Super Moist Banana Bread

I love bananas! So when I have extra over ripe bananas lying around, I get cooking. Quick tip! When a bananas peel is almost black, don't be fooled! That's when the banana is at its best. Inside you'll find a delicious white flesh that is super sweet and perfect for cakes and bread.

My intention was to make a banana bread but it came out looking more like a cake. This is my first time making banana bread and I must say it tasted delicious. It had the right amount of banana and spice but I regret not adding any walnuts. 

The crumble on top worked so well with the banana bread as it gave it that extra sweetness. 

Make sure not to over cook the bread otherwise it'll become super dry and crumbly. If I had cooked it for any longer it would've lost its moistness and been very dry to eat.

Banana Bread

Serves 5-10

2 cups White Wings flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp mixed spice

1/2 cup soft butter

3/4 cup CSR brown sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4-5 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp vanilla essence

Topping

1/4 cup White Wings flour

1/4 cup CSR brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp mixed spice

2 tbsp cold butter

Preheat the oven to 170C fan forced.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and mixed spice in a bowl and mix well.

In another bowl cream the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the egg, vanilla essence and bananas. 

Fold in the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Pour into a loaf or cake pan. 

For the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, mixed spice and rub in the butter. Sprinkle the topping mixture and bake for 20-30 mins or until baked through.

Vanilla Caramel Latte Oats with Banana Mylk

What better way to start your early morning with a delicious warm bowl of vanilla caramel latte oats? I live for my morning coffee so this was a great way to combine one of my favourite beverages and breakfast. 

Together with my oats I whipped up some cold banana mylk with cinnamon (recipe here). Banana mylk is the combination of banana with a little water to thin it out and produce a dairy free beverage.

Vanilla Caramel Latte Oats 

Serves 1

1/3 cup Uncle Toby's 3 grain oats

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp Nestle instant coffee (add more accordingly)

 Caramel sauce (either bought or homemade)

Warm the milk and dissolve the coffee.

Pour the milk into the oats and add the vanilla essence.

Cook the oats however you like, either with a microwave or on a stove top, until smooth and creamy.

Serve with caramel sauce on top.

Banana Mylk

Serves 1

1 small ripe banana

Water 

Mash the banana until it is very smooth.

Slowly add water until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Carrot Cake Oats!

I absolutely love oats! They're super easy to make, super delicious and they fill me right up! I like to jazz up my oats so I don't get bored from eating them so often, so this week I made carrot cake oats. It was super delicious and creamy and every mouthful tasted like a super moist carrot cake, hence the name. The only thing missing was the crunch factor! Unfortunately I didn't have any nuts at home which was a huge let down! But it was delicious all the same.

Carrot Cake Oats

1/3 cup Uncle Toby's three grain oats

2/3 cup milk

1 small carrot, finely grated*

1 tsp mixed spice*

1 tsp cinnamon*

Sweetener of your choice (sugar, honey, etc)

Topping of your choice (walnuts, etc)

Mix the carrot, mixed spice, cinnamon and oats in a bowl. Add the milk and stir until well combined.

Microwave for 1min 30secs or cook on the stove top for about 2 mins or until cooked through.

Top with crushed walnuts. Ready to serve.

*I used a small grater to grate the carrots super small and fine so they can cook well.

*Mixed spice contains allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, so you can omit the cinnamon if you want to but I felt that it wasn't enough.

Enjoy!

'FF takes on Jamie' Spinach and Pumpkin Rotolo

The other day I flicked through Jamie Oliver's 'Save with Jamie' cookbook and landed on this beautiful recipe. It was the perfect dish because we had all the ingredients at home and we felt like having a meat-free kind of day. It was super delicious and super easy to make!

Spinach and Pumpkin Rotolo

Serves 5

1 batch of fresh homemade pasta dough or 1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets

1/2 a large pumpkin or 1 whole small

1 large onion, diced

500 g spinach leaves

100 g feta cheese, crumbled

1 bottle of passata

4 large garlic cloves, sliced

Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Bake the pumpkin at 200C, until it is soft.

Saute the diced onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. Add the spinach and cook until it has died down. Put aside.

In another pan saute the sliced garlic. Add passata. Let it cook for about 5-10 mins or until it has thickened. Add salt. Put aside.

Once the pumpkin is cooked, mash it. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Now you need to assemble!

Place the lasagne sheets on a clean surface and evenly spread with mashed pumpkin, spinach mixture and crumbled cheese.

Once filled, roll the pasta sheets into logs and slice into quarters.

Place quarters into the tomato mixture and bake at about 180C for 30-40 mins.

Now its ready to serve!

If you have any questions, leave your lovely comments below! Enjoy!

'FF takes on Jamie' Hit 'n' run tray-baked chicken

This recipe has to be the best meal yet and should be in everyones repertoire. Its simple, quick and super easy! The recipe calls for every day core ingredients so there is no need for you to go out of your way to buy them.

For a dish that was super easy and simple, it was packed with delicious flavours! The garlic, onion and tomatoes were absorbed by the chicken beautifully and were super juicy.

I was surprised that there weren't any potatoes with this dish so I made it my highest priority to create these super delicious, crispy potatoes. My family and I absolutely love our taters so this was an absolute must!

Hit 'n' run tray baked chicken 

Serves 4

4 large tomatoes, quartered

3 large onions, quartered

2 capsicums, chopped (they can be of any colour)

4 garlic cloves

1/2 a bunch of fresh thyme or 15g of dried thyme

6 chicken thighs/ 3 large breasts/ 8 chicken tenderloins

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

Combine the quartered tomatoes, quartered onions, chopped capsicums in a bowl.

Crush the garlic with a knife, skin on, and place them in the same bowl.

If you're using the chicken thigh just add it through but if you're going to be using the tenderloins or breast, chop them at a reasonable size (let the photos above guide you). Add them to the bowl.

Add the thyme, paprika, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add salt.

Toss the bowl until its thoroughly mixed through. Empty bowls contents into a pan and bake it in the oven for about an hour or until the chicken is cooked.

Serve it with a nice fresh green salad!

Enjoy!

Crispy Garlic Thyme Potatoes

Serves 4

        

8 potatoes

boiling water

3 large garlic cloves, sliced, skin on

a few sprigs of thyme

2 tbsp olive oil or as much as you want/need

Salt

Peel and chop the potatoes into quarters. Put them in a saucepan and add the garlic cloves and salt.

Fill the pan with boiling water and cover. Allow the potatoes to cook until they're not yet soft, still a little firm.

Drain the potatoes and return back to the pan with the garlic and return to heat. Add the thyme and olive oil and let it cook on the stove top until they've browned. 

Serve alone or as a side dish with roast chicken, lamb roast or any desired meal.

Enjoy!

Baked Cinnamon and Coconut Oats

I absolutely love my breakfast so when my mornings are totally free, I like to take my sweet time to cook up something delicious. Today oats were for me and oh my lord were these the best bowl of oats I have ever had. It was creamy and sweet and hit just the right places.

It might not look super appetising but they were so bloody good!

I topped the oats with sliced bananas and walnuts! Mmmmmmmmm!

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Spicy Baked Eggs

So a couple of weeks ago, I woke up with a huge craving for something spicy. It was a chilly morning so it was the perfect weather to burn the bejeezus out of my mouth. I came up with the idea of making my own version of baked spanish eggs, using whatever I found in my fridge and pantry. Couldn't find much which was quite funny because I always have a never ending supply of things in the pantry! So I scraped out as much as I could and I ended up with this! Enjoy!

Baked Spanish Eggs!

Serves 1

1 small red onion, diced or finely sliced

1 large red tomato, diced

1 medium hot red chilli, finely chopped or 1 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder (or the amount of chilli you prefer)

1 whole egg

Optional: Garlic or any type of meat, mince meat, sucuk (Turkish sausage), etc.

Preheat the oven to 180C fan forced or 200C.

Place a knob of butter in a pan and cook the onion for about 1-2 mins. Don't let it go too soft because it's going to cook in the oven as well.

Put the tomatoes and the chilli in the same pan and cook with the onions for another 1-2 mins.

Place the onions, tomatoes and chilli in a oven safe bowl. Make a well in the middle and crack the egg.

Put the bowl in the oven and cook until the egg is cooked.

Toast a large slice of crunchy bread and serve with the cooked spanish eggs! Ready to eat! YUM!

Optional:

• If you would like to have any type of meat in it, I would cook it before the onions and once the it looks cooked I would add the onions and continue the recipe as normal.
• You could also add fresh garlic. I regret not doing so because it enhances the flavour 

I hope you enjoy my version of spanish eggs and maybe changed it up a bit! If you have any suggestions, please share them and write it in the comments below!

Cilbir (Poached egg in yoghurt)

A lot of people turn their nose up whenever they hear what goes into this dish. Eggs with yoghurt? Yeah I thought it sounded a bit odd at first too. Thoughts can be deceiving! So don't dismiss the idea before you've tried it.

I first heard about this dish from my granny, who used to make these back home. She said it was a scrumptious dish and it was a well known breakfast in Turkey. It sounded delicious but I was kind of scared to try it because you never know. But because I love eggs, especially for breakfast, I thought what the heck, might as well give it a go and so I did. In a really weird way the flavours really complemented each other. The yoghurt added a delicious creaminess to the eggs with the delicious butter and garlic sauce that tied the whole dish together. It was absolutely delish! I knew I would be making this for a very looong time!

There are lots of different ways you can make Cilbir but I chose to make it my way. Originally you're meant to add garlic to the yoghurt and make a chilli butter sauce, but you can adjust it to the way you would like it to taste. Either way its uh-mazing!

Cilbir (Poached eggs in yoghurt)

Serves 2

4 cups water

1/3 cup vinegar

2 free range or organic eggs

1/2 cup Jalna greek yoghurt

1 1/2 tbsp good quality butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp of fresh mint or 1/2 tbsp dried mint

Pour the water and vinegar into a pot. Place on to a stove top and let it simmer. Do not let it boil.

Crack your eggs into a small bowl so it is easier to pour into the water. Once the water is simmering, grab a whisk and stir the water until you get a whirlpool. Once you can see the bottom of the pot quickly pour the egg into the open space and leave it. The egg will attach itself to the bottom of the pot and form a perfect poached egg. Let it cook for 3-4 mins. Repeat with the other egg.

While the egg is cooking, mix the yoghurt with 1 tbsp of water until you get a smooth creamy texture. Add the mint and mix together.

Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the garlic and cook until the butter has slightly browned.

Place the eggs in a plate and smother it with the delicious yoghurt and pour the sauce all over it. Serve immediately with a crusty piece of bread.

Notes:

You can change this recipe around and use ingredients that you prefer but it's essential that you have the poached egg and the yoghurt.

TIPS:

• Mix the garlic with the yoghurt and turn the butter into a mint burnt butter sauce.
• Add fresh chilli or powdered chilli to the sauce to give the dish a bit of a punch

Hope you enjoy!