Banana Bread

I made this banana bread over a month ago. I'm not sure where I found the original recipe, but I modified it to make it vegan. I pretty much ate the entire loaf. Oops!

Banana Bread

Yield: 1 9-inch loaf

A Little Bit Healthy, A Little Bit Sneaky Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I was uber-blog surfing yesterday. 
I would comment on a blog, and then go visit the blog of the person who commented just before me. Leave a comment, visit previous commenter, and on and on and on. It was lots of fun! I stumbled upon a lot of fun running blogs and a LOT of What I Ate Wednesdays (WIAW) posts. Like I said, lots of fun!

In my meanderings, I stumbled upon the blog Eat. Move. Balance. 
Eat whole foods. Move every day. Balance your life. 
Sounds like a great mantra/motto. In exploring that site a little, I found this recipe for some sneaky cookie bars. They sounded so good that I couldn't wait to give them a try! I didn't have all the ingredients, so I had to make a few modifications.

These turned out so delicious! In fact, even Jeff said he liked them. Yes, the entire pan was completely gone in less than 24 hours. Oops!

A Little Bit Healthy, A Little Bit Sneaky Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup (or 1/2 15.5oz can) chickpeas
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used ones that were dairy, nut and soy free)
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8x8 baking pan.
2. Combine the oats, flour, chickpeas, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Process until fine.
3. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the applesauce, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Pour into prepared pan, making sure dough is evenly distributed.
5. Bakes for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into delicious squares.

Whole Wheat Oat Bread

I've made this bread twice now since starting this post. The first time I didn't take any pictures, but wrote up the post. The second time I remembered to take pictures, but it took me forever to edit them and put them in the post, but the wait is over! 

This bread turned out great! Even my husband, who prefers everything store-bought, agreed. The problem with homemade bread, of course, is that it doesn't last as long a store-bought. I mean, we eat it SO fast! I'm not going to complain, though - at least the house smells really good while it's baking. Yum!

Whole Wheat Oat Bread

Yield: 2 9-inch loaves

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water (95F-100F)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 pkg active yeast
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 T vital wheat gluten
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

Cooking Directions

1. Dissolve honey in warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle package of yeast on top of water mixture. Do NOT stir in yeast; simply let it sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast softens and forms a creamy foam.

2. Meanwhile, stir together the flours, oatmeal, gluten, and salt. Form a well in the center and add the yeast mixture. Stir until it all comes together.

3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 12-15 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

   Tip 1:To determine if yeast dough is kneaded enough, break off a small walnut-sized ball of dough. Stretch the dough; much like stretching a balloon or a piece of bubble gum. If the dough is kneaded enough, it will be tear easily and a translucent membrane will be visible. This is known as a gluten window.

   
4. Lightly oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat it with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise until doubled - about 45 minutes.

   Tip 2: I shared this tip before here, but to determine if the dough has doubled in size, gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.

5. Grease two 8x4-inch loaf pans. Punch down dough and turn it out onto a lightly-floured surface. Use a knife to divide the dough into two equal parts - do not tear. Shape the dough into loaves and place in prepared pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.


6. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake loaves 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing from pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.

chickpeas anyone?

I have been intrigued by this next recipe I am going to give. I have seen it on cooking shows and on the web. I even got a can of chickpeas aka garbanzo beans. But I never got the gumption to try it. I am talking about roasting chickpeas. They are suppose to be incredibly healthy and a nice nutty snack. Someone had the audacity to say that they are better than potato chips. I KNOW that is quite the statement isn't it. I have a hard time believing anything tasting better than a good ole fashioned potato chip. So, finally last week I decided to do it. I was going to actually roast this can of beans I have had in my cupboard for over 9 months. It was time to get adventurous. I cracked open the can and just dug in! They smelled wonderful while they were in the oven. Then it was time for the taste test. Could it be that they were better than the crunchy goodness of a potato chip? Could it be possible?

NO.

No they were NOT better. They were...how should I say this? They were OK. Not great, but they did not live up to the hype that it was given. I was a little disappointed, but maybe this is an acquired taste. Maybe different seasoning combinations would help. Maybe they just aren't for me. But I think that I get an "A" for effort and for trying something out of my comfort zone. I think that some people will LOVE these. But, they just aren't for me. I might try them again though with some more intense flavor combinations and see if that changes my mind! So give it a try, I think this is the type of food you either love or hate. But you will never know unless you try it! Step out of the norm of everyday cooking and try something different. You never know, you might find something that you LOVE and never knew because of the fear of trying something different.

With that, here is the recipe for the roasted chickpeas.

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Drain the beans and rinse with cold water. Remove excess water by patting with a paper towel. In a mixing bowl coat beans with olive oil. Add spices and mix well. Spread on a large baking sheet. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until beans are completely dried and crunchy. Check often at the 30 minute mark, you do not want to burn them.

I think that you can mix up different flavor combinations and it would help immensely. I think I might try a sweet one with brown sugar and cinnamon maybe. We will see!

A perfect 10 Pretzel

Yep, it is another post from "other" sister. I know, I know, 2 posts in a week from me is CRAZY. It is great to have a working computer and the time to do this! I have been enjoying spending time in the kitchen and trying new recipes I have wanted to make but didn't have the time to do so. I have been toying with the idea of making homemade soft pretzels for awhile, but it seemed like a daunting task and I just never took courage to do it. But I got it in my head on Sunday night that I was GOING to make them, no excuses. I do have to admit though that I cheated. Just a little. I needed to make them a lunchbox snack so I made pretzel BITES instead of the cool braided looking pretzels. In this case, form had to follow function, and if it happened that it made it a little easier...hey I can't help that! Let me tell you something, my husband couldn't stay OUT of these! They were almost all gone before the night was over! I always ask him to rate my recipes 1 to 10 with 10 being the best and I have never gotten a 10. I have a lot of 8's and some 9's but never a 10. UNTIL NOW. I got a perfect score on this baby and the accompanying dip that went along with it. I am still on cloud nine! Or should I say cloud TEN! So here it is, the perfect chewy pretzel recipe! Hope you all enjoy! By the way, they were NOT hard at all! Pretty easy actually, so that is a plus!

Chewy Pretzel Bites

Ingredients
Dough:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup very warm water

Topping:
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional-I used regular)
3 Tablespoons melted butter

Directions

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and 2 1/4 cups flour. Mix to combine and then add the water. Mix well, adding the remaining flour as needed to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough by hand or mixer for about 5 minutes until it is soft and smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a bowl and put dough in rolling around so it is coated with the oil. Cover and let rise for about 60 minutes. (until about doubled in size)

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Lightly oil two cookie sheets. Transfer dough to a lightly greased work surface and divide into about 4 equal pieces. Roll each piec into a one inch diameter rope. Allow the pieces to rest for 5 minutes uncovered. While dough is resting combine the 1/2 cup warm water and baking soda in a bowl deep enough to dip the pretzel pieces into. Stir until the soda is dissolved.

Cut each rope into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces.
Dip each piece into the baking soda solution and place them on the cookie sheets. Allow to rest for another 10 minutes. Bake on sheet at a time for 5 - 7 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown. Remove from oven and brush them thoroughly with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt.


Onion Cream Cream Cheese Dip

4 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 half onion chopped
2 Tablespoons butter

Saute onions and butter until onions are soft and translucent. Combine cream cheese and onions until well blended and smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Biscuit loving.....in 6!

Ok so now I have a computer back....I can't find my camera....oh moving is so fun isn't!!!! I am so lucky right now in my life because I am back to being a stay at home mom. WHICH MEANS???????!!!! Why more baking and cooking time. Of course, it also means a little tightening of the budget but I am finding it to be a pleasant challenge....makes me feel so good when I create a great tasting low costing meal.

I have a confession to make. I have had a secret love affair since my son got his ipad. I am and probably will forever on be addicted to FoodGawker. I love it and have "hearted" thousands of recipes that I probably will never be able to begin to make. These people are AMAZING bakers and chefs, if I could be even a smidgen as good as them I would be happy as a clam! So I was taking my nightly looksie and found this AMAZING recipe for super tasty and tender biscuits. I am a BREAD addict, I swear I have one whole organ in my body solely devoted to use of Bread products....there is a reason it is called the staff of life!! If I don't have bread or a dog in my house I am one UNHAPPY camper....SO to find a quick fix for it and in such a nice batch size I was all over this recipe. As my dad would say, like a chicken on a june bug. I made these little lovelies and was NOT disappointed. Neither was my son or my husband, which is amazing because my hubby is not one for bread or any of its relatives. He ate 2. Seriously no joke! So I thought to meself, it is time to post on the blog. BUT HOW???!?? I have no pictures of my own to show...true, but this is the internet, with a click of a button you will be sent to this amazing recipe complete with picture and all in less than 20 seconds!! I will continue with my search party for my camera as of tomorrow....my upstairs is full of surprises yet to be uncovered! Until then, enjoy this recipe, and head over to foodgawker too....it is AMAZING....way better than Pinterest....seriously!

Source: dessertfortwo.com via Clarinda on Pinterest

PS Make sure you use REAL buttermilk for these. VERY important:)

Pasta turned Soup

I needed to make something for dinner. I thought pasta with red sauce sounded good, but, of course, I didn't have any red sauce on hand. I did have some veggies and tomato sauce. I could make a sauce from scratch. Without a recipe. Right?

Turns out, nope.

It turned out way too thin, so I improvised. Instead of serving it like a regular pasta, I served it like a soup. It was delicious!

Veggie Pasta Soup

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/4 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (8oz) can water
• 1 (15.5oz) can black beans
• seasoned salt
• dried oregano
• dried basil
• crushed red pepper
• 6 oz elbow macaroni

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet. Add celery, onion, and carrots. Saute until slightly soft. Add garlic and saute for another minute or so.
2. Add tomato sauce, water, black beans and seasonings (to taste).
3. Meanwhile cook macaroni according to package directions.
4. Combine sauce and pasta and simmer for at least an additional 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.