What to do with Pineapple Guavas?

A rainy California day this holiday week... time to use some of the pineapple guavas I've been collecting.
Here is a recipe for banana bread- substitute the mashed banana for mashed pineapple guavas-- yummy!!
Banana Bread Recipe, from Food Network:

Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.


Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.


In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.


Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.


Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

What to make with all this spinach...

Tonight I'll try a new spinach recipe, below.
Indian Spinach and potatoes

Dinner Meal Plan Dec. 5th- Dec 10th

Sunday: Vege meatballs in Marinara Sauce with pasta

Monday: Vege Stir Fry with brown rice

Tuesday: Salmon with Salsa Verde (using tomatillo and green tomatoes) with sweet potato fries (slice sweet potato into thin strips, coat with olive oil, salt and pepper on baking sheet, bake for 40 min at 350.)

Wednesday: Butternut Squash Risotto

Thursday: Leftover night

Friday: Pizza Night

Cilantro Mint Dipping Sauce with breaded halibut

A quick meal pre-Thanksgiving meal for the fam... I'm posting this because my kids actually ate it (only because they thought it was chicken- yeah!)

Cilantro Mint Dipping Sauce with breaded Halibut
2 cups cilantro leaves
12 large fresh mint leaves
1 jalepeno pepper or chili pepper
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

Mix ingedients in a food processor. Add more tbsp water if needed. Set sauce aside.
Melt 2 tbsp butter. Dip halibut filets in butter, then coat with breadcrumbs/ Panko. Fry in canola oil until browned. Serve with dipping sauce.

Meal Plan Nov 14th- Nov 19

This afternoon I made some citrus smoothies- everyone is fighting sickness right now... I used fresh squeezed grapefruits, lemons, and oranges, bananas, tablespoon honey, about 1 cup yogurt, 2 handfuls of ice and about 2 tablespoons phyillium husks (which my daughter believes is a type of sugar).

I found a recipe for Thai curry that I can't wait to try, after being inspired by our date night this weekend. This paste can be mixed in with veges, shrimp, chicken or pork. Looks great! I think this will freeze well too if I add some olive or canola oil to the batch.
Curry Paste:
1 cup firmly packed Thai basil leaves
2 medium shallots, chopped
¼ cup firmly packed cilantro leaves
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp Thai green Chile paste
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 cloves garlic, peeled.

Here's what the week is looking like:
Sunday: Vegetarian Meatballs and Sauce with pasta

Monday: Thai Basil Eggplant with brown rice

Tuesday: Black bean tacos with the fixins (tomato, cilantro, onion, cheese) with homemade guacomole

Wednesday: Split pea soup - I cooked this on the weekend using leftover ham (I had baked a few weeks back), so tonight I just heat and serve. And, I don't mind the ham chunks because it really gives the soup the flavor (even though you can leave out).

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Homemade pizza

Dinner Meal Plan October 24th- October 28th

Today I did a lot of cooking/prepping for the week since I got lazy last week.
I made a batch of pesto pasta (see recipe in last few weeks). I also froze a batch for the winter months.
I also made Green Onion Soup and Roasted some potatos for the week.

Sunday: Italian pasta dinner with meatballs and sausage (Family recipe) and mixed greens salad

Monday: Vegetarian stuffed Pattypan Roasted Squash
Ingredients:

* 4 Pattypan Squash, washed
* 1 Onion (any type), chopped
* 4 Morning Star Sausage Patties
* 3/4 lb. Parsley, chopped
* 1 cup bitter greens
* 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
* 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut squash in half (horizonally) and hollow.
3. Chop onion finely.
4. Heat sausage patties in olive oil in a pan. Break up into small pieces
5. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.
6. Add onion to the pan with olive oil and cook about 2 minutes or until soft. Add greens and saute until wilted.
7. Mix together in a bowl the sausage, onion, parsley, pepper and 2 tablespoons water.
8. Divide mixture among squash halves.
9. Brush the tops of the stuffed squash with olive oil.
10. Place squash in single layer in baking dish just large enough to hold all of the squash.
11. Fill baking dish with 1/2 inch water.
12. Cover and bake 30 minutes.
13. Uncover and continue baking about 15 minutes or until stuffing is browned and squash tender.

Serves 4


Tuesday: Vegetarian reubens

Wednesday: Baked Sockeye Salmon with roasted potatoes

Thursday: Pesto pasta

Dinner Meal Plan Oct 10- Oct 15, 2010

Some weeks I just want to give up all this food prep and cooking on the weekends, and go out to eat to avoid all the pots, pans and dirty dishes... and then I eat out and realize how much better it tastes when I (we) cook it at home... and how much healthier... so then I feel a little better about spending my weekends preparing for the week... just a little. My preference would be a personal chef (but something tells me that's not going to happen)!
So here I am... I've already cooked up a few things for the week, inlcuding:
-Sauteed squash, eggplant, onions in olive oil in a deep saucepan (salt and pepper to taste)
- Sauteed tomatoes in olive oil (salt, pepper and fresh basil)
- Roasted potatoes drizzled in olive oil (salt and pepper to taste)on 400.
- Spicy Leek and Potato Soup is cooking on the stove right now.
- Black beans soaking on the stove right now (soaking directions on bag)

All this food prep today, will make packing lunches (for my husband and myself, along with dinner, so much easier.

Sunday: Pasta with Tomato sauce (sauteed earlier today)and mixed greens salad.
Monday: Tacos with black beans (and the fixins)
Tuesday: Salmon with roasted potatoes and mixed greens salad
Wednesday: Potato soup
Thursday: Squash, Eggplant compode with side cous cous
Friday: Pizza night (homemade pizza) and lots of vino!