Chocolate chip banana bars!!!

Here's a recipe a friend saw on the Chew (on ABC) and immediately tried and sent to me. They are AMAZING! I've had banana bread with chocolate in it before but there's just something about these.... perfection comes to mind! Probably because it's a Mario Batali recipe (I LOVE Mario Batali!!) I used a slightly smaller sheet pan than what is called for, mine is 15.5x11x1, and the amount of batter was perfect! I cut them into 1x1 squares.

Bacon, brie, and corn pizza (I know, it sounds odd, but trust me!)

Ready for the oven!!!

Tonight I made one of my husbands favorite meals, a pizza with brie, bacon, spinach, and sweet corn. The first time I came across the original recipe, I was desperately trying to find things to do with brie. We bought some from Costco and it was far too much to be eaten alone with french bread and fruit!!! A quick search on foodnetwork.com for recipes gave me this one and I'll admit, I was skeptical! Once we tried it though, there was no coming back! I think the hubby could eat this, at least, once a week! As usual, I made a few changes here and there but my version is not fundamentally different so I wont bother posting my version of the recipe. I will, however, say that I add a bit more brie than what is called for, a bit more corn (usually frozen, straight out of the freezer!), spinach instead of the parsley, a small diced shallot, and I skip the olive oil and grated Pecorino Romano. And, after many years of trying to concoct the perfect pizza dough recipe, I've got it!! That, I have included below. It is truly delicious!!! 

My Perfect Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cups 105 degree water
4 1/2-5 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat flour can just as easily be substituted)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

The finished product :) YUM!!!

2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast

Dissolve sugar, yeast, and salt in the water, add the oil and 4 cups of flour. Preferably using a standing mixer, kneed approximately 12 minutes, adding more flour as needed, until you can stretch to window pane. Proof in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap, 1 to 2 hours. Makes enough for 2 pizzas that should serve between 4-6 people (depending on your serving size preference :)

Herb roasted pork with plum chutney

Ok, it's official, this is a food blog. I just don't have the energy to write about things other than food! So, tonight I was searching Epicurious for something to do with the pork tenderloin I got this past weekend at Costco, when I came across this recipe for pork tenderloin with plum chutney. I just so happened to have 4 VERY ripe plums on hand so I decided to give it a try. Right off the bat I could tell it was going to be a very fall-ish dish, which was perfect because it has been in the mid 50s here in Michigan lately. I knew I wanted to serve it on a bed of spinach and with couscous on the side, so that part was easy! The recipe itself needed a bit of tweeking because there were a few things I didn't have and some extra stuff I wanted to use. My changes are as noted below. My husband and 2 year old both seemed to enjoy it and I really liked it! Putting the pork on the spinach allowed the chutney to drip down, wilting the spinach just a bit and keeping me from having to actually cook a veggie :) Now to the recipe!

Plum Chutney:

• 4 red or black plums
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large shallot, sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
•  salt

Pork:

• 1 packet of fresh Poultry herbs (usually found in the produce section and contains thyme, rosemary, sage)
• 1 Tablespoon dried herbes de Provence (again, a mix of different herbs but this one has a very diverse mix including, dill, thyme, cracked fennel, savory, basil, tarragon, chervil, lavender, and marjoram)
• 1 Tablespoon of whole grain dijon mustard (I love Trader Joes')
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 pork tenderloins (about 2 pounds)
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

 Pre heat oven to 400 degrees

For plum chutney:
Peel plums. Halve and pit. Cut into 1/2" pieces.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallot begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until fruit is soft and juices have thickened, 20-25 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Let cool slightly. DO AHEAD: Chutney can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm slightly before serving.

For pork:
Place herbs from the packet, herbes de Provence, mustard, and oil in a small food processor or magic bullet. Pulse until starting to come together, adding a bit of water as needed to get it to a pasty consistency. Rub all over pork; season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of each loin registers 145°F, 35-45 minutes. 

Transfer tenderloins to a cutting board. Let rest for 10 minutes. Slice thinly and serve with plum chutney and sides of your choosing :)

Hidden Veggie Balsamic Meat"cake"

   I'd like to start today's post by saying that I don't normally advocate "hiding" things in food. I'm of the mindset that if you teach kids to love food, then they will, veggies and all! I firmly believe this because I have seen it happen! Not just with my own solid food eating child but with others as well. I have a cousin who is a vegetarian and has always cooked vegetarian meals for her toddlers too. Her kids ask for tofu and green beans like mine asks for goldfish and gummies! But I digress.... this meatloaf is not, by any means, vegetarian! It is however, another of my internet recipe tweeks :)

   I have to give tons of credit to my former boss/ current friend D. She was the one who originally found this recipe, along with many others, online and I have since taken many of them and added them into my weekly dinner schedule! It's a Bobby Flay recipe found here. This recipe is fantastic just the way it is, however, I like to put my own spin on most things I make. It makes me feel a bit more creative than I actually am :)) I started by adding a bit more veg than what's called for in the original. The first time I made it with 2 different color peppers, all I tasted was peppers! The zucchini was great and added some good nutrients but I wanted more nutrient rich veggies to throw in. I decided to go with carrots and mushrooms, in addition to the zucchini, rolled oats, instead of the panko, and only ground beef which was perfect! You could, however, use any vegetable you happen to have in your possession! The mushrooms have a nice meaty texture and once everything is all chopped up, sauteed, and mixed together, you'll barely notice any of the veggies hiding out in the meat! The other main difference from the original is that I'm not a fan of the whole free form meat pile! If you look at Bobby's picture, it looks a bit too much like dog poo with a sprig of parsley on top (sorry, but it does!!). I tried it first in a traditional loaf pan but the hubby and I agreed that the sauce to meatloaf ratio was way off. Too much loaf and not nearly enough saucy goodness! So I decided to try it in my 8x8 square Pyrex... Perfection! By using the glass, it gave the "loaf" a really nice crust all the way around, cooked very evenly, and in about 1/2 the time called for. My sisters decided, while out for a visit, that it cannot be called meatloaf anymore, so it is now known as meat cake :) I serve this with mashed potatoes and cooked mixed greens. The recipe makes about 8 servings (enough for dinner and sandwiches the next day!) It is by far one of my favorite meals!!!

 Hidden Veggie Meatcake 

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons olive oil

  

  you can hardly tell there are any veggies in here at all!!

  
  

• 2 small zucchini, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 8oz. container of any mushrooms you like
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided (optional! I leave this out bc the kiddo doesn't like spicy!)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1TBSP chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 1/2-2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 rolled oats, pulsed very quickly in a food processor
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano, Parmesan, or any cheese you have (we love pepper jack or blue cheese)
• 1 cup ketchup, divided
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

Roughly chop all the veggies and throw them into a food processor along with the whole garlic cloves.Pulse until finely chopped. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the vegetables, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until almost soft, 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl. Add the meat, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, and the cooled vegetables and mix until just combined. Add the oatmeal and mix until well incorporated. Lightly spray the baking dish with oil and turn the mixture out into the pan.
Whisk together the remaining ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the entire loaf. Bake the meatloaf for 45-55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Whisk together the remaining ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the entire loaf.

  

Roughly chop all the veggies and throw them into a food processor along with the whole garlic cloves.Pulse until finely chopped. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the vegetables, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until almost soft, 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl. Add the meat, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, and the cooled vegetables and mix until just combined. Add the oatmeal and mix until well incorporated.

Whisk together the remaining ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the entire loaf.

Where is that made?!?!?

   Ever since becoming a mother, I find myself checking labels on everything! Being a self proclaimed foodie I've been checking food labels for most of my adult life, but have only recently started noticing where other things are made. While i was a nanny there were quite a few recalls on kids toys made in China due to poor quality and hazardous materials, so I vowed that when I had my own kids I would try my best to not buy anything made in China. Now, there are a few things, in our modern world that are made overseas that most of us couldn't live without (or would rather not)! Basically if you want any kind of electronic devices you'll have to compromise a bit on this particular moral dilemma!
   My first step in trying to eliminate our foreign dependence on stuff was to eliminate one of the main sources of cheap, poorly made, crap.... Walmart! I'm proud to say I haven't set foot in a Walmart in almost 3 years. It actually hasn't been that hard! Between Target, online shopping and nice local stores, I've been able to not purchase many new things made in China. I also don't feel like it ended up costing us any more in the long run. Yes the USA made pair of shoes might (but not always!!!) be twice as much as you would normally pay for a pair of shoes but chances are they will last you twice as long, if not longer. Not to mention the peace of mind knowing that the toys/clothes/shoes you're buying for your children are probably not going to give them lead poisoning anytime soon.
   Once you start looking into where things are made it's actually quite shocking to see things that are quintessentially American that are made in China. Things like Nike, playskool, and even American Girl dolls, are all made in China! I find it extremely disheartening that American companies outsource jobs just so they can increase profits! I'm happy to say that most of Little Tikes toys, some New Balance sneakers, and plenty of other products are made in the USA.... you just have to know where to look!
   For the record, I don't work for or have any investment in any of the name brands I listed above! I'm just 1 mommy trying to make our home a bit safer and the economy a little better! Stop buying foreign made products, don't be afraid to let companies know that as long as they outsource we won't support them with our hard earned money, and jobs will start to return to the USA!
  
    Here are a few great websites to get you started:
https://bank.bigbellybanks.com//home.php
http://www.toysofusa.com
http://www.squidoo.com/babytoysnotmadeinchina
http://www.greentoys.com/
https://www.madeinamericastore.com/?gclid=CNn1scaf6rECFUTAKgodrEUAwQ

Blackened Tilapia Sandwiches... Where the Southern US. meets Vietnam

Ok, so far this blog is definitely more food than anything else but oh well :) I do love me some food!!! So this is a recipe that I found a few years ago when hubby and I were trying to find ways to incorporate more fish into our diet. The original recipe is a Paula Deen recipe which, in true Paula fashion, starts off with a hefty helping of BUTTER! Being that we were trying to eat healthier, I immediately decided to take this recipe under my wing and make it my own. First things first, 1 stick of butter... Really Paula!?! Ok, enough Paula Deen bashing. I don't love the way she cooks but she does remind me of my Nana :) For the record, I do always make a recipe the way it's written the first time I make it. If I love it then I don't do anything to it but there are some recipes that I've tried that need a good old fashioned tweak!
         So once I eliminated the butter, I started testing out the amounts and flavors of the other seasonings. I found that the 1/4 cup of paprika made the fish taste like nothing but paprika. After cutting everything in about half I found that the flavor was still missing something significant! CUMIN!!! I added a little cumin and it was perfect! The original recipe serves the sandwich with a cilantro lime mayo which, when I made it, I found tasted like mayo... not cilantro or lime, just mayonnaise. I decided this was something else that needed "fixing". I took some ideas from one of my all time favorite sandwiches, the Vietnamese Banh Mi. Banh Mi has a protein of some kind (traditionally it's pate) on nice fresh bread, topped with pickled daikon radish and carrots, tons of cilantro (what you would typically see as lettuce on any American sandwich), and sriracha mayo (there's a fantastic recipe for Banh mi here). I personally didn't like the pickles on the blackened fish, so I left those off  but the cilantro and sriracha mayo hit the nail right on the head! A last second squeeze of fresh lime was the last touch.  The final, perfect (in my opinion) blackened fish sandwich had been created!
oh, and p.s. this sandwich comes in, with mayo and a giant roll, at about 500 calories (according to myfitnesspal.com) compared to Ms. Paula's at about 985 :)


Blackened Tilapia hybrid sandwiches:

• 2 TBSP sweet or smoked paprika
• 1 TBSP ground thyme
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt (I use pink Himalayan salt)
• red pepper flake to taste (optional)
• 4, 4-6oz. tilapia loin filets
• 4 kaiser rolls
• bunch of fresh cilantro, washed (you could use basil here if you don't like cilantro, just don't use as much!!)
• 4 TBSP mayo and sriracha mixed to your particular spice preference 

1. Combine all the spices together in a small dish and then sprinkle onto the fish. 
2. Heat either a grill or pan to med high and cook the fish until just beginning to flake apart easily, approximately 3-4 minutes per side (if doing in a pan, you will need a bit of cooking spray so the fish doesn't stick)
3. mix your mayonnaise and siracha together and spread on both sides of the bun (I make extra for dipping too)
4. Place desired amount of cilantro on bun and top with fish
5. Squeeze a wedge (1/4) of lime or lemon over fish 
6. ENJOY!!!

Start by generously coating the tilapia loins with the seasoning mixture.

The finished product!

Thank you Pinterest!

I'm going to start this post with a shout out to Pinterest... I love it! I originally started using it to pass the time while my youngest naps (he likes to fall asleep while nursing and if I dare move him, he wakes right up). One of my good friends warned me, "you'll become obsessed", and she was not wrong. Mixed in with all the wonderful DIY crafting ideas are some awesome recipes. This particular recipe was one of the first I tried (and this time I remembered to take a picture before we devoured them all). Peanut butter cup bars! They taste just like the real thing!!! Instead of rewriting the whole recipe here, I'm posting a link to the original blog where the recipe came from.... note how much nicer her pictures are compared to mine, lol!

Peanut butter bars!!