Almond and Garbanzo Bean Dip

I'd have called this a non-tahini Hummus, but it seems as though Hummus requires tahini, so I'm opting to call this a Garbanzo Bean Dip ^^

It's that season of life when I realize that my pantries are well stalked and while I don't mind giving away our food when we leave this season, I'd like to take advantage of as much of it as I can and that means soaking and slow-cooking a LOT of beans! Which would be awesome for soups and stews were it winter...

But it's not.

So, the beans keep finding themselves in my food processor and in a Ziploc Tupperware container with a bag of chips serving as a light, yet delicious and nutritious lunch. 

For this dip I threw some Garbanzo beans, Almonds, Olive oil and Basil with Olive Oil 'ice cubes' into the food processor - a touch of water (or was it wine...) to help achieve the correct consistency and wam, bam, thank you ma'm we have ourselves a bean dip!

Crepes with Broiled Plums and Home-made Yogurt

I've read through breakfast cookbooks and browsed recipes online and chatted-it-up with friends enough to discover that a grapefruit, topped with a bit of sugar and broiled is something heavenly, delicious and easy. I have yet to have the opportunity to try such a technique with a grapefruit, but having recently been gifted a bag of tart, happy little plums, I figured it was worth a go substituting plums for grapefruits and without fail, they were delectable!

Simply halve your plums, remove the seeds, sprinkle with some brown sugar and place under the broiler for about 10 minutes (I'm not sure my oven's broiler is a legit broiler, so the time may be a bit off) let them cool slightly and enjoy!

I sliced ours up and placed them in crepes with a bit of homemade yogurt, sprinkled some powdered sugar on top and enjoyed a lovely Saturday morning.

Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients/Directions:

From Delia Creates

Prepare a single pastry crust that has been pricked at 400 F for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Meanwhile, heat 3 cups of Milk in microwave for approximately 3 1/2 minutes. 

While milk is heating, combine 1/3 cup Cornstarch and 2/3 cups Sugar. Add 3 Egg Yolks to the sugar mixture. 

Add 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg/sugar mix, stir and gradually add remaining milk, this will be your custard. 

Continue to cook the custard in the microwave at 2-3 minute intervals, stirring in between intervals until you reach the desired consistency. Chill custard.

Layer bananas (2-4 fresh) and custard in the pie crust, chill and serve with whip cream.

I sprinkled some cinnamon and nutmeg on top of my bananas for added pizzazz!

Enjoy with friends on a weeknight card game gathering!

Peanut Butter Brownies

We have a lot of peanut butter, much more than we can use before our grand departure, but that doesn't stop me from trying ^^

I made these to share with my co-workers as a "thank-you" gift for being my co-workers for the past year. They were quite thrilled with them and, I must say, I was not disappointed.

Ingredients/Directions:

From Circle of Friend Cookbook 25 Brownie and Bar Recipes

In a bowl, blend together 1/2 cup Peanut Butter, 1/4 cup Butter, 1 tsp. Vanilla and 1 cup Brown Sugar. Add 2 Eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 2/3 cup Flour. Spread batter in a well-greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake at 350 (177) for 20-30 minutes until golden and bake through (use the toothpick test). Cool and enjoy or add a peanut butter icing of 1 cup Peanut Butter blended with 1/3-1/2 cup Powdered Sugar.

Peanut Butter Beer Bread

I was so impressed with how the Banana Beer Bread turned out, I thought I'd try another variation: Peanut Butter Beer Bread.

The banana variation was better, but truth be told, both were delicious and so easy to throw together!

Ingredients/Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups Flour, 1 tsp. Salt, 3 Tbsp. Sugar, and 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder.  You will need a total of 8-12oz Flat Beer, add about one cup to dry mixture as well as about 1/2-1 cup of Peanut Butter. Add additional beer as necessary to gain the proper consistency, thick and sticky, not too runny. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, dollop 2 tbsp. of Butter on top of the raw loaf and bake at 375 F for 30-40 minutes.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Banana (n)Ice Cream Pie

Remember the Banana (n)Ice Cream sandwiches?

Well this is basically the same idea...but in Pie form.

Graham Cracker Crust - or Oreos or Nilla Wafers, anything would do.

Banana (n)Ice Cream with Peanut Butter blended in.

Banana (n)Ice Cream with Coco Powder blended in.

Crust, Peanut Butter Layer, Coco Layer = P.B. Chocolate Banana (n)Ice Cream Pie!

Keep in the freezer, let set at room temp about 20 minutes before serving for easy slicing and forking^^

Easy Tofu and Pork Skillet Lasagna

A while back I inherited some lasagna noodles when saying farewell to more than a couple of friends who were departing the land of kimchi. However, lasagna and Korean toaster ovens aren't necessarily the best match-up. Nor is it possible to find ricotta or cottage cheese and while it's possible to make either of those without too much effort, it still requires effort and planning ahead...

Fast forward more than a couple of months to a dinner date with some Korean friends, one of whom enjoys cooking and baking and even knows a deal more than the typical Korean regarding western foods. During conversations of food I learned that her and her husband have come to enjoy lasagna on a relatively regular basis and have happily discovered that the ever ready and available tofu is a perfect substitute for ricotta!

With renewed inspiration and motivation I again pursued the making of a lasagna, sure that while it may fit in the oven, I didn't have an ideal pan, I dug from my memory brain box a post on Pinterest for a Skillet Lasagna and set forth on lasagna making adventures.

Ingredients/Directions:

Adapted from Easy Skillet Lasagna at Skip to my Lou

Squeeze the excess moisture out of 1 pkg of Firm Tofu and season with Salt, Basil, Oregano, Black Pepper, and 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese. Set aside.

In a large skillet brown 1 lb. Ground Beef or Pork and choice of veggies (onion, zucchini, etc) and 2 cups of Pasta Sauce (I used a couple baggies of home-made sauce from my once-a-month-adventures). Remove about half of the sauce from the skillet and set aside.

If you have no-boil Lasagna, use those, otherwise boil water and semi-prepare non-boil lasagna noodles while making the tofu/cheese mixture and sauce. 

Over the top of the sauce that remains in the skillet place 2-4 lasagna noodles, covering the sauce as completely as possible. Layer about 1/2 or 1/3 of the Tofu Cheese Mixture followed by sauce, noodles, etc. until the pan is filled. Top it off with shredded mozzarella cheese, cover the skillet, reduce to medium-low heat and cook for about 20 minutes, let set for 5 before serving.

Enjoy with a nice baguette.