5 Ingredient Blender Muffins: PB bananna

I made these in my Vitamix and couldn't believe how easy they were to make. I used refrigerated natural PB, which is thicker/harder so I thought for sure it would stick in the blender...nope! It all blended right up really easily. All I had to do next was pour it straight from the blender to the muffin tin. Really can't get any easier than this! Even better, they're gluten free, which means my 6 year old can eat them!

I'll admit, I wasn't so sure about how these would turn out... but both my girls ate one and immediately asked for a second! They're a hit! I liked them too, but I think I might add some chocolate chips in next time ;)

Recipe from: http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2013/10/blendtec_5_ingredient_muffin_recipe/

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 medium sized very ripe bananas
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place ingredients in the blender and blend until well mixed.
• Pour batter into muffin tin greased with coconut oil.
• Bake for around 15 minutes, for full sized muffins. (note: my oven is old and doesn't work as well as it should...I tend to have to add baking time to my recipes, so check yours around 10 mins!)

Homemade Luna Bars

Warning: These are addicting!

Original Recipe is from Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity
Make sure to check out her recipe, which includes cocoa and is rolled in coconut! Both my girls and I actually preferred these w/out the cocoa, despite all being chocolate addicts ;) But it's still worth a try to include it :)

INGREDIENTS

• 15 dates
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1.5 cups raw almonds
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Put all ingredients in a Vitamix blender (or food processor) and pulse until it combines.
2. Continue processing while pushing down with the Vitamix stir stick thing (I'm all technical here ;) until it forms a nice dark colored chewy textured ball.
3. Remove from blender and roll into small balls (about 1/2 in diameter or so).
4. I put these in a glass container and keep them in the fridge. A batch rarely lasts more than 1/2 a week!

Pearl Couscous Salad

I attended a vegan wedding last summer and had some amazingly sweet and delicious couscous salad there. I've been dreaming about recreating it for a while now and I found the pearl couscous at Costco and decided to try a couscous salad. This wasn't as sweet as the one I had at the wedding (added veggies), but still very tasty! I ate it warmed up for dinner, and then cold for lunch the next day. Yum!

Definitely something I will be making a lot, considering how easy it was to make, and how good! :) I think this is great as a side-dish, and great as a main meal. You could add meat to it if you don't want it to be a vegetarian dish; chicken would be my choice. But meat is certainly not missed from this dish!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 large red pepper, diced
• 1/2-3/4 cup dried craisins
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat up olive oil and add in vegetables.
2. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add in couscous and broth.
4. Cover and bring to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and mix in crasins and sunflower seeds.
7. Enjoy!

Kielbasa Potato Salad

We're leaving on vacation soon, so I'm trying to clean out the fridge. It's also really hot and humid, so nothing hot/warm sounded good! I decided potato salad sounded perfect...and needed to use the kielbasa and celery before it went bad....and this is what I ended up with. Yum!

Sauce measurements are approximate...I just eye-balled it.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium red potatoes, cooked and diced
• 1 kielbasa, cook and diced
• 4 celery stalks (or more, that's all I had left), finely chopped
• 1 cup peas, cooked

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• about 2 tbsp olive oil
• about 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• salt, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• about 1 tsp paprika
• about 1 tbsp oregano

DIRECTIONS

1. While cooking the peas, potatoes and Kielbasa, mix sauce ingredients together well.
2. Combine and stir.
3. Enjoy warm, at room temp, or cold!

Mexican Pasta Salad

Found a recipe ripped out of a magazine (don't know which one) and made a bunch of changes to it to get this.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box corkscrew pasta, cooked and rinsed with cold water
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• garlic powder, to taste
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard (could use Dijon)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can corn
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 3/4 cup shredded Mexican-lend cheese
• Tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice and zest, olive oil, cilantro, garlic, mustard, honey and cumin. 
2. In a large serving bowl, mix together all ingredients along with the dressing.
3. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Tandoori Chicken Breasts on Flatbread

Loved this!! It was perfect for a warm almost-Summer day :)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large chicken breasts, either pounded thin or sliced in half
• 1 cucumber, diced
• baby carrots, diced
• yellow bell pepper, diced
• 3 Flax Seed Flat breads, or pitas
• 1 tbsp olive oil

INGREDIENTS for SAUCE

• 1 cup Strawberry or Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix flour, curry powder and salt in a bowl. 
2. Dip chicken into mixture until coated evenly on all sides.
3. Warm olive oil in a medium pan and cook chicken over Medium heat, 10 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, mix all ingredients for the sauce together.
5. When chicken is cooked through, slice width-wise.
6. Place chicken on top of flat bread. Top with diced veggies and sauce.

Cheddar Crusted Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 2 chicken breasts
• about 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 egg

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Ccoat chicken with egg.
3. In a large zip lock, mix bread cumbs and cheese. Toss in chicken, seal, and shake ;)
4. Place coated chicken in a greased oven safe pan. Top with the remainder of the crumbs & cheddar that didn't stick to the chicken.
5. Bake, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through, around 30 mins depending on the thickness of the chicken.

I served this with cheddar roasted cauliflower and apple sauce.

And P.S....to show you how easy this meal was to make, I did it with a wild preschooler dancing around the kitchen and a clingy/tired/teething 1yo strapped to my back in the Ergo :)

Barbeque Beer Chicken Thighs in the Slow Cooker

Original recipe from blogger So Tasty, So Yummy: 
http://sotastysoyummy.blogspot.com/2009/07/barbecue-beer-chicken-thighs.html

INGREDIENTS

•  2 frozen chicken breasts
• 1 cup beer (I used Amber Ale)
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worchestire sauce
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 1 cup frozen chopped onions
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix ingredients, minus the chicken, in the crock pot.
2. Add chicken.
3. Cover and cook on high for 6-7 hours.
4. Serve with sides of choice (I served this with mashed potatoes and green beans).

Pasta "Bravo"

After a long day at the zoo, I'm exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner tonight. So.... I just threw a few easy ingredients together.

When my husband came home and saw it, he said "oooh, looks just like Pasta Bravo!" His favorite dish from our favorite Italian restaurant, Bravos. Too bad for him that's not quite what it was, haha ;) But it was pretty good!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 chicken breasts, diced
• 1/2 a 24oz jar of salsa
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• pasta of choice (I used Rigatoni)
• olive oil for cooking

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook chicken in skillet with some olive oil over medium high heat until cooked through.
2. Stir in salsa and cream of mushroom soup.
3. Cover and turn to low until heated through.
4. Meanwhile, boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.
5. Mix everything together. That easy ;)
   

Skillet Chicken Wraps

I needed something quick and a little different from our usual routine, with no time to head to the grocery store. Here's what I came up with ;)INGREDIENTS

• 2 chicken breasts, diced small
• 2 tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
  
• 1 can (10oz) diced tomatoes and green chillies, drained
  
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup frozen diced onions
• 1/4 cup Half and Half
  
• flour tortillas
• shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Brown chicken in some olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions and cook until chicken is cooked through.
   
3. Add tomatoes, canned tomatoes/chillies, and Half and Half.
4. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
5. Spoon chicken mixture in tortilla, along with shredded cheese.
6. Warm wrap in microwave for 15-20 seconds to melt cheese.
   

Skillet Lasagna

Original recipe from: http://christines-cuisine.blogspot.com/1998/12/skillet-lasagna.html
Easy, one-pot meal!INGREDIENTS

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3/4 jar of tomato sauce

1/2 cup frozen diced onions

3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
3/4 tbsp garlic powder
3/4 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 lb ground meat (beef or turkey)

8 lasagna noodles, broken to fit in pan

2 cups of baby spinach

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1 cup mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour diced tomatoes, with juices, into a large measuring cup.
   Add water so that the mixture = 2.5 cups.
2. Add tomato sauce and mix.
3. brown beef in a large skillet.
4. Add onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
5. Add pasta over the meat. Do not stir.
6. Pour tomato mixture over pasta and bring to a boil.
7. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until pasta is soft, occasionally stirring.
   
8. Add baby spinach during the last 5 minutes. Stir.
9. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses.
10. Serve with Parmesan to taste.
    

Bratwurst (Kielbasa)-Potato Skillet Dinner

Original recipe from American Profile: Hometown Cookbook: A Celebration of America's Table
By Mary Carter, Susan Fisher and Candace Floyd

Original recipe calls for bratwurst but since my husband loves kielbasa so much I decided to make it with that instead... I also made a few other minor changes. It turned out delicious!!!! Especially the potato/vegetable mixture. We had a little saved over and I enjoyed it for lunch the next day.
INGREDIENTS

2 tsp olive oil
2 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
1 fully cooked kielbasa
1 small onion, chopped
1 chopped green bell pepper

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp orange juice
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
Cook the potatoes until they are lightly browned and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes.
Add the bratwurst/kielbasa, onion and green bell pepper.
Stir occasionally, cook until vegetables are tender and heated through, about 10 minutes.Combine the soy sauce, orange juice, basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Stir the sauce mixture into the meat and vegetables, and heat through.