Friday, November 30, 2012

Sweet Saturday #29: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies with Flax

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I am just getting back into the swing of things after returning from my travels to North Carolina (I hope none of you missed me too much!). I hope everyone had a nice one, too. I was visiting my mom’s side of the family in North Carolina. It was an especially momentous gathering since my grandmother intends to move out of her house- the house she has been living in for the last 35 years –by next spring. The very house where I, my sister, and our cousins spent many a fine summers exploring the woods out back, building dams in the creek, hiding in Grandpa’s garden, and enjoying Grandma’s homemade treats like cookies and pancakes every day of each visit. The very house where, each December, Grandma always had the biggest, nicest tree my young eyes had ever seen, and where we’d join her in the Love Feast Mass at her Moravian church on Christmas Eve, and, if we were lucky, we’d get to catch the Christmas light garden, too. The very house where my parents and then my sister got married in the backyard, where I learned the joys of outdoor trampolines, where I used to spend hours catching salamanders and snakes and crawfish and other creepy crawlers (those were my tomboy days!), and where I’d hoped my little Lily would get to spend at least a few good years experiencing the splendors her Great Granny’s home had to offer.

It was a bittersweet visit…mostly sweet, though :)

Source

We had the whole family there for the first time in years; there is usually at least one of us who can’t make it at the same time as everyone else, but this year, somehow we managed to do it. My eldest cousin’s wife recently gave birth to her first child, a sweet baby boy named Declan. My sister has another on the way, plus a toddler who thinks the world of Lily. We ate lots of good food, played Scrabble and Scattergories together, watched a few good flicks, and enjoyed the surprisingly warm and sunny weather.

I didn’t get to make anything for Thanksgiving since we got there a bit later than planned and I had other things to do, but I did bring along these yummy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies and they must’ve been a hit because they all got eaten up :)


Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies with Flax
(makes 2 ½ dozen)

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup butter
1 cup honey
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¼ cup ground flax seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp flax seeds
1 tsp honey + 1 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and ground flax in bowl. In a separate bowl, combine butter and honey, then beat in banana, eggs and vanilla. Slowly stir dry ingredients into bowl of wet. Once well-mixed, add in the chocolate chips.

On ungreased baking sheets, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough at about one inch apart. Place sheets on center rack in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until nicely browned on top. While cookies are in oven, mix the 1 tsp of honey with 1 tbsp water in a small bowl. During last 2 minutes of baking, brush the tops of the cookies lightly with a little of the water and honey mixture, then sprinkle on flax seeds. Put sheets back into oven and continue baking. 


These cookies are nice and moist and don’t taste “too healthy” at all. In fact, you could probably even add a cup of rolled oats to the dough to pump up their grain content even more. Mmm…that sounds really good, actually.

Soft and sweet and full of banana, flax, honey, and whole grain goodness, you won’t feel bad about treating yourself or you family with these cookies!

And now for our most-clicked Thanksgiving-themed features!

Appetizer/Centerpiece

Sherry from Jazzy Gourmet shared this incredible bread dough cornucopia. Just look at it! She even has a how-to video on her blog for your viewing pleasure. This is something I really want to try next year. Thanks so much, Sherry!


Main Course
 Mary from Mary's Kitchen always shares wonderful posts with us. For Thanksgiving, she linked-up two recipes for some yummy turkeys and everyone checked that out! Thanks, Mary!

Dessert!

Good Girl Gone Green hits the bullseye on the awesome meter once again with this vegan version of green tea hot chocolate. Perfect pick-me-up for those chilly winter afternoons. Thanks, Stephanie!
Our most-clicked overall were:
 

Thanks to everyone who linked up, and welcome new linkers! Grab a button below if you were featured!

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Now on to the party!

Just follow these simple rules:

This weekend's guest hostess is Tammy from Our Neck of the Woods. She has one awesome blog full of yummy recipes, beautiful photos, and tales about her switch from city-living to country-living life. Check her out, follow her, and show her some love! Her linky will not be live until Saturday, but she's still hosting!


1. Link up something sweet to really WOW us all- your blog, Etsy store, Pinterest, Facebook, whatever you want! 
2. Link-up as much as you want and please follow me and Tammy at Our Neck of the Woods if you are not already. Leave me a comment if you are a new follower so I can follow you back!
3. Don't forget to hop around and say hi!
4. Share my button to get more people to join us (not required, but it would be nice!)


Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby

Now that November is ending, it is officially Christmas time! (and I'm sure many of you have already started early). I intend to post at least 1 holiday-themed post each week, along with the weekly Meatless Monday Recipe Hop and Sweet Saturday Link Party. Let's hope I can keep it together and stick to that schedule!

Thanks for stopping by, this little get together really makes the weekend even more enjoyable for me, and gives me the encouragement to keep my little blog going :) 


Monday, November 19, 2012

Meatless Monday: Yummy Side Dishes

This super-yummy potato side dish recipe from Little Mommy, Big Appetite was recently shared here a couple of weeks ago, and I just had to try it. She has so many delicious recipes to choose from, but this one is already a new favorite in my home now. I changed it up just a bit according to the ingredients I already had at hand, but I'm sure any way you make something with the words roasted, cheese, and potato in the name, it will turn out good!

I also came up with a new way to enjoy Brussel sprouts (well, there are other similar recipes out there, but this is my version) that I really liked and will be sure to try again. I normally just roast them with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, but this time I steamed and sauteed them. My Meatless Monday last week really felt like a gourmet meal, and I was joined by one of my besties who ate every bite up with Lily and I.



Cheese and Onion Roasted Potato Stacks
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

2-3 medium-size potatos, Russet or Idaho are good
1 small onion, grated or finely diced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp parsley flake
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cream cheese
Grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix olive oil, onion, and seasonings in small bowl. Clean and peel potatoes, if desired, then slice width-wise as thinly as possible. Brush bottoms of muffin tin with a little olive oil (or you can use cooking spray). Place one slice of potato in 1 muffin tin cup, then drizzle a little of the onion-olive oil concoction on top. Next, place a dollop of cream cheese on top, just about 1 tsp in size. Repeat process until 4-5 potato slices are stacked up in each muffin tin cup, topping it off with a little of the olive oil mixture and no cream cheese.


Place on center rack in oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove tray from oven, and sprinkle grated cheese on top of each potato stack, plus a little extra parsley. Put back in oven, and broil for 5 minutes more, or until cheese is melted to your taste. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!



Brussel Sprouts with Toasted Almonds and Lemon
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients

1 lb Brussel sprouts, cleaned and trimmed
1/4 cup sliced almonds
3 tbsp butter or oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut Brussel sprouts into quarters, like in the picture below. Fill a large frying pan's bottom with water, just enough so that the bottom is covered and is only about 1 cm deep. Place sprouts in pan, cover, and cook on medium-low for about 5-7 minutes, or until tender.  Meanwhile, you can toast the almond slices on the "Medium" setting in your toaster oven, or on a baking tray in your oven at 350 degrees until lightly browned (about 5-7 minutes).


Drain sprouts, then melt butter in pan. Put sprouts back in and saute for about 3-5 minutes. Add in the lemon juice and almonds, plus salt and pepper to taste, and stir until well-covered. Serve right away and enjoy the delicate flavor combination. 

Mommy's and Lily's plates

Potato stack cut open

If these sides don't entice you, then I don't know what will! We ate it all up and nobody complained. The cream cheese was such a nice touch to the potato stacks, I can't wait to make these again. I had three servings of the Brussel sprouts! We also had some rice pilaf from a package of Near East brand sides. I normally avoid pre-packaged foods like that, but Near East is pretty all natural to my knowledge and doesn't contain anything artificial. 

Hopefully picky eaters in your household won't have any problem with these tasty sides. Even babies over 6 months can enjoy some of the potatoes mashed-up and some extra-mushy brussel sprouts. I hope your family likes these as much as we did :)

We all know brussel sprouts are super-good for us, but they are also one of those classic ick foods we all remember mom and dad forcing upon us as kids. I have actually always enjoyed them, probably because my mom would steam and butter them until they were like buttery mush in my mouth. Yet, most kids don't like them, but that shouldn't be. They are so yummy and versatile- you can steam them, roast them, bake them, add the to soups and stews, mash them up, chop them up...really, there is just so much you can do!

They are chock full of vitamins and nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese, and folate. They support a healthy immune system, fight cancer-causing free radicals, and also support a healthy heart and digestive system. They are in season now, so remember to have them with Thanksgiving this year!

Now it's your turn to share your Meatless Monday dish below! Share your turkey-alternatives or other yummy Thanksgiving favorites. No rules, other than please only link-up meat-free recipes. No other un-related links or I will remove them. Sorry to sound so harsh, but let's keep it true to what it is, ok? Link up as much as you want, and feel free to spread the word with the button below. Thanks, and have a great week! 
          
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Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and be safe wherever you are! Thanks for linking-up and supporting my blog, I greatly appreciate it ALWAYS. Btw, if you missed it Friday and are still looking for an alternative to a full-sized turkey for your main course this year, here is an easy and tasty turkey loaf recipe. I'll be away for the holidays, so I may not post again today after this, but I'll do my best if I can find the time. :)



 
  

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Sweet Saturday #28: Turkey Loaf

I've been sick the past few days, so apologies for this link party being a day late!...Today's post isn't exactly sweet, but I wanted to share this recipe for those of you who don't have to/want to go all out for Thanksgiving this year. If I wasn't traveling to North Carolina to be with my extended family, I'd be home making this simple and tasty turkey loaf for Paul, Lily, and myself. I found the recipe in a book called 100 Best Slow Cooked Dishes and really enjoyed it when I made it a few weeks ago. Although the recipe was for making in a slow cooker, I made it in my oven instead.



Turkey Loaf
(serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb ground lean turkey meat
1 onion, chopped
2/3 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp fresh chopped sage
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ground turkey, onion, oats, sage, Worcestershire sauce, egg, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a greased 9" loaf pan and smooth the top out with a spatula. Place loaf into oven on center rack and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until loaf registers at 170 degrees in center. Slice up and serve after allowing to cool for a few minutes. See? Easy!



We had this with corn on the cob and asparagus baked eggs and it was all very good. The turkey loaf had a savory flavor from the sage and onion, and was just the right texture, didn't even need gravy! It's the perfect recipe for a small family, or for the mom who doesn't want go crazy making a huge turkey that just ends up being leftovers for weeks. The oats contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients that provide you with a natural burst of energy, and support for a healthy heart and immune system. They are high in fiber and can help lower cholesterol, and even lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Had it all again as leftovers the very next day

Lily ate every bite

She LOVES corn on the cob

 Now for our awesome fall-themed most-clicked features!

 
These scrumptious-looking maple brown sugar granola cookies were our most visited sweet treat. A healthier cookie that will still satisfy your sweet tooth ;) Thanks, Tammy, at Our Neck of the Woods! 



Diane at Simple Living and Eating shared this mouth-watering recipe for apple sage chicken that I cannot wait to try. Truly a unique and cozy recipe. Thanks, Diane!


Mary from Back to the Basics shared a post about gifting eco-friendly seeds that is not exactly fall-related, but with the holidays right around the corner, it's no wonder so many decided to click it! Take a look at her array of heirloom seed offerings if you missed it last week!

And the most clicked-on honorable mentions are:


Thanks to everyone who linked up, and welcome new linkers! Grab a button below if you were featured!

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Now on to the party!

Just follow these simple rules:


1. Link up something sweet to really WOW us all- your blog, Etsy store, Pinterest, Facebook, whatever you want! 
2. Link-up as much as you want and please follow me if you are not already. Leave me a comment if you are a new follower so I can follow you back!
3. Don't forget to hop around and say hi!
4. Share my button to get more people to join us (not required, but it would be nice!)

Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby

Thanks for stopping by, this little get together really makes the weekend even more enjoyable for me, and gives me the encouragement to keep my little blog going :) 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

November's Up-and-Coming Blog of the Month!

I get to visit a lot of really great blogs from the link parties I host here, and I have a lot of dedicated "regular" party guests. It's always a thrill to see new posts every week and to sometimes meet someone new, and I love every minute of it.

I found Ana's blog, carpe_diemthrough another blog hop; after seeeing this super cute watermelon bag, I became her follower right away! Since then, she has continued to wow me with her immaculate DIY-projects, such as an array of costumes, homemade treats, and other creative handmade projects, like this cute little mushroom stool

The adorable watermelon bag!!

Ana hails from Croatia, and her blog is full of lots of fun things to explore. She is a real sweetie and her handy work is truly remarkable. Stop by her blog today and show her some love! 

I have some blogs in mind for the next Up-and-Coming Blog of the Month, but if you would like to nominate one, please do so in the comments. The only requirements are that the blog has 200 or less GFC followers, is continuously updated, and has to do with parenting, health, crafts, cooking, and/or creativity.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Meatless Monday: Lemony Spinach and White Bean Soup

During the time my family and I were stuck at home without power due to Hurricane Sandy, I was somewhat limited with what I could make for dinner. The oven wouldn't work because it has an electric starter, and I tried to use up what I already had at home as to not waste gas going to the store. I did, however, have to pick up a lemon and some fresh Parmesan cheese for this soup, but it was well worth it.


Lemony Spinach and White Bean Soup
(serves 6-10 depending on serving size)

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable broth (you can also use chicken)
2-4 cups water (depending on how brothy you like it)
1 cup packed baby spinach
1 cup small-shaped pasta, such as ditalini
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup small white beans (cooked)
Juice of 1 small lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for topping
1 tsp lemon zest + extra for topping 
Salt and pepper to taste + extra for topping
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook the pasta separately, then set aside tossed with a little olive oil so it doesn't stick together. Heat the 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in large pot, then add the garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the broth and water and bring to a boil. Stir in the white beans then bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the rest of the ingredients. Serve in bowls or mugs topped with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of lemon zest, and as much grated Parmesan as you like.


This is a very simple to make soup that is full of lots of fragrant ingredients. The garlic and lemon go together wonderfully, and are balanced nicely with the subtle flavor of the white beans and crisp green spinach. The garnishes really make this soup, so don't forget to add those or it's just not the same!

For older babies and toddlers, you can serve this soup up to them with a slotted ladle so they don't make a mess of or get burnt by the broth. The soup is full of yummy goodness to help a little one grow. Kids should like this soup too as it doesn't have too many spicy flavors, maybe just go easy on the pepper and add extra cheese ;)

Black pepper is normally taken for granted as a standard table top condiment that doesn't get much thought other than whether you're going to use it to spice up your food a bit or not. It may surprise to find out, then, that it's also full of lots of vitamins and minerals such as manganese, vitamin K, and iron. It can also aid in disgestion and has anioxidants and antibacterial properties. Using freshly ground will give you the most benefits!

Now it's your turn to share your Meatless Monday dish below! No rules, other than please only link-up meat-free recipes. No other un-related links or I will remove them. Sorry to sound so harsh, but let's keep it true to what it is, ok? Link up as much as you want, and feel free to spread the word with the button below. Thanks, and have a great week! 
          
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