Rebecca's Ridiculous Banana Bread

I made banana bread today with all healthy ingredients; I call it ridiculous because substituted everything except the bananas, baking soda, and salt and was convinced it wouldn't come out well. It all started because while I like the idea of Clif bars, I feel like they're so expensive and they give me heart burn. Dried fruit can also be expensive, but bananas and apple sauce are not. So, this is my banana bread with 1/2 serving of fruit and whole grains per muffin (I got 16 muffins). You can add chocolate chips and/or walnuts. When I made this for Katie & Matt, I used ganache chunks - so it was like have pieces of truffle baked into them.

I have listed the recipe with the substitutions I made and the real recipe in parentheses.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all purpose flour)
3/4 c sucanat (brown sugar)
2 extra large eggs minus one egg yolk (2 eggs)
1/2 cup apple sauce (butter)
4 medium overripe bananas (2.33 cups mashed bananas)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Optional:
1/4 cup ground golden flax seed
1/4-1/2 cup whole dry oats

Mix everything except flour and soda, then add those two. If you're adding flax and oats, stir those in after the batter is all mixed. Pour into greased/sprayed loaf pan or muffin pan. Bake at 350 until knife comes out mostly clean (the banana might leave a smudge and the chocolate definitely will). This was about 25 minutes for muffins and I think 45 for a loaf.

I thought they would be too healthy tasting and that they would need to be buttered but I thought they were good. Katie asked for the recipe.

Cheddar (Bacon) Drop Biscuits

I think the bacon is optional. Normally, my homemade biscuits are like rocks. These came out perfectly. Just be careful with the buttermilk - you may not need the entire amount. I never have buttermilk around, so I do the substitution: 1 tbsp. lemon juice plus enough milk to equal 3/4 cup, then let it sit for 5 minutes.

2 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour) spooned lightly in cup and levelled with knife
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (optional)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup water
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Stir with whisk. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese and bacon. Add buttermilk and water, stirring until just moist. Drop dough (approximately 2 level tablespoons) 1 inch apart on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 for 11 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Kale with Bacon and Onions

I found this recipe in an issue of Cooking Light and I've only changed it a little. It is SO GOOD. Ben likes it, too. The bacon doesn't add that much, for me, but Ben probably wouldn't eat it so readily if it did not feature bacon.

2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 bunch of kale, chopped, about 10 cups, divided
1/2 cup chicken broth, divided
1/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper, divided
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or big pasta pot over med/high heat. Add onion to pot and saute for 5 minutes or until onion is tender and begins to brown. Add 5 cups kale, 1/4 cup chicken broth, half the salt, and half the peppers to pot. Cover, reduce heat, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add remaining kale, broth, salt and peppers to pot. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with bacon.