Claire Bear's Banana Bread

I love to spend my evenings hanging out in the kitchen baking. There's something special about this time of the year that gets me in the mood to cook and bake. It's also nice when the aroma of fresh baked breads and cookies fill the air. 

Tonight I noticed that my bananas were getting spots all over them. Once they're covered in spots I cannot eat them. So I thought to myself, "I should use these bananas in some banana bread!". I decided to make up my own recipe. At least then, I can add a few healthy ingredients.

Naturally, my one year old toddler is attached to my hip. If I'm baking, then she is baking! I pulled up a chair for her to stand in so she could watch and "help" her Momma bake. As I would mix the ingredients, she would steadily point her finger at the mixer and speak her baby talk. Once the bread was placed in the oven, I turned the oven light on so she could watch the bread bake. She definitely enjoyed that! Right then, I decided to name the recipe after her.

When the bread was finished baking, I put it on the table so it could cool off. I absolutely planned on eating a piece tonight along with a nice cup of pumpkin pie spice flavored coffee. I shared my piece of banana bread with my Claire Bear. She made her "mmmmmm" sounds as she ate. My mother and sister in law and my daughters boyfriend were visiting tonight. We all ate fresh baked banana bread. I had a cup of coffee with my piece. These are times when great memories are made! Baking just has a way of reaching the heart<3 

Claire Bear's Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1/2 c. real butter

6 oz. Neufchâtel cream cheese

1 c. light brown sugar

3 medium overripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

1/4 c. light sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups whole wheat flour

*Optional: chocolate chips and/or nuts

I didn't have any of the above optional ingredients, but would love to add some chocolate chips the next time!

Spray a pan with some Pam. I did not have a loaf pan so I ended up using an 11 x 7 in. brownie pan. It worked great too!

Save yourself some muscle, time, and energy and use a heavy duty mixer. I used our KitchenAid mixer.

Cream together butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar on low speed until creamy. Then add mashed bananas, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Allow bread to somewhat cool once it is finished baking. 

After the bread has cooled to your liking, spread a pat of butter on it and enjoy...especially enjoy with dear loved ones! 

Lemony Garlic Pasta with Kale

I'm trying out something new with my family. For the past three Monday's, our dinners have been meat free. It's something I found on the Internet a while back. It's supposed to help the environment and it's also good for you. We had black bean tacos one night and they were really good, and the next Monday we had cheese and veggie pizzas. I don't eat meat the whole day, but my family eats meat at work and school. They're okay with the Meatless Monday dinner even though they're meat lovers.

Tonight, I just threw some ingredients together that I had on hand. I made a pan full of pasta and surprisingly it turned out great! My husband was like, "Some shrimp would be good in this!" I told him I'd make it again with shrimp or chicken.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped (I love garlic)
4-6 cups fresh kale, chopped into bite sized pieces
Zest from 2 lemons
Juice from 2 lemons (I used 2 lemons total)
16 oz spaghetti, cooked
1/2 cup pasta water
2 tbsp butter
Parmesan cheese, use as much as you like!
Fresh diced tomato, optional
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil and sautée onion in it until it's soft. Add kale and garlic to the onion and let it cook down for about 5 minutes. The kale will begin to wilt. (Careful not to burn the onion or garlic). Meanwhile, go ahead and boil the pasta according to directions on the box. When the pasta is finished cooking, save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest. Combine the pasta and pasta water with the kale mixture and add 2 tbsp butter as well. Take the zest and juice from the two lemons and toss in with the pasta. Sprinkle with as much Parmesan cheese as you like...I like a lot! I also added fresh diced tomato on top! Use salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Honey Mustard

One of my favorite things to do is cook. I love trying out new recipes and creating my own. I came up with a new recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu. This is a dish I rarely eat, but I like it a lot!

Usually it's deep fried and full of fat. However, I lowered the fat and calories but still maintained the flavor. I also changed things up a bit and added a honey mustard sauce.

My husband and kiddos loved it! Everyone cleaned their plates. I love the feeling I get when one of my recipes turns out so well! It's a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Lightly spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with Pam

Ingredients:
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (slit open down the middle and butterflied)
3 tbsp flour
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 box Stovetop Stuffing, chicken flavor
1 container sliced ham (I used the Oscar Meyer thin sliced deli lunch meat)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Honey Mustard Sauce:
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp mayonnaise
1 tsp poppy seeds

Start off by placing the Stovetop Stuffing in a ziplock bag and crush until close to powder consistency. Secondly, split each chicken breast open so it's butterflied. Don't cut them all the way through. You want a big thin piece of chicken so you can roll it up later. Next, sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Use as much seasonings as you like.

Place flour in one bowl, then beat the egg and egg whites in another separate bowl. Take a chicken breast and dredge it in flour, then dip it in the egg wash. Place the chicken in the ziplock bag of Stovetop Stuffing and coat. Continue this with all of the chicken.

Now it's time to stuff the chicken and roll it up. I placed five to six slices of ham on each chicken breast. Then I sprinkled the mozzarella cheese on the ham. I probably used close to two tablespoons of cheese on each one. It was one cup total for the whole recipe. You can use more or less depending on how cheesy you like it. Once you've sprinkled the cheese on, roll up the chicken and secure with toothpicks. Place in casserole dish and bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

While the chicken bakes, make the sauce. Mix the Dijon mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and poppy seeds in a bowl. Set sauce aside until chicken has cooked. After the chicken has cooked, drizzle the sauce over the top of the chicken and continue to bake uncovered for approximately five more minutes, then remove from oven. My husband wanted the chicken drenched in a lot more sauce, but I told him I was trying to keep it healthy. I'm sure you could double the honey mustard sauce recipe if you like saucy chicken.

I also cut each chicken breast in half so I had ten smaller servings. If you want you can leave them whole and just have five huge servings. Here is the nutrition content, it's a pretty close approximation.

10 servings
Each serving is as follows:
Calories- 270
Fat- 7 grams
Fiber- < 1 gram