Yesterday afternoon, my little sous chef and I made banana nut muffins. We had four blackened bananas decomposing on the counter. I didn't want to throw them out. I hate wasting food. It is a huge pet peeve of mine. I am learning that having two toddlers equals a waste of food every day.
Back to the black bananas. The problem is, I was not feeling motivated to make a mess in the kitchen. So I asked Bode if he wanted to make muffins. Of course he said, "Yes!" and we had to start immediately. If I ever don't want to do something, but 'have' to do it, I mention it to Bode. That is one surefire way of getting myself to do it, because once he's in, he's in. The good news is, these muffins are made in one bowl with just a wooden spoon for mixing.
Warning: I was seriously addicted to these when I was pregnant with Gianna. I made them a lot, and I was the only one to eat them, too. (RWF does not eat muffins, and Bode was too young for muffin eating at the time - or so I thought, at the time.) Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that I am still seriously addicted to these muffins, and I can't stop at just one (or three).
Banana Nut Muffins
3-4 very ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 c melted butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
salt (pinch)
1 1/2 c flour
1 c chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350. With a wooden spoon, stir melted butter into mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle baking soda and salt into mixture, and mix. Add the flour, and stir until just incorporated. Fold in walnuts. Pour mixture into muffin tins. Bake 25-30 minutes. Twelve muffins.
So easy a three year old can do it:
And his little sister gets to enjoy the fruits of his labor:
All my pics of Bode enjoying his muffin turned out super blurry. I'll spare you (this time).
I guess I was on a roll yesterday because even dinner turned out good (so I am told). I made steak, roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli. Again, so easy! Bode and Gianna ate so much at dinner. It always makes me so happy when Bode eats what I make. Bode is in that "no, that's yucky" stage of life. He won't eat anything with tomatoes, or "red" in it. Another thing is, if he eats something one night and likes it, that does not necessarily guarantee that he will love it the next time it is served, either. It is a very challenging time for me. I'm trying to just fix whatever I feel like and have the "here's dinner, eat it or starve" approach. Easier said than done. Last night, Bode asked for seconds on the steak. And then thirds.
I ate my weight in potatoes. I love roasted potatoes with garlic, olive oil and rosemary. Delicious! The broccoli was good, too. But the potatoes took the prize, in my opinion.
To make a super tasty and tender steak, just marinate it in olive oil and vinegar for an hour before you cook it. I took one steak (I used top sirloin, I think? but any cut will do because the marinade will tenderize it), added 2 tbs olive oil, salted it, and then threw it in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Then I added in 1 tbs of white wine vinegar. Shook it around in the bag for a minute, then stuck it in the fridge for an hour to marinade. When I was ready to cook, I took the steak out, rinsed it, dried it, then put salt & pepper on it. Added a splash of olive oil to a pan, then grilled it for 8 minutes. Everyone loved it. RWF is very picky about meat, and how it is cooked (which really challenges my vegetarian cooking skillz) but he said last night's steak was "really good." He asked me what cut of meat I had got and how I had cooked it. This tells me that he really enjoyed it.
I spy a Coonhound who wants a steak:
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
xo
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