This is supposed to be a palm tree!  Maybe one of these days I’ll be motivated to pick up my real camera instead of using my phone for everything!  🙂  I saw this on Pinterest using oranges as the sand and decided banana bread would be even better.  I should have taken more time cutting the kiwi slices, but the kids still thought it was tasty.   As I’ve shown, my kiddos love banana bread.   I wanted to make some on Wednesday when the trio was home sick but I only had 2 ripe bananas and we were out of eggs. I decided to tweak the recipe a bit and I think the result was even better than the original.  It was moist and the kids (even while sick!) ate nearly the entire loaf for lunch on Wednesday. 

Banana Bread

• 2 Tbsp flax seed mixed with 6 Tbsp water
• 2 medium sized very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 C flour (white/wheat/or a mixture)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.  In a measuring cup, combine flax and water and stir.  In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with the sugar, applesauce, and vanilla.  Add the flax mixture and then add the baking soda, salt, and flour.  Mix until just combined.  Bake for 55 minutes.  Moist and delicious!  This recipe makes 1 loaf.

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family. Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!

The kiddos have had “the sickness” – mostly consisting of fevers and snot.  Mike ran to the store before coming home early on Friday to give me some much needed work time and one of my requests was kale.  I’m not sure I’ve ever knowingly eaten kale before and Mike had to ask at the store to be sure he was purchasing the right leafy green.  Pinterest inspiration had struck again, and I had big plans – for kale chips from Smitten Kitchen and baked eggs found on Pinterest – with kale chips instead of sautéed kale.  Luckily, both recipes were a success!

I started the prep for our Saturday morning breakfast on Friday afternoon.  First, I made a batch of baked bacon.   The kiddos munched on some of it for dinner and I crumbled the rest and stored it in the fridge.  I also made a batch of kale chips – which were super easy and good.  I could have easily eaten all of them, but I saved a few for my eggs the next morning. 

Kale Chips

• 1 bunch of kale
• 1 Tbsp EVOO
• Salt

Preheat the oven to 300.  Wash and pat dry the kale.  Cut into small pieces and place in a bowl.  Add olive oil and salt and toss thoroughly.  Transfer to baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  These will be one of my new snack ideas.  Very yummy and crunchy!

The next morning, I made the rest of the baked egg recipe and topped it with my leftover kale chips and baked bacon – as well as a few other key ingredients.  These were delicious served with the leftover baguette from Friday night’s lasagna.  Even Mike said, “This is really good.  We need to put it in the recipe book.” 

Baked Eggs

• butter for ramekins
• 1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp rosemary
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 4 eggs
• 3 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/4 cup kale chips
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Butter the ramekins.  Combine the cheese and herbs. Crack two eggs into two ramekins.  Sprinkle bacon, kale, and the cheese-herb blend over the eggs. Bake the eggs for 10-15 minutes until the eggs have achieved desired doneness: less time for runny yolks, more time for firm yolks.  Serves two.  Double or triple to serve a family.  Delish!  And a perfect use for creme brulee dishes too!

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family. Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!