Banana Bumble Bread (Mikaela Sloat)

My beautiful sister in law asked me to write up her recipe for Banana Bumble Bread because she has had a lot of interest in her recipe. It's incredible delicious and I hope you enjoy, so here it is!

Yields two 9x5 inch loafs or three 7.5x4 inch dessert loafs.

6 medium bananas, ripe (3.5-4 cups)

1 ½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup oil

3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 cup chocolate chips

½ cup shredded coconut (+2 tbsp)

 1 cup dried, sweetened cranberries (craisins)

 ½ cup walnuts, chopped

 ¼ cup chia seeds

 ¼ - ½ cup almond milk (or other milk product)

1   Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease/Lay parchment paper in two 9x5 inch (or three 7x4 inch) loaf pans.

2   Mash bananas thoroughly, add sugar, eggs and oil. Mix on high for 2 minutes.

3   Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix until just combined.

4    Take note of current batter consistency. Fold in chocolate chips, coconut, craisins, walnuts, and chia     seeds. Add just enough milk to return batter to original consistency.

5   Sprinkle 2 tbsp shredded coconut over batter in pans.

6   Bake for 50-60min, or until toothpick stuck into center comes out clean. Turn pans every 20 minutes while baking. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then on wire racks, under cloth.

Note: you can substitute or adjust any of the last seven ingredients with your preferences, just make sure to return batter to the original consistency to ensure a nice loaf.

Thanks Mikaela for your awesome recipe! I hope you all enjoy!

You can find Mikaela and her photography business at:

http://mikaelasloat.wix.com/photographer

https://www.facebook.com/MikaelaSloatPhotography/

https://www.instagram.com/mikaela.sloat.photography/

Sesame Honey Garlic Chicken Wings with "Greek" Salad and Stove Cooked Rice

This super simple recipe isn't very healthy, but it's super yummy!

Sesame Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

Ingredients: 

2/3 cup Corn Starch mixed with Water

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

2 tsp Chopped Garlic

30 Frozen, Plain Chicken Wings

Flour

Canola Oil

Sesame Seeds

Preheat oven to 350 and cover a deep baking pan in tin foil. Heat some canola oil in a pan or skillet on medium/high heat. Put some flour in a bowl and coat the frozen wings in it. Then once the oil in the skillet is heated, place the wings in and cover the skillet. Fry the wings until all sides are golden brown. In a bowl mix together brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic. Heat this mixture in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring regularly. Add in the corn starch and water mixture after a minute or two to thicken it. Keep stirring this until it is really thick. Put the fried wings in the baking pan. Put a small amount of sauce on each wing and spread across one side of the chicken. You don't need lots of sauce because it will spread in the oven and cover the wings fully. Put tin foil over the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes, so the inside of the wings can cook. Take the wings out of the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds. There you go! Enjoy!

"Greek" Salad

I really don't like greek salad because I'm not a fan of tomatoes and cucumbers, but you can't just eat olives and feta, so I put some veggies into this and made my own "Greek" salad.

Ingredients:

Spring Mix (salad mix)

Black Olives, sliced

Purple Onion, chopped

Feta Cheese, crumbled

Renee's Mediterranean Greek Dressing

You can add in cucumbers and tomatoes of course.

This recipe is hard to give amounts of each ingredient because everyone likes different amounts. Basically, just eyeball the ingredients to make it how you'd like it.

Stove Cooked Rice

Ingredients:

3 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Garlic

1/2 cup Sweet Onion

1/2 cup Purple Onion

1 1/2 cup White Rice

3 cups Water

3 tbsp Chicken Bouillon

3/4 cup Peas

Put the olive oil in a pan on medium heat and add in your onions, garlic and rice and saute them for about 5 minutes. Then add in your water and chicken bouillon, turn heat down to low and cover the pan (this will take about 15-20 minutes to cook). Defrost your peas about 3/4 of the way. Once the rice is mostly cooked, add in the peas. Continue cooking the rice until done (rice will be soft and all water absorbed).

Cactus Cuts (and dip)

This recipe tastes exactly like Boston Pizza's but is slightly healthier, enjoy!


Ingredients:

Dip:

You can play with these amounts a little bit to make it to your liking. Add a bit more chilli flakes to add some more heat, so take them out completely like my mom does. Whatever you like!

6 tbsp Sour Cream
1 cup Caesar Salad Dressing
1 1/2 tbsp Green Onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes


Cactus Cuts:

Now you may need to eye this a bit depending on what kind of potatoes you like, how large they are, etc. These are some general guidelines but add what you'd like to taste. One tip though, add enough olive oil to the potatoes to make them bake nicely but don't add too much or they'll be soggy and won't crisp up enough.

10 Small Potatoes, sliced as thinly as possible
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes (optional)
1/2 tbsp Green Onion, finely chopped (optional)
Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, simply combine all the ingredients for the dip and set in the fridge until needed. Toss the sliced potatoes with the olive oil and seasonings to taste. Put some parchment paper on baking sheets to prevent sticking. Lay the potatoes on the baking sheets in a single layer and bake for 6-8 minutes (or until golden brown) on a medium rack, then flip and cook for another 6-8 minutes. You may need to take some out early if they are thinner or smaller, and you don't want them overcooked, so keep an eye on them.

Now serve them hot with your dip and enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my favourite cookies in the world and this recipe is so beyond addictive!

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Melted Margarine
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 cups Oats
3/4 cup Raisins
3/4 cup Chocolate Chips



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda and powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a mix master, cream on a high speed your margarine, white and brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture in small intervals on a slow speed until no flour is visible (scrape the edges with a spatula). Now stir in the oats, raisins and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Cut parchment paper to the size of your cookie sheet. Start scooping the cookie dough into balls and place on the cookie sheet (I always like giant cookies, because.. why not?!) Now put your cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes take them out to cool. The middle of them will look super not done, but I promise you they are. Don't keep them in for longer or they will turn hard and not yummy. Let these cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then take them off to be put on a cooling rack. And that's it! You will thank me for these, because they are seriously so incredible! Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Pie

Super yummy and easy Coconut Cream Pie recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
3 cups Half and Half Cream
2 Eggs (Beaten)
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 9 inch Pie Shell (Yea, sorry I didn't make my own)
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream and Sugar to taste


Preheat the oven 350° F. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until golden brown. (This is tricky because it cooks really fast and can burn soooo easily so keep an eye on it. It should only take about 3 minutes). Bake the pie shell as the box instructs and let cool. In a saucepan, combine the half and half, eggs, flour, sugar, and salt and mix well. Bring this to a boil over low heat (I'd recommend boiling it on about a 5 - if your stove works on a number system as mine does. This will take a while, so be patient and make sure to stir pretty constantly so it doesn't burn). Once you see bubbles, let boil for about 5 minutes then remove from heat. It should have a thick custard-like consistency. Stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut and the vanilla (keep the rest of the toasted coconut to put on top later). Pour the filling into the cooled pie shell and chill in fridge until firm (about 4 hours).  Now make some whip cream. Mix the whipping cream and some sugar on the highest setting of an electric mixer. It will form peaks when done. Once the pie is done chilling, put the whip cream on top and of course the toasted coconut to make it look pretty! And voila, you're done!

Gluten Free Caluiflower "Mac and Cheese"

This is a great healthier alternative for a traditional Mac and Cheese. It's SUPER easy and yummy! My cousin who hates veggies even loved this!

Ingredients:

2 cups Catelli Gluten Free Macaroni Noodles
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Flour (or gluten free flour of your choice)
1/2 cup Milk
1/3 a Large Head of Cauliflower
1/2 cup of Cheese (I used about a 1/4 cup of Mozzerella and 1/4 cup of Cheddar)
1 tsp Dry Mustard
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Steam cauliflower until soft (takes about 10 minutes). Boil noodles until soft. Puree cooked cauliflower until makes a thick paste (no lumps). Make a rue by melting the butter on low in a saucepan, adding the flour until clumpy, and then add milk little by little to make a sauce. Mix in the cauliflower paste. Add in your cheese little by little, until fully melted and mixed it. If the sauce is too thick for your liking you may need to add a bit of extra milk to make it runnier (it will thicken up a little bit later too, so keep that in mind). Now add in your dry mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Here you can add any other spices of your choosing. Now add your noodles to your sauce and enjoy!


Makes about 4 servings.

Carrot Fries with Mayo Dip

Carrot Fries

These are my new favourite snack! They are super easy to make and taste super similar to sweet potato fries, but better in my opinion!

Ingredients:

20 Large Carrots

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt to taste

Turn your oven onto 375° F and let heat up. Cut your carrots into long thin strips to make like fries. Cover lightly in olive oil and salt to taste (you can add more after they're cooked, so at this point less is more). Put into the oven to cook for about 30 minutes until crispy. That's it!

Chilli Mayo Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup Mayo

4 tbsp Ketchup

1/2 tsp Crushed Garlic (or Garlic Paste)

1 tbsp Louisiana Hot Sauce (doesn't really make it spicy, just gives extra flavour)

2 tsp Chilli Powder

Just simply mix all the ingredients together and you're done. Simple as that.

There you go! You've got a delicious, healthier alternative to fries!