Banana & Peanut Butter Pancakes

One of the best and worst things about being a foodie is all of the food you have in the house.  It's great for random Saturday mornings when I want to make a tasty breakfast on a whim, because I have a variety of different ingredients to make something!  This particular Saturday morning I decided to make banana and peanut butter pancakes.  Yummm!

I used the boxed pancake Aunt Jemima batter, mainly because I was hungry and didn't want to start from scratch, so I cheated.  Shh.. don't tell :)

Mash together two very ripe bananas, and 1/4 cup of peanut butter.  You can add more peanut butter if you'd like a more peanut butter taste.

Mix the peanut butter banana mix into the batter and stir well.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour batter into the pan and cook until there's bubbles.  Flip and cook for another couple minutes until cooked through.

I served with a little heap of crunchy peanut butter on top that I spread like butter.  These were so tasty!  C and I really enjoyed them, and with a little side of watermelon it was a great start to the weekend.

Happy Monday, see you back here tomorrow!

Banana & Peanut Butter Pancakes

Serves 4

Aunt Jemima batter for 6-10 pancakes

2 ripe bananas

1/4 cup peanut butter + more as topping

Mix the batter according to package directions.

Mash the bananas well and mix in the peanut butter.

Combine the peanut butter mixture into the batter and stir well.

Heat a medium pan over medium heat.

Pour batter into the pan and heat until bubbles form. 

Flip, and cook for another couple of minutes until cooked through. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

I love everything about cooking, but what I really LOVE is baking.  When I'm stressed, want to relax, am bored, or want to do something nice for someone.. I bake.  The diet I've been on to help determine what I'm allergic to doesn't include any kind of sugar, so not baking for the past month has been pretty tough on me.  I  made an exception one day last week when all of us had to be at work early, and I thought I would treat my co-workers to some breakfast muffins.  Although these do have sugar in them, they're a healthier muffin, and very delicious!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with baking cups and set aside.  In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork.  Then mix in the sugar, egg and applesauce.  

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder over the banana mixture.  Mix lightly with a rubber spatula to combine.

Fold in the chocolate chips.  The batter should be just moistened but still a little clumpy.

Using a ice cream scoop, divide the batter into the prepared muffin cups.  Bake them for around 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Transfer them to a rack to cool.

You wouldn't know that these were low fat muffins until I told you.. they're soft and sweet and the chunks of banana and chocolate are so tasty.  What a great way to start your morning!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

12 servings

Adapted from Handle the Heat

3 large bananas

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  

Line a muffin tin with baking cups and set aside.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.

Mix in the sugar, egg, and applesauce.

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder over the banana mixture.

Mix lightly with a rubber spatula.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide batter between the prepared muffin cups and bake for around 18 minutes. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool, and enjoy!

Shake It Up

How was your weekend?  Mine went pretty well, I'm slowly getting used to how hot it's going to be here in Texas for the next three months.  It's a process for me!  I still want to run up to someone in long jeans asking them how they do it without passing out... but hopefully one day I'll get there. 

Every once and a while (ok it happens a lot) I don't feel like cooking dinner.  Especially now with the hot weather, it takes effort to get myself in a hot kitchen, and that's why this fruit shake is awesome.  I usually have enough ingredients to make it, and it always changes a little every time.  It's versatile, but mainly it's cold and it's quick.  Did I mention it's ridiculously healthy? 

I always put bananas in my shakes, they taste so good with all other fruits, I can't think of a reason not to!  Plus I always have some laying around to use.  In this case I used a whole banana and cut it up into little bites before putting in the blender.

 

Also used a handful of strawberries, that I cut into smaller pieces as well. 

For some reason I've been on a watermelon kick, I feel so hydrated after eating it.  There's usually no way I can eat a whole watermelon by myself before it gets a little too soggy, so I thought I would add some to my shake as something different, and to use up the fruit.

I used around 1/2 cup of soy milk, 1/2 cup of orange juice and added around 5 ice cubs to add a little texture :)

Add in the fruit and start blending.

This is great for breakfast, a snack, or substitute for lunch or dinner.  It's jam packed with fruit and healthy stuff (technical term) and believe it or not it does fill you up!  You can be so creative with this too, add whatever fruits you like, and any liquids you prefer. 

Happy Monday everyone!



My Favorite Shake

Serving size: around 2 full cups

1 full banana, cut up

6-7 strawberries, cut up

slices of watermelon

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup orange juice

~5 ice cubes

Combine everything in a blender.

Blend until a thick, but drinkable consistency.

Add additional liquid or ice if needed.

Bloggers Bake for Hope

When I started food blogging around five months ago, I knew I was going to have an issue with too much food, mainly desserts.  I should not be eating all of this by myself, and the people I work with, although they love my baking, 2-3 baked items a week is a little much.  The search began for what I could do with the baked goods once I made and took pictures of them.  I stumbled on Blogger Bake for Hope, and thought it was perfect.  I was helping raise money for breast cancer research, and I could bake with limits because I knew I couldn't eat anything.  I advertised a lot about the sale on my blog, and many of you bid on items and I really appreciate your support.  The fundraiser raised $3,000!  It was the first time ever doing this, and the goal was $2,000 so we exceeded our expectations.  As of today, all of my items have been delivered to the people who bid and won them, I thought I would share some pictures of what they received.

I'll begin with the best chocolate brownies.  I got this recipe from King Arthur Flour, and loved it.  They're very rich, and a little crunchy on top.  This is the batter right before going into the oven. 

I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top, cut them into small pieces and they were ready to be enjoyed!  If you would like the recipe and instructions for the brownies, check out my post here.

The bakers' responsibility is to make the baked goods and them mail them out to the people who won.  These are the brownies all packaged and ready to be mailed out. 

Next were banana muffins with a splash of chocolate chips.  The recipe makes either banana bread, or around six banana muffins.

These were a little rough for me not to sneak a taste.  They're so yummy!  Perfect for breakfast or for dessert.  If you'd like the recipe and instructions for these click here.

All bundled up and ready to go!  My parents bought these, hopefully they enjoy them.

Last, but certainly not least, Nutella cookies.  These are such easy cookies to make, and the added Nutella gives them a hazelnut flavor that is to die for!

Came out perfect!  Soft and chocolaty with a hint of hazelnut.  If you'd like to check out the recipe for Nutella cookies click here.

Cookies all ready to go, but I was a little sad to see them leave!

Overall the event turned out great.  I will be participating again next year, and will probably add a couple more items.  Hopefully you all will participate again next year too!  Thank you for your support again, and for those who won my baked goodies, I hope you enjoy every bite.

Happy Friday everyone, hope you have a great weekend.  See you back here on Monday :)