Banana Bread--2 ways

We love banana bread, and as soon as those bananas begin to turn brown, I look forward to using them up this way. I am including two recipes. The first one is a healthier version and good for a breakfast food. The second is a much sweeter version that can be served for dessert. They are both very yummy :)

Banana Bread

2 ½ c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ c. applesauce
1 c. sugar
3 egg whites
4 bananas
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x5 loaf pan. Combine flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together applesauce, sugar, egg whites, bananas and vanilla. Add flour mixture all at once and stir gently to blend. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake 50-60 mins or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely before slicing.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
3 large very ripe bananas
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Cream together the sugar and butter. Mix in the eggs and bananas. In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 350.

*I usually bake them in mini loaf pans so they cook in less time and are more convenient to store.


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Chicken Enchiladas

Okay, I don't have an exact recipe-it is just something I throw together.I learned from my sister who learned from her Mexican MIL.

Before you start cooking:
Place one large can of enchilada sauce (red or green--green is awesome!!!)in a large skillet on the left burner. Place an empty plate on the right burner. On the counter to the right of the stove place a bowl of shredded cheese (cheddar and Monterrey Jack), a bowl of cooked shredded chicken (if you don't already have any, just cook a couple breasts in the microwave and shred up), and a 13x9 pan with a little of the enchilada sauce in the bottom. Place your corn tortillas on the counter to the left of the stove. Once you get cooking it starts to move fast so make sure you have everything ready ahead of time. The process may seem confusing, but once you get a system, it is so easy. I can throw this together in five minutes once I have all the ingredients out and ready.
Turn the heat on the enchilada sauce on med high. Once it is nice and hot, place a corn tortilla into the sauce. If it is hot enough, it should get soft in a matter of seconds. (if not, heat to this point) Once the tortilla is soft, remove with a large spatula to the plate (if you do not use a large spatula or if you wait too long the tortilla will fall to pieces) Place another tortilla in the sauce. While that is softening, place a small amount of chicken and cheese into the center of the tortilla on the plate, roll up and place in pan. REMEMBER you only have a few seconds to do this before the next tortilla will be ready and it will be HOT! Remove the second tortilla and continue this process until the 13x9 pan is full. You can stuff it as full as you want as long as you have enough ingredients. As you go, you can add water to your enchilada sauce to stretch it, or consider using two cans if you are going to make a very large batch. You might think it easier to complete one tortilla before putting another in the sauce, but if you do it this way the sauce will get too hot and you will have to keep adjusting the heat. Once you have your pan full of enchiladas pour the remaining sauce over the top and add some more shredded cheese. I usually end up using two cans of sauce and about a pound of cheese because we LOVE it extra saucy and cheesy LOL. But you can use a lot less if you want and you can just top each individual enchilada with a small amount of sauce and cheese. I just pour it all over the top. You can cover and put in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to bake. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (or longer if it came out of the fridge or freezer) until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
This is a very basic recipe and you can add anything else you want--sour cream, olives, tomatoes, whatever.
This is my absolute favorite food!!!

© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal

I love the cinnamon roll flavor oatmeal that comes in those little instant convenience packs. But I don't love the price. So, I duplicated it at home :) It took me awhile to find the right combination of ingredients, but I finally found the mixture the makes cinnamon roll yummyness!

Heat 6 c. water to boiling. Add 3 c. oats. Boil until water is absorbed and oatmeal is thickened. Turn heat off. Add 1/4 c. butter, 1/2-3/4 c. sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Stir until fully combined. Stir together 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 3 tsp water or milk. After serving oatmeal into bowls, drizzle powdered sugar glaze on top.


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Menu Plan Monday--Ways to Make Menu Planning Easy and Fun

Choosing meals

Okay, so you decide you are going to sit down and invest the time into planning your dinners for the next couple weeks. Good decision! But now you are faced with the challenge of choosing what meals you are going to serve. Sometimes this task alone can seem so daunting. But here are a few ideas that will help make it super easy.

1) have your family help
Let's say you are planning 7 meals for this week's dinners. Have each person in your home choose one meal for the week. If you have the average of three children, plus you and your husband, that is 5 meals already picked. That only leaves a couple for you to choose to fill in the gaps.

2) what would you order?
If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, imagine you are eating out at a restaurant. What would you order? You can easily re-create those restaurant favorites in your own home. You can even explore the website of your favorite restaurant to get menu ideas.

3) have a list of standbys
Keep a list of basic meals that you can make quickly and easily and don't mind eating somewhat frequently. Things like meatloaf, spaghetti, tacos, and fried chicken...things that use ordinary ingredients and can be easy meals to help fill in between the more exciting meals you prepare.

4) use the resources you already have
You probably have a huge stack of cookbooks in your kitchen. Clippings of recipes you've saved from magazines, websites you've bookmarked, old little scraps of paper with a recipe you copied down real quick. Pull them out and make all those recipes you've been wanting to try. Ask your friends for their tried and true recipes. There are SO many sources for recipes out there, just explore all those different options and start cooking!

Menu plan 4/5-4/11

Monday:
breakfast~cereal
lunch~leftovers
dinner~tacos

Tuesday:
breakfast~cinnamon roll oatmeal
lunch~veggie soup
dinner~salmon, rice, corn, fry bread

Wednesday:
breakfast~ham quiche
lunch~egg salad sandwiches, ranch crackers, fruit salad
dinner~chicken enchiladas

Thursday:
breakfast~banana bread
lunch~pasta
dinner~blts, potato wedges

Friday:
breakfast~smoothies
lunch~baked potatoes
dinner~bbq chicken pizza

Saturday:
breakfast~eggs n toast
lunch~Asian salad
dinner~red beans n rice

Sunday:
breakfast~cereal
lunch~go out
dinner~chicken cordon bleu, red potatoes, green beans, bread


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Brownies

I searched for years for a good basic brownie recipe. Whenever I found a good one, it was always for an 8x8 size, and in our family we definitely need 13x9!! I finally found this one in one of those school cookbooks given to us for Christmas by my niece. This recipe is delicious, simple, and very easy to dress up and make different variations.

Hershey's Best Brownies

1 c. (2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 c. sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 c. Hershey's cocoa powder
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 pan. In a large microwave safe bowl, place butter. Microwave on high about 2 mins, until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Combine dry ingredients. Stir into the sugar mixture until fully combined. Pour batter into prepare pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies just begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes about 36 brownies.


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Strawberry Shortcake

2 c. fresh strawberries
1/4 c. sugar

2 1/4 c. flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c. shortening
1 egg
2/3 c. milk

1 container whipped topping

Rinse the strawberries and cut into eighths. Place into a large bowl and sprinkle the 1/4 c. strawberries over the top. Let rest for at least 30 mins.

Heat oven to 425. Grease and flour an 8" cake pan.

Combine the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening in with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the egg into the milk. Stir into the flour mixture just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX. Spread the mixture into the pan. Bake for 10 mins. When cooled, slice in half horizontally. Pour the strawberries (reserve one or two large pieces for garnish) and syrup onto the bottom half of the cake. Top with almost all of the whipped topping. Place the top piece of cake on top of the strawberries and whipped topping. Scoop the remaining whipped topping in a large dollop on the top of the cake. Garnish with the reserved strawberries.


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Cupcakes for dinner?

Yes, we had cupcakes for dinner tonight. Well, April Fools style cupcakes that is.

Here is how you make 'em:
Prepare your favorite style meatloaf (1 lb of ground beef will produce 12 cupcakes)
Prepare a batch of mashed potatoes (for 12 cupcakes you will need about 5 potatoes)
Steam up some finely chopped veggies

Spoon the meatloaf mixture into the cups of a muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes, until fully cooked. Once cooked and cooled slightly, remove from the pan onto a large platter. Place your mashed potato mixture into a piping gun. Pipe onto the top of the meatloaf cupcakes in a swirled design. Top with chopped veggies.

These were cute AND yummy!


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved