One of Tink's many, many birthday food requests was a fried banana sandwich. She calls them Elvis sandwiches and she absolutely loves them. We all do! Of course, I add my own little touches and healthy it up as much as possible. :) These sandwiches are also a great alternative to banana bread when I need to use up the overripe bananas we seem to constantly have. In this heat, bananas last two days at most on our counter. I usually stick them in the fridge, which keeps them from ripening for almost two weeks, but the kids still won't eat them because the skins turn black. I have come to enjoy my bananas cold better than room temperature!
Preheat your frying pan to medium heat. Grease with pan spray or butter.
Spread peanut butter onto both slices of bread. I like Smart Balance's natural peanut butter.
Drizzle honey on one side of peanut butter laced bread. Slice the banana and place the slices on the other peanut butter slathered bread.
Put the two slices together, banana and honey meeting in the middle. Spread the Smart Balance spread onto the outside of the sandwich. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Heat in the frying pan until a beautiful golden brown.
Tink likes to have her sandwich cut in half. (It's all I can do to not write "sanch" because that's what the girls have always called sandwiches. Sanches! Goose started it. Her favorite lunch as a toddler was a "cheesh sanch.")
So delicious!! My mouth is watering and I glanced over at the bananas on the counter. The stinkin' things are under ripe for once. Of course! :)
We've been on a cold sanch kick this week for dinner because the heat index has been in the 100's. The weatherman said that this is the hottest weather in recorded history here in Florida. I didn't even want to turn on the burner to boil the eggs for egg salad sanches last night! But I would turn on the burner for these fried banana sanches!! I think I've decided on tomorrow night's dinner!
All great flavors! Bananas, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon. Absolutely wonderful! Add the touch of sugar and the nutty whole wheat and you come pretty close to the perfect sanch. At least according to Elvis and Tink!
I always thought I was giving my girls a healthy treat when I would pack granola bars in their school lunches, especially the ones touted as "low sugar." Then the warnings came out about high fructose corn syrup and moms starting checking food labels with a vengeance. It turns out that you might have a hard time finding a granola bar without the stuff. Even the Fiber One bars that I used to have for breakfast are loaded with it. And now that I know, I can't let my kids eat that junk, so I make my own. This recipe is easy, super tasty, and completely void of corn syrup. Best part of all, the girls love them!
You will need:
2 cups oats (sometimes I substitute Multi-Grain Cheerios) 3/4 cup wheat germ 1 cup crushed peanuts ******* 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup honey 4 T Smart Balance 2 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp Kosher salt 6-8 oz dried fruit (your choice) 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Line a jelly roll pan with foil (or any cookie sheet with sides). No need to grease it, just spread out the oats and wheat germ.
Crush your peanuts. I like to use low sodium dry roasted peanuts, but you can use any type of peanut or nut that you like. I use my mini chopper to chop up the peanuts, but you can crush them in a plastic bag using a cup.
Add the peanuts to the oats and wheat germ and mix.
Toast them in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes and checking two minutes early. You don't want the wheat germ to burn. After they are done you can turn off the oven.
Line a 9x13 inch glass baking pan with wax paper. Grease the paper with a little cooking spray and set aside.
Add your toasted mix to a large bowl and pour in fruit of choice. I like to use a 6 oz bag of mixed fruit.
Add the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt to a saucepan.
Melt over medium low heat...
until the mixture comes to a simmer or low, low boil. Remove from heat when you see the first little bubbles coming to the surface.
Pour your yummy sugar mixture into the bowl over the fruit and oats.
Stir and make sure that everything is evenly coated.
Now the chocolate chips!!
Drop your granola bar mixture into your greased and lined 9x13 pan.
Spread evenly to all sides.
Cover with another sheet of wax paper and press down hard. You aren't going to bake these, so you need to press them into shape so they won't fall apart.
Leave the wax paper on top and set aside to cool and set for 2 hours. Then remove top sheet of paper and use the bottom sheet to pick up the entire giant bar and put it on a cutting board or your counter top.
I make four cuts lengthwise
and three width wise.
I get 2 to 3 weeks of granola bars this way. It depends on how many times a week they take them. It's usually around four times a week for both girls.
They are moist, but not too moist. Chewy, not overly sweet, and I can feel good about giving them to the girls. The first time I gave these to them Tink ate 3 and Goose ate 2.
I wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap. That way I can just drop one in their lunch sack.
I keep them in a Ziploc fresh shield freezer bag in the freezer. They are completely thawed by lunchtime for the kids. On the weekends I'll take out a few and keep them in the cupboard for a quick snack.
Try different nuts, fruit, and grains. You really can't go wrong! And give yourself a pat on the back for giving your kids a granola bar you made from scratch with NO corn syrup.
An old, well-seasoned cast iron skillet is a thing of beauty. My skillet belonged to my grandmother and I think about her whenever I use it.
This recipe is the only one I make anymore. I take a basic homemade cornbread recipe, sweeten it to our Southern tastes, and bake it in my skillet.
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup yellow self-rising cornmeal 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup oil 1/4 cup honey 2 eggs, lightly beaten ******* 3 T butter
If you don't have self-rising cornmeal then add one tablespoon of baking powder to whatever you do have.
In Florida we have honey made from bees who frequent our many, many orange groves. I use Orange Blossom honey exclusively, which is much sweeter than Clover, but for this recipe, any honey will do.
Don't have any buttermilk? You probably know the trick of adding one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of whole milk and letting it sit for five minutes, but here's another trick that I think gives you a result closer to the real thing: mix equal parts plain yogurt and milk (even skim). For this recipe you would use one half cup of plain yogurt and one half cup milk. Whisk together and there is no need to let it sit.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Put three tablespoons of butter into your skillet and place it in the oven while it preheats. The butter will melt and not only grease your pan, but add an amazing crust to your cornbread.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, make a well in the center, and add the buttermilk, oil, honey, and eggs.
Mix until just combined and pour into hot skillet. Be careful with the handle. A cast iron skillet has no protective plastic to keep you from burning your hands.
Bake for 20 minutes, but check it after 17. Overbaked cornbread is dry, which is one reason some people don't like it. Your bread should be golden and barely brown around the edges.
Store the leftovers in a plastic bag in the fridge for at least three days. It usually doesn't last that long around here!
This recipe is simple, delicious, and easy on the budget.
I took about a 1/3 cup of honey mustard and added 1T of oil. (Any spicy mustard with 1T of honey can substitute.)
I spread the mustard mixture over a pork loin (less than $10) and baked at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
While it was baking I chopped up two pears. I left the skin on, but made sure to wash them with soap and hot water. So important to wash your fruit! Even bananas and cantaloupe. After 25 minutes I removed the pork from the oven, added the pears, and continued cooking for 20 minutes. (The pork should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.)
I sliced the pork and drizzled it with the drippings from the pan. Since I am going the way of the diet, I chopped up my pork and pears and put them over a bed of lettuce. I used a lowfat honey mustard vinaigrette on top.
I created this food blog when my two girls were young, I was a stay-at-home mom, and I had not yet attended culinary school. Now I'm a classically trained chef with two college-age daughters. This blog will always be so special to me and I hope you enjoy my old recipes.
