping cup fresh spinach
1 pinch xanthum gum

Mix it all up in the blender!  You can add ice and more almond milk if you'd like.

What are you eating for breakfast these days?

Frozen Monkeys

Judging by their favorite thing to say to each other, I think the "F.M." stands for "Fear Me".  They are so strange.

Every year, my school holds a floor hockey tournament.  Each class is a team, and each class is responsible for coming up with a name, a poster, and the teacher picks captains to be in charge of the roster.

I look at this as a preview of what my parenting skills will be.  A few teachers (well, maybe most of them) did the posters for the kids.  Many of them looked quite professional and I can't be sure they didn't come from the UPS store printer.  A few teachers (possibly all) created the rosters themselves.  A few put themselves in charge of the team.  I didn't.  I told them who the captains would be, I printed the blank roster forms off of the computer, and I told them I'd cut the giant paper for the poster.

Then I completely forgot about cutting the paper..

My aide ended up cutting the 5 foot x 6 foot piece of paper you see up there and giving it to the kids.  About a dozen of the kids stayed in from recess for 3 days to design and color it.  As I sat there, munching on pretzels and Larabars (and reading slate.com) during my lunch break, I could hear them holding elections over the team name.  Ballot voting was the democratic strategy they used.  They came up with "Frozen Monkeys" on their own.  They designed and colored the poster.  They managed to sort out their differences and learned to get along in the process.

The day before each game (we had four), I'd give the captains a list of who was eligible to play.  They worked on the rosters during lunch/recess and at home.

It's safe to say that I had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with any of it.  I didn't even sort out differences they had mid-game.  If someone wasn't there to play, they replaced the kid with someone else.  I just watched them become little problem-solvers.

And you know what?  We were undefeated.  We won the 4th grade tournament.

I'm so proud of them.  They did it all on their own.  While it may not seem like much, this feels like my greatest accomplishment as their teacher this year.  To know when to back off is just as important as knowing when to step in, right?

A helicopter parent is something I'll probably never be.

When I typed out the title "Frozen Monkeys" for this post, I thought, "Hmmm...that sounds like a drink."  So I made this.

I really love the protein powder we have (Nitrean, vanilla), but I hear it's been discontinued.  If this smoothie is pre or post-workout, I add the protein powder, and then there's the added bonus of it tasting like a milkshake.  If it's just breakfast, I leave it out.  The Greek yogurt and peanut butter packs enough protein to fill me up for a bit.

Frozen Monkey
makes 2 small or 1 large drink

1 banana, frozen and peeled
1/2 cup milk
2 T. peanut butter
Greek yogurt (optional)
1 scoop protein powder (optional)

Mix the banana, milk, peanut butter in blender until it hits the consistency you prefer.  Add in the yogurt and protein powder and mix.  You can also add in a few ice cubes if you like it extra frosty.

PB and Banana Protein Smoothie

I did a guest post yesterday for Kelly @Muddy Flowers.  More stuff about Alaska.  If you're interested...
(She has an adorable blog and 5 children......how do people with children blog?)
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Lately, I've been in a true breakfast funk.  It used to be my favorite time of day.  I adore breakfast food.  It just isn't appealing to me right now.  Instead of going through the options and telling you why I don't want to eat this or that, I'll tell you what I've been eating for breakfast for the last two months.

Dry cereal.


Yes.  As a toddler would.

I roll out of bed around 9:00am (in time for The View), I make my coffee (which I've also been having a love/hate relationship with as of late) and I pour a bowl of dry cereal (usually Oatmeal Squares) and I sit down in front of my Google Reader and I munch, munch, munch away.

Like a toddler would.  Or a squirrel.  I don't know.  I haven't had cereal with milk in months.

One day, I didn't even want dry cereal (!). That's when I knew something was wrong.  Lately, I've been forcing myself to eat something, anything, because I know that breakfast kickstarts one's metabolism.

So I made this.  Bananas are, of course, a superfood.  The protein powder makes it taste like a gosh-darn milkshake.  And the peanut butter gives it a real kick.  It's pretty subtle, but you'd definitely miss it without.
Six months ago, I would've thrown some spinach into the mix, but lately the thought of spinach makes me cringe.  As does the thought of most vegetables.

What are YOU eating for breakfast these days? Please tell me.  I have all of one week before I need to get my act together and feed myself before 8am.  If you don't help me, it's not gonna be pretty.

PB and Banana Protein Smoothie
makes one large smoothie

1 frozen banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Nitrean.)
1 T. peanut butter
1 cup almond milk (or regular or whatever)
about 4 ice cubes (a handful works)

This is the part where I should not be allowed to blog recipes...

Mix it up in the blender.  Of course.

Happy weekend!

Healthy Banana Bread

Let's talk about the good old days.

Remember the days of only college students having Facebook?  Remember how you had to belong to a college network?  Remember how your grandmother's friends didn't try to "friend" you?  Nor did the 9 year olds that you taught everyday.

Do you remember??

Oh, I do.  And I miss it.

Facebook is now such a conglomeration of crap.  It's like the equivalent of the community phone book/message board. For ADULTS.  I don't care if I'm 26 1/2 years old.  I still don't consider myself an adult.  

I do genuinely appreciate the fact that I can keep in touch with college classmates via Facebook.  But that's about it...

And because we all know Facebookers who treat that Update Status box as their own personal diary...

That chick from Bridesmaids cracks me up...

Also in the good old days??  I ate banana bread with cream cheese icing by the loaf. 

If you log in to your Facebook page, you'll see that we are no longer in the good old days so, for one reason or another, I felt the need to try a healthier recipe for my beloved banana bread.  

I tried an oatmeal banana bread recipe awhile back and I didn't like it at all.  Which was weird.  Because I like bananas and I like oatmeal.  But together, with no sugar or Crisco, they didn't mesh well.

So I tried a new whole-wheat banana bread recipe.  And it was really good.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Bread

makes one 9-inch loaf pan

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 t. baking soda

2 t. vanilla

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup sugar-free applesauce

1/2 cup honey (The original recipe called for 3/4 cup.  I found 1/2 cup to be almost too sweet, so I might knock it down to 1/3 cup next time.)

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, honey, applesauce, and vanilla with an electric mixer.  Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, and bananas.  Blend it well.  

 Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes.  Mine took about an hour.  It's done when a butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Facebook Pins and sources can be found on my Pinterest page 

Sharing at:

Mingle Monday

Mix it Up Monday 

Vanilla Oreo Milkshake

The milkshake made with peanut butter cookies was wildly successful in this household.  I think I just really like eating cookies mashed into ice cream.

My original idea from months ago was to do a Vanilla Oreo Milkshake.  Unfortunately, we have a problem 'round here.  That problem is that the Vanilla Oreos tend to disappear before I can blend them up into a milkshake.  And since I'm the only one living here right now, I'd say the problem is all mine. 

One night, I just went for it and made the milkshake.  So that's why the picture just is what it is.  Instagram-tastic. 

I recommend putting cookies into your milkshakes.  I don't know that I could ever go back to NOT putting cookies in my milkshakes.

Once again, I've got the banana thing going on here.  So you don't have to feel too guilty about this one.  Except if you do what I did and drink two.

Vanilla Oreo Milkshake
makes 1 large or 2 small shakes

1 medium frozen banana
2 t. vanilla
I cup (3 scoops) vanilla ice cream
3 Vanilla Oreos + a crushed one for garnish
Up to 1 cup of milk, until desired consistency is reached
Whipped cream, for garnish

In a blender, combine the banana, ice cream, and vanilla.  Slowly add in the milk until the desired consistency is reached.  You might need more than 1 cup, depending.  Add in the 3 Oreos and let it blend for another 10 seconds (this is how you get crispy cookie chunks in every sip).  Pour into glass(es) and garnish with crushed Oreo and whipped cream.

Shared at:
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Cast Party Wednesday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Mingle @Keeping up with Kristi

Banana Chocolate Protein Muffins

My latest thing is Clif Bars.  It was never my goal to adopt this expensive habit, but alas...here we are.  I bought a large box of them at Costco.  Why?

Well, I like to know that I have something with me to eat while on the road (i.e. out shopping for the day, running errands, etc.) that will have good-for-me ingredients, tastes good, and will fill me up.  Especially because I always seem to be out and about around a mealtime.  Clif bars pretty much fit this description.

However, they are rather...calorie-laden.  About 240 per bar.  So that's not a snack.  That's more like a meal replacement and I've taken to eating one for lunch with Greek yogurt a couple of times a week.

So I wanted something with protein and flavor without quite so many calories.  I'm one of those who are guilty of not eating breakfast because it's really early and I'm just not quite feeling hungry yet.  If I have something I can take with me to eat right before school starts, the world would be an easier place for me to exist in.  I'm sure of it.

Banana Chocolate Protein Muffins

makes 12 muffins

1-2 ripe, mashed bananas

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 scoop (about 1/8 a cup) of chocolate whey protein powder

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 t. baking soda

2 egg whites

1 t. vanilla

2 T. softened butter

1/2 cup milk (you probably won't need it all)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.  Stir in the protein powder, cocoa powder, baking soda, flour, and oats.  Mix well and add milk a little at a time until the batter reaches desired "muffin-batter" consistency.  Add in the banana and mix well.  Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Spoon into liners in a muffin tin and bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

*Inspired by skinnytaste.com.  

I was out of applesauce so I omitted it and the muffins turned out just fine. 

Shared at:

Sugar and Dots  

Lady Behind the Curtain:  Cast Party Wednesday 

This Chick Cooks

Banana Oatmeal Whole-Wheat Pancakes

I'm not about reinventing the wheel.  Or I'm just lazy.  I prefer boxed pancake mix.  It's just my thing, you know?  I do really really REALLY like the whole wheat variety.  So this is what I use.  They're delightful all on their own.  But when I'm feeling fancy or I have bananas that desperately need to be baked with, I mash them up for pancakes. 

I have pancake issues.

I don't eat them for breakfast.  I eat them for dinner.  It seems to the rest of the population that "breakfast for dinner" is a completely novel and genius idea.  It's not.  I grew up thinking that pancakes and french toast were dinner foods because that's when we ate them. 

So along with eating pancakes for dinner every couple of weeks, I tend to get late-night cravings for them.  The kind of cravings that will get me out of bed at 1:30 in the morning.

Banana Oatmeal Whole-Wheat Pancakes

for about twelve-sixteen 3 inch pancakes

4 cups of your favorite pancake batter

1-2 mashed bananas

1 cup quick-cooking oats

canola oil

maple syrup

butter

In a large frying pan, add a tablespoon of oil.  Turn the pan on medium-high heat.  It's ready for the batter when water droplets sprinkled over the pan sizzle.  Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour 4 small pancakes into the pan.  Let cook for 3-4 minutes, then flip.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Because of the oatmeal and banana, they take a little longer to cook than plain pancake batter.  Flip onto a plate, add a bit more oil, and repeat.

Shared at:

Cast Party Wednesday

This Chick Cooks

Fresh Food Friday 

Savory Sunday

Sweet Indulgences Sunday