Banana Bread Muffins

If your household is anything like mine, bananas get gobbled up when they're first purchased but then there is always a couple that just sit and usually end up going to waste. Here's a really easy recipe to use up those old bananas and make a yummy treat in about 40 minutes!

What You'll Need:

• 1 1/2 Cups of Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 3/4 Cup of Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Egg
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup melted butter

*Makes 18-24 Muffins

Let's Get Started:

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees

   2. Lightly grease a muffin tin or use paper liners

 

   3. In one bowl mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon

 4. In a separate bowl mash up the 3 bananas and mix in the egg, melted butter and sugar. Stir until fairly smooth. 

  5. Fold in the dry mixture and mix well.

  6. Fill muffin liners 3/4 full with batter 

   7. Pop in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the muffins spring back from touch

   8. Let cool and Enjoy!

Serve as special bread rolls with dinner or just eat them by themselves with a little butter!

Delicious! 

Easy Banana Pudding Recipe

Nanny's Banana Pudding Recipe

I can't really believe we're already part way through July, this summer seems to be flying by! Now that the boy and I are mostly settled into our new home (which I'm obsessed with by the way) I thought it was time to bring out one of my family favourite cool treats to enjoy this summer! My grandmother (or Nanny as she is known to me) gave me this recipe, she's been making it my whole life for Christmas time and my father and I's birthdays. It never last long in our family and fights would break out over the coveted last scoop- it's that good. Here's what you'll need:

• One box Vanilla wafers
• One box vanilla pudding (serves 4)
• One can condensed milk (14 oz)
• Cool Whip (12 oz- thawed)
• 3-4 Bananas 
• Lemon juice

1. In a large bowl mix 1 1/2 cups cold water and the condensed milk. Mix well. Then add in the vanilla pudding mix. Mix then chill in fridge for 5 minutes. *Make sure your cool whip is setting out during this time to let it thaw otherwise it'll be harder to mix!

2. While the mixture is chilling, fill a small ramekin with lemon juice. Slice up your bananas (* I suggest getting them right when they are perfectly yellow otherwise they are a bit too mushy- mine were a little ripe but hey, I was set on making this pudding!) Dip your bananas in the lemon juice, coating both sides and place on extra plate to dry, this not only adds a lemony zest to the pudding later but will keep your bananas from going brown.

3. Remove the pudding from the fridge and fold in the cool whip, making sure to mix well and get out any lumps.

4. Scoop 1 cup (or about 1/3) of the pudding mix into a fresh bowl. 

5. Layer vanilla wafers on top, then a layer of bananas (1/2 of your cut slices). Top with another 1/3 of pudding and repeat the layering process again. 

6. Finish with the last 1/3 of pudding and you're finished! Cover and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour before you dig in! 

ENJOY!

Vegetarian Twist on a Classic

An Old English Favourite

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Along with being a Midwest Girl, I'm also an English one. I have dual-citizenship and am very proud of my English roots. Cottage Pie or also known commonly as 'Shepherd's Pie' is an English staple and one of my personal favourites growing up! Once you get the base of the recipe down it's so easy to substitute ingredients and make a million different varieties. Any night we had this as a kid I was always looking forward to it. It's great for a Fall time dinner because it's hearty and warm.

My version of the famous recipe is so veg-heads like myself can enjoy the old classic as well. It's also great to use for a healthier version for those of you watching what you eat or more health conscious, I have cut out all butter!

Here's What You Need:

• 1/2 cup Vegetable Broth (Or you can make your own like I did!)
• 4 Large Whole Potatoes
• 2 tbs Milk
• Olive/Vegetable oil
• 1.5 lbs Pack of Soy or tofu beef or sausage
• 2 cups of your favourite veggies diced. I used corn, carrots, onions, peas and zucchini (*cheap trick: grab a bag of frozen medley and viola!)
• Soy sauce and Teriyaki/Steak sauce or traditional Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, Pepper and any other seasonings of choice
• 9X13 greased pan

Here's What You've Got to Do:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Boil your whole potatoes (peeled or not- your choice!) in a large pot of water
3. Sauté your chopped veggies (you'll want to start with the tougher ones first like carrots) in a dollop of vegetable oil over medium heat. 
4. Mix in the other vegetables half way through cooking, continually stirring
5. Once all your veggies have started to cook mix in the tofu sausage, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of teriyaki sauce (or 1 tbs of worcestershire instead) continuing to stir as it cooks.
6. Once the tofu sausage has began to brown mix in half a cup of vegetable broth and let simmer
7. When your potatoes have finished cooking, start mashing them and add in salt, pepper, and any other seasonings to taste. (*Thyme is a good one) and a touch of milk until the potatoes are of a soft, mashable texture.
8. After you've greased the pan pour in the mixed tofu sausage and veggies, spread to fill the entire bottom of the pan.
9. Next, start putting on the mashed potatoes patting them down with a spoon as you go
10. Once the whole pan is covered with a layer of potatoes create peaks with a fork to insure parts will brown really nicely.
11. Stick in the oven until bubbling and browning (about 45 min) then take out and let cool for 5 minutes
12. Slice, Serve and Enjoy!

Made this veggie Shepherd's Pie for the boy for the first time this month and he loved it. 

It's now his new favourite as well. Try it out!

Yum. Yum. Yum. 

Fall Favourites

Pumpkin, Spice and Everything Nice

Fall is by faaar my absolute favourite season! 

The air turns crisp, the leaves start to turn, you get to break out your favourite comfy sweaters, dust off your boots, warm up with some hot chocolate and add pumpkin to just about anything you eat. Besides everyone knows layering is the best part of fashion, I mean come on there are so many more options this time of year!

-FAVOURITE FALL PASS TIMES-

Curling up with a good book and a warm cup of tea

Taking a walk through Central Park to see all the changing leaves

Tour a winery

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores over a bonfire

Taking the pups for a walk around the block

Sip on fresh apple cider

Carrying on family traditions or starting your very own

Meeting up with friends for a delicious cup of coffee

The Holidays! Food and Family!

Trying out old (or new) family recipes

Cuddling up with the boy under a heavy blanket and watching a good movie

Watch a hockey game

Making adorable Fall outfits-just because I can

Baking/eating/consuming/smelling anything apple or pumpkin

Making a list of everything you have to be thankful for this past year

Visit a museum

Being a kid again and playing in the leaves with the boy

Laying under the stars with a blanket and bottle of wine

Here's one of the Boy and I's new favourite fall treats:

Baked Cinnamon Apples

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. In a oven safe casserole dish mix:
• 4 cups of diced apples, any variety (I like to mix red apples with one green!)
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
3. I top it off with an extra sprinkling of cinnamon, because who doesn't love cinnamon
4. Throw it in the oven for 30 minutes and viola! (It makes your house smell amazing too!)

*Serve with Vanilla ice cream or whatever you have in your freezer- in our case, chocolate.

You can also serve this as a Fall side dish and hearty it up with two cups of oats

A Little Thing Called Brunch

It Isn't Breakfast, It Isn't Lunch. It's Brunch. 

Had you asked me a few months prior I would have told you Brunch was something left in the 90's, or something that older people do. In the midwest the rare occasion brunch even comes up it is as a family thing after church. Once in a blue moon. Maybe. In New York City brunch is a very different story. A favourite pastime enjoyed on either coast that hasn't seemed to reach the center of America just yet.

 Forget old timers, brunch is a time to don your high heels and put on your best lipstick. Brunch is a time for mimosas, a time to catch up with your friends, de-stress about your long work week and a time to indulge in your breakfast favourites without having to wake up early for it. Brunch is fantastic. 

I had two wonderful brunch dates this weekend! The first on Saturday was with the boy at home, we traded in our brunch best for our PJs and cooked up one of our breakfast favourites-mini omelets! 

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it for a quick and easy breakfast. 

They are also great to save for a grab-n-go morning bite on your way out the door!

Mini Omelets

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• I love these because it's a great way to use up whatever you have in your fridge! This time I used tofu turkey, mushrooms, spinach, onion and freshly grated cheese. Dice all the ingredients up you want to use into small pieces. Mix it up and try different combinations. Here are a few tried and true combinations the boy and I enjoy:
• Spinach, feta, mushroom and cherry tomato
• Cheddar cheese, tofu sausage pieces and onion
• Mushroom, green & red pepper, tomato, onion and colby jack cheese
• For the meat eaters you could try cut up breakfast sausage, bacon pieces or ham!
• Mix 5 eggs with a pinch of salt, pepper, a touch of basil and thyme (for a healthier alternative just use the egg whites!) A lot of similar recipes call for an egg per omelet but I think it's unnecessary extra calories.
• Coat a muffin tin with vegetable oil (or coconut oil for you uber conscious)
• Fill the bottom of each circle with your chosen ingredients to about 3/4 full
• Pour the beaten eggs and spices over the top of each until about half way full
• Put the muffin tins in the oven for 20-25 minutes
• Pop out and enjoy or let cool then wrap them up individually to use through out the week!

Sunday I indulged in a more New York traditional brunch date with my old friend. Here's the brunch outfit I put together. A muted dust pink polka dot skirt, a low back three quarter length cream crochet top with a turquoise drop necklace and coordinating flats. I threw on a braided belt to cinch in the waist, a gray clutch and I was ready to brunch!

We met on 39th and 6th ave at the Refinery Hotel, right in the middle of the garment district and ate downstairs at Parker & Quinn (or P&Q). It was a cute little restaurant with black leather booths and crystal ball chandeliers and classic New York City decorum. The perfect setting for the ultimate NYC Sunday brunch. The service was a little slow but it was worth the wait. I had a yummy mimosa I had been craving, a perfect omelet with delicious golden potatoes and toast I didn't even get to. The restaurant was speckled with both hotel guest, new york brunchers and a table next to us of tourists (easy to spot with NYC tourist books). I loved the atmosphere of this entire hotel, it was very luxurious and modern. After finishing up brunch we headed to the 13th floor for the Refinery Rooftop. 

The rooftop was my favourite spot of the day! Had the sun been hitting us it would have been the absolute perfect time. It was slightly chilly but the view made it worth it. They have the whole rooftop decked out with outdoor sofas, benches and even a sofa swing, complete with lighted trees and flowers.  It was unusually empty (thanks to the game) and we enjoyed the perfect spot almost completely to ourselves! I had a 'pumpkin patch' in honor of the fall and my love for all things pumpkin! This has quickly become a prime spot for after hours during the work week since their opening, but I highly recommend it for a nice drink in this cool weather over the weekends as well!

I am loving the New York Brunch scene and know it's definitely going to become part of my usual schedule (most weeks). Can't wait to try out different recipes and find new places to much for brunch!