Easy One Bowl Banana Bread

This is the easiest banana bread I have ever made. It comes out moist every time and you don't even need to use butter or oil! I use the same bowl for everything.

Ingredients 

4 ripe/overripe bananas

1 Large egg

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2) Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl

3) Add the egg and sugar to the banana mixture and mix well

4) Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon to the banana mixture and mix until everything is moist. Be careful not to over mix.

5) Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray and add the batter

6) Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean

7) Allow the loaf to cool for a few minutes and then remove it from the pan. Cool on a wire rack before slicing

Single Serving Extra Large Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is one of my favorite recipes when I get a craving for dessert but don't want to make an entire batch of cookies. This recipe yields one extra large cookie. Feel free to mix all of the ingredients in the same bowl. I always do and it always turns out great! 

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start by mixing the brown sugar and shortening with a fork until well mixed.

2.) Next, add the egg and a splash of vanilla and mix until it becomes fluffy. Note: to measure the one tablespoon of egg, crack the egg into a small bowl, beat, and then measure.

3.) Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar to the same bowl and mix with a fork or a rubber spatula until blended.

4.) Finally, stir in chocolate chips 

5.) Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then enjoy!

One Extra Large Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Crisco shortening 

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon egg, beaten (one large egg is approximately 3 tablespoons)

A splash of vanilla (I use imitation vanilla)

Pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar (can be omitted if you don't have it, end result may vary slightly)

1/3 cup all purpose flour 

1/4 cup chocolate chips (set a few aside to place on top of the dough)

Bake at 350 Degrees for 12-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown. See above for mixing instructions. Enjoy! 

Healthy, Microwaved Sweet Potato Dog Treats

I whipped up these little snacks in less than 10 minutes. Jake was so excited that he became a giant blur. We've been trying to find healthy, affordable treat options for the dogs because they are prone to gaining weight as they get older. They usually like to snack on carrots but we wanted to change it up a bit. Now onto the instructions!

1. Wash and peel a sweet potato.

2. Slice the sweet potato into roughly 1/4 inch thick pieces.

3. Arrange slices in a single layer on a paper towel lined microwave safe plate.

4. Microwave for about 4 minutes and 30 seconds, watching closely to make sure they don't burn.

5. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. We use these up in a few days. 

Easy baked chicken tenders...only 5 ingredients!

I recently came up with this recipe using ingredients I had in the house when I needed to whip up something quick for dinner. We have made it several times since then and they always turn out juicy and delicious.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Bisquick mix
1 packet of ranch dressing mix
1 egg, beaten
1 pound of chicken breast tenderloins or chicken breasts cut into strips
3 tablespoons melted butter or a buttered flavor spray, like "I can't believe it's not butter" spray.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix ranch dressing mix and bisquick mix in a releasable plastic bag or a bowl with a secure lid. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg and then shake in the powder mixture. Place the coated chicken onto a baking sheet. Pour the melted butter over the chicken pieces or spray with butter flavored spray. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. That's it! They taste great on their own or with your favorite dipping sauce.

20 Minute Baked Chicken

As I've mentioned before, I like to buy larger quantities of boneless skinless chicken breast when it is on sale and I freeze it in small portions for easy thawing. Sometimes, I am in a bind and need to find a quick recipe to whip up that is filling and low on calories. This is where 20 minute baked chicken comes in!

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into one inch pieces
garlic powder
black pepper
onion powder
1/2 cup chicken broth (I used reduced sodium Swanson broth)

Optional: Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a small baking dish. I used a 9 inch round pie dish. Sprinkle the above seasonings on the chicken. Some people may prefer to add salt, but we avoid it for health reasons. Slowly pour the chicken broth into the dish around the chicken. Try to avoid pouring directly onto the chicken or the seasonings will wash off. Place your dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check the largest piece to see if it is cooked. You can either use a meat thermometer (165 degrees minimum) or just check to make sure that the juices run clear and there is no pink in the center. That's it! This pairs up well with practically any sides you have on hand. Check back soon for a recipe for the butternut squash in the photo!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

It has been a few days since I have posted because Justin and I spent several days eating that huge turkey! Now that all of the leftovers are gone, we wanted to try something different. I stumbled across this recipe online, but needed to make modifications because we didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2-3 large eggs

1 cup corn starch 

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil

Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 Tablespoon soy sauce (we prefer the low sodium variety)

Put the oil in a frying pan and heat on medium. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut up the thawed chicken into 1 inch pieces. In a bag, combine corn starch, salt, and pepper. Add chicken pieces and shake the bag to evenly coat each piece. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and dip each corn starch coated piece into the eggs, then place in the frying pan. Cook the chicken until it is lightly browned but don't cook it all the way through. Place the browned chicken into a baking dish. Mix together the sauce ingredients and pour over the chicken. Bake the chicken in the oven for about an hour, turning the chicken a few times to every coat it in sauce. We served this with white rice and mixed veggies. Enjoy! 

Money and time saving tip: We like to buy large packages of fresh boneless skinless chicken breast and package it into small portions before freezing it. We knew we were going to make this recipe ahead of time, so I cut up the chicken before packaging it and thawed it overnight in the fridge before making it. A good set of kitchen shears makes it easy to cut up meat!

Perfectly Easy Roast Turkey in an Electric Roaster

Who doesn't love a juicy turkey this time of year? I recently picked up a Bella 18 Quart Roaster Oven from Target for $27. I have always had trouble keeping the breast meat moist when roasting in a typical oven due to conflicting recipes online. This roaster made the easiest, most juicy turkey I have ever had. Preparation was simple and it only took 3 hours to cook. I started off with a 13.5 lb Honeysuckle turkey that I picked up before Thanksgiving for .59 per pound. I then rinsed the turkey and patted dry with paper towels. I then rubbed about 1/4 cup Smart Balance spread over the entire bird and tucked a few pieces under the skin. Then a rubbed in a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder all over the skin. 

Once the bird was seasoned, I preheated my roaster oven to the highest temperature possible and once preheated, cooked the turkey for 30 minutes. Then I lowered the temperature to 325 degrees for 2 and a half more hours. It is very important to leave the lid on for the entire cooking process. No basting is required or necessary. The end result was a moist turkey with crispy skin. Cooking times will vary based on the size of the bird. 

One of the best parts about using the roaster oven is that you have your regular oven open to make even more yummy dishes!

Update: since posting this recipe I have made a few additions to make a more flavorful turkey. I now stuff the cavity with 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped stalks of celery, and a chopped onion. Then I carefully pour a can of ginger ale and a small can of chicken broth into the cavity. Delicious!