Banana Bread

Because I don't like nuts in bread, I always make my banana bread without nuts.

For this recipe, I had two bowls, one for the dry ingredients and one for the wet ingredients.

I wish my photos were better. This actually came out WONDERFULLY!

Recipe

3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine the salt, baking soda, brown sugar and flour in a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and bananas and mix well. Gently mix in the flour mixture. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 about 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick to check if done.

Biscuit Enchiladas

For those who know me, I love mexican food. I never seem to tire of the tastes and smells that come with making mexican food. I found a recipe called Bubble Up Enchiladas and knew I had to try them.

I use ground turkey, but you can make this with ground beef also. Brown the meat

Add in your choice of ingredients. I chose green chilies, black beans and corn. I only used half a can of the black beans and corn. I also used only half of the enchilada sauce.

Instead of tortillas, the recipe used refrigerated biscuits. Place them in a casserole dish.

 Pour in the meat mixture and then cover with cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes.

Once cooked, I also added black olives on top

Recipe

1-2 pounds of ground beef/turkey

1/2 can black beans

1 small can or corn

1 small can diced green chilies

1 tube refrigerated biscuits

4-6 ounces of cheese for the top

Bake 30 minutes, until biscuits are done.

Zucchini Bread

This was one of the best zucchini breads I've ever had. The original recipe was found here.

3 eggs
1 c. oil  
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. grated zucchini
3 c. flour
1/4  tsp. baking powder

I used 3 zucchini. I used my mandolin and used the smallest grating that I owned.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and oil. Add in the zucchini. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture.

Pour into two greased loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for about an hour. I checked it twice as I didn't need a full hour.

I took one loaf to work and everyone loved it.

Enjoy,

Audrey :)

Spaghetti Squash

After a long break, it's time to start blogging again :) The first recipe I want to share is spaghetti squash. We began eating spaghetti a while back when we were looking for ways to cut down on calories.

We actually put the squash in the microwave. While I admit one of them did explode, this was a wonderful way to cook the squash.

We chopped up zucchini to put in the dish.

Recipe

2 spaghetti squash
2 green zucchini cut into cubes
2 carrots shredded
1 package of your favorite cheese
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Pierce the spaghetti squash several times with a knife. Cook on high 6-8 minutes. Allow to cool enough for you to handle. Remove the seeds and then with a fork. Then run your fork up and down the squash to remove the strands.

Mix the spaghetti squash strands, cut up veggies and marinara sauce. Place in a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake 50-60 minutes until done.

Even with the cheese, this is a very low calorie meal.

Lemon Bars

I was craving lemon bars today. I found a super easy recipe on the Pillsbury site suggesting sugar cookie dough as the base. Please forgive the photos, they were taken with my phone as my camera was not with me.

1 tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (I used store brand)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons flour

2  tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel 

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 to 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

 

Unroll the cookie dough and create your base:

 

Bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and lightly beat with electric mixer.

 Once the cookie dough is done, pour the lemon mixture over the cooked cookie dough.

Bake another 20 minutes:

 I did not dust with powdered sugar. I ate them as is. It was interesting with the cookie base.

Audrey :)

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Biscuits (dairy free)

My daughter mentioned she had seen a recipe using Pillsbury biscuits stuffed with ham and wondered if I could do them with chicken but also make them dairy free. We had these for dinner last night and they were great!!

2 chicken breasts cooked and chopped
1 package cooked spinach
1/4 spoon seasoned salt (I used Lawrys)
1/4 cup soy milk
3 eggs
rice cheese (dairy free)

I bought Pillsbury low fat flaky biscuits. Spray a muffin pan with non stick spray. Divide each biscuit into two pieces and line each muffin tin with 1/2 of a biscuit:

Next, add in some chicken:

Sprinkle cheese on top. We did some with yellow cheese and some with white cheese:

On top of the cheese, place a little bit of the cooked spinach:

In a bowl, mix together the milk, Lawrys and eggs and place a large tablespoon full onto each muffin:

Place the half of the biscuit on top and press in to seal as best as you can:

Top with a slice of cheese:

Bake a 400 degrees about 15 minutes:

These were delicious. There are some things I'll do differently next time. I'll add onions to the inside. I ended up chopping up onion and adding it on before eating. I'll also use a stronger flavored cheese for my portion.

Audrey :)

Multi Use Lasagna Pan

I bought a new lasagna pan:

 

These pans are designed to allow you to make three different types of lasagnas. My daughter suggested I used my pan to make different kugels instead. I wanted one with pineapple and she wanted a non dairy one.

I know they look similar but the one on the end is fulled with pineapple. The other is a salt and pepper kugel.

This was such a cute idea, I know we'll do it again.

For those who want the pineapple kugel recipe, here it is:

1 pound egg noodles

4 eggs

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained well

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter/margarine, melted

Boil noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water. Beat the eggs and them mix together the noodles, eggs, butter and pineapple. Pour into lasagna pan. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes. The lasagna pan is deeper than a casserole dish and so I cooked a bit longer.

Audrey :)