Banana Nut Muffins

These. Are. Yummy. 

Some of the old recipes that have been passed down to me don't exactly have heart healthy in mind so occasionally I come across one that I can't resist trying to reinvent. This is one of those crossover recipes that was born out of inspiration and experimentation. The end goal is to match the flavor of the original while upping the level of nutrition by revamping the ingredients. This particular recipe is one of my favorites and a staple of my childhood. I started with my Nannie's Banana Nut Bread and began the process of swapping this and that. Here are some of the changes I made: swapped half of the flour for raw oats, swapped the oil from vegetable to coconut oil and cut the amount in half  (I used yogurt to make up for some of the moisture), swapped most of the white sugar for brown sugar. These are not necessarily low calorie (240 cals each), just more health conscious. They are a fantastic breakfast muffin as the whole oats hold you over longer than plain white flour (which has virtually zero nutrition that fuels your body) but they also cure those late night sweet tooth cravings. I even made a batch of mini muffins that I can snack on here and there when I don't need a whole meal. A mini muffin for a mini-meal!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
1 1/2 cups raw rolled oats
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups bananas (chopped fine but not mashed)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, non-fat
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup nuts
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well but do not beat. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray and fill muffin tins to just under the brim. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center (of an inside muffin) comes out clean. Makes 20-24 regular muffins.

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Enjoy! XOXO~

Pastromelette

This has long been my husbands favorite omelette, he even suggested that I should call it "Drew's World Famous Omelette" at which point I explained to him that it could only be named that if Drew had actually created it....which he didn't. He also came up with a slew of other names for it that he refused to let me ignore, the favorite of which was "Pastromelette" which did make me giggle for the few seconds before it became an eye-rolling episode due to the series of monikers that followed...all of which included the word "Pastromelette." He was insistent that the word he "invented" be used to name his favorite breakfast item...I'm giving him this one (choose your battles, right? lol)

I ate a similar version at a friends house years and years ago (and this was before I ended my childhood feud with vegetables) and it was so incredible that I saved it for a special occasion to share it with the hubby. For his birthday that year I planned a surprise brunch with his closest friends and blew his mind with it. The way that the vegetables are cooked down together before being piled onto one of my favorite cheeses in the world and folded up snugly into a thin airy egg blanket makes for the perfect omelette. Prepare to be amazed...

4 oz beef pastrami, deli sliced
2/3 cup zucchini, small diced
1/3 cup onion, small diced
1/3 cup green bell pepper, small diced
1/3 cup red bell pepper, small diced
1/3 cup yellow bell pepper, small diced
1/3 cup mushrooms, small diced (optional)
3 eggs, whole
3 egg whites
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp Tapatio hot sauce
3 slices Muenster cheese, deli sliced
salt and pepper

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil in a medium/large skillet and combine all of the vegetables and pastrami. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. Remove from pan and set aside. Rinse skillet and spritz with olive oil to keep from sticking (a non-stick pan will work best). Turn heat to medium. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk and Tapatio for 20-30 seconds. Continue to whisk as you pour half of the mixture into the pan to form a thin layer of the aerated egg mixture. Allow the egg to cook until the egg is cooked most of the way through and you can use a large spatula to lift the edge without issue. At this point place 1 1/2 slices of the cheese down the center of the egg and top with half of the veggie/pastrami mixture. Make sure to keep the cheese and veggies in the center so that you can fold the sides of the omelette in. Take the skillet to the plate you are serving on and carefully lift one end out and let the omelette slide out lengthwise onto the plate. Serve with some avocado slices and additional hot sauce if desired.

Enjoy! XOXO~

On The Tip Of My Tongue

Whew! We made it through the holidays in one piece and we even got the New Year kicked off in style, New Orleans style to be specific, where my beloved Oklahoma Sooners succeeded in becoming the BCS Sugar Bowl Champions. Now that we made it through all the craziness our lives can return to normal (whatever that is?). Christmas was amazing for me this year, my culinary mind is running on high thanks to a gift from the big jolly fellow himself. Santa brought me a Big Green Egg grill so you guys can look forward to a lot more yummy grilled dishes and homemade pizzas. This grill is seriously one of the "must haves" for anyone that likes to cook out on a grill. I just had a shrimp and black bean pizza in Cabo while vacationing with my family that I can't wait to try to recreate for y'all. In the meantime, I want to chat about a Christmas present for your family for next year. It may feel weird to start planning family Christmas gifts for 2014 but I wanted to give you a head start on a gift that will blow your family away. It is time consuming but well worth the work and well worth the happiness it will bring you and your loved ones for years to come.

I can't stand it! What was the gift?!?  (this is you guys talking.....but in my head)

As a gift to my family on Christmas 2012 I decided to privately publish a cookbook titled, On The Tip Of My Tongue: A Collection of Recipes from My Family of Cooks, Food Lovers and Feast Organizers. I spent 12-14 hours a day for a month. Ofcourse, I had my brilliant idea about 5 weeks before Christmas so I had to cram all of the work into 4 weeks which is why I'm giving you the ENTIRE YEAR to plan and produce! My cookbook is a 240 page collection of old family photos and recipes from both of my great-great-grandmothers on my Dad's side all the way down to my own recipes. And I did not even have time to include half of the recipes! I scanned in hand written recipes and used them as photos in the book as well. 

How in the world did you do it?!?  (again...you guys are full of questions!)

I researched some online publishing companies and came up with Blurb.com. You can privately publish a book, which is what I did, where only you and those that have a link can order the book to be printed. Another option I thought was cool is that you can do a public publish and sell your book on their website. I found a 30% off coupon code for the month I printed the cookbooks so I got each book for around $45 - keep in mind that my book was pretty large (240 pages). You can choose any size book, any number of pages, custom design or use pre-made templates. You can get them for as cheap as $15 or as expensive as $100 or more. I do recommend searching Google for a coupon code because usually you can find a 10% or 15% code and every little discount is a bonus! I think it's important to note that I have no affiliation with Blurb.com, therefore I am not promoting on behalf of the company, I simply did the research and became a customer and my experience worked out great! I hope you will consider doing a book for your family no matter how big or small, if they are anything like my family it will be one of their favorite gifts for years to come. Here are a few pics of my cookbook:

I used old family photos for the cover! That is my dad on the bottom left and my Grannie and Poppa sitting on the couch on the top left. She looked just like Patsy Cline.

When I had a family recipe written out in a family members own hand-writing, I would scan it in and use it as an image on the same page where the type-written recipe is. This is my way of preserving the nostalgia of having it in my loved ones hand-writing and keeping all of the little notes that tend to find their way onto those pages.

Again, I filled some pages with only photos because I wanted it to be as much about the photos and memories as the recipes.

The final touch was actually an after-thought. I knew that finding a specific recipe would be a hard task because I did not alphabetize the recipes in the book. I used an Excel spreadsheet and typed every title and page number in side-by-side columns and then sorted the info A to Z to create an "Index of Recipes" which has proved to be helpful now that I actually use the book. Keep that in mind as you build your book. 

Enjoy! XOXO