Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

We made a stop at one of our favorite local places to get produce, Farmer John's in Leesburg, VA.  We had a list of things we needed for the week.  Zucchini wasn't on the list but they looked OH SO GOOD!  I picked up a couple and quickly came up with some ideas including this yummy bread.  My kids don't like anything green were extremely happy to eat this even though the flakes of zucchini peeked through the deliciousness.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 2 teaspoons of Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Ginger
• 1 Cup of White Sugar
• 1 Cup of Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 -3 Cups of Grated Zucchini (skin on)
• 1/2  cup of mini chocolate chips

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.  In a separate large bowl cream together with electric mixer the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and vegetable oil.  Next, fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.  Pour batter into two greased loaf pans.  Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes.
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Banana Berry Oatmeal in the Oven

Christmas morning (ok every morning) is crazy around here.  I made this oatmeal casserole because it is quick and easy to put together and it can easily be reheated so we can eat as we are hungry.  I have also made this on Sunday and reheated throughout the week for a delicious breakfast.  The chocolate chips and bananas make this a hit at my house!

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of Quick Oats
• 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Raspberries (or sliced strawberries)
• 2 Cups of Milk (I used 1%)
• 1/3 Cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 Egg
• 3 Tablespoons of Butter (melted)
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Ripe Banana

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.  In a bowl combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, half of the raspberries, and half of the chocolate chips.  Pour that mixture into the baking dish.  Then arrange the remaining berries and chocolate chips on top.  Slice the banana and place it on top of the oatmeal.  In a bowl, whisk together egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla.  Pour mixture over top of fruit and oats.

Shake the baking dish side to side to help the liquid settle and cover all of oats.  Bake for 30 minutes.

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Clean Banana Bread

I have been using the same banana bread recipe for several years.  It is a family favorite so I was very hesitant to try anything different.  Every time I make it I think about subbing in different ingredients to try to make it healthier.  I had a couple of very ripe bananas, so today is the day!  I could have started simple and just traded out the oil for applesauce, but instead I decided to really overhaul it!  This recipe has no sugar and no oil and uses whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 (depending on size) Bananas- mashed
• 3/4 Cup Honey
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar Free Apple Sauce

Makes one loaf

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.  In a medium bowl beat 2 eggs.  To the eggs add the applesauce and honey.  Stir until combined. Add the mashed bananas and gently stir.   Then pour the batter into a lightly greased loaf pan.  Bake for 55-60 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.  Let bread sit in pan for 10 minutes then flip the pan over to remove the bread and let it cool on a wire rack.

Banana Blueberry Bread

Banana bread is DEFINITELY a favorite around here.  Sometimes I even throw is chocolate chips.  My go to recipe isn't exactly healthy so I needed to put a little spin on it.  

Bananas are always on my grocery list, sometimes my kiddos eat one every day and sometimes they will go almost a week with out one.  Having very ripe bananas is the perfect excuse to make a yummy loaf of bread!

Ingredients:

• 2 Ripe Bananas (about a cup mashed)
• 3/4 Cup Blueberries
• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 3 TablespoonsVegetable Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Quick Oats
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.  In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.  

Take 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture and toss with the blueberries to coat them.

In separate bowl, beat the eggs.  Add in mashed banana and vegetable oil.

Pour into flour mixture and mix until well combined.

Pour half of mixture into greased loaf pan.  Layer on blueberries.  Then pour on remaining batter.

Sprinkle top with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

Bake for 50 minutes.  Serve warm or cool and store covered

Tracy's Version of the 2-Ingredient Cookie

I know I know... You can tell by the picture that I used more than two ingredients.  Sorry!  I had two REALLY ripe bananas sitting on my counter, I was just about to throw them away but I remembered a recipe that I had seen on Pinterest for 2-ingredient cookies made with bananas.  So I did a quick search and found this recipe from The Burlap Bag.  Her recipe says that you take two ingredients- bananas and oats and add a mix-in.  Since Nathan was helping, he of course had to put in chocolate chips.  I wanted to put raisins, but he said no.  Luckily he agreed to the Craisins.  After reading some of the comments and reviews I was a little concerned about sweetness to I added a little brown sugar.  After tasting the cookies, they would have been fine without it.  I had never made a cookie without flour or sugar so this was an interesting challenge for the day.  This is a great way to not waste bananas and create a treat for the family in just a few minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cups of Quick Oats
• 2 Large Ripe Bananas
• 1 Tablespoon of Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup of Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/3 Cup of Craisins

Makes about 14 cookies

Preheat oven to 350.  

I was a little concerned that the texture of the oatmeal would turn my picky 3-year old away from the cookies, so I put the Quick Oats in the food processor and milled them into smaller pieces.  I definitely didn't completely grind them down- Just a few seconds in the food processor.  

 Next, peel the bananas drop them in a large bowl.  The riper they are, the easier they are to mash.  This recipe was pretty much all Nathan's hard work.  He got to show off his muscles while he mashed the bananas! He had never used a potato masher before-such FUN!

 Then using a spoon, stir in oats, brown sugar and mix ins. The original recipe called for just one cup of oats, but I felt my dough was WAY too runny so I suggest adding another 1/4 cup of oats.  Obviously not all bananas are the same size so adjust accordingly.

 When all the ingredients are well mixed, scoop them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 14-16 minutes.  The cookies will be soft and oh so good!  FYI.  I am pretty sure that no matter how long you cook them they don't become a crispy cookie.  I think that the banana keeps them moist. They are definitely not the prettiest cookie I have seen, but prettier than those no bake peanut butter things:)

I had to laugh at myself for turning a 2-3 ingredient cookie into a 5 ingredient cookie.  Who knows what I will add in next time?  

• Butterscotch Chips
• Nuts
• Raisins
• White Chocolate Chips
• Coconut Flakes
• Dried Blueberries
• Mini M&M's

Tex Mex Breakfast

I am always looking for creative ways to use leftover taco meat. Even though everyone at my house loves taco night, there always seems to be an abundance of leftover meat. I want to use it in a different way, so I decided to use it for breakfast. If you don't have leftover taco meat, you can use sausage or leftover steak or pork as well. This is really a simple recipe and it is easy to use substitutions. I kind of just use whatever I have on hand. I make this for just me and my husband, so the recipe is for 2, so just double it if you're making for more than that.

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes (I used Idaho because that's what I had, you can use red)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• Diced onions
• Peppers 
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp. taco seasoning (you could use chili powder if you don't have taco seasoning)
• 2-3 Tbsp. taco meat (or other meat)
• 2 eggs
• Cheese (I used slices of Colby jack because I don't have any shredded cheese, but again, use whatever you got)
• Hot sauce, optional

Cut potatoes into 4ths and then slice. Heat butter in skillet, add potatoes, onions and seasonings.

Stir until well coated, then cover. Cook on medium for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add taco meat and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Cover and remove from heat.

Here's my little helper, whisking up some scrambled eggs for his breakfast.

In a different skillet, fry 2 eggs. Add cheese at the end and leave in skillet just long enough to start to melt the cheese.

Place potatoe and meat mixture in bowl, top with fried egg. We like to serve with Red Hot. Delicious!

Baked Bacon WHAT!?! No way!

So I know that you have all seen something on Pinterest and thought WHAT!?!  Well one of those things for me was baking bacon in the oven.  I thought that it would make a huge mess and would taste different.  I was wrong.  We had some family in town for the weekend and she told me that her mom has always made bacon in the oven.  So I decided to give it a try and it was a success!  I was so happy that I didn't have to clean the grease from my stove or microwave.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet (with sides) and lay bacon on top of the rack.  Bake in oven 22-28 minutes.  Time varies because of thickness of bacon and desired crispiness.  I know that bacon is never healthy, but the bacon seemed to be less greasy as well.

I served this with Oven Baked French Toast and it was the perfect addition to our Easter morning.

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

This is a very simple breakfast that is sure to get great reviews from your family. I can't take credit for  coming up with this idea I have seen it on Pinterest several times.  Our family LOVES the Mickey Waffles served at the Walt Disney World Resort so when we need our Mickey breakfast fix we make these. Too bad no characters come to our table for pictures!

Ingredients:

• Tube of Cinnamon Rolls
• Waffle Iron
• Cooking Spray

Spray Waffle Iron with Cooking Spray. Place 3 (we choose 3 at a time because it resembles one of our favorite characters) cinnamon rolls in a waffle iron cook about 2 minutes.  Repeat until your bellies are full!

Serve with icing drizzled on top.

Blueberry Muffin Tops

Nathan's playgroup is coming over today. The kids are always hoping there will be something yummy to snack on.  These Muffin Tops are the perfect muffin/cookie combination for everyone to enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup salted butter (softened)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• Crystal Sugar Sprinkles
• 1 cup Sugar

Makes about 30 Muffin Tops

 First combine baking powder, salt, and flour in a bowl and set aside.  Next cream together butter and sugar then add in egg.  After that is mixed well add lemon zest, milk, and almond extract.

After that is mixed well slowly add in dry ingredients.  Gently stir in blueberries by hand.

Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375, then form dough into balls and sprinkle tops with Crystal Sugar Sprinkles and bake 11-13 minutes.

Now you will be able to enjoy the best part of the muffin!

Here are some other blueberry recipes that my family loves!

Frozen Blueberry Cheesecake Bites


Blueberry Muffin Mousse