Banana Cream Pie Smoothie

I did something for the first time...I put cottage cheese in a smoothie.  I knew it would all taste fine in the end, but just scooping it in for the first time freaked me out just a bit, I'm no afraid to admit it!  It yielded a different texture than I could have gotten with lets say, yogurt.  So I will be using it more and more in my smoothies, hopefully not cringing next time :)

This smoothie turned out super good, perfect consistency and fulfilled my craving for something sweet that was pretty darn healthy as well.  

Banana Cream Pie Smoothie

One ripe banana, quartered
⅓ cup lowfat cottage cheese
⅓ cup lowfat milk
1 packet sweetner (optional...I like Stevia)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup ice
Graham crackers (I just threw one whole cracker in)

Add all of your ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into glass and enjoy!

Recipe Source:  A Night Owl Blog

Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble

We eat bananas around here like crazy!  I'm surprised I had some brown up for once.  I decided to try a new recipe this time around, and I found this little number with the cinnamon crumb topping.  The pin I found was pinned over 13,000 times, so I figured it was probably a good one.  It was...it was REAL tasty!  Enjoy :) 

Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble

Bread:

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 overripe bananas, mashed

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

In a large bowl of a mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, egg and vanilla until combined. Add the butter and beat until smooth and the butter is fully incorporated. Beat in the buttermilk and bananas.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet until all the flour is incorporated. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and pour in the batter. * Note that not all loaf pans are the same size. You may have extra batter, so just pour in enough so there is still about an inch or 2 of space before the top of the pan.

Make the crumb topping by combining the powdered sugar, flour, cinnamon salt and melted butter. Using your hands, crumble the mixture over the batter in the pan. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 Recipe Source:  Little Bits Of

Marshmallow Fruit Dip

 In my chruch, I am in charge of a group of 8-year olds, doing bi-weekly activities to help them progress towards finishing goals.  It is AWESOME!  I only get boy stuff at my house, so this is my time to let my girlie girl come out.  This last week we talked about personal hygiene, painted nails, and had some yummy "girlie" snacks.  This fruit dip is super simple, and makes plain 'ole fruit a little more exciting for the kiddos (who am I kidding, I LOVE it too :)

Marshmallow Fruit Dip

1 Jar Marshmallow Cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together with hand mixer, chill until ready to serve.

Nutella Banana Cookies

Well, we've been eating lots of veggies over here and limiting our sugar intake.  I am feeling stronger and more energetic the last few weeks.   On top of that, I have finally found a workout that is working well for me (outside of the gym of course).  Beachbody's T25 is such a great workout for the time.  I love Insanity, but it does a number on my knees.  I could never follow it fully, having to take days off.  This one is totally doable, and I feel it working already.  

Anyhow....I'm talking about healthy stuff and then have these cookies thrown in your face.  We had a few friends over recently and my hubby promised them dessert, so I made up a yummy lite trifle and these cookies for the kids.  These are so yummy!  Nutella is truly the star of this cookie.  Getting a little pocket of chocolate-y goodness is like winning the lottery ;)  Enjoy!

Nutella Banana Cookies


1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup shortening
2 large mashed ripe bananas
1 egg
1¾ cup oats
¼ cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
Beat in mashed ripe bananas and egg.  Cut in shortening.  Mix in oats.

Take a knife and "slice" nutella into batter with a knife. Don't mix it in completely, the stripes are what make them pretty!

Spoon "drops" onto a greased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes. (Note: this is a lot softer than normal cookie dough and will not form balls, hence spoon “drops”)

Recipe Source:  Chef In Training

Banana Pudding Chewy Crinkle Cookies

I was scrolling through Instagram one day recently and saw that one of my friends had posted about a birthday of a family member.  She said her family member did not like cake, so they made him a cake out of his favorite cookies, these cookies.  I immediately went on a search for a recipe and came across these.  I am so glad I did!!  These cookies are so moist, and as an added bonus, you get small bits of vanilla wafer cookies right in the cookie!  

I had a friend come spend the night last week when her hubs was out of town.  I had to make a treat of course!  Perfect opportunity to test these babies out.  They were gobbled up by us and the kids in a hurry!  Enjoy :)

Banana Pudding Chewy Crinkle Cookies

2-1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

⅔ of 3.4 oz package of banana cream pudding mix

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup white granulated sugar

3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature, cut into small pieces

½ cup unsalted butter, melted and warm

1 large egg, room temperature

1 Tbsp. whole milk

About 8 vanilla wafer cookies, chopped (not crushed)

1 cup of powder sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 and line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl.  Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk until all combined.  Add egg and milk, whisk until smooth.  Fold in chopped vanilla wafers.  Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and banana cream mix. Mix with rubber spatula until completely combined. (You may have to just use your hands once dry ingredients are folded into wet ingredients, to finish mixing the cookie dough.)

Form 1-inch balls and roll them in powder sugar.  Place cookie balls on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 11-12 minutes.

Recipe Source:  Will Cook For Smiles

Banana Blueberry Bread

To let the truth me told...I miss food blogging like I used to.  I miss getting excited to try new recipes EVERY SINGLE DAY.  No lie, for a period of about 3 years, we did not eat the same dinner twice (well, it was a rare occasion anyway).  On Sundays when the ads and coupons came, I would make my game plan for the week (many times I would meal plan for 2 weeks at a time), and Monday I'd hit the store with my list and coupons in hand.  I only went to the store every 2 weeks back then.  I spent a heck of a lot less money doing it this way.  

When my husband got out of professional school and we moved across the country, and our income was a bit more, I just got out of the habit...because lets face it, couponing takes time...lots of time.  By the time you match the coupons to the sales at different stores, meal plan around the ads, make your way to all those stores, it takes a lot of time.  I want to find a happy medium to where I can save a bit of money, still try new things all the time, AND not go to the store every other day for things I have forgotten.  I'll post back on how that goes.  

We've been eating a lot of bananas at our house lately.  By the time each of my 3 boys and I each eat one every day, we are going through bunches and bunches every week.  I was surprised I even had a banana with a brown spot on it.  I have been craving banana bread for a while now, and I saw this recipe using blueberries (which I have a plethora of in my freezer), so I decided to go for it.  This bread is perfectly moist, and the blueberries are a nice change from the regular old banana bread.  A winner for sure :)

Banana Blueberry Bread


4 ripe bananas ~ 1 1/2c mashed
1 c fresh blueberries
1 1/4 c flour (I use 1/2 c wheat, 3/4 c AP)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbls butter, softened
3/4 c light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325. Peel and mash the bananas.  Stir in the butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until well combined.

Combine the dry ingredients. Pour half of the flour and baking soda mixture into the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.  Add the blueberries to the remaining dry ingredients and coat the blueberries with the flour mixture.  Stir in the blueberries and remaining dry ingredients just until combined.

Grease and flour a bread pan and the pour the mixture in.  Let the bread bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.  Slice, serve, and enjoy! I love seeing the bright blueberries and banana chunks in each slice of bread - YUM!

Recipe Source:  Mom On Timeout

Want more bread recipes?  Try one of these:


Chocolate Chip Zucchini Walnut Bread


Lemon Zucchini Bread


Copycat Kneaders Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread


Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Banana Zucchini Bread

I am continuing my quest to use up zucchini and not to let it go to waste!  So here is my next attempt at using it up.  This bread turned out super moist and was a great way to use up not only the zucchini, but those 3 bananas that were just about ready to be thrown away.

This is really yummy for breakfast and is good with a little Nutella spread on top.  Yum!

Banana Zucchini Bread

3 over-ripe medium (1 cup) bananas, mashed
1 cup fresh zucchini, grated
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC.

In a mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas, oil, egg, vanilla, and mix. Add in sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and mix. Add flour, and mix until just combined. Stir in zucchini. Pour mixture into a greased and floured baking pan. Bake for 1 hour (check for doneness at 50 minutes) or until a wooden pick comes out clean (I split mine into 2 smaller pans and they cooked about 45 minutes). Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Recipe Source: Easy Banana Recipes

Blueberry Banana Cream Pie

I hope you are all ready for some serious recipes!  I'm sure I've mentioned before that I live in a MAJOR agricultural area.  I'm talking asparagus, corn, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, apples, cherries, grapes, hops, peaches, apricots, etc.  My intentions are to fully take advantage of the bounty of the land this summer/fall!  So here's my first blueberry recipe of the year since we just made it back from the berry farm (we picked lots of these babies and are planning on going back for more.  We also got somewhere between 25-30 pounds of cherries.)

This pie turned out super delicious...while eating it, my husband kept saying "this is so good!"  It is an easy one to make, especially since the pie crust was pre-made.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Banana Cream Pie

6 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup cold water
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped (just whipped, DO NOT add any thing else to it)
2 medium bananas, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 prepared Nilla wafer crust
additional blueberries for garnish, optional

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the condensed milk until smooth.  Then beat in the water and pudding mix. Fold in whipped cream.

In a resealable plastic bag, add bananas and lemon juice; toss until bananas are coated. Drain and discard lemon juice.
Spread with half of the cream cheese mixture into Nilla wafer crust. Top with bananas and blueberries. Spread with remaining cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Yield: 8 servings. (Next time I’m going to do 2 pie crusts and double the bananas and blueberries to make 2 pies and top them off with some sweetened whipped cream.  As you can see in the picture these was tons on filling for just one pie)

Recipe Source:  Real Mom Kitchen

Creamy Berry Salad

I have had this recipe in my files for a long time...I'm talking like 3 years! I am really glad I finally tried this, it is super yummy! It reminds me a lot of a sherbet ice cream I had growing up that had raspberries and bananas in it.  The filling alone is yummy enough to eat on it's own!

I halved this recipe to eat with just my small family, but the full recipe will fill a large bowl, enough for any potluck or party.

Creamy Berry Salad

2 instant cheesecake jello pudding mix
1 8oz cool whip
1 large carton of strawberry yogurt (The big one, 36 oz I think it is)

Mix these ingredients together and refrigerate.

Just before serving, Add:

1 sm. bag of raspberries
1 sm. bag of mixed berries (thaw the berries before adding)
bananas

OR use all fresh berries:

2 containers fresh strawberries, 1 pint blackberries, 1 pint raspberries and 2 bananas. Add more as desired.

Mix gently and serve right away!

Recipe Source: Oh Sweet Basil

Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

It's hard to get kids to want a healthy snack sometimes. I love it when we can compromise. Instead of eating a chocolate bar or potato chips, this snack gives a little bit of sweet with the nutrition of a banana. And lets be honest...chocolate and peanut butter together is out of this world!  You will find yourself snacking right along with the kiddos, because they are just that good!

Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

3 bananas
peanut butter
chocolate covered candy coating/chocolate bark (I used about 1/2 a package)

Slice bananas about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Put a dollop of peanut butter on each slice of banana. Lay out a sheet of wax paper on small cookie sheet. Place candy coating in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals until chocolate is smooth. Holding a fork, place banana slice on top and use a spoon to coat banana. Shake off excess chocolate. Place on wax paper and freeze for 3-5 hours.

Here are some more fun ideas for some sweet treats for your kids, try some! You'll be the coolest mom on the block by making some of these fun recipes :)

Chef Mom

IVilliage

Diana's Desserts (tips on cooking with kids)

Livestrong (treats good for kids with peanut allergies)

Family Fun

Banoffee Pie

• Bananas. Caramel.  Need I say more?!  I have always heard that sweetened condensed milk magically becomes dulce de leche when cooked long enough, but have yet to try it.  I'm glad I did.  This recipe requires little effort with big-time results, you will not be disappointed :)
• 
  
• Banoffee Pie
• From:  Paula Deen
• 
  
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 10 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk 
• 3 large bananas
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

See below for methods to make the Dulce de Leche (I did stove top).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or go the fast route and buy a pre-made crust).

Mix graham cracker crumbs with softened butter and press mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes.

Once both the crust and toffee filling are cooled, spread half of the filling evenly inside crust. Slice the bananas and layer on top of filling. Pour remaining half of filling over bananas, spreading evenly. Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla (or cheat like I did and use Cool Whip)and spread on top of toffee filling and bananas.

To make the caramel or Dulce de Leche:

Stove Top Method:  Remove the label from can of sweetened condensed milk.  Put in pot and cover completely with water.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 2 1/2 hours (I would say 3 hours, mine came out a little too runny).  Be sure to keep the can totally covered in water to be safe.  The can will burst if it is not completly covered in water the whole time!  Be careful!!  When cooled enough that you can handle with can with your bare hands, it is safe to open.

Crock Pot Method:  Take the label of the can and place in crock pot.  Cover completely with water.  Put lid on and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Just once again make sure there is plenty of water and the cans are covered the entire time!  Cool before opening.

Oven Method:  Open can of sweetened condensed milk and pour into a glass pie plate.  Cover with tin foil.  Place in a roasting pan and fill pan halfway with water. Place in a 300 degree oven and bake for 40 minutes or until is a rich caramel color.

Summertime Spinach Salad

I love a good summer salad.  I love it even better if it is good for you!  This one caught my eye because it has fresh spinach (love that), strawberries (oh boy), and bananas (what!)  The combo is great and the dressing pulls it altogether.  My husband would disagree, he thought the bananas and the vinegar in the dressing was too much.  You be the judge.  I think it's a great side to any of your summertime grilled meat :)

Summertime Spinach Salad

From: Real Mom Kitchen

½ cup vegetable oil ( I use canola)
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cider or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1-½ teaspoons ground mustard
½ teaspoon salt
1-½ teaspoons poppy seeds
8 cups torn fresh spinach
3 green onions, sliced
2 pints fresh strawberries sliced
3 large bananas cut into ½ inch slices
½ cup slivered almonds, toasted (it works fine if they are not toasted too)

Place the first six ingredients into a blender or food processor; cover and process until the sugar is dissolved. Add the poppy seeds; process just until blended. In a salad bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Serve immediately. 14 servings.

One Ingredient Ice Cream

Say what?!  One ingredient!  You betcha.  This ice cream is fantastic, creamy, sweet, flavorful, and healthy.  The ingredient...bananas!  Who knew that something so dang healthy could replace my love for ice cream?!  I am excited to try some variations of this...this first time around I added a few tablespoons of nutella...tasted like a chocolate banana, yum!  See below for more variations to try :)

One Ingredient Ice Cream

2-3 ripe bananas

1. Slice bananas into 1/2 inch slices and place on a small cookie sheet and freeze for 1 hour.
2. Put the frozen banana slices into you food processor and puree until creamy.  You can scrape down the sides if needed.  Don’t worry, it takes a minute for it to all get creamy but it will happen.  Freeze for a few hours to get the texture of ice cream.

Other variations:

Strawberry version – just add 1 cup frozen strawberries for each banana and a little milk if needed.

Nutella version – add 3 -4 Tbsp of Nutella

Banana Peanut Butter – make like the chunky monkey minus the nuts and chocolate chips and add a little more peanut butter

Banana Chocolate Chip – make like the chunky monkey minus the PB and nuts

Banana Maple – add a Tbsp or two of maple syrup

Banana Chocolate – a 2 tsp of cocoa powder

Banana, PB and Chocolate – just make the banana chocolate version and a 2 Tablespoons of PB

Caramel Banana – add a Tbsp or so of caramel syrup

Chunky Monkey-

• 2-3 ripe bananas (just depends on their size)
• 1-2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp honey (for added sweetness)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1-2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips

Banana Smoothie

I have been without a blender for 6 months...I'm not sure how  managed that!  I was so excited when we finally got one and I could start making my fruit smoothies again...they are always my favorite for breakfast.  This one was pretty good, although I love this smoothie recipe the best!  This one comes from Real Mom Kitchen.  It is a great (and healthy) way to get rid of some of those bananas browning on your counter :)

1 cup milk (I used skim)
1 cup ice (I used less because my banana was frozen and I didn't need this much)
1 banana (I used frozen)
1/2 tsp almond extract (I thought this was too strong...I'll use half this amount next time)
1 tsp. sugar (you may need a little more if the banana isn’t sweet enough)

Combine ingredient in blender and blend until smooth.

Banana Cake Cookies

This week has been clean out the freezer week.  I have been trying to come up with dinners that can be made out of whatever I can get rid of!  Dessert has been no exception.  I've had some brown bananas staring at me for a few weeks now, and cookies sounded good, so this is what I came up with after finding this recipe on Recipe Goldmine.  They really do taste like cake, and they are delicious :)

1/2 cup Crisco
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Icing:

3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk (may need up to 5 tablespoons)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Cream shortening; add brown sugar, beating well. Add eggs and banana; beat well.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to creamed mixture; mix well. Stir in pecans. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonsful, 2 inches apart onto greased cookies sheets. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Cool cookie sheets completely and frost.

Icing:

3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk

Mix confectioners' sugar, butter and vanilla extract together. Add milk to yield desired consistency, beating until smooth.