Crazy Oatmeal

This is totally the wrong time of year now for oatmeal.  I know that.  But try telling Gavin that.  He continues to ask for oatmeal most mornings, and this is one of his favorite versions.

For a long time I had no name for it but when Gavin kept requesting it, I finally just christened it Crazy Oatmeal.  Mostly because Rob thinks I'm absolutely looney for loving this concoction.

Crazy Oatmeal
Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

1/3 cup quick cooking oats
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 heaping tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt (depends on much you love yogurt)
2 tbsp honey

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the oatmeal, water and dried cranberries.  Microwave on High for 1 minute.

Quick oatmeal is a 1:2 ratio.  So if you want less, use 1/4c oats and 1/2c water.

2.  Stir the peanut butter into the hot, slightly-too-soupy-still oatmeal.  Don't worry; the peanut butter thickens it up.

You don't want this too thick before adding the peanut butter

3.  Top with the plain yogurt and drizzle with honey.

Yes, I was generous.  We like yogurt here.

Yes, I love to eat a crazy concoction of oatmeal that a very famous cook developed for dogs.  And I'm not ashamed.  Because it's really good!  And ohmyGRACIOUS is it hearty!!  Eat this in the morning and I promise you will not be hungry for hours.  I've even been known to eat this at night.  It's just a hearty bowl of comfort and who doesn't love that?!

Banana Bread

Am I right in thinking that pretty much every household has their own banana bread recipe?  Perhaps it's a Traditional Family Recipe... one that's been passed down generation to generation, and Godhavemercyonyou if you even dare think of tweaking it.  Or maybe it's one you just stumbled across one day.

I had one, not a family recipe, but one I've been making several years.  It was fine, my family ate it joyfully, but there wasn't anything about it that got me super excited.  And then I saw this in my new birthday cookbook (Thanks Mom!!!!!)... I think I have a new banana bread recipe!!

Banana Bread
Recipe from Ellie Krieger

1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large, ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.  Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant, about 8 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

I love walnuts!!

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

The usual baking suspects

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla.  Whisk in the bananas.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, just until combined.  Stir in the toasted nuts.

Looks a little curdled after adding the bananas.  That's ok.

4.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Mmm... I kinda want to dip graham crackers into this.

One of my favorite ways to eat banana bread is with a healthy smear of peanut butter on it.  Yeah, it's kind of a nod to Elvis.  I keep thinking about taking it one step further and sprinkling on some chocolate chunks, adding another piece of bread to make a sandwich, and dipping it french toast batter for uber-ific stuffed french toast.  I've had pointed out to me that Nutella would also make for an unbelievably decadent filling.  If you happen to beat me to this crazy breakfast, would you please let me know if it's as awesome as I think it would be?  Thanks!

Oh!  And if you notice you have bananas heading toward Crazy Ripeness Land but no time to do any baking, no worries.  Go ahead and mash them up, put in a quart-sized freezer bag and freeze until you do have the time.  I do this so much, I couldn't tell you the last time I made banana bread using freshly mashed bananas.

Yogurt Pancakes

We are a Pancake House.  I think I've mentioned here before how much my son LOVES pancakes.  He's not alone!  Rob and I also love to drown golden disks of goodness in butter and syrup.  Is there any happier way to start a weekend?

Simple.  Homey.

Rob tends to be more traditional in his pancake love.  He'll happily eat whatever I make but, given the choice, it's Buttermilk Pancakes all the way.  And if you haven't figured me out yet, let me spell out my preference for you: I like to experiment.  I REALLY love pancakes that are light, fluffy, and have a flavor that's awesome enough to complement whatever I want to put on it.  I'm a big fan of alternative pancake toppings like fruit, chocolate, and whipped cream with a little cinnamon or nutmeg.

There was one Saturday morning where I think I went to make Rob's preference and realized, as this happens to me frequently, that my buttermilk was way beyond it's sell by date.  Man I HATE that.  Why does buttermilk have to spoil so quickly???

What?  Oh yeah, pancakes.  Anyway, I looked around and found a recipe for pancakes using an ingredient that I ALWAYS have around: yogurt.

Yogurt Pancakes
Recipe from Food Network Magazine

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

1.  Preheat a skillet over medium LOW heat.  Yes, low.  I'll explain why later.

2.  Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, butter, eggs, and vanilla.

Yeah, I over-measured. But I caught myself before I dumped all of this into the bowl.

3.  Whisk the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.  Yes, the batter will be thick and feel dense.  Stay with me, these are awesome.

It's a dark picture but I want you to see just how thick this batter is.

4.  Ladle 1/4 cupfuls of the batter onto the hot, greased griddle and spread it out a little bit.  You may not see bubbles as easily with this batter so watch the edges for slight browning to know when to flip.  Keep the heat on the low side of things so as to not burn the outside before the inside cooks.  Serve hot with whatever toppings you like.

Cook these low and slow.

The first time I made these, I had knots in my stomach over the batter.  I was convinced they were going to be these heavy, hockey-puck-esque cakes that would sit in our stomachs like lead.  Boy was I so happily wrong!!  These are light, fluffy, and moist.  Rob of course like his traditional butter and syrup on his, and sometimes I like to join him in that.

But if you're in the mood for something else, and say you happen to notice you have apples that are starting to go on you.  Perhaps make some chunky applesauce with them with some brown sugar, a little lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves... that's also quite AMAZING on these cakes. ;)

Banana Breakfast Shake

So I had this recipe all picked out to share with you today...it's one of my favorites with some neat tidy pictures in it.  Totally the norm.

And then I made something new for breakfast.  Something I just totally HAD to share with you RIGHT NOW because it was so yummy.

Of course no pictures for this one but you can use your imagination right?

Banana Breakfast Shake
Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine

2 bananas
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tsp honey
Pinch cinnamon
1 cup ice

1.  Put everything in blender and puree.

2.  Pour shake into your preferred to-go cup and run out the door.  Smiling because you totally just made breakfast in under 3 minutes.

Some notes/tips:

• If you like an extra thick shake, use frozen bananas.  Just be careful that you'll need to wait a few minutes to let the bananas and ice chips thaw a smidge before you can start drinking this.  I suppose if you're starving you could try scooping this with a spoon but I don't recommend doing that while operating heavy machinery.
• Did you notice I didn't tell you what flavor or what kind of yogurt to use?  Yeah, that was deliberate. Use what you like!  I used plain this morning because that's what I have and that's what I like.  Use vanilla, strawberry, banana, pineapple, Greek yogurt with honey....whatever floats your boat and makes you feel all creative and happy!
• I love cinnamon.  So my idea of a pinch is probably somewhere between 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.  I was generous this morning and got this lovely cinnamon-y background flavor that wasn't too overwhelming at all.  If you like cinnamon, be generous with your pinch.

Nutella Swirled Banana Bread

I love that I am surrounded by people who love food as much as I do.  It just makes me happy!  We all get a kick out of making food, talking about food, EATING food, and sharing it with others.

One of my coworkers shared this one with me last week.  And let me just say that the name alone had me checking my dwindling supply of Nutella to make sure I had just enough to make this bread.  This is the kind of bread that can be consumed rain or shine, happy or sad.... or if you've just returned from a particularly stressful road trip that included yourself in the same car with Those Relatives.  You know the kind I mean.

Nutella Swirled Banana Bread
Recipe adapted from Lovin' From the Oven

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup Nutella

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan (yes, you want to make sure your pan is fairly wide and shallow; a taller bread pan may result in the edges being done but the center still a gooey, raw mess.  Trust me on this one).

2.  Whisk together flour, baking soda & salt. Set aside.

Yes, you can use applesauce to replace some or all of a fat in baking

3.  In another mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and applesauce. Add the eggs and mix well. Add banana, yogurt and vanilla; beat until blended. Next, blend in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

I love that this recipe also uses yogurt!

4.  Microwave the Nutella for about 15 seconds until soft. Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter to the Nutella and stir together.

I really could just get a spoon...

5.  Take turns spooning the nutella batter and the plain banana batter into the loaf pan. Swirl the batters with a knife.

Pretty!

6.  Bake the batter for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Broccoli Salad

I figure there are two groups of people on this one...you either know what I'm talking about, or you don't.  If you don't, please allow me to enlighten you.  This salad, though sounds like the epitome of healthy eating, is really just about anything but.  Yes, there's broccoli in it..........and cheese, and bacon, and a "dressing" that's really just lightly flavored mayonnaise. 

The first time I had this salad was at a family gathering.  The flavor was Ah-MAY-zing!! However that night, I was reminded that my stomach isn't like other peoples' stomachs.  It doesn't like excessive amounts of grease and fat.  So for years I have admired this salad from afar, too chicken to even have a bite or two, lest I offend my fat-sensitive Stomach.

But I've been learning a thing or two about cooking in the last 10 years or so.  One of my favorite tricks is substituting yogurt for sour cream or mayonnaise in recipes.  Ok Broccoli Salad....I'm ready for you.  Let's do this and see what happens.

Broccoli Salad
Recipe adapted from Paula Deen

6-8 slices thick-cut bacon
1 head of broccoli
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I don't often have red onion; so I just use a little finely chopped whatever-onion-I-have-around)
2 tomatoes, chopped
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
1/2 cup (ish) dried cranberries
1 cup (ish, a little less probably) plain yogurt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Lay bacon on a broiler pan in a single layer and bake until crisp, about 20 minutes.  Blot any excess grease with paper towels.  Let cool and crumble into bite-sized pieces.

Or you can use a cookie sheet for a little extra crispy bacon.

2.  In a large bowl, combine broccoli, onion, tomatoes, cheese, dried cranberries, and bacon.  Toss to combine.

Love those colors!!

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt (use Greek-style if you want a thicker dressing), mayo, sugar, and vinegar.

I am rarely without a giant container of plain yogurt in my fridge.

4.  Drizzle as much or as little dressing as you like over the salad.  Toss to make sure everything is lightly coated.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.


I dare you to try this and see if you can tell the difference in taste.  Bet you can't. ;)

Mango Lassie

After yesterday's gut-busting brownies, I thought perhaps I should put something up that's on the other end of the health spectrum.  Don't run away from me yet though!  I'm a firm believer that "healthy" does not have to be "bland."  Stick with me.  Trust me. :)

When it comes to smoothies, I'm pretty opinionated.  I like my smoothies with fruit and juice.  Period, end of discussion.  Once you start introducing dairy products to the blender, it ceases to be a smoothie to me.  Shakes have dairy in them.  Smoothies are juicy goodness.

Look!  A mango porcupine!

But (you knew that was coming didn't you), I was going through my cookbooks the other day and this one caught my eye.  For one, it did not claim to be a smoothie.  It also features mangoes, which I'd just picked up a couple from the store because they were on sale (yay sale!).  And being only four ingredients long (wahoo!!), I thought, "why not?"

Get ahead: cut up mangoes the night before and store in pre-portioned baggies

Prepare yourself.  These are like drinking sunshine.

Mango Lassies
Recipe from The Food You Crave

2 ripe mangoes
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
2 tbsp honey
2 cups ice

1. Mangoes have an oval-shaped core (I know, they're weird).  So to cut the fruit off the core, you basically just cut off the two sides.  I like to score the mango halves, invert the peel, and then cut out the juicy flesh.  Thanks to the scoring it cuts off in nice neat cubes.  Whatever your method, you want to get the mango away from the core, off the peel, and diced for the blender.

2. Blend the mango for a minute until the fruit is pureed.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until ice is crushed and the drink is a gorgeous frothy pale yellow.

Mango meets yogurt meets honey.  Yummy!

As you can see, I like to pour this into my water bottle and take along as a standalone breakfast, or have with an egg sandwich or some kind of wrap.  It's cool, it's refreshing, it's happy to look at.  I like it. :)  The plain yogurt gives this drink a bit of tang, which I happen to like.  If you like your smoothie-esque beverages a little sweeter though I'd recommend using vanilla (or strawberry!  Ooo, strawberry-mango would be a tasty combo).

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Have you ever taken a piece of banana bread and smeared peanut butter all over it?  I did not discover what an amazingly wonderful treat this was until about a year ago.  I know, I know... Elvis thought of this brilliant concoction decades before I was born.  What can I say?  I'm a bit behind.  Forgive me?  Anyway, I really like the contrast of the sweet bananas with salty peanuts.  So imagine how giddy I was when I came across a recipe that combined both for me into one ready-to-eat loaf of deliciousness!

Yup, bananas get brown when you freeze them. Still taste the same though!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker, who got it from CookingLight


1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal [confession: I didn't have any so I just left it out.]
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup plain or vanilla fat free yogurt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

1.  Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside. 

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together flours, flaxseed meal, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground allspice. 

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, yogurt, peanut butter and melted butter. Whisk in eggs and sugars. Blend mixture until no sugar lumps remain. 

4.  Pour the wet mixture into the larger bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold together with a spatula until no more flour bits remain. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. 

FYI, the batter smells really peanut buttery and really good

5.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before running a butter knife along the edges of the pan and inverting the bread onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

6.  This bread lasts, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 4 days. It is also great to store, well wrapped, in the freezer.  (Ooooo!!!!  I sense a "Get Ahead" opportunity here!)


Tip: Don't think you have to wait for bananas to turn black in order to make banana bread.  Thanks to my Fruit Monster son, we always have bananas in the house.  He likes to eat them perfectly ripe with little to no brown spots on them.  Any bananas that end up ripening past anyone's enjoyment, I smash up, put into quart-size freezer bags, and toss in the freezer.  I think have about 6 bags in there just waiting for me to get the urge to bake.