Banana & Blueberry Bread Recipe

I had some bananas that hadn’t been eaten quickly enough and were getting a bit over ripe.  Not wanting to waste them I went looking for a recipe to use them up.  I found Jamerrill’s recipe for  Blueberry, Apple Sauce or Banana Bread over at one of my favourite blogs, largefamilytable.com.

Now of course Jamerrill’s recipes are always bulk freezer cooking recipes and I didn’t have enough bananas for her banana bread recipe so I combined it with the blueberry bread recipe and voila! Banana and blueberry bread.

Ingredients
5 cups of combined mashed bananas and frozen blueberries (what I lacked in bananas I just made up for in blueberries)
1 cup oil
5 eggs
5 tsp vanilla
2 cups milk
2 tsp salt
3 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
7 cups self-raising flour

Directions
Combine your dry ingredients in one bowl and mix well.
Add your wet ingredients in another bowl and blend together.
Join your dry and wet ingredients together and mix on medium speed.
Fill baking dishes 1/2 full with your fruit bread mixture.
Place filled baking dishes in preheated oven at 180C for 45-minutes to 1-hour.
Oven times may vary.  Yes, well, if your oven is as rubbish as mine, that’s anyone’s guess!  I have a gas oven and something is wrong with it.  It randomly turns itself off.  I eventually discovered that it’s less likely to turn off if I set the temperature to 200 or above.  So it took me all afternoon to make four loaves!  But it was worth it, my kids love it!

I put one in the pantry and the rest in ziplock bags in the freezer.  I’m using them for school lunches but we could also eat it for breakfast.

SLOW COOKER "MEAT"LOAF RECIPE

I modified this recipe from Large Family Table, to suit our vegan friend who is staying with us.  Here’s my version of the recipe with step-by-step directions.

Yesterday I made enough for two "meat"loaves. One "meat"loaf, of around 1.5kg is enough for my family to have dinner tonight with leftovers for tomorrow.  I am serving brown rice and broccoli as our side items.

I made two of these slow cooker "meat"loaves at once.  That way I could put the extra "meat"loaf in a freezer bag for a busy day.  

Ingredients

3 cups Textured Vegetable Protein (it's a non-meat "meat"loaf!)

6 cups water 

6 eggs (I know some vegans don't eat eggs but my friend does sometimes)

6 cups of rolled oats

4-6 cups of cut of vegetables (I used frozen stir-fry vegetables and green beans)

Spices per taste (I usually use garlic powder, salt/pepper, and parsley)

Instructions

1. Put TVP and water in slow cooker and soak on high for 2 hours

2. Add 6 eggs, 6 cups of rolled oats, 4-6 cups of cut veggies, and spices.  Mix with a wooden spoon (I don't like touching ingredients with my hands - I know, I'm weird 😀).  Once all ingredients are mixed, divide mixture in half.  Place half of the "meat"loaf into a Ziplock bag to be stored in the freezer for a busy day’s family dinner.  Cook the other half in the slowcooker for 2 hours on high.

Meal Plan for Week Starting 27th May

Recipe
Slowcooker Meatloaf - I'll be posting a meat-free variation of this recipe later in the week.  Meat-free meatloaf?  Stay tuned.

ENGLISH MUFFIN PIZZAS

This is a recipe from Jamerrill's Large Family Table, modified to suit my family's tastes.  Also, it was intended as a bulk freezer cooking recipe, but I only had time to make enough for one meal.  So here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients

• Two Bags of English Muffins (6 in each bag)
• Shredded cheese 
• Pizza Sauce
• Salami, sliced into strips
• Shaved Ham
• Barbeque Sauce
• 
  

---

Instructions

1. Cut all English muffins in half
2. Layout English muffins and top each half with the desired amount of Pizza Sauce
3. Sprinkle shredded cheese on each English Muffin
4. Top with salami and ham
5. Squirt with BBQ sauce - this was my daughter's idea and it made them taste a bit strong when combined with the pizza sauce.  I would recommend skipping the BBQ sauce if you don't like strong flavours. 
6. To eat immediately bake on 200 for 15 minutes

Vegan Option

Because we have a friend who is vegan staying with us at the moment, we also made a vegan option:

Ingredients

• One Bag of English Muffins 
• Tomato Sauce
• Meat-free sausages, cooked and thinly sliced
• Gherkins, thinly sliced
• Barbeque Sauce
• 
  

---

Instructions

1. Cut all English muffins in half
2. Layout English muffins and top each half with the desired amount of Tomato Sauce
3. Top with meat-free sausages and gherkins
4. Squirt with BBQ sauce - this was my daughter's idea and it made them taste a bit strong when combined with the tomato sauce.  I would recommend skipping the BBQ sauce if you don't like strong flavours. 
5. To eat immediately bake on 200 for 15 minutes

This would also make a good lunch recipe.

Costco Haul

I'm a bit behind in posting because I've been sick.  Last Thursday I decided to check out the new Costco that opened recently, about half an hour away.  This is much closer than the other Costco which is an hour away, and I didn't manage to get there very often.  I will likely go to this closer one more often.

On the way there I stopped at a local green-grocer for my fruit, because I knew it would be cheaper there than at Costco.

Pink Lady apples 1.1kg @ $2.99/kg       $3.29

750g bags of bananas x 4 @ 50c               2.00

Plums 945g @ 2.99/kg                              2.28

1kg bag of tomatoes                                  2.99

1kg bag of grapes                                      2.00

Total                                                      $12.56

So then it was off to Costco.  There was a huge lineup of people signing up to be members.  Thankfully I am already a member so I could go straight in.  Here's my haul:

Kirkland Water 30x600ml	8.99
Devondale longlife milk 10pk	9.99
Almond milk 8pk	15.99
Sunshine raw sugar 3kg	2.59
Maggi rich gravy mix 1kg	9.99
Leggo pasta sauce 6pk	8.89
Brown rice 5kg	7.89
Self-raising flour 5kg	4.39
Granola bars 64pk x 2 @ 14.99	29.98
Uncle Tobys Plus cereal 2pk	7.39
Dynamo laundry liquid 6.6L	22.48
Preen pre-wash spray 4pk	14.99
Bam bathroom spray 3pk	7.49
Vaalia yogurt 18pk	7.39
Smiths chips giant pack	5.29
Frozen blueberries 2kg	12.69
Drynites PJ pants 30pk	28.49
Poppin popcorn 12pk	10.99
G-free bread 2pk x 2 @ 6.99	13.98
American sliced cheese 2.2kg	17.49
Babybel cheese portions	8.99
Primo salami 300g 2pk	10.39
Devondale butter 2pk x 2 @ 8.49	16.98
Taco seasoning bulk	8.49
Black pepper grinder	6.99
Tasty cheese slices 1.5kg	14.99
Marshmallows	7.29
Macleans toothpaste 4pk	9.89
Canesten cream	9.49
Pantene shampoo 1.2L	9.99
Pantene conditioner 1.2L	5.97
Stayfree day & night pads 60pk	16.99
Band-Aids 10pk	19.99
Rexona antiperspirant 6pk	21.99
Hand wash & refill 2pk	16.98
Total	$433.78

Now I know that sounds like a lot of money, but bear in mind that a lot of these things will last us at least a month, so I won't be buying them next fortnight.

One thing to keep in mind about Costco is that not everything is cheaper than at Aldi.  It's good to know the price of things at Aldi when you're looking around Costco.  I keep my Aldi Master List on my Google Drive on my iPad, with prices, and take it shopping with me so I can refer to it and compare prices.  For example, things like tissues and toilet paper are cheaper at Aldi.  Another good idea is to create a Price Book, where you list all the things you buy and have a column for each store you visit to compare prices.

  

Meal Plan For Week Beginning 20th May

		Meal Planner
	Week starting	20/05/2019
	Day of the Week	Recipe
	Monday	Creamy Chicken & Tomato Soup, Rice
	Tuesday	Cheesy Chicken Bake,  Spinach       Meg - meat-free sausages
	Wednesday	Baked Spaghetti, Corn cobbs
	Thursday	English Muffin Mini Pizzas
	Friday	White Chicken Chili, corn cobbs                Meg - meat-free burgers
	Saturday	Eat Street or Chicken Drumsticks, veges
	Sunday	BBQ

We have a friend staying with us who is vegan so I am providing vegan options for her.

We have been invited to Eat Street, a big street food market in Brisbane, but we don't know whether we can all go yet, so I have provided an option just in case

Recipes

Cheesy Chicken Bake

Baked Spaghetti

English Muffin Mini Pizzas

White Chicken Chili

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

This is based on a recipe at largefamilytable.com, but I only had 1kg of chicken, so I had to vary it a little.  Here's my version:

Ingredients

1kg chicken breast

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp mixed herbs

1 1/2 Tbsp butter

1 cup water

Instructions

Place all ingredients in slow cooker

Cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 hours

Discount Warehouse Bargains

Ok so I saw a special for eggs at Logan Discount Supermarket Warehouse on Facebook, so I dropped in there after work on Friday.  Well, I went in for eggs, and came out with all this:

Now, before you shake your head in disgust at my lack of self-control, let me tell you that all of this only cost me $46.90 and it was around $150 worth!  There were so many great deals, but I made sure I only bought things I knew I would use.  So here's what I came home with:

Yum Cha party pack                2.99 (saved 5.80)
Giant Twins 5pk ice blocks     2.49 (saved 6.00)
Quiche                                     3.99 (saved 7.00) - dinner for the family on a day that I'm working
Gelato x 2 @ 2.99 =                5.98 (saved 19.00)
Campbells soup                       1.75 (saved 1.75)
Meggles Eggs x 4 @ 1.29 =    5.16 (saved 8.00) - eggs are $2.56 a dozen at Aldi
Heinz 3pk Spaghetti cans        1.99 (saved 3.50)
Coke 2L                                   0.89 (saved 2.10) - I'm going to use this for cleaning, not drinking
Pasta Alfredo x 3 @ 1.00 =     3.00 (saved 3.30)
Thai cooking sauce                  0.99 (saved 2.00)
Chips x 2 @ 0.99 =                  1.98 (saved 4.62)
Coco Pop LCMs 15pk             1.99 (saved 6.20)
Rosella chicken soup               0.99 (saved 2.70)
Protein balls x 2 @ 0.99 =       1.98 (saved 5.00) - these are at least $3.50 in Woolies
Extra Virgin olive oil 1L          2.49
Crayola colored pencils           2.49 (saved 7.50)
Roast vege seasoning              1.29 (saved 2.70)
Fruit Plus yogurt x 3 @ 0.59= 1.77 (saved 4.98)
Head & Shoulders shampoo    2.69 (saved 9.80)

Total                                       $46.90  Total savings: $102

I've never been to this shop before, but you can be sure that I will return!  I also saw some other discount stores in the same shopping centre but didn't have time to check them out.  I'll have to go back when I have more time.

Fruit Haul

Last week I shared how I do my grocery shopping fortnightly.  However I buy fruit weekly because my kids eat so much fruit that it only lasts a week.  This week I bought my fruit from Olley's Orange Country Market.  They had some great specials!  Here's what I bought:

Box of mandarins                                       3.50

Royal Gala apples, 2kg bag                        3.49

Cavendish bananas 1.4kg @ 1.99/kg =      2.79

Lady Finger bananas 2.03kg @ 1.99/kg = 4.05

Prawn Crackers 5pk x 2 @ 1.00 =             2.00

Pears 2.01kg @ 1.99/kg =                          4.00

Smiths chips box 20pk                               5.50

Tomatoes 1kg                                             2.99

Total                                                        $28.32

It has been brought to my attention that some people have had trouble following this blog.  I think you have to have a Google account and follow using a gmail account.  Hope that helps.

Taco Meat

This recipe is very versatile.  I found it on Jamerrill's largefamilytable.com.    It's meant to be a slow cooker recipe, but today I started too late, so I just cooked it in a big pot on the stove.  You can do whatever suits you, and make it however your family likes it.  Leave out the beans, add extra corn, add capsicum, leave out the rice.  Adjust it to suit your family.  You can even add leftovers - today I added some leftover stir-fry.  Also, I only had 500g of mince, so I had to make a smaller version of Jamerrill's recipe.  If you had the full "5lb" or 2.27kg you could do what she does and make a big batch on the weekend to last a few days, or freeze some.  I have done that before.  So here's what I did:

Ingredients
500g Beef Mince
200g Cooked Rice
1 can Corn
1 tsp chilli
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Onion Flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cumin
1 can Pinto Beans
Leftover stir-fry

Instructions
1. Brown mince
2. Add remaining ingredients
3. Simmer

Notes
1. Serve taco meat with either hard or soft shells, with corn chips or over salad.
2. Top with cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa, or any other toppings you like.