May 2015 – Mrs. Roemer's Nest

We’ve all had bananas ripen way too quickly before and believe it or not, I used to throw them away! I will never, never, never do that again. A few years ago, I stumbled upon this recipe from Simply Recipes for the BEST banana bread I’ve ever eaten. It is soooo easy to make! My four year old can even make it all by herself…well almost all by herself. 😉

Mash 2-3 very ripe bananas with a fork and stir the melted butter in. I melt it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar (I always use a full cup even though the directions say you can use less), egg and vanilla. Next up, mix in the flour. I love to add a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the mix too. Trust me, it makes this bread phenomenal!

After you pour the batter into the greased loaf pan, sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top and cook for about 50 mins at 350 degrees. The directions say 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, but I have found that it is done WAYYYY before that. Set your timer for 50 minutes and check it with a toothpick. I bet you won’t need to cook it for much longer than that.

This bread freezes great! Even if you aren’t in the mood to have banana bread in the house (but seriously, who doesn’t want banana bread in the house!), use those old yucky bananas to make some out-of-this-world banana bread. Let it cool completely, wrap it in tin foil and then place it in a labeled freezer bag.

This is one of my mother’s favorite desserts. I always make sure I have a loaf or two in my freezer when she comes down for a visit. I LOVE sitting at the table with my beautiful momma, a cup of coffee and this bread. It’s one of my favorite things to do when she comes to visit. I love you mother. Happy Mother’s Day! xoxo

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Happy Cooking!!

xoxo

The weather has been gorgeous lately…cool temps in the morning perfect for early morning runs, sunny and warm in the afternoon along with a few afternoon showers. It’s really starting to feel like summertime!

Which reminds me…bathing suit season is right around the corner! I wanted to get away from all the comfort food I’ve been making lately. A friend of mine shared her weekly meal plan and introduced me to The Garden Grazer. You need to go check this site out! Seriously. This site is FULL of wonderfully delicious vegetarian and vegan meals!

I made Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing the other night but I added some chicken for the hubby. He enjoys salad as much as I do but more as a side dish, not for the main course.

I didn’t have much time to search for a “recipe” of any sorts so I just spritzed the chicken with olive oil and sprinkled McCormick’s Chipotle & Roasted Garlic seasoning on top. I cooked it for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Perfect!

I washed and spun dry the romaine lettuce, chopped the orange pepper, cherry tomatoes, green onions & cilantro. Then I started prepping for the dressing, all while the chicken cooked. Super easy!

I’m not a fan of avocado, so I chose to use plain greek yogurt for the dressing. I added lime juice, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and salt. Kaitlin, The Garden Grazer, recommended to add a bit of honey if the dressing tasted too tart. I’m used to plain greek yogurt but I wasn’t sure the hubby would like it as much so I added the honey to sweeten it and it came out great! Next time, I would LOVE to try it with some cayenne pepper! I love a lil’ kick!

Since it was the just two of us, I made individual bowls. I put the romaine in, a few spoonfuls of veggies and topped it with the Cilantro Dressing.

Would you believe that while we were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, I saw the corn and black beans sitting on the counter…completely untouched. Yep, I forgot to add them. Ha! So maybe the salad wasn’t quite as “southwestern” as it was supposed to be but it was still amazing!

This dressing is so unbelievably delicious that I think I’m going to make it the next time we host a party. I’ll chop up a bunch of fresh veggies and leave them out to dip in the dressing. Although, my husband told me that he doesn’t need any lettuce or veggies, he just needs a spoon! Score! This one is a keeper! Thank you Kaitlin!