Blueberry Banana Bread

  Triple B! What's so special about this banana bread? Absolutely nothing. Banana bread, in fact, is one of the easiest things in the world to make. It's cheap, it's easy, and there is a massive return on investment in the form of tasty, piping hot bread right out of the oven. Some people add chocolate chips, or extra bananas or eye of newt and wing of bat. Customize- it's up to you. I made it this way because I had the ingredients, and I love banana bread. That's it. This recipe was originally posted at The Kitchen Paper.

Blueberry Banana Bread

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed (ripe) banana
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat the oven to 350 F and butter two 4×8 loaf pans.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter and mashed banana. Mix in the two eggs, vanilla, and then sugar. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients, mixing gently until just combined.

Fold in the blueberries, divide batter between the pans, and bake for 60 minutes. If the tops are browning too quickly, tent with foil. Test with a cake tester to make sure the loaves are done before removing from the oven. Let the loaves cool in their pans for 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely.

  **I also threw some chopped almonds in there. I like nuts in my banana bread, and what I had on hand was almonds. Worked just as well, and gave it a nice crunch.

Cucumber Roll-ups with Sundried Tomato Sauce

  Deliciousness! These very-easy-to-prepare-and-even-easier-to-eat-rollups would make great hors d'oeuvres for your next party, brunch, or whatever. There's also a lot here that's customizable. You can make your own hummus, if you're so inclined, or buy any of the many varieties you can find at the market. You can garnish with the sundried tomato sauce, or add your own dash of flavor on the top. If you've got a mandolin and a food processor (or high speed blender), you're pretty much all set. Here are the recipes you'll need: (originally posted at The Detoxinista- and with many more pretty pics!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 large cucumber
Hummus
Sun Dried Tomato Sauce (recipe below)

Directions:

To create your cucumber rolls, you’ll need a mandolin or a wide vegetable peeler. Slice the cucumber lengthwise, into very thin slices. Because they are so thin, you’ll want to double-up the slices for each roll. Apply a thin layer of of hummus lengthwise down each slice. Then roll up, and top each roll with a dollop of tomato sauce!

Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
3 oz. sun dried tomatoes
2 roasted red peppers
1/2 cup water
2 cloves raw garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:

In a high-speed blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

  I threw in more garlic and less bell pepper, so again, very customizable. Enjoy!

Irish Apple Cake

  If you want your entire house to smell amazing, this one's for you. As an extra bonus, you can stuff this delicious cake in your gut at the same time. Does it get any better?
  This was another Pinterest discovery, and it's great. Plenty easy and quick to put together, and you get a nice, not-too-sweet cake that would probably be good at any time of the day. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3/4 cup sugar
3-4 Granny Smith apples
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp granulated sugar for topping

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.Spray 8 or 9" round baking pan with cooking spray (I like Bakers Joy for cakes)
3.(I don't recommend any larger pan as the cake will be too thin)
4.Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg & cinnamon in large bowl.
5.Using pastry cutter- cut butter into dry mixture until it resembles fine bread crumbs
6.Add sugar & mix through
7.Peel & slice apples into thin wedges & toss in flour mixture - coating apples
8.In a separate small bowl - beat eggs & milk - add to apple mixture
9.Toss & stir well to fully moisten flour. Should result in a very sticky dough
10.Transfer to prepared pan
11.Flatten top of surface & sprinkle with remaining sugar
12.Bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick test is clean
13.Cool on wire rack

  Special thanks goes out to the fine folks over at Kleinworth & Co. who posted the original recipe here.

Peanut Butter Bars

  Fellow foodies, this "recipe" is stupidly easy and quick, and it only has three ingredients:

  1 Cup peanut butter
  1 Cup honey
  3 Cups old-fashioned oats

  Instructions

  1. Melt peanut butter and honey in a small pot, stirring until well blended and soupy.
  2. Stir in oats until well blended.
  3. Press mixture into 8x8 inch pan.
  4. Allow to harden and cut into bars.

  If you leave the pan on the counter to harden, it will take a good long while. You can speed the process, as I did, by sticking it in the fridge for half an hour or so. I can see all kinds of combinations with this recipe- you could add nuts of your choice, or dried fruit. It's a great tasting bar that packs a good dose of protein and energy, and takes only minutes to put together!

Pumpkin Hot Chocolate (vegan)

  Yep, pumpkin hot chocolate. I couldn't quite decide if that sounded good to me, or not, when I first read the recipe. I like pumpkin, and I like chocolate, so why not?
  Funny enough, it turns out that my tastebuds didn't quite know what to make of it, either. Though it smelled wonderful, it didn't exactly blow my socks off. It seems like it's missing something. I think maybe I was expecting it to be sweeter, like hot chocolate usually is. I didn't add anything beyond what's called for in the recipe, so maybe a sweet-tooth guy like myself just needs a dash of sugar or something. You may have a different experience. It's a good warm-up-your-insides drink, and I'll be making it again!
  Recipe below: (Original recipe credit goes to Heidi over at Food Doodles)

Ingredients
•2 C milk(almond milk works perfectly)
•¼ C homemade pumpkin puree(use less of store bought puree as it’s thicker)
•¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice
•3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
•3-4 tbsp maple syrup
•pinch of salt
•dash of vanilla

Instructions
1.On the stove in a small pot, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, cocoa, maple syrup(or honey) and pinch of salt.
2.Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Whisk and cook for 2 minutes.
3.Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and cool until ready to serve, or serve immediately with a splash of extra milk, a dollop of whipped cream, marshmallows or your favorite other hot chocolate toppings.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Bacon Wraps

  I'm a carnivore- I can't lie about it. I love meat. If I go too long without it, I will begin to crave it. Today was one of those days! Luckily, I stumbled upon this fantastic, and very easy recipe for tasty meat treats.
  The ingredients are few and cheap, and you're likely to have them on hand already. Grab some chicken from the store, and a pack of your favorite bacon, and you're basically ready to go! Here's the recipe:(note that a CONVECTION oven is used. I used a conventional oven at 375 degrees for 40 min.)

  Ingredients
• about 1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 pounds bacon
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 T chili powder
• 1/2 t cumin

Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350 convection. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, 2 T chili powder and 1/2 t cumin. Mix well.
2.Clean and trim about 1 1/4 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breast. Cut into approx. 1 inch cubes.
3.If using thick bacon, thin out with the back edge of a chef knife. Cut the bacon in half, roll around the chicken cubes and secure with a tooth pick. This is the point to cover and refrigerate for better timing.
4.Prep baking sheet with aluminum foil a rack and spray with PAM.
5. Roll the pieces in the brown sugar mixture. Be sure to pack some in the ends. Place on the rack.
6.Bake until golden brown. About 35 minutes for me. Cover with foil on heavy dish to keep warm until served.

  Super easy, super delicious. This would make a great party dish or appetizer plate at your next get together. Or, if you're like me, you can cook it and eat it all yourself like a selfish pig. Credit for this recipe goes to "101 Cooking for Two" and the original can be found HERE.

  Happy eating!

Thai Style Stir Fried Chicken

Let's wok!

  Okay, that was a really bad pun. Don't let my poor wordplay steer you away from this fresh, delicious, low calorie dish! There's a bit of investment up front, if you don't have things like rice vinegar and red curry paste in your pantry, but it is totally worth it. These aren't expensive items, and they will be things you can use in other Asian fare. Your taste buds will thank you when you lavish them with these rich and exotic flavors! The original recipe can be found at myrecipes.com.
  Happy eating!