So, I often wind up receiving a lot of free magazine subscriptions via deals I find on Money Saving Mom. Some of the magazines aren’t exactly my type of reading material–not that anything is wrong with mags like Woman’s Day, but its target audience is a tad bit older than me… BUT it is always fun to get “real mail” and not just bills, and there are always recipes in these women’s mags! I found this recipe in a recent copy of Women’s Day and had the perfect occasion to make them for a Flying Monkey theme party at my husband’s office, honoring his boss on her last day before she left for a new position elsewhere.
These Monkey Bars, unlike the grade school playground staple, are basically a glorified banana bread… but that does not diminish their delightfulness! Everyone loved how flavorful they were–sweet bananas spiced with cinnamon and enriched by mini chocolate chips. They are best enjoyed warm with a glass of milk, but are equally tasty as a healthy lunch treat!
1 2/3 cup mashed ripe bananas [directions say this was about 5, for me it was about 4]
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup skim milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 x 10 x 1/2 inch pan OR a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Stir together mashed bananas, sugar, oil, milk, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl until fully combined. Fold in flour until just combined, stir in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Spread mixture into pan and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake about 15-20 minutes for the 15 x 10 x 1/2 inch pan or about 40-45 minutes for the 9 x 13 inch pan or until cooked through. Cool in the pan on a wire rack and cut in squares to serve.
Question of the Day: What magazines do you love? I personally am [newly] obsessed with the Food Network magazine! It is great! But I’d love other suggestions. 🙂
Welcome to Day Five of Pumpkin Week on The Pajama Chef! So, I think I should buy stock in Pumpkin Pie Spice. I certainly have been using it a lot lately, and it’s almost time to introduce the new bottle to my spice drawer. [By the way… if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, check out their Pumpkin Pie Spice. I think it’s the best! They didn’t pay me to say that, but I wouldn’t object if they wanted to…]
So, today’s installment brings you another pumpkin masterpiece. This “recipe” is really a compilation of other recipes. While it may look long and complicated because of the number of ingredients, it’s simple really. All ya gotta do is make some French toast, grill some bananas, whip up some pumpkin goodness, boil down some sugar, assemble your sammie and eat up! Easy easy, right? 🙂
The End Result
I mean, who wouldn’t want to bite into this mess of hearty flavors–pumpkin, spices, banana, bread. Ah-mazing! I really enjoyed how the power of the pumpkin permeated through each and every delicious bite. This is a great, easy dinner, or a breakfast for a leisurely morning. If you don’t like pumpkin very much, scale back on the pumpkin pie spice or substitute in another sweet spice [cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.] that you prefer better. But if you don’t like pumpkin very much, this week might have been not-so-appealing to you anyways. Regularly scheduled programming begins next week again. But pumpkin will be back, I’m sure… don’t you fret!
1 loaf multigrain French bread, preferably a day old or so, cut into appropriate size pieces for french toast [cut longways or shortways depending on what size loaf you have… or if your bread is presliced, great! I just like to use bakery bread for french toast–I think it tastes better.]
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
butter/oil for greasing the pan
For the Filling:
2 bananas, sliced in half longways and then into thirds [you want 6 pieces from each banana that can be laid flat on the griddle]
Preheat a skillet over medium heat and prep with some butter/oil for frying. In a medium size bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.
Meanwhile, begin making the syrup. In a small saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup sugar, water, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, then cover the pan and allow to simmer until liquid has thickend up to desired consistency. Let cool a bit before serving, as this syrup is basically a caramel sauce and is very very hot at first!
While the syrup is simmering, make the French toast. Dip each piece of bread in the egg mixture and turn several times to coat, but do not leave submurged more than a few seconds or the bread will get soggy. Place bread on skillet and cook until each side is a crispy, golden brown. While bread is cooking, add banana pieces to griddle to grill too.
At the same time, mix pumpkin, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, and a sprinkle of ginger in a small bowl [my cereal bowl was just the right size for the job]. If you want, you could put this in another saucepan or even the microwave to warm it up a tad, but I didn’t do this so it’s optional.
When all ingredients are finished, assemble sandwiches. Here is my order, from plate upwards, but feel free to be innovative and unique:
1 piece of French toast
heaping spoonful of pumpkin
2 slices of grilled banana
sprinkle pecans
sprinkle pumpkin pie spice
repeat steps 1-5 and then drizzle syrup overtop it all!
As for number of servings, it really will depend on you and your needs. This was really filling so I only ate one sandwich with some fruit for dinner. Ben ate several pieces of French toast with butter and syrup, and then let me make him a mini sandwich too. We finished an entire mini loaf of thin French bread between the two of us. For the syrup, Diana suggests a serving size of 2-4, with 2 servings of heavy-syrup usage and 4 of light. I would agree with that, as we had a little syrup leftover, but not much.
In unrelated news, I saw this on Facebook tonight and it cracked me up. Maybe you’ve seen this before and I’m just behind the times, but it is hilarious!
Go to Google Maps.
Click on “Get Directions.”
Type Japan as the start location and China as the end location.
Go to direction #43.
Laugh. HARD. Preferably at work. 🙂
Question of the Day: TGIF! I am so glad it’s the weekend. Schoolwork has been killer lately. What are your weekend plans?I’ll be doing some homework 😦 but also heading to Indianapolis to see some friends from home for the day!
Banana bread is a staple in my life. I love bananas and purchase them just about every week. We can go through a whole bunch in a few days if we’re not careful. But sometimes I instruct my husband to not eat them because I have plans for them. Banana bread is also my go-to remedy for eradicating fruit flies, because they inevitably show up when bananas have been chilling on the fridge for a little too long. This doesn’t happen too often, but when it does… ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?
For much of my life, I’ve been an advocate of sticking with my Grandma’s recipe. It’s a classic banana nut bread, and it is 110% delicious. Sometimes when I’m feeling a little out of sorts and in the mood for some extra sweetness I might add some butterscotch chips. I am normally a follow the rules kinda person but I do have my moments.
On the rare occasion when I am feeling completely over the top, I know I have to be radical and seize the moment. It is rare after all. I was having one of those rebellious days last week, and this banana bread is the result.
This banana bread includes a smattering of chocolate chips and a burst of coconut flavor in every banana-y bite. The recipe is not mine, though I did tweak it a little bit but subbing coconut oil for the regular oil and adding coconut flakes for a little texture and chewiness. It’s great with a cup of cold milk for a bedtime [I just typed “breadtime”–that works too!], or with a mug of hot coffee for breakfast. You should make it really soon–even if you’re not in a rebellious state of mind. I probably will be making it again soon too… I was just informed by my husband that I may not be allowed to go back to a non-chocolate chip banana bread. Uh oh. I may have entered the dark side, and taken you all along for the ride! My sincerest apologies… and to make it up to you… the recipe.
Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix bananas, sugar, oil, eggs, coconut milk, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flours and baking soda. Gradually fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients, then add coconut flakes and chocolate chips and stir gently to combine. Spoon batter into pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Use a sheet of aluminum foil to cover bread during baking if it starts to get too dark before it is fully cooked.
How do you like your banana bread? Plain? Or with crazy mixins? Please share!
So, I often wind up receiving a lot of free magazine subscriptions via deals I find on Money Saving Mom. Some of the magazines aren’t exactly my type of reading material–not that anything is wrong with mags like Woman’s Day, but its target audience is a tad bit older than me… BUT it is always fun to get “real mail” and not just bills, and there are always recipes in these women’s mags! I found this recipe in a recent copy of Women’s Day and had the perfect occasion to make them for a Flying Monkey theme party at my husband’s office, honoring his boss on her last day before she left for a new position elsewhere.
The Pajama Chef 