Banana Bread

okay, I made this banana bread the other day and it was great but I did not get many pictures. Well, with how easy this banana bread was to make I decided to make it again.

However, this time I had some leftover tropical pancakes that had been soaking in syrup. I really did not want to throw these away for a few reasons. For one we are totally broke. We really do not throw away much. But also, these were whole wheat pancakes, with kiwi, papaya and mango!!! I thought that sounded perfect for banana bread.

The basic recipe was really easy. I got it from the Joy of Baking site. I am in love with this site. But 1 problem I knew I was going to have was that I do not have any baking soda. We only have baking powder. After doing some research online I was able to determine that I could sub baking powder pretty easily for the same measurement. So that is what I did.

The recipe as called for by Joy of Baking is below.

After I got all my wet butter, banana, eggs and villa all together I threw in the rest of the kids pancakes. after mixing in the dry ingredients it seemed a little wet so i threw in a little more whole wheat flour.




I put it into a heart shaped baking dish (still the only 1 that I have!) The bread was great. It was finished off for breakfast the next day. The pancake did add to the flavor not only in the tropical fruit and syrup but also in making the bread a little heavier. It did more to fill you up.


Recipe:

1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish: (Optional)

1 large banana, sliced or dried banana chips

Tropical pancakes

I have been really trying to think of new ways to use a lot of the fruits that either are starting to get too ripe or the ones that get smashed to bits on our way home. Well this morning I thought of a great idea... tropical pancakes.


I took some basic whole wheat pancake mix. I am not sure how much of a difference the whole wheat really makes but I am sure it is at least better for you. And I added 1 large but smashed kiwi and some chopped up bits of mango into the batter. i was a little worried that it would be too wet so I threw in a little bit of wheat flour.

They cooked up very nicely in the pan and I topped them with some mango and some papaya with a little syrup and a touch of powdered sugar. It was really tasty.

The really funny thing is... I have sort of a weird idea for the left overs. I made some banana bread the other night- it was my first batch and it turned out great. I did not get too many pics but anyway... I have decided to make it again but this time I am going to add my kids left over pancakes already moist with syrup.

I am not sure if this is going to turn out but we will see. That is the fun part.

Huevos Rancheros & Chorizo & Egg Burritos

I love huevos rancheros. It is one of my favorite meals. I had a friend visiting recently and this was all she wanted to eat while she was here. I love this recipe. It is so easy to make.

In a small sauce pan I sauteed some onion and bell pepper. On my blog you will rarely see actual measurements. I think it is to each his own and add what you like. I have a very iron chef approach to cooking. Anyway... Saute onion and bell pepper (I used red this time) in a little oil. Once soft I added salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper along with2-3 cloves of chopped garlic and 1/2 a chopped jalapeno. I would have use the whole jalapeno as it was not very spicy but we were also feeding the kids. Once that was all blended together I added some chopped tomatoes and a little tomato paste and a touch of water to thin it out.

Meanwhile in another pan I heated through a can of re fried beans. Many times I will make a large pot of beans - pinto or black and keep them in the fridge. Making them from scratch is easy, much cheaper and allows you to add a lot of flavor like cooked bacon,onion, garlic etc.


Then it was time to fry the tortillas. This is fast and easy. Simply heat some oil and throw in the corn tortilla. Once it starts to bubble a little, flip it over. Once it starts to bubble on the other side get ready to take it out. I like my tortillas a little crisp for this so I leave them in for another minute.

Start plating by spreading some beans on each tortilla ( you can double them up if you want but it adds a lot of extra oil and beans and tortilla instead of all of the fresh stuff so we do not. Add some of the cooked salsa to the beans and top with a soft to medium cooked egg.

Add a little more salsa and some avocado. I would have added queso fresco if I had it but I did not. Bummer. This is a filling breakfast and all parts of it can be made in larger batches and saved (well, not the eggs and tortillas) We almost always have a pot of beans and some salsa in the fridge ready to make more or any other meal.


My friends boyfriend love huevos con chorizo so once the eggs were cooked, I threw in some chorizo and fried it up and then added some eggs. I served this on a warm flour tortilla with some beans, the chorizo and eggs mixture and some salsa and avocado.

My husband is of course the person who wants both so needless to say he was very happy. But it ended up being 2 meals in one

Chorizo and egg burritos

This is a great meal for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. They are so easy to make and taste great. For this, I use flour tortilla from the store rather then the usually fresh corn tortillas you can buy almost anywhere here is Tulum.

First remove the casing from the sausage. I love chorizo but any sausage can be used for this. Chorizo is great because it has a lot of flavor and spices but is not too hot for kids. I have used Italian sausage before and it had too much heat for the kids. I like to cut up the chorizo first because it makes it easier to break apart in the pan. If you want you can also add some onion to the pan with the chorizo Once the sausage is ready add some eggs. I usually use about 6 eggs (sometimes mixed before hand with a little milk, salt and pepper.)

Once the eggs are scrambled as hard as you like transfer them to a bowl. In the same saute pan heat through some re fried beans. (or make them yourself- they are really easy to make)

on a grill pan put a tortilla to heat through quickly then flip it over. Put a little cheese (I like cheddar- or the closest thing I can find to cheddar here but any cheese will work)

On a plate put the tortilla with cheese, a little beans, the eggs and chorizo and top with salsa. This is a very good, quick meal. Enjoy.

Chicken and vegetable lasagna

Tonight's dinner was something that I had the idea for a few days ago. I have started to crave more casserole and lasagna stuff. I have never made a lasagna so I was a bit nervous. We are really trying to use all of what we have in house and fridge and not have extra around. So most of my recipes can be done with what ever veggies you have. Or even better, these recipes are a great way to sneak a lot of fresh veggies into your life and into your kids! So the recipe I had in my head... Chicken and veggie sort of lasagna. I had intended to do a very chunky veggie thing but I decided that it was easier to get a ton of stuff into the kids if I chop most things in the mini chopper. This works well for me too as my hands are no good. Tonight I had onion, garlic, celery, carrot, potato, broccoli, bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, zucchini (this I kept in strips) , a box of tomatoes sauce and I used some oregano and Italian seasoning and I think some Pappy's.

In the back pan I started to boil water with chicken bouillon, salt, pepper, and oregano. I used this water to poach the chicken. I have heard that this is a very healthy way to cook fish so we are going to give it a try. Plus our chicken was already cut think so it worked well. After the chicken was done I cut it up and set it aside. I saved the stock to use with the veggies.


For the vegetable I sauteed a little garlic, onion and celery,- let them soften then added the carrots, bell pepper and potato. As I needed to I would use the chicken stock to add to the veggies as they cooked. after a while I added the broccoli and zucchini. After a few more turns with the spoon I added the box of tomato sauce.

For the cheese I had 2 types. A white that was shredded. It was Manchego. And a yellow cheddar that was cubed. I then made an easy bechamel sauce and added the Manchego.


I do not have any baking dishes here yet except for my baking one that is a heart or a train. So we had a heart lasagna. I layered the oiled dish with noodles (these ones did not need to be pre cooked which was great) white cheese sauce, chopped chicken, veggies sauce, then threw down a few cubes of cheddar. Second layer: white cheese sauce, chicken, veggies sauce, cubed cheddar- you get the idea. We only did 3 layers I think. Then on top we finished with the cheese sauce and veggies sauce on top.


I had my concerns about this dish. I mean, for 1 there were A LOT of veggies so I was not sure if it was going to be "too veggie" tasting. I mean I want to eat healthy but I want it to taste good. But after 20-30 minutes in the oven it was ready to eat. If I was serving this to my husband I would have served it with a small salad and bread- but it was just me and the kids so we just had the lazagna.

First of all- the kids loved it. They ate every bite on the plate. It did turn out great. I was really excited about it.


I saved a little of the veggies sauce to make a strata for the next morning. My friend Jordan told me about this and I have been playing with them since. In a baking dish you line with aging bread. (a great way to use up bread that is hard)Then some sauce (any number of variations could work for this) then some cheese, then some bread, sauce, cheese,& bread, sauce, cheese- topped with bread. Then you whisk a few eggs, milk, salt and pepper and pour it on top of the top bread. Put it in the fringe and the next day you can put it in the oven for 30-40 minuets - It is a great breakfast, lunch or dinner. I will post pictures of it when I get them.

Ham , eggs and veggies- Our perfect breakfast

It is no surprise with how many eggs my family eats that we are trying to acquire a few hens as quickly as possible. My almost 4 year old son eats about 4 eggs to himself. And these eggs are full of healthy fresh veggies as well. It is so hard to get kids to eat their veggies and the morning is a perfect time. They are so hungry that it is easier to get food into them. At least, that is the case with my kids. So I have been working on finding ways to add vegetables to their meals, and ours for that matter. Fruit and especially citrus grow very well around here. So here is one of our staple breakfasts.
First, once again, I prep everything. It is so much easier, and enjoyable, to cook when everything is ready. So I start with cutting/ dicing 1/4 green pepper, good chunk on onion, 1/4 of a calabasa, 1 large roma tomato and a bunch of diced ham. In a small bowl I mix 7-8 eggs, milk, salt and pepper. The milk helps use less eggs and adds calcium. And of course, since my husband is wonderful, he surprised me one morning with a coffee maker... we can add a cup of coffee.

First sauté the pepper and onion in oil, when they are soft add the calabasa and ham. I think it makes a big difference when the ham is fried with the veggies first. After the ham has a nice brown color, add the egg mixture.
Gently pull the eggs from the edges of the pan towards the center allowing the runnier eggs to fill in. This will give you evenly cooked (and flavored) eggs. Do not constantly mess with the eggs but tend to them. When they are almost cooked as hard as you like, throw in the tomatoes and turn off stove. Gently fold the eggs over the tomatoes just to heat them through.


We usually eat these eggs with half a grapefruit for the adults and some other fruit for the kids. It is a really good meal and a great way to add veggies to meals that your kids will eat.

Spaghetti with Chorizo Meat Sauce & Chorizo and Veggie Strata

Okay, so we are going to see what we can get out of these 300 pesos. Part of my whole goal is enjoy the process of preparing food and well, shit... I have nothing else to do! So I might as well take my time. My hands go through spells of severe pain so 1 of them is usually performing at about 30% its normal ability. And when you consider that the doctors gave up on me after loosing 25% of the ability that I used to have in the first place, the hand that is having a bad day pretty much helps the potato not to roll.

Having said that, there are a few things that I have come to really appreciate in a kitchen. The first 1 is a good set of knives, cutting boards and my mini chopper. I love that mini chopper. Plus it is a perfect way to make veggies small enough that the kids cannot pick them out.

So here is a recipe that actually makes 2 meals. The first is great pasta with meat sauce and the 2nd is a great strata for a hot cooked breakfast with NO effort.

This is actually a combination meal with a girlfriend of mine. I make this chorizo pasta dish a lot for my family and then she showed me a great recipe for the next day. It is amazing.

So with my chopped onion, garlic, 1 carrot, 1 large chunk of calabasa, large handful of broccoli florets, 6 chopped tomatoes, some chopped green pepper and 1 lb chorizo we were off to cook. This is what I got at the tienda that day but you can use just about any veggies that you have.

Simply sauté all veggies, add chorizo and season to taste with anything you have or want (I always use salt, pepper, Pappy's and cinnamon) and serve over spaghetti or other pasta and garlic bread. For my garlic bread I just mini-chopper some garlic- let stand with butter and melt, spread over bread and toast.

And there is meal #1. For the 2nd meal.... read the strata recipe.

With the 2nd roll, layer bread (this recipe can be done with old stale bread as a way to use it up) and chorizo sauce and cheese (if you want) into a casserole dish. In the picture is one of my oven proof pots, I do not yet have a casserole dish. Bread, sauce, cheese, bread, sauce, cheese, bread sauce cheese, bread. End with a layer of bread on top and pat down lightly. Then beat up a couple eggs and some milk, salt and pepper and pour evenly over the bread layers.

Cover the strata and leave in the fridge over night. In the morning, start the coffee and bake at 350 or so for an hour or so and you have a hot yummy breakfast. This is so filling and substantial that it can also be made for a dinner dish served with salad instead of fruit.