Easy Banana Bread Cookies

Easy Banana Bread Cookies

I had a lot of bananas that were going to go bad and normally I would think, “banana bread!”, but I wasn’t feeling it that day. These cookies were just the solution! Banana bread flavor, moist, and chocolate… who doesn’t like chocolate?!?! Check out the original recipe from Simply Recipes.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 large bananas)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg or mace
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (walnuts or pecans will also work great as well!)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas, which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.
  4. Pour the banana mixture into the butter mixture.
  5. Whisk together the flour, salt, and spices. Add to the butter and banana mixture, and mix until just combined.
  6. Fold pecans or chocolate chips (if using) into the batter.
  7. Drop in dollops onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks before serving.
  8. Baked banana cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, as long as they are covered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container.
Easy Baked Ziti

Easy Baked Ziti

I love pasta.  I mean, I really LOVE pasta. So, this recipe is one of my favorites-pasta, cheese, and Italian sausage… what’s not to love?!

Ingredients

  • 16 oz small pasta (I use whole wheat)
  • 1 lb mild ground Italian sausage
  • 1 package fresh baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 24 oz (+) jar pasta sauce (I use tomato basil)
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Basil

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions and brown Italian sausage until fully cooked.
  3. Once pasta is cooked and sausage is browned, mix jar of sauce (I used a little more than one jar to make sure the ziti didn’t dry out while baking), mushrooms, and sausage into pasta.
  4. Add half of the pasta mixture to a 9″x13″ baking dish.  Top with half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and half of the fresh basil.
  5. Add remaining pasta mixture to top of cheese and basil.
  6. Add remaining mozzarella to pasta mixture and bake in oven 20-25 minutes until heated through.
  7. Add remaining Parmesan cheese and fresh basil to baked pasta and serve immediately.

I love this recipe because I can layer all of the ingredients in a baking pan, pop it in the fridge (or even freezer!) to be baked later.  It’s a hearty meal that feeds several people easily.  You can customize it however you like by using chicken instead of sausage or going meatless.  You can also leave out the mushrooms or basil for picky eaters.  This makes a great weeknight meal!