Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins

Happy Friday, everyone! Have I got a recipe for you! I experimented this week and ​baked some delicious muffins at 5am because I was up and the brown bananas were just staring at me. I whipped these up in 10 minutes, did my workout while they baked, and viola, fresh baked muffins for breakfast!! We all have been enjoying them all week, especially smeared with some peanut butter! Hope y’all enjoy the recipe! 

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Makes 12-15 muffins  

1.5 cups whole wheat flour 

1/4 cup rolled oats   

1/2 cup almond flour  

1 tsp baking soda  

1 tsp cinnamon  

1/4 tsp salt  

1/2 cup stevia of sugar equivalent  

1/3 cup coconut oil  

2 eggs  

3 brown bananas, mashed 

3/4 cup almond milk  

1 tsp vanilla extract  

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another, then mix together by adding the dry to the wet until incorporated!  

Pour the batter into the muffin tins, only till about 2/3 full. Bake for 22-25 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean!

I love having these as quick preworkout fuel, or with my breakfast as a side to some scrambled eggs/protein! 

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And since it’s the weekend, I highly recommend you make these muffins and enjoy them as well!! Happy Friday folks! 

Slow-Cooker Steak Taco Soup

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It’s finally getting a bit cooler in Southern California, which means it is soup season!! I personally love chili but Vasken is not a big fan, so I decided to try a variation with steak meat instead of ground beef and no beans, and it was a hit! Plus, it took 10 mins to throw into the crock pot and dinner was ready 6 hours later...perfect! Here’s the recipe! 

 

Makes 6 servings  

2 lbs of tenderloin steak, cut into cubes

4 cup beef or vegetable broth

1/2 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, cubed

1 yellow bell pepper, cubed

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 T taco seasoning

Salt to taste

 

 

Preheat a skillet over medium heat and add your steak. Brown the meat for 5-7 minutes, drain half of the grease, then pour into crock pot.

 

Add beef broth diced onions, chopped bell peppers, fire roasted diced tomatoes, and seasonings.

 

Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

 

I served with a salad and some grain free cornbread (recipe from Danielle Walker’s cookbook “Celebrations.”

 

We loved this soup and I am sure it is going to be a winter time staple!

Mexican Lasagna

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This dish used to be a staple in our home when I was growing up. We loved it and it made such a large amount of food for very little effort, which is always a win in my book! I made a few tweaks to it this time and it turns out delicious!

 

Here's my quick and easy Mexican Lasagna recipe!  

 

Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 lb ground turkey  

1 T olive oil  

2 T taco seasoning  

1/4 cup enchilada sauce  

1 can fire roasted tomatoes OR 1 cup salsa 

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese  

6 tortillas of choice

1 can refried black beans  

 

Preheat  the oven to 425 degrees F. 

Gather the troops.  

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Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the ground turkey and start breaking it up into small pieces.  

Then add the taco seasoning and mix thoroughly.  

Once the turkey is cooked, add the enchilada sauce and the fire roasted tomatoes. Turn off the heat. 

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Grab a casserole dish and start assembling! Here's how my layers went! 

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Cheese  

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I baked the Lasagna for 25-30 mins until the top got all melty and bubbly, like so!  

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This was so easy to whip up and we are still living off the leftovers! We ate this with a southwest salad (courtesy of Trader Joe's) and it paired great together! 

If you are looking for a new dish to add to your routine, this one is definitely worth trying! Easy, delicious, and great as leftovers! 

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones

​I have always loved scones, especially from the tea place my mom and I went to ever since I was a little girl. I even had my bridal shower there and loved it! (Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena, CA!) There was just something so magical about tea, scones, jam, and cream. I could care less about the little sandwiches, it was those scones that did me in, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

This coming weekend, I am hosting an "afternoon tea" for my family, so I decided to test out a scone recipe yesterday. I was torn between just buying a mix (scones from scratch have always seemed so high maintenance to me!) but I decided to test out a recipe I stumbled upon for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones (link above). I made a few modifications, and the finished product was delicious!

Adapted from this recipe: http://www.kitchentreaty.com/brown-sugar-cinnamon-scones/

Adapted from this recipe: http://www.kitchentreaty.com/brown-sugar-cinnamon-scones/

Makes 14 round scones

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup baking stevia (or preferred sweetener)

1 egg

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 T unsalted butter at room temp

4 T unsweetened applesauce

2 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet. I placed all my dry ingredients into my kitchen aid and mixed thoroughly. Then I added the butter (I cubed the butter so it would be easier to cut it in) then slowly added the rest of the ingredients until it became a sticky dough.

On a FLOURED cooking space (this stuff is STICKY), roll out the dough and cut into circles (I used a cup). Bake for 13-15 minutes until the bottoms start to brown. I let them cool for a few minutes and then tried one with jam...OH MY GOODNESS they were to die for!!!

I recommend hosting an afternoon tea ASAP and making these. They were way easier than I thought and with a few modifications, totally guilt free! I hope you all enjoy!

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Lentil Patties (Vospov Kufteh)

I am SO sorry it took so long to get this recipe up!! But trust me, it's worth the wait! This was one of my favorite meals growing up, and I finally made it all by myself this past week! It's the perfect meatless Monday meal option and pairs perfectly with a fresh salad! In Armenian, it's called "vospov kufteh," but it's essentially lentil patties with cracked wheat and spices! This is my mama's recipe and it's delicious! Hope you enjoy!

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Makes about 30-40 little patties

1 cup red lentils

1/2 cup cracked wheat (bulgar #1)**

1/2 cup diced onions

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red pepper

3 T lemon juice

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

First, boil the lentils in 2 cups of water until soft and the water is almost gone. This took only about 20 mins for me! Then turn off the stove, add bulgar, and cover until bulgar gets soft and puffs up...about 20 more minutes.

While you are waiting, sauté the onions and cumin in the 1/2 cup of olive oil in a separate skillet. Once the lentils and bulgar are soft, add the olive oil mixture. Then add salt, lemon juice, parsley, and pepper.

It should come together well and if it doesn't, just add some water until it becomes almost like a dough. Then roll until little balls or patties!

I served this with a light cucumber-tomato salad, then had it again for lunch over some spinach and tomatoes! Fresh veggies are SO good with this meal!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe! Maybe try it next Monday for a yummy meatless meal!

**a note on the bulgar: my mom usually buys this for me from an Armenian market; however, I do believe places like Sprouts and Whole Foods carry it! It is probably called something like "cracked wheat fine #1." ;)

Black bean & veggie enchiladas

Well, we are finally moved in, unpacked, and settled in our new home. We are so excited to be here. God has blessed us so so much this past year, and we are excited to have a new home to enjoy with each other and with friends and family!

Last night, I cooked our first real dinner in the new house. I have been missing my kitchen so much! I whipped up a black bean and veggie enchilada recipe that was so easy and SO tasty! It was also a treat because we actually have a dining room table to eat dinner on now instead of just plopping down in front of the TV like we did in our one-bedroom apartment. Ohhhh the joys of sharing dinner and chatting about our days on an actual table! :)

Anyways, back to the food...these turned out so delicious and flavorful, so I just had to share the recipe! Enjoy!

Makes 7-8 enchiladas depending on how much you stuff 'em!

7-8 tortillas (you can use gluten free, but this is what we had on hand so I rolled with it...pun intended)

1 can black beans (I love the cuban black beans from TJ's!)

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup diced onions (forgot to include those in the picture...sorry!)

5-6 mini bell peppers, sliced

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

3 cups spinach

1/2 cup enchilada sauce

1/4 cup salsa

1 T taco seasoning

First, gather your supplies, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet and start browning the onions and peppers. Then add the mushrooms and spinach.

Once the veggies are cooked down, add the can of black beans, 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and the salsa!

Mix well, then turn the heat off.

Next, you start rolling your enchiladas! Put about 1/4 cup of the black bean and veggie filling into each tortilla, pack it tight, then place it in a greased casserole dish.

Once you are done rolling, brush the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas, then add the remaining shredded cheese.

Pop these bad boys into the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the top starts to brown! Then, pull them out and enjoy with some avocado! :)

These were so easy to put together, and we had plenty left over for dinner tonight. Plus, you won't even miss the animal protein, because this meal is packed with vegetables and legumes, which provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant protein as well (yep, plants have protein too). And it was also approved by my meat-loving hubby, so it's a WIN in my book!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and are able to try it out soon! Have a happy Tuesday! :)

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