Banana Coconut Muffins

 I am so proud of these muffins!

I am not a baker by any means, I don't do too well with baking it never seems to turn out right. I got this recipe off a friend of a friends blog, and it was simple, quick ( LESS THAN AN HOUR FROM BEGINNING TO EATING!)  and YUMMY! Everyone in my house ate them as soon as they came out, guess I should have doubled the recipe ;) 

What you'll need: 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 very ripe bananas, mashed (should be right about 3/4 cup)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut plus more for tops of muffins

*I added milk to the batter, so that it would be smooth. I don't have a measurement for it I just used my eye. 

Preheat your oven to 375. 

You'll place all ingredients into a mixing bowl, and blend until you have a nice batter, you don't want it to be too thick or too watery so BE CAREFUL when adding the milk. Place into muffin tin, and put coconut shreds on top of batter. Cook for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and coconut is nice and toasty! 

Enjoy!

Original recipe: agirlandhermixerjune.wordpress.com 

Adjustments by me. 

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

It's raining here in Southern CA, and that means it's time for some delicious cold weather food. Tonight I made Chicken noodle soup, and corn bread. The corn bread was from a bag, I have to confess. However, the soup was 100% from scratch. Here's my super easy, and super delicious recipe. 

You'll Need: 

1 large chicken breast

4 sticks of celery

2-3 carrots

2 1/2 cans of Chicken broth

2 Chicken boulon cubes

2 Cups of water

2 Bay leaves

2 Tsp Oregano

2 Tsp Parsley

2 TBSP Garlic

Salt & pepper to taste

1 Package of egg noodles 

Okay, now you're ready to start. The first thing you will need to do is brown your chicken in a pan. Once the chicken is browned, cut into small chunks. Chicken DOES NOT need to be cooked all the way through, you will be putting it in the crock pot anyway! 

Next, dice up your carrots and celery. Then, place chicken and veggies into your crock pot. Add the chicken broth, boulon cubes, water, and all spices into crock pot. Cook on high setting for 1 hour. After that hour pour in your noodles and cook until al dente. * Note * I put the noodles in for the full hour and they were too soft. 

Now ENJOY YOUR SOUP, and stay warm out there! 

Dijon Brussel Sprouts

 I know what you're thinking, YUCK. I thought the SAME THING. But I had never tried brussel sprouts, so I figured I'd give it a go. These were simple to make, and tasted pretty good. However, they do not save well, so if you are making them plan to eat them right after. 

What you need: 

Fresh Brusel Sprouts

Olive Oil

Salt

Dijon mustard- 1 or 2 tbs, depending on your preference. I like 2. 

First thing you need to do is cut the sprouts in half, and remove any loose leaves. 

Next, in a glass baking dish, place the sprouts with the cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Baking on 350 degrees until slightly brown. 

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Once you pull them out of the oven, place in a bowl and mix with mustard. 

There you have it, a new take on a not so favorite veggie that can make you change your mind! 

Mexican style kick butt breakfast!

Shrimp, fried egg, jalapeno cheese grits and black beans 

I got this recipe from Haylie on www.realgirlskitchen.com and it was fantastic, albeit hard work to time everything just right. But the hubby and I loved it, there was enough grits left over to save for breakfast the next day ( or lunch!) and it was very filling. Unfortunantely my pictures didn't turn out very pretty for this meal. Therefore, I am posting the recipe, and if you wanna see the pictures, head on over to Real Girls Kitchen ( WHICH IS A FANTASTIC BLOG!) and peek at her great pictures. http://realgirlskitchen.com/2011/09/06/the-breakfast-to-kick-all-other-breakfasts-ass/

What you need:

Shrimp,de-vained and peeled

cilantro

yellow grits (not instant!)

heavy cream (small carton, we just need a splash)

shredded cheddar cheese

chopped jalapeno, I used fresh but you can always use the jar kind

butter

organic low sodium black beans

a mexican seasoning (or make your own! cumin, paprika onion, garlic, salt, cilantro, red pepper, coriander, oregano)

eggs 

salt & pepper

salsa

How to:

Grits:

Boil 3 cups of water, stir in 1 cup of grits, whisk till smooth, reduce heat to low

Stir often while you prepare the rest of the meal. if you need more water, add 1/4 a cup at a time. YOU WILL NEED MORE WATER! 

These will take about 45 minutes to soften

Then add, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 handful of cheddar, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tsp of black pepper, stir, cover and let simmer

Black beans:

Pour can in small pot, heat on medium, add mexican seasoning and fresh cilantro 

Shrimp:

Season with your mexican blend, fresh cilantro, salt & pepper, grill on grill pan till they are pink and browned.

Blackberry and Cinnamon Waffles

 Good morning Sunshine! These waffles are the perfect way to start any Saturday, or really whatever day you wake up feeling like a change in the morning routine. 

What you'll need: 

2 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 Tsp Salt

4 Tsp Baking Powder

3 Tbsp White Sugar

2 Eggs

1 1/2 cups Milk

1/3 cup Butter (melted) 

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon 

1 Small carton Blackberries

Combine all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir together. Plug in your waffle iron so it can be warming up! 

Next, combine all wet ingredients and stir them together, then combine into a mixing bowl with dry ingredients, and blend until you have a thick batter. 

Fold in your blackberries, and you're ready to put them in the iron! 

Add butter and syrup and enjoy shaking up the breakfast routine! 

Kickin' Kung Pow Chicken

Chinese food, when cooked right, can be a delicious and affordable meal. This kung pow chicken is great served fresh, and just as yummy when reheated. 

What you'll need: 

2 Chicken breasts

1 Zuccini

1/2 of an Onion

3/4 a cup of Peanuts

1/2 Yellow/ 1/2Orange bell pepper

3 TBS Peanut oil

1 TBS Sesame oil

Panda express kung pow sauce (Find at any grocery store, and use as much as your preference)

2 TSP Chili oil (If you like it really spicy!) 

First, cut your chicken into chunks. Then take your oils and put a little of each into a pan on medium high heat

While you brown the chicken, go ahead and cut up your vegetables. The size you cut them into is totally preference. Once you have them chopped, and chicken is browned, place veggies/chicken/peanuts into the pan. 

Stir fry on medium high heat for about 5 minutes, then add your kung pow sauce, and stir fry for another 5 minutes...

Your Kung Pow chicken is finished, pour over rice and ENJOY! 

Practically perfect hard boiled eggs

 I love hard boiled eggs, but they can be a little tricky to make. For this post I will show you my fool proof recipe that will leave you with beautiful, sunny hard boiled eggs EVERY TIME. 

What you'll need: 

Eggs

Baking soda

Water

The first step is to start boiling the water, with a tbsp of baking soda, this will help with peeling the eggs!

Once the water is boiling, put your eggs in, keeping the flame on for 8 minutes...

After 8 minutes, turn the heat off, and let stand for another 8 minutes.

Then drain eggs, and place in ice water for 8 minutes. 

Viola! You're hard boiled eggs are complete. 

Sunny, easy to peel and most importantly, DELICIOUS!