Eat Like a Rabbit

In a floundering market consumers are looking for good food that is as cheap and nutritious as possible. I hope this post will be the first in a continuous series that focuses on time-saving dishes that don't break the bank while they impact your menu.

I have previously mentioned that applesauce is a annual tradition at our house. The following is my process.

The biscuit recipe came from my mother and the gravy recipe came from Paul's mother through her mother-in-law.

I love scrambled eggs. Who doesn't? As a child, I watched my grandparents put chives in theirs and it made me sick. Now, I can't eat my eggs plain. Paul put his eggs on top of his English muffin, poured Cholula Sauce over it, and garnished it with Raspberries. All of my items were neatly separated. The differences between a husband and a wife! I will say, I was out of spinach this day. I missed it.

This was such a fun activity last winter. The local Christian elementary school was selling cases of Washington Apples as a fund raiser. Now you don't have to support Christian education, but everybody wants fresh, tree-ripened fruits instead of the painted green objects from the grocery stores. I believe the variety we ordered was called Jon-a-Golds, but I have no record of that. They were a cross between sweet and sour.

This is absolutely the easiest recipe ever. I used a recipe for regular pancakes. I chose to pass on the "Buttermilk Pancake" recipes because buttermilk is so expensive. After all, what will you do with the rest of the drink when you have made your pancakes? There might be a lot left. Moreover, I want to make pancakes when I want them and do not want to worry about whether or not I have all the ingredients. Naturally, I also like to be able to control the fat in my foods as well. So, I used a regular recipe that used regular milk and whole beat eggs. I like fast cooking adventures and don't have the patience for beating egg whites and folding them into the batter. Nevertheless, use the recipe you are happiest with when creating pancakes from the heart.

I suppose in my writing I have neglected to point out that my mother taught me how to cook. She helped me get my cooking honor in Pathfinders and still watches over me in the kitchen. This is one of my favorite recipes of hers.

This post is in honor of our dear friend, Garalynne, a nutritionist in Savannah, Georgia. Garalynne has been taught how to eat well, and when she and her husband, Trevor, lived in Orlando, they would come over many Saturday nights for smoothies. Paul has a 3-ish cup blender that is perfect for individual drinks. We love our memories with our friends.

The best healthy late evening snack is smoothies and popcorn. Be creative with both. Here are some options:

So, now the cat is out of the bag. We do like sweet foods. We just know how to eat them in moderation and with as little additives as possible. The muffin recipe came out of "Moosewood Cooks at Home". It's a good recipe because the base batter does not change. You simply add a choice of apple and nuts, bananas and nuts, or zucchini. I chose the apple because I had a couple apples that appeared too mealy to eat off the core. I used a regular cheese grater to grate the apple, peel included, and nearly shaved my finger a couple of times, too. The muffins came out very pretty and tasted really good. Blueberry muffins are always my favorite, but these are running a close second.

This is the best banana bread recipe ever! I acquired it our first weekend in our new house because Paul loves anything made with bananas. I found it on allrecipes.com with the same title as I have labeled the post.

The first time I made the recipe, I used 8 bananas. That accounts for the loaded flavor. Surly the amount varies depending on banana size. I added a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a cup of fresh raw pecan halves just before pouring the batter into baking pans. I used two glass loaf dishes--one yielding this size loaf, the other somewhat smaller--but both completely delish.

The French Toast recipe comes from my mother and is as follows:

• 1 egg
• Equal parts ground cinnamon and brown sugar to taste
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix. Dip both sides of toast. Cook on medium skillet until browned.

Yields three slices French Toast. Leftovers can be refrigerated and toasted another morning.

Note: White sugar tastes sweeter than brown sugar. You may wish to use less white sugar.