Slow Cooker Whole Wheat Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars

Some weeks we just don't bring our A-game with banana consumption.  And then we join the ranks of all the people with browning bananas looking for baking recipes that will turn that mushiness into something glorious.  We're trying to eat more oats these days, so the latest "banana recipe" Google search led us to  
Slow Cooker Whole Wheat Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars.
(directly copying and pasting recipe below in case the link ever vanishes; full recipe credit to https://happyfoodhealthylife.com)

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Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mash bananas with the back of a fork until mostly smooth. Add applesauce, vanilla, and almond milk (or other milk of choice). Combine completely.
2. Add flour, oats, baking powder, and salt, stirring until just combined.
3. To prep your slow-cooker, spray with non-stick spray, line with parchment paper, or use slow-cooker liners to prevent the bars from sticking to your slow-cooker.
4. Pour batter into slow cooker and top with chocolate chips. Cover, and cook on low for 2 hours, or until edges are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
5. Turn slow-cooker off and let cool. Once it's mostly cooled, if you've used parchment paper or a liner, you can easily pull the bars out and carefully onto a cooling rack.
6. When the loaf is completely cooled, you can cut them into bars.
   
   

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As you can see, the recipe is extremely easy to follow.  Everything mixes up in a matter of minutes...

and pours smoothly into the slow cooker.  DJ is not as big a fan of chocolate as Mel, so here is a visual representation of marital compromise.  

Our baking endeavors with the slow cooker have been pretty hit-or-miss, but this recipe turned out great!  We particularly appreciate that there's no added sugar aside from the chocolate chip topping (we skipped the cinnamon drizzle option), and all the ingredients are healthy and natural.

And should one choose the side with chocolate chip topping (ahem - Mel), the chips add a pretty perfect bit of sweetness to make this a treat that would satisfy a craving without too much guilt.
 

Mel's also guessing that a smear of peanut butter after being lightly toasted would send these bars zooming to the next level of goodness.  Counting this recipe as a win for anytime we need to make the most of some bananas!

Butterfunk Kitchen - A Top Chef with Soul

We are still big Top Chef fans, and this season (Colorado) we were super pumped to see Chef Chris Scott representing from our old Brooklyn neighborhood!  (His restaurant, Butterfunk Kitchen, wasn't around when we lived there, but it's actually on the same street where Mel took salsa lessons waaaaayyyyy back in the day.)  While watching the competition, we were really impressed with Chef Chris's calm demeanor and ultimate goal: to have the first Michelin-starred soul food restaurant.  

Mel even commended him on Instagram (she follows a lot of the chefs on there), and was so pleased he actually "liked" her message!

Every time we saw one of Chris's plates on Top Chef, we knew we'd have to plan a trip to check out Butterfunk.  We really appreciated how he put so much love into each dish, honoring his family's culinary traditions.  We figured we'd go sometime in the summer in case we had to wait outside (the lines can get quite long now).  But then Mel unexpectedly had to drive her mom into Brooklyn and realized the restaurant would be on the way home, soooooo... with an insulated bag at the ready, she picked up an order to bring back to Jersey!

We'd like to go sit and eat there eventually; the atmosphere is quite cozy and welcoming.  Definitely feels like visiting someone's home. 

In the meantime, we tried a few of the dishes that we heard him talk a lot about on the show.

Lemonade Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Biscuits

The lemonade gives the fried chicken just a slight hint of tart sweetness that makes it quite unique.  And after just one bite of the biscuits, we understood why every other chef and judge on Top Chef was clamoring for them.  Amazing.

Pepper Pot Shrimp with side orders of Collard Greens and Cornbread

 

 Apparently, the Pepper Pot Shrimp is no longer on the menu so we're glad we tried it when we had the chance.  Chris actually won a challenge with this dish on the show, the prize being the opportunity to make this video about it:  

Perhaps that's why it's off the menu; he showed everyone how to make it themselves!  It is a pretty great dish; packed just the right amount of heat and sweetness.  And the collard greens and cornbread were also a delight.

We can't wait to be back in BK so we can try some more items from the Butterfunk menu.  So happy for Chef Chris and his continued success.  Wishing him all the best in the quest for those soulful Michelin stars!

Framily Time for Nilda's Birthday

Nilda and Sean invited a small group to their home for a lovely dinner party to celebrate her birthday.  Sean prepared an awesome one-pan dish: chicken with roasted potatoes and tomatoes.  While the chef did not reveal his secrets, it reminded us just how perfect roasting chicken with vegetables can be since all the flavor from the meat soaks beautifully into everything else.  Will definitely be looking into more one-pan recipes to try for ourselves.  In the meantime, so glad we could spend time celebrating the fabulous birthday woman with such a great meal.  Six adults, three toddlers, and a whole lot of love in one living room. 

"Maq" and Cheese

Always on the quest for ways to make healthy versions of comfort foods, especially during the winter months.  The chilly dark days lead to cravings for allllll the carbs, but with summer and spring around the corner no one can or should be eating alllll the carbs.  So on a day when mac & cheese was on the mind, Mel googled ideas for a quinoa version.  Couldn't have been happier when she discovered this wondrous 5 Ingredient Quinoa Mac & Cheese.

To make things even easier, Mel used store-bought pumpkin puree rather than dealing with the butternut squash and it worked out well.  Such a perfect guilt-free way to satisfy a classic craving.  Love it!  And will henceforth call it "maq" and cheese in honor of the glorious quinoa.

Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas

We were FaceTiming with Sara one day and happened to mention that we were looking for some fun new vegetarian dish ideas.  She has recently started using Blue Apron and said one dish that turned out particularly yummy was their Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas.  

Since we weren't getting all the perfectly portioned ingredients from Blue Apron, we figured we could wing it a little bit and make a few alterations: 

• whole wheat tortillas instead of corn tortillas
• cauliflower rice instead of jasmine rice
• taco seasoning instead of Mexican spice blend
• sour cream instead of Mexican crema

There was a moment when Mel got a bit nervous that the cauliflower rice would make the dish too watery when cooking.  But in the end, everything turned out delicious and just saucy enough!  DJ didn't even recognize there had been a substitution and thought it the cauliflower rice was regular rice.  Score one for healthy substitutions!