Oatmeal Banana Bread Cookies

I was craving some sort of oatmeal cookies the other day, and I had a bag full of banana halves from my toddler deciding he doesn't really dig bananas anymore, so I decided to make some banana cookies. These are soft and delicious.

Oatmeal Banana Bread Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour (I did half all purpose and half whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp clove
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
1 3/4 cup old fashioned/rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips or nuts or a combo thereof.

Preheat oven to 375

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and clove.

In another bowl, mix butter, applesauce, brown sugar, egg, and banana.

Mix wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Add oats and chips/nuts.

Drop by the spoonful (or cookie scoop) onto a ungreased cookie sheet or Silpat.

Bake at 375 for around 12-15 minutes. Cookies are still soft, but just barely starting to brown on the edges.

Store in a closed container in a cool place.

Maple and Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Pancake Muffins with Homemade Cinnamon Chips

I kinda hate pancakes. You have to stand right there and watch them, and at least one always burns.

My sister always tells me about these amazing cinnamon chips you can get in the store, but I have never been able to find them! Even in the holiday season they evade me.

So as I am googling the chips to see if I can find anywhere that makes them local, I stumble upon a few recipes for homemade ones! Well, pfftt. I'll just do that! Cheaper anyway. And better ingredients. I adapted the recipe and whipped them up toot sweet. Super fast and easy. And they would last a really long time in a airtight container

And pumpkin. I mean really?? Of course cinnamon and pumpkin.

I was thinking about how yummy the cream cheese frosting is on the pumpkin bars I make, and BOOM. Cream cheese stuffed pumpkin pancake muffins. Sweeten it with maple syrup and its golden.

These will not brown up the same as normal muffins. You have to go by feel.

Maple and Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Pancake Muffins with Homemade Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Chips (recipe below)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp vinegar
1 cup pure pumpkin puree (about 1/2 can. NOT pie filling)
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/3rd cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground clove
1 block cream cheese, room temp
1/3rd cup maple syrup

Cinnamon chips:
2/3rd cup sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp corn syrup ( I used organic corn syrup. Nice compromise)


Mix until well combined and crumbly. Press thin and even onto a parchment paper or silpat lined cookie sheet. Cook 35 minutes at 200 degrees. Let cool completely (I just let it sit and dry overnight) Use a pizza cutter to cut into small squares. Place in airtight container.


Pancakes:
Add vinegar and milk and let sit a few minutes. Turn oven to 350 and spray 2 muffin pans



Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together. Combine milk/vinegar, egg, and pumpkin. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in cinnamon chips

Put a spoonful of the muffin mix at the bottom of all cups(maybe leave 4 undone just in case). Put a dollup of cream cheese mix in the middle of each. Top with more mix, filling about 2/3rds full.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until muffin top springs back and keeps its shape when lightly pressed.

Let cool in pan 5 minutes then take out.

Kid Friendly Chicken and Broccoli Nuggets

So I came across a post a while back about a theory that one of the reasons that kids like processed chicken nuggets and patties is that the blended nature of the chicken makes the texture easier for small mouths to true. Well, that, and all the yummy yummy additives. So I decided to make my own chicken nuggets! And I also had some broccoli that needed to be used up. So while I was blending up chicken, why not steam and blend in some broccoli too? I decided to experiment by mixing in the broccoli into half the nuggets. This made them slightly crumblier, but still good and tasty! Try it with spinach or kale too! My kid likes SPICY food so I added a little hot sauce and cayenne. Totally optional! He also really likes to dip them. So a little ketchup, homemade ranch, or homemade honey mustard (as easy as it sounds. A little honey and a little mustard mixed) goes a long way

You can add the broccoli or not! Either way they are yummy. I think adding some cheddar cheese in with broccoli ones would be super yummy too!

You can use a whole chicken (toss in the crock pot. Easy peasy) and double the rest of the ingredients to make a huge amount you can freeze and use for weeks and weeks.

Kid Friendly Chicken and Broccoli Nuggets

Makes 16-20 depending on size.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled, and cut into large chunks (I just baked in a 350 oven for 45 minutes, covered)
2 eggs
1 tsp hot sauce (optional for the spicy guys)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup broccoli, steamed soft and cooled
2/3rds cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/8tsp cayenne pepper (again, optional)



In a food processor, place the cooked chicken chunks and pulse gently until chicken is shredded into small pieces. Maybe the size of rice.

Place chicken, eggs, garlic and onion powders, salt, parmesan cheese, and broccoli (and hot sauce) in a bowl and mix until well combined.

In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, and cayenne (if you want).

Take a glop the size of a ping pong-golf ball smush into a nugget shape in your hands. Its a loose mixture, so be firm with it and pack it down. Place in the bowl of bread crumbs, push down, and flip to the other side and press firm. Repeat with all the chicken.


Now you can either place on a sheet pan and freeze through. Then transfer to a ziplock. My 2 year old eats 2-3 of these in one sitting.

Or you can lightly spray a sheet pan, and pop into a 425 oven for 5-10 minutes (10+ for frozen)

Cherry Cheesecake Poppers

I know these have been going around pinterest for a while, but oh well! I have my own techniques on this, so I thought I would share.

Super yummy! Great for parties! And cherries are getting in season now!

I hated the idea of people having to spit out pits, so I took the time to dig the pits out. You probably dont have to do that. But it was worth it in my mind, and didn't take all that much longer.

I used one of these to depitt the cherries. I just pushed it in the bottom and twisted. A little over half the time that was all that was needed. The rest of the time, I had to use a opened paper clip to scoop the pit out.

Cherry Cheesecake Poppers

Ingredients:

About 1.5 pounds cherries (I have no idea if I used that many, but you can eat the leftovers... Besides, not all have the stems, so you need more than you need)

1 block cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 small splash milk (maybe)

1 sleeve graham crackers blended into crumbs


De-pit cherries as described above, if desired.

Whip together the other ingredients except crumbs. If its too stiff, add the milk.

Hold cherry upside down. Use a small spoon (I used a baby spoon) to scoop about a teaspoon worth of filling onto the top (well, its the bottom. Opposite of the stem!!)

Turn over the cherry and place in the bowl of crumbs. Lightly rotate the cherry around, smoothing out the cream cheese to smush up the sides and get coated in crumbs. Repeat for all. Keep chilled

Chunky Quacamole

I prefer my guac chunky. I'll eat the mushy mashed stuff, but chunky is where it's at.

This is a basic recipe, I assume. But sometimes simple is the best :)

Chunky Quacamole

Ingredients:

1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeño, deseeded, deveined, and finely diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 handful cilantro
juice from 1 lemon
3 avocados, cubed
3 roma tomatoes (or vine ripened, or equivalent of grape/cherry)
salt and pepper


Rinse the onion off after you dice it. I am not sure why, I just read to always do that with onions in salsa or salads. So I do :)

Add onion to a medium bowl with the jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, and lemon juice. Combine well.

Add tomatoes and avocado. Add salt and pepper and stir well to combine.

Chill a few hours before serving to allow flavor to meld

5 Minute Bean Dip

I have been making this stuff for years, and its always a huge hit. Couldn't be easier or more addictive.

5 Minute Bean Dip
Ingredients:
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen corn.

Mix well and add more salsa if needed.

Savory Cottage Cheese Bowl

This is fresh and filling, but also light somehow. A great, fast lunch.
I can't wrap my brain around cottage cheese and fruit mixed. Ew. Thats not how I was raised. I was raised with plain cottage cheese and Lowry's seasoning salt. MMMm. And that evolved (thanks to Valentino's salad bar) to cottage cheese and black olives, with seasoned salt.

This stage of pregnancy has brought me to cottage cheese cravings for some reason. Ever use Doritos to scoop bites of cottage cheese? HEAVEN.

I had a ton of roma tomatoes sitting around, so one day I mixed that with seasoned salt and cottage cheese. MMMM.

So one night I was thinking about that tomato and cottage cheese I had a few days before. And thinking about black olives and how good that would be. And then the really ripe avocado I had in the fridge. And this was born...

Oh, and one of my favorite parts about cottage cheese is it makes my husband gag. Seriously. I have to eat it in another room, which amuses me...

Savory Cottage Cheese Bowl

3/4-1 cup cottage cheese (it HAS to be 4% for me. Anything else is gross and not worth it. And we all know the "low fat" craze is horrible for you)
1 avocado, cubed
1/4 cup small or sliced black olives (or katamala if that nastiness floats your boat)
1 roma tomato (or a handful of grape/cherry tomatos, halved)
1/4 tsp seasoned salt

Pretty simple. Mix and eat. :)

Pinwheel Tortilla Rollups

Yummy yummy party food. And its really easy, and quite the crowd pleaser. You do need a little notice for these. They need to chill for a while. I generally do them the night before, and slice the day of. But a couple hours should be ok. I have done it without chilling before. It just doesn't cut as well or stay rolled up as well.

I have 2 variaties I make. I usually make both and do different colored tortillas to differentiate between the types. These recipes make a decent amount. You can half each recipe, or just make one type. But even if there is leftovers, they make a great snack or light fast lunch.

Pinwheel Tortilla Rollups

BLT Rollups:

Ingredients:
8 burrito size tortillas
1 pkg 1/3rd cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp ranch seasoning (homemade or store bought) or more
8 pieces bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
2 roma tomatoes (or vine ripened, or quartered grape/cherry) diced
2 cups shredded lettuce

Mix the ranch seasoning, bacon, and tomatoes in with the soft cream cheese.

This is the hard part. The division of the filling between tortillas. I SUCK at this, and usually have very uneven tortillas. BUT thats ok! No one cares but me. So just do your best to eyeball it.

Spread a not too thick, but not too thin layer onto a tortilla. Cover with a light layer of lettuce.

Roll tightly Wrap in plastic wrap and chill several hours to overnight.

When ready to cut, unwrap from plastic and use a sharp knife to cut approx 1/2 inch slices. Place on a platter and keep chilled until you serve.

Veggie Rollups

8 burrito size tortillas
1 pkg 1/3rd cream cheese, softened
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 can diced green chilis, drained well.
3/4 small can chopped black olives
4 green onions, sliced
1 bell pepper (I usually use orange) diced fine
3/4 cup fine shredded cheese, such as colby jack or mexi blend

Mix all the ingredients into the cream cheese. Follow the steps above.

Stovetop Popcorn

I know you can't avoid everything. But microwave popcorn is HORRIBLE for you. So if its possible to find a good alternative, why wouldn't you? This takes about 2.4 minutes more than just zapping a bag, and not too much effort. Make it with the kids. Its fun! And it costs pennies to make.

Caramel Marshmallow

Stovetop Popcorn

Ingredients
3 tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable if you *must*)
1/3 cup popping corn
2 tbsp butter
Salt

Additional toppings
Cinnamon Kettle Corn (to follow)
Caramel Marshmallow (to follow)


You HAVE to use at LEAST a 3 qt pan. With a lid.


Heat pan, oil, and 3 kernels of corn over medium heat, covered.

Once those 3 kernels pop, add the rest of the kernels. Cover and remove from heat. Count to 30. Place back on heat. Once it starts popping, shimmy the pan back and forth a few inches over and over to keep the kernels moving. Also hold the lid so there is a crack for steam to escape. Once the popping slows drastically (just like microwave popcorn) remove from heat and immedietly dump into a large bowl. Place pan back on heat and melt the butter. Drizzle over popcorn and season liberally with salt.


Cinnamon Kettle Corn.

Kettle corn is just sugar and salt. Pour the butter like stated above and stir til well mixed. And then I mix about 2tbsp white sugar and a tsp of cinnamon (by all that is holy and good, buy yourself some Vietnamese cinnamon) And sprinkle on top. Do NOT forget the salt. It makes all the difference.

Caramel Marshmallow
(exclude the butter from the original recipe)
Melt 5 tbsp butter with 1/3 cup brown sugar. Once melted, add 6 large marshmallows (or a cup or so mini) and stir until melted. Drizzle over popcorn and toss until coated. Don't forget the salt!

Zucchini Tots

Side dishes aren't my best speciality. I get halfway through dinner and realize I don't have a plan for sides. Whoops. We have many a one pot meal around here. Which has its place. But options for side dishes are always good to have around. I am only 24, and only have been really cooking for 2 years or so, so this is a constant learning and growing process :)


These taste like fried zucchini meets zucchini cakes meets a quiche. Super yummy and comforting like tater tots, but with a fresh element. And pretty healthy all things considered!

Zucchini Tots
Makes 24 mini muffin tots

Ingredients:

2 grated zucchini
1/2 grated onion
2 eggs
1/2 cup cheese (I used shredded sharp cheddar this time, but feta, parm, or some others would be great!)
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400
Pat dry the grated onion and zucchini.
Mix all ingredients well
Spray the mini muffin pan well.
Divide mixture evenly in the pan.
Press down well to compact it.

Cook 17-19 minutes, until golden brown. Let sit in pan 5 minutes then flip out.

Pork Potstickers with Dipping Sauce

You can easily double this recipe and freeze (just freeze on a sheet pan and then transfer to a ziplock) You can use the standard wonton wrappers or go giant and just use egg roll wrappers. The pros to the wonton is they are easier to dip, but the process takes a lot longer. The giant ones are faster to make, but you will need a fork to assist the dipping process.

Pork Potstickers with Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
(makes about 16 giant or 40+ regular)

1 lb ground pork
1/2 bag of shredded cabbage
1 cup diced green onion
1 can water chestnuts, diced
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 cube of ginger, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp corn starch
salt and pepper

wonton or egg roll wrappers
oil
water

Dipping sauce (recipe at bottom)

Mix all the stuffing ingredients together with your hands.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Lay out a wrapper. For wonton sized, use a heaping tsp full of filling. For egg roll sized, about an egg sized.

The wrapper is going to be folded in half, diagonally. So fill one half of a wrapper (from corner to corner) with the filling. With the egg roll one, make sure the filling is smushed down, leaving about a half inch around the edge. The wet your finger and run it along the edges. Pull the corner from the empty side across and press shut. Then press seal the rest of the edges. The end result is just a simple triangle. If you are confused at this point, Im sorry. Its hard to describe but its easy to do. Just look at the picture and it will all come together. Next time I make it, I will take pictures of the process.

Finish filling the wrappers. At this point you can freeze and transfer to a ziplock and make later. Just freeze when they are laying separate or they will stick when thawed.

To cook:

Heat a skillet (with a lid!!) to medium. Let it fully preheat.

Put a tsp or so of oil in the pan and swirl it around. Put a few potstickers in it. Leave room to maneuver.
Let cook a couple minutes, until golden brown (check often, it could burn fast depending on how hot your stove gets)
Flip and brown the other side. Once nice and brown, add 1/4 cup of water and put on a lid. Cook until water is gone, shuffleboarding the skillet every so often. Remove and let cool a couple minutes.


Dipping sauce
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar or honey
1 tsp of Srircha or Garlic Chili Sauce. Or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. (more or less to taste)

Whisk together and dip away!