Vegetarian Recipe #14: Pancake Banana Bread

Today I wanted to make banana bread, so I bought what I thought was all the ingredients.  Of course, when I got home I realized I did not have any baking soda.  Not to fear, in the midst of scouring the cupboard, I happened to notice that one of the ingredients in pancake mix was baking soda.  So I put away the whole wheat flour and opened the bag of whole wheat pancake mix.  Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients:
4 cups whole wheat pancake mix
4 eggs
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. honey
3 large bananas (very ripe)
1/2 c. milk
3/4 stick butter (unsalted)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. raw cashews

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, mix eggs, sugar, honey, vanilla, and milk.  Stir in pancake mix until all is moist (your hand may hurt).    In a separate bowl, heat the butter until melted.  Then add the bananas and mash until barely chunky.  Chop the cashews and add to the banana/butter mix.  Stir the banana mixture into the pancake mixture.  Pour everything into two bread pans.  Bake for approx. 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. If the edges of the bread start to brown, but the middle isn't cooked all the way, cover the edges in tinfoil and continue baking.

Let cool slightly.  ENJOY!

Vegetarian Recipe #13: Veggie Chili

Ingredients:
1 medium green pepper
1 medium red pepper
1 small onion
3 stalks celery
1 small broccoli crown
4 large cloves garlic
3 large carrots
1/2 butternut squash
2 cans black beans
2 cans dark red kidney beans
4 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
(I bought 2 zesty and 2 original)
3 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. cumin
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Wash all vegetables.  Chop the first five vegetables and saute them on low heat. Mince the garlic and add it to the vegetables to saute.  Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.  Cut off the skin so only the squash flesh remains.  Dice into very small cubes.  Chop the carrots into small cubes, as well (I leave the skin on the carrots).  Place the squash and carrots on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake at 300 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes, until soft but not mushy (approx. 35 minutes).  While the vegetables are cooking, open the cans of tomatoes, and puree half of them.  Add all the tomatoes, juice, and puree to a large pot.  Simmer at low heat.  Add the chili powder and cumin.  When the vegetables are just soft (not mushy), add them to the tomato mixture.  Open the cans of beans (or better yet soak dry beans over night then boil until soft), strain them, and rinse them.  Add beans to the tomato and vegetable mixture.  Add red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.  Let simmer on the stove for at least 2 hours.


Serve chili hot with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a slice of avocado.  Freeze half the pot in an airtight container to eat in a couple weeks!