Banana Oatmeal Cookies (some have chocolate chips!)

Always with the overripe bananas. Sorry…

But these cookies let me tell you, they are really something!

They have great banana flavor, but they aren’t too cakey. They are chewy in the center and crisp on the edges just like a perfect cookie should be!

Now, my in house taste tester isn’t a huge fan of chocolate chips in his banana bread so I thought I better make half these cookies plain, and then I added some chocolate to second half! Honestly they are great either way!

What you need,

Click Here To Print

¾ cup butter, as usual I used salted

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup mashed banana

1½ cup all-purpose flour

1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. corn starch

3 cups oats

1 cup of chocolate chips, I used milk chocolate but semi sweet would be great too

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper.

In the bowl if a stand mixer add the butter and both sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated.

Stir in the vanilla.

Add the mashed banana and blend to combine.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and cornstarch.  Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer a little at a time until totally incorporated.

Add the oats 1 cup at a time until totally mixed in.

Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoon onto the prepared pan and bake 10—12 minutes until brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I used about half the dough, then I stirred in the chocolate chips and baked the second half of the dough.

Let the cookies cool completely, store in an airtight container for a week or in the freezer for 3 months.

I feel like these are cookies you can eat for breakfast. I think anything that has a banana in it should be breakfast!

Enjoy!

Jen

Moose Stew with Mushrooms

Ok so I realize that most of you don’t have a freezer full of moose meat, so you go right ahead and use some nice beef. This stew will be just as delicious, I promise.

This easy stew is so great. The meat is tender and the mushrooms are meaty. The gravy is savory and perfect.  I served mine with some creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes and some buttered carrots.

It made a perfectly wonderful Sunday night dinner.

What you need,

Click Here To Print

1 lb. stewing beef or moose, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 large shallots, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, halved

½ cup red wine

1 can beef consume

1 can water

Salt and Pepper to taste (use lots of pepper, It will make the stew amazing)

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tbsp. all purpose flour mixed with 3 tbsp. water

2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

Heat the butter and oil over medium high heat in a large heavy bottomed pot.

Add the meat in a single layer and brown well on all sides, this will take about 5-6 minutes. If all the meat won’t fit in a single layer, do it in 2 batches. Remove the browned meat to plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and then add the shallots and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant. Toss in the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, just until they get a little color and start to soften.  Pour in the wine, consume and water into the pot. Scrape up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan that is where all the good flavor is! Add about 1 teaspoon of salt and at least ½ a teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper at this point. Now add the meat back to the pot, be sure to add any juices off the plate too.

Reduce the heat to low and add the thyme sprigs. Put a lid on the pot and let the stew simmer for at 90 minutes, up to 2 hours until the meat is tender.

Add the flour/water mixture to the pot and stir well. Let it simmer again for another 30 minutes, the gravy will thicken up. Adjust the seasonings to your taste, more salt, pepper.

Turn off the heat and let the stew stand for 20 minutes before serving.

Just before you serve the stew, toss in 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley.

This stew… Sooooo freaking good. It is just a big old pot of comfort.

Make some soon; you will be very happy you did!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Favourite Things Friday Vol 91 – A Discussion of Some Random Stuff

I am so happy it is Friday! Plus it is long weekend, Monday is Family Day! HOORAY!

Do you all know Christina from Dessert for Two? She is super awesome! Her blog is full of not only delicious desserts but dinners that are scaled down to feed just 2 people. She has a brand new cookbook; I pre-ordered it and have been waiting and waiting. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, but it is late. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.  I picked up a new pack of post it flags so I can mark all the things I want to make!

Cookies are my love language. Snickerdoodles are a classic, and when I saw that Shelly from Cookies & Cups had posted a recipe for the PERFECT SNICKERDOODLE I knew what I would be doing this weekend, whipping up a batch! I only hope mine turn out as pretty as hers!

Let’s talk TV for a minute or two. Did you watch the final episode of Parenthood?? I pvr’d the last 2 episodes and watched them back to back. I used half a box of Kleenex, I cried cause I was happy, I cried cause I was sad, I cried cause it was over… I am really going to miss the Braverman’s!

Is it just me or is this season of Downton Abbey kinda boring?? I just feel like they are doing the same things they did last season, Mary can’t choose a man, poor Bates is always in trouble, and Barrow is a jerk… Don’t get me wrong I still love it, but I feel like they need to spice it up a bit!

I am VERY excited that Walking Dead comes back on this Sunday‼ I can’t wait to feel all the feelings!

I just finished binge watching the first 2 seasons of Masters of Sex. WOW, this show is amazing. Lizzy Caplan is FANTASTIC‼ If you haven’t seen it, give it a try!

Since my bus commute to work is like an hour each way, I have been reading A LOT! Most recently I started the Discovery of Witches trilogy but Deborah Harkness. I didn’t really know what to expect when I started it but it is really really great! I am halfway through the second book now and I can’t put it down. I almost missed my bus stop the other day I was so into it! The writing is fantastic it really transports you away. I am always up for a good book suggestion so if you have any please shout them out in the comments.

Well that is probably enough rambling for now!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Jen

Individual No Bake Grapefruit Cheesecakes

The one and only thing I love about winter is how amazing the citrus fruit is! I could eat an orange or a grapefruit at every single meal

They are so bright and colorful, so juicy and full of sweet tangy flavor.

I had a few amazing ruby red grapefruits in the fridge and I wanted to make a nice dessert for dinner. I thought what better than a simple creamy no bake cheesecake laced with fresh grapefruit juice and topped with the pretty red fruit and a little mint.

What you need,

Click Here To Print

1 large grapefruit, segmented

4-5 tbsp. fresh grapefruit juice

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

7oz. sweetened condensed milk (about half a can)

1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup butter, melted

Fresh mint sprigs for topping

In a medium bowl melt the butter, stir in the graham crumbs until moist and crumbly.

Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the crumb mixture into 4 small bowls. Gently press to flatten the crumbs on the bottom of each bowl, making a crust.

In a large bowl combine the cream cheese and condensed milk. Using a hand mixer whip the cream cheese mixture until light and fluffy.

Segment the grapefruit over a bowl, to catch the juice. Cut each segment into small bite sized pieces and set aside.

Add 4-5 tablespoons of the grapefruit juice to the cream cheese mixture and blend well.

Divide the cheesecake batter evenly into each dish.

Refrigerate the cheesecakes for at least 2 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to serve, spoon some of the reserved grapefruit on the top of each cheesecake and sprinkle on a little chopped mint.

These cheesecakes are so amazing. They are light and creamy combined with the tang of the fruit is fabulous!

This is such a great dessert to make if you are going to be having a heavier dinner; it is really refreshing and tasty!

Enjoy! I know I did!

Jen

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Winter… UHHHGGG! I am just not a winter girl. I don’t like snow, I don’t like cold and I REALLY don’t like RAIN‼ Man it has been raining here the last couple weeks, too much rain!

I needed a dinner that would warm me up like a cozy blanket. This Cheesy Cauliflower Soup was just the perfect thing. I love cauliflower and I really love it with cheese sauce, so this soup is perfect for me!

It is creamy and cheesy and rich but a little shake of hot sauce really cuts the richness and adds a great flavor!

What you need,

Click Here To Print

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets (about 5-6 cups)

1 medium carrot, shredded (about 1 cup)

¼ cup chopped celery

¼ cup chopped onion

1 tbsp. olive oil

2½ -3 cups of chicken stock, low sodium

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 cups 2% milk

1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese

1-2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the cauliflower, carrot, celery, onion to the pot and saute for 4-5 minutes until the veggies just start to soften.  Add the stock to the pot to just cover the veggies. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. The liquid will barely cover the veggies. I used an immersion blender at this point to blend the soup up a little. I didn’t want it super smooth so I left it a little chunky, but you could make it super smooth if you want to.

In another large saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Whisk the milk in slowly. Bring to a boil over medium heat; Cook and stir the mixture for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Add hot pepper sauce.

Stir into the cauliflower mixture until combined.

Serve the soup with a little extra hot sauce if you dare!

I also couldn’t resist making THESE amazing biscuits to go with it!

This soup was absolutely fabulous! Such great flavor and texture, I love love loved it!

I will be making this soup again for sure! It was simple and delicious, what more could you ask for.

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe slightly adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything