Delicious Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

Ok so as I sit here licking my lips waiting for my cookies to bake I realized it's been a while since I posted here so I'll let you in on a most delicious recipe.

2/3 cup butter (152 g)
1 cup sugar (201 g)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour (288 g)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 pkg chocolate chips

Directions

cream butter until it's nice and smooth, add sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix well.  In a small bowl mix dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt then add to wet ingredients and mix well.  Then add mashed bananas and chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonful onto baking sheet, I covered my baking sheets in parchment paper but that's not usually a necessity but it sure helps with the dishes!

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes (my oven was 12 minutes exactly) or until golden brown. Makes about 3 dozen or so.

Last time I made these, they never even made it off the cooling racks before they were gone, definitely a hit!!

Oh yeah I know you wanna get in there and eat that cookie dough, come on you KNOW you want to...but I would never do that...no no, someone told me that was bad for me so I never did it again...nope nope never again....ya ok so I lied, cookie dough is one of the best parts of life!!  I've eaten cookie dough since I was a kid and never once did I get sick except of course when I ate too much!! heehee!!

BEEP!! There goes the oven timer, just in time... cookies are DONE YAY!!!!  Who wants one???

Heather's No Bake Fibre Bombs

It has recently come to my attention that I do not consume enough fibre.

The BEST source of fibre?

Bran Buds

ICK

How does one make Bran Buds interesting and tasty while sticking to a diet designed to help regulate my gestational diabetes? Now, that's a tough one.

One sleepless night earlier this week, around 4:30 am, I remembered a no bake cookie my Mom made when we younger that had oats in it (another good source of fibre). So I called her up and she found the recipe she used to make them in the Alberta 4-H favorites cookbook (one of the greatest collaboration cookbooks of all times, it has solved many dilemmas over the years). I made a few additions/substitutions to make it fit into my diet. This is what I came up with.

HEATHER'S NO BAKE FIBRE BOMBS

3/4 cup low fat milk

1/2 cup Becel margarine

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup Splenda

1 package Fat Free Instant Pudding Mix

(I made one batch chocolate and one butterscotch)

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups Bran Buds

2 Tbsp flax seeds

2 Tbsp chia seeds

In a medium bowl combine Bran Buds and rolled oats.

Bring milk, margarine, sugar and Splenda to a boil in a small sauce pan.

Boil for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and quickly stir in pudding mix, flax seeds and chia seeds.

Pour over Bran Bud mixture. Stir gently to evenly coat.

Using a scoop or spoon, drop onto wax paper lined sheets and let set.

(I got 30 of each flavor using a #40 scoop)

RATINGS:

Heather - 9.5 - "A tasty way to eat Bran Buds, YAY!!"

Brad - 9 - "Mmmm butterscotch"

NOTES:

I was very concerned about how the Splenda would work when boiled but it turned out fine.

I don't know if I would use all Splenda though.

2 of these are about 1.5 carb options for me in my meal plan.

Hard boiled and Deviled eggs

First I started with boiled eggs, now for the event I went to I made a total of 72 deviled eggs...yikes!! So I wanted a fool proof way to peel all those crazy eggs so I found a recipe for fool proof boiled eggs YAY! Here it is:

Hard Boiled Eggs

1. Fill a pot with water and add a handful of salt (optional, for hard boiled eggs) and set the temp to high. I’ve yet to try the salt, but many readers have recommended this tip for even better peeling results. According to ehow, salt should be omitted when soft boiled eggs are desired. Add your eggs making sure the water covers the entire egg. Bring it to ROLLING BOIL, but don’t continue to boil. Once it begins, remove it from the heat and put a lid on it. Set your timer for 15 minutes.

2. Ding! Pour the hot water off and immediately fill your pot with cold water. Add as much ice as you can to this water. When it melts in a few minutes, add more. The water should be icy cold when you put your hand in it. If not, continue adding ice.

3. After about 10-15 minutes, pour NEARLY all of the water off reserving about an inch.

4. Put the lid on and now it’s time to play bumper cars. You heard me, shake those babies bumping them together back and forth gently (edited via reader’s suggestions). You’ll look ridiculous, but I promise it’s worth the goofy look so you’re not peeling each one under cold running water. Just continue to shake, shake, shake for about a minute and voila! When you remove the lid nearly all of your shell has fallen off the egg and they EASILY peel off without peeling the egg. Use running cool water if necessary.

Now for the deviled eggs that I tried and tested and they all tasted great! I'll put them in order of popularity.

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

12 eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

4 slices of bacon

2 tbsp finely shredded cheddar cheese

1 tbsp mustard ( i used dijon)

BLT Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled plus more for garnish if desired

2 cherry tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

1 tbsp dried parsley flakes ( I used fresh)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh Herb Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1/8 cup chopped fresh chives plus more for garnish

1/4 tsp fresh chopped dill

1/4 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1/8 tsp chopped fresh sage

1/8 tsp chopped fresh basil

Lemon-Pepper Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs

2 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise

juice of half a lemon

1/8 tsp lemon zest minced

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

lemon zest curls and lemon pepper for garnish

For all the recipes you hard boil the eggs and cut them in half lengthwise scoop out the yolk and I put mine in the mixer and added the ingredients and whipped them up, sometimes you have to play with the amount of mayo to get a good consistency. After whipping I put the mixture in a piping bag and piped them into the eggs whites and garnished according to the recipe. These were all a big hit, the lemon ones were really good but definitely a different taste than most people are used to. Every single one of my 72 eggs were eaten and people started asking me if I did this as a business and asked for my card LOL!!!

Guacamole!!!!

I tried this recipe out tonight....success!! This was yummy!

Guacamole

3 avocados peeled pitted and mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)....I didn't add the pepper cause I was trying to get kids to eat it lol!

mash together avocados, lime juice and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refridgerate 1 hour for best flavor or serve immediately.


turned out to be the best guacamole I've ever had.

Pumpkin Seeds

Shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are my new favorite snack and/or salad topping so I was thrilled when this month's Everyday food Magazine featured them in the "Bites" section.

PUMPKIN SEEDS FOUR WAYS

(I made 2 of the 4)

Preheat oven to 300. Combine 2 cups pumpkin seeds, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and a seasoning blend (below). Spread in a single layer on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Toast until golden and crunchy, about 20 minutes, stirring half way through.

Brown Sugar Spice

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp fine salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Maple Chipotle

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp chipotle powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp fine salt

RATINGS:

Heather - 9.5 - "Both good, but I liked the Brown Sugar Spice Best"

Donna (Brad's Mom) - 9.5 - "I like them both"

NOTE:

They look the exact same when cooked so that is why there is only one picture.