Zenful Expressions

Make banana bread of course! I do not put nuts in mine, as nobody other than Denny and myself like nuts here, so here is the tasty nut free version I make.

2-1/2 C. and 2 tbs. all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 C. white sugar
1/2 C. butter, softened
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups mashed banana (5 bananas)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Kiwi Muffins/Bread

10 overripe kiwi
5 C. all purpose flour
2 1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
5 eggs
2 1/2 C. Milk

In a bowl, sift flour, and spices. Add both sugars. In another bowl, beat the egg, milk and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in kiwi. Fill sprayed/greased muffin pan three-fourths full per cup. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Makes 50 muffins. Cook and freeze.

Tomato Cream Soup

1 Tbs olive oil
4 overripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 shallot, minced
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 C. whipping cream

Heat oil, then turn heat to medium. Saute shallots, but do not brown. Add tomatoes, garlic salt, pepper, and paprika. Cook 10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to fall apart. Put into food processor, and mix on medium for 3 minutes. Pour mixture through strainer to remove skins and seeds. Reheat if needed. Serve with Grilled Cheese or crusty bread. Makes 2 servings.

Mango Pork Chops

4 pork chops
1 large mango, cut into slices
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic, or more to taste
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the mango and slice. Set the slices aside. Chop onion and garlic. Mix diced mango, onion, ginger, cayenne pepper, garlic, salt, pepper and water in a saucepan. Simmer until onions are soft and mixture is thick, but not dry, about 10 minutes. Add a little more water, if necessary. Set aside.

Coat your pork chops with some salt and pepper, and cook your pork chops as you desire – I used my rotisserie grill – cook to desired doneness.

Serve chops with sauce spooned over and around them with slices on top.

I served this with some leftover angel hair pasta, that I doctored up with some green onion, bacon, and cheeses.

When it snows around here, and that is NOT often, my son BEGS for me to make snow cream for him. Who does not love this stuff? I make lots and freeze for eating later once the snow is long gone. First, of course, you have to go and collect your snow.

8 C. snow (approximate)
1 C. whole milk (or half-n-half, if you want a richer flavor)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 C. sugar

Put all in your food processor and blend away. You can add milk as needed to make it more or less creamy. I like to put nutmeg on mine once served. Delicious!

Every week I sit down and peruse several different websites, my cookbooks, and my handwritten tried and true recipes to make healthy meals for my family of five. I tend to use what I find as a base and add my own twist to each recipe, hoping to come up with my own tasty concoction to use over and over again.

This week I really had to do some stretching, so most of my meals are simple, and created from only what I had stocked in my freezer.

Here is this weeks menu:

Monday – Mango Pork Chops – Rice and Broccoli Bake – Angel Hair Parmesan

Tuesday – Rotisserie Chicken – Skillet Garlic New Potatoes

Wednesday – Tacos

Thursday – Beef Stroganoff

Friday – French Bread Pizza

Saturday – Leftovers

Sunday – Parmesan-Dijon Chicken

You can find all the recipes, and photos for my meals here on my blog, and you can see my full menu plan here on this calendar.

Crockpot Lasagna

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 28-oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
1 package frozen cheese ravioli
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, and add onion and pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Pour into a small bowl, and set aside. Brown ground beef, and drain. Mix in pepper/onion mixture. Stir in garlic powder, and pepper.

Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom and layer with half of the ravioli. Then layer with half of the meat mixture. Sprinkle with half of the cheese and another cup of sauce. Repeat until you use all ingredients, making sure that you sprinkle cheese on top as last layer. Bake on low for 3-5 hours.

Bacon/Vegetable Quiche

12 slices bacon
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 C. fresh mushrooms, chopped
12 eggs
2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Heat oven to 325ºF. Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet, reserving 1 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels. Add mushrooms to reserved drippings; cook and stir 2 min. or until tender. Add peppers and onions; cook another 3-4 minutes. Crumble in bacon. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Beat eggs with whisk until well blended. Mix in 1 1/2 C. of cheese, and bacon mixture. Pour into prepared pie crust. Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake 25-30 min. or until center is set. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

I like to twist things up from time to time, so instead of the usual ground beef recipe, I occasionally make it with Polska Kielbasa instead.

Sausage Spaghetti

1 pkg Polska Kielbasa, sliced, then halved
1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp basil
1/2 pkg angel hair pasta
1 can/jar Spaghetti sauce

Boil spaghetti according to package. While spaghetti is boiling, heat oil in skillet. Add onion and garlic; cook until translucent. Add the sausage and cook on medium for about 5 minutes, then add the sauce and the basil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Serve over spaghetti.

Serve with Garlic Bread and Salad.

I have been a fan of Menus4Moms for many years, and hate that they are no longer offering their Basic Menus for free each week, so I delved into the archives to see if I could find a way to use the leftover pork tenderloin that I had in the freezer. Came across this recipe, which as I usually do, made my own adjustments to, and it was awesome! Here is what I used to make mine:

Quick Pork “Lo Mein”

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. cooked pork roast, cubed
2(3 oz.) pkg. pork flavored Ramen Noodles
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups frozen California Vegetable Mix
2 tsp parsley
1 1/4 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in wok over medium high heat. Add pork and stir fry until reheated, about 2 minutes. Break apart Ramen Noodles and add to skillet with water, seasoning packet and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until noodles are soft.

I served the Pork Lo-Mein with Egg Drop soup. I was worried that my kids would not like the soup, but my eight year old ate tons of it! I did not use green onion in mine, but it is better that way – my kids hate them. Here is how I make mine:

Egg Drop Soup

4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
3 eggs, slightly beaten

Heat chicken broth, salt and pepper to boiling in saucepan. Add onions. Pour eggs mixture slowly into boiling broth, stirring constantly with fork to form shreds of egg.