Banana Bread Waffles

I used to look forward to Fridays.  The family could relax after a long, busy week.  Then my daughter started soccer. Her practice is Fridays at 5:30 at a field that's about a twenty minute drive from the house.  So now Friday afternoons have turned into a mad rush.  I get my daughter off the bus at 4 and we rush to get her unpacked from school and changed into shorts and a t-shirt.  She's starving by the time she gets home from school and by the time we get home from practice it's 7 PM.  So I've recently started giving the kids dinner at around 4:30 and a snack when we get home.  Or I give them a substantial snack (bagel with butter, turkey or ham sandwich and fruit) before practice and feed them dinner afterwards.  I made these waffles as a breakfast for dinner before soccer.  I served them with sausage and fruit.  The kids loved them.  My son said he could "eat these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" 

Banana Bread Waffles
recipe from i heart eating

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 ½ cups low-fat buttermilk
1 T. vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 large bananas)
2 T. butter, melted

Directions:
1.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.

2.In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, vanilla, bananas, and melted butter.

3.Add flour mixture to buttermilk mixture, and stir until just combined.

4.Spray waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray and add batter according to waffle iron’s directions.
5.Cook waffles according to your waffle iron’s directions.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

This post shared at:
Sweet & Savory Saturday @ Dessert Now Dinner Later
Show and Tel Saturday @ Be Different Act Normal

The Secret Recipe Club: Banana Chocolate Chunk Nutella Muffins

I am so happy to be posting my first recipe from The Secret Recipe Club today.  I had signed up on the wait list ages ago and actually forgot about it, until I got an e-mail inviting me to join.  Each month I will be assigned a different food blog and have to make a recipe from the blog and review it here, on my own blog.  For my first SRC I was assigned Spinach Tiger.  I was hooked from the moment I read the byline:  "Food a woman will love and a man will marry her for...." There were so many recipes that looked good.  These muffins were the first recipe that I made from the blog.  But I have also made the Brussels Sprouts Gnocchi with Sage Butter (see upcoming post!). Some other recipes that I have bookmarked for the future include Raw Beet Salad with Shallot Honey Orange Vinaigrette, Shrimp with Mussels and Scallops in Cream Sauce, and Cast Iron Broccoli Basil Mozzarella Frittata.  I like that Spinach Tiger (her nickname) does not use, "artificial sweetners, food substitutes, aerosol sprays, high fructose corn syrup, or MSG in her cooking." Her photos are beautiful and showcase her recipes in which she takes a modern, healthy approach to old dishes.

Back to these muffins now.  The original recipe called for a cup of spelt flour.  I have never seen (though I haven't really looked very hard for it) spelt flour in the store.  I try to avoid buying ingredients like this, where I may not use it again.  So, I used only all-purpose flour in this recipe.  The only other change that I made to making these muffins was the cook time.  I baked the muffins for only 20 minutes, though the original recipe called for 25-30 minutes.  Just check the doneness with a toothpick. These muffins were super chocolatey and tasty with the dark chocolate bar bits AND the nutella.  Spinach Tiger originally garnished her muffins with hazelnuts but noted that next time she'd try bacon or prosciutto.  Since I had some bacon in the fridge, I decided to garnish a few of the muffins with it (next time I'd make the pieces a lot smaller. As seen in the pic below my pieces were a bit big and didn't stay on top very well).  It was super tasty, with the mixture of saltiness and sweet.  These muffins were a hit in our house and I will definitely make these again!

Banana Chocolate Chunk Nutella Muffins
recipe slightly adapted from Spinach Tiger

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Serves: 12

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 very ripe bananas
½ cup sugar
½ cup plain yogurt
½ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
¼ cup Nutella or more
2-3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Mix together, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in one bowl. Set aside.

Smash bananas with a fork. Add in sugar, eggs, yogurt, oil, vanilla.

Add to flour mixture. Add in chopped chocolate.

Scoop into muffin pan. Makes 12 muffins.

Spoon in about ¾ teaspoon of Nutella into each muffin. You can use more, if you desire.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Garnish with chopped bacon if desired.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Might Have Missed Monday: Monkey Bars

I have decided to repost some of my favorite/most popular posts from when I first started my blog over a year ago. I've posted almost a new recipe every day since beginning this blog. I've had a lot of new followers recently, so there's sure to be some great recipes you might have missed! I first posted this recipe on November 9, 2011.

Somehow, bananas always seem to get too ripe before being eaten in my house. I usually throw them in a ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer until I need the freezer space or think that they need to be thrown out. After a recent grocery shopping trip my husband, annoyed, after doing the "freezer shuffle" pulled out a bag of ripe bananas and declared that he was, "going to do something with these." I jokingly said, "you mean I will do something with them." But I guess I wasn't joking. I whipped these up on Monday afternoon after searching for a banana recipe that I hadn't tried yet. Overall, these were a hit! I didn't have buttermilk, so I used regular 1% milk. I omitted the walnuts and to make these kid-friendly, I used the apple juice instead of rum. These were delicious and super-moist!

Monkey Bars
recipe from Cooking Light,  October 2001

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum or apple juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high for 1 minute, and set aside. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 3 ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside.

Combine brown sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana and next 3 ingredients (banana through egg whites), beating well. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in raisin mixture and walnuts.

Spread the batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool the bars completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This post is shared at:
Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling
The Bulletin Board @ Mrs. Happy HomeMaker

Banana Chocolate French Toast

My daughter started 1st grade in the beginning of September.  I made her Snickerdoodle Brownies as a special snack for after school.  But I also wanted to make her a special dinner to celebrate.  The kids love breakfast for dinner so I decided to make this recipe that I had torn out of Cooking Light a few months ago.  Of course they loved it!  Bananas and chocolate....for dinner?!!  I did opt not to add the powdered sugar to these. The recipe is from Cooking Light so it can't be that bad for you, right?!  I served these with some breakfast sausage and fruit.  Of course the kids ate everything on their plates!

Banana Chocolate French Toast
recipe from Cooking Light, May 2012

Ingredients:
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 (1 1/2-ounce) slices whole-grain bread
4 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)
1 cup thinly sliced banana (about 8 ounces)
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish.

2. Spread each of 3 bread slices with 1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut-chocolate spread; arrange 1/3 cup banana slices over each bread slice. Top sandwiches with remaining 3 bread slices.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working with 1 sandwich at a time, place into milk mixture, turning gently to coat both sides. Carefully place coated sandwiches into pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Meatless Monday: Ricotta Banana Pancakes

We were due for another breakfast for dinner.  Lately, my go-to has been pancakes.  They're really easy to make and the kids love them.  I had ricotta for another recipe and a frozen, really ripe banana that was perfect for this recipe.  When my daughter found out that I was making "ricotta" pancakes she was quick to tell me that she doesn't like ricotta.  I told her to wait until she tried them before she told me that she didn't like them.  After eating them her response was, "Oh, I do like these!"  I think the ricotta is used to add moistness because you really don't taste it.  This recipe was in an issue of All You Magazine that I subscribe to.  It was listed as a dessert, but if you don't add caramel sauce it definitely works as a breakfast (or in this case dinner!) dish. 

Ricotta Banana Pancakes
recipe from All You, March, 2012

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small ripe banana

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, egg, milk, butter, vanilla and banana. Gently stir flour mixture into ricotta mixture until just blended.

2. Grease a large nonstick skillet over medium heat with cooking spray or melted butter. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter into skillet. Cook pancakes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes total. Keep pancakes warm on a plate in oven while cooking remaining pancakes.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

It's that time of the month again....time for the Crazy Cooking Challenge, hosted by Tina at Moms Crazy Cooking.  This month's challenge was fruit smoothies.  Unfortunately, I don't like smoothies.  I'm not a big yogurt drinker to begin with, and then mixing it with stuff and drinking it is just not appealing to me.  My kids however, love smoothies!  I don't think I've ever made them a smoothie before now, although I don't know why.....I discovered how easy they are to make!  I have been a big fan of the Dole Smoothie Shakers.  You just add fruit juice and shake!  The kids like them.....but I can't tell you how they rate on the store-bought smoothie scale!  When I was looking for smoothie recipes this one caught my eye.  Peanut butter and bananas are staples in our household.  I only had crunchy peanut butter which I used in the smoothie and I shouldn't have.  The peanut chunks ruined the smoothness of the smoothie.  I had a taste of the smoothie and it didn't make me a fan of them.  My son downed his but my daughter didn't like hers.   I'm glad that I was finally able to make my first smoothie.  However, I won't be making this one again.

Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie
recipe from Alli 'N Sons

Yields: 2 smoothies

Ingredients:
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 banana
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey, more or less to taste
1 cup ice cubes, more or less, depending on how thick like smoothies

Preparation:
Pour all of the ingredients in a blender, then blend until smooth. Add more honey if you want it slightly sweeter, more ice if you want it a little thinner.

Family Rating: So-so.

Banana Nutella Bread

I've made several different variations of banana bread and muffins.  But when I found this recipe that used Nutella, I had to try it!  We love Nutella in our house.  The kids like it spread on a bagel for breakfast.  As much as I could eat the stuff straight from the jar I'm always on the lookout for different ways to cook and bake with it.  This bread was easy to make but needs an hour to bake.  It was moist but the Nutella was gooey (so make sure to have plenty of napkins on hand!).  This was a nice breakfast treat for us!

Banana Nutella Bread
from Mostly Food and Crafts

Ingredient:
3 small ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup Nutella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Spoon 1/2 batter into a loaf pan coated with baking spray. Drop in 1/4 cup Nutella in dollops. Swirl a bit then top again with remaining batter. Add the rest of the Nutella in dollops on top. Swirl again.

Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am a recipe follower.  I am not very creative in coming up with my own flavor combinations and knowing what goes with what.  My husband, a.k.a. "The Weekend Chef" on the other hand loves to throw things together and somehow, more often than not, it comes out amazingly good.  But, don't ask him to make it exactly the same or how much of an ingredient he used!  So, I was very proud of myself when I came up with the following recipe on my own (well, maybe not exactly on my own....)  I know, baking is more exact than just experimenting with something for dinner.  But I knew I wanted to make banana chocolate chip muffins and when I went looking for a new recipe to try, they all called for ingredients that I didn't have.  Looking at many different muffin recipes (not just banana chocolate chip ones!) I kind of combined and tried bits and pieces of many different recipes to get the muffin base.  Overall, I was very happy with this recipe, as were the kids, although as seen in the picture below they came out a little flat!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
The Busy Mom (my own recipe!)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Using mixer, beat sugar and butter until creamed, then add eggs one at a time.

3. Combine the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a small bowl. 

4.  Alternately add the flour mixture and the yogurt into the sugar mixture until mixed well.

5.  Fold in the bananas and chocolate chips.

6.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

*This made 18 muffins for me.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

IHOP National Pancake Day: Puffy Pancake with Nutty Banana Butterscotch

Since 2006 IHOP has been celebrating National Pancake Day.  In exchange for a free short stack of Buttermilk pancakes guests are encouraged to make a monetary donation to designated local charities.  Unfortunately, the nearest IHOP is over thirty minutes away.  So, in honor of National Pancake Day I am featuring the recipe for this Puffy Pancake that I recently made.

Let me tell you how quick and easy this recipe is.  And, when I made it for dinner, it was like we were eating dessert. Unfortunately, I don't have a 9-inch square pan, so I used my 8-inch one.  I think I needed to just use a 9x13 inch pan and double the recipe because this was gone in minutes.  My husband and I could have totally gone for seconds, but there were none! We had plenty of leftover sauce that we used to dip strawberries in and to help make a Supper Club bread pudding more "kid-friendly."

Puffy Pancake with Nutty Banana Butterscotch
Every Day with Rachael Ray, May 2008

Ingredients:

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
5 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 425 degrees . Add 1/2 stick butter to a 9-inch square baking dish and melt in the oven, about 5 minutes.

2.In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and granulated sugar, then whisk in the egg-milk mixture.

3.Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish; bake until the pancake begins to rise, 15 to 20 minutes.

4.Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cook the brown sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons water over medium heat, stirring, until bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 stick butter, the sour cream and bananas and heat through.

5.Drizzle the pancake with half of the butterscotch sauce and sprinkle with walnuts. Slice and serve with the remaining sauce on the side.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

I shared this recipe with:

Monkey Bars

Somehow, bananas always seem to get too ripe before being eaten in my house.  I usually throw them in a ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer until I need the freezer space or think that they need to be thrown out.  After a recent grocery shopping trip my husband, annoyed, after doing the "freezer shuffle" pulled out a bag of ripe bananas and declared that he was, "going to do something with these."  I jokingly said, "you mean I will do something with them."  But I guess I wasn't joking.  I whipped these up on Monday afternoon after searching for a banana recipe that I hadn't tried yet.  Overall, these were a hit!  I didn't have buttermilk, so I used regular 1% milk.  I omitted the walnuts and to make these kid-friendly, I used the apple juice instead of rum. These were delicious and super-moist! 

Monkey Bars 
Cooking Light October 2001

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum or apple juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

 Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high for 1 minute, and set aside. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 3 ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside.

Combine brown sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana and next 3 ingredients (banana through egg whites), beating well. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in raisin mixture and walnuts.

Spread the batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool the bars completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!