Menu Plan Monday: Week of Feb. 29, 2016

I'm loving smoothies as the easiest way to get some extra fruit and veggies into me and the rest of the family, so stay turned for my favorite recipe later this week. Meanwhile, life continues to be quite busy so I'm keeping my kitchen ambitions in check this week, although I have a hankering for blueberry muffins so I might have to find time to make some soon. In the meantime, here's my plan for this week:

Monday - take out from Pizza Rev, per my son's request

Tuesday - Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Wednesday - Roasted Cauliflower and Sardine Pasta {didn't get to this last week}

Thursday - Poke Bowl {recipe coming soon} + Broiled Salmon for the kids

Friday - Potato and Broccoli Frittata

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Breakfast {French toast, sausage, fruit}

My Shopping List:
Cauliflower (1 head)
Potato (a bag; I'll process and freeze the extra for future frittatas and hash)
Sashimi grade salmon
Masago
Seaweed Salad
Extra-firm Tofu
Imitation crab
Breakfast sausage
In-season produce

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

My Family's Prized Banana Bread Recipe

I've always loved banana bread, and that's because I grew up eating my family's banana bread. I may be sentimental, knowing the recipe has been handed down from my grandmother, but it's simply the best banana bread I've ever had. And thankfully, the recipe is simple too!


My favorite part of this banana bread is the crunchy, golden brown top, so I sometimes bake it in a 13x9 or 11x7 baking dish for greater surface area:


Hanalei Plantation Banana Bread
Makes 2 large loaves.

2 sticks (1 cup) room temperature butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 ripe bananas
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

4. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas until almost smooth. Add the bananas to the butter mixture and beat well. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Variations: Add 1 cup of chopped walnuts or responsibly sourced chocolate chips to the batter before dividing the batter among the pans.

Menu Plan Monday: Week of February 15, 2016

This weekend is a crazy one, and next weekend is even crazier, but the week in between actually looks to be fairly calm - which I'm so excited about! And the unusually hot weather is supposed to cool down too, so I am going to indulge in some baking. I'm thinking banana bread, Brownie Cookies, and banana pudding.

Meanwhile, I really didn't stick to my menu plan last week, so this week's menu will include a lot of repeats of last week's. Here's my plan for this week:

Monday - Roast Beef Hash with Egg, some kind of veggie

Tuesday - Egg Salad Onigirazu

Wednesday - Cheesy Chicken Tater Tots Casserole, some kind of veggie

Thursday - Bean & Cheese Enchiladas, salad

Friday - Pasta Salad, Garlic Bread

Saturday - Dinner out

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Easiest Gourmet Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Not to be confused with my Easiest Chocolate Dipping Sauce Ever, this chocolate dipping sauce is almost as easy and definitely takes the flavor to another level.

The key, not surprisingly, is the chocolate.

For the Easiest Chocolate Dipping Sauce Ever, you just need some chocolate chips. But to gourmet-ify the sauce, you need a high-quality chocolate.

It can be difficult to source fair trade chocolate, but it's worth the trouble and expense because most chocolate is produced by forced child labor. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's both carry fair-trade chocolate bars, and many mainstream supermarkets do too - at Ralphs, my Kroger affiliate, I find them in the tiny natural foods snack section. (It's a tiny section because they've incorporated most of the organic and natural foods into the rest of the store, so I'm not sure why the fair-trade chocolate gets treated differently, but it does.)


I've called for 60% cacao chocolate, which falls into the semi-sweet category, but you should adjust your dipping sauce based on how intense you like your chocolate - go for a higher percentage for a darker, more intense sauce, and a lower percentage for a sweeter version.

Once you've got your chocolate, all you need is a recipe:

Easiest Gourmet Chocolate Dipping Sauce
Makes approximately 3/4 cup

4 oz 60% cacao chocolate, chopped (approximately 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
1 tablespoon butter

Combine chocolate and cream or milk in a microwave safe bowl (I use a glass measuring cup). Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Remove and whisk to melt as much chocolate as possible. If necessary, microwave on high for an additional 15 seconds, then remove and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the butter until the butter has melted and thoroughly incorporated. Transfer to a serving bowl.

The sauce will remain pourable at room temperature, but don't leave it out for more than a couple of hours for safety reasons.