Banana Raisin Oatmeal Pancakes

So today was very hot, and kind of a lazy Saturday. I've got two papers due early next week, and I spent a lot of time working on them. Today's only interesting meal ended up being breakfast - and it was super tasty! The bananas get ripe very quickly in this heat, so I wanted to use them up before they got all brown and mushy. Here's what I did:

Banana Raisin Oatmeal Pancakes:
1/2 cup old fashioned oats ($0.25)
1/2 cup flour ($0.25)
3/4 tsp baking powder ($0.05)
1/4 tsp baking soda ($0.05)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon ($0.05)
3/4 cup milk ($0.25)
1 large egg ($0.25)
1/4 tsp vanilla ($0.05)
3 tbsp honey ($0.10)
3 tbsp applesauce ($0.10)
1 mashed banana ($0.25)
1/2 cup raisins ($0.25)

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. Combine all wet ingredients (excluding fruit) in another. Mix dry mixture into wet mixture just until blended (if you over mix, the pancakes get less fluffy because you're breaking the bonds in the flour). Fold in mashed banana and raisins. Spray griddle with non-stick spray, and cook pancakes (approximately 1/3 cup each) until golden brown.

Cost:
Just under $2.00 total, or about $1.00 per serving - not bad for the most important meal of the day!

Nutrition Info:
Pancakes

Notes - If you are silly, like me, and don't own a black nonstick griddle, and have to use a stainless steel skillet on an electric stove, make sure not to let them burn. You may have to flip them before you really think they're done, but it'll turn out fine - I promise.

Also, these pancakes go great with a little bit of honey instead of syrup.

Delicious Chai Tea (for icing)

I love having a big pot of tea in the fridge for when I need a refreshing iced pick-me-up (here in Arizona, I need that pretty frequently, and water gets boring). So I made regular green tea the other day, but today I was craving some Chai tea. Here's how I did it (beware, this made almost a gallon!):

Boil a large pot of water on the stove, like you were going to make a couple pounds of pasta, but without the salt/oil.

When it's boiling, add 6 black tea bags and steep for maybe 5 minutes. Also add the following:

2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp fennel
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp crushed cloves
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup honey

After steeping the black tea bags sufficiently (the water will turn a dark brownish/black), remove the tea bags, but let the other spices steep for another 15 minutes or so.

If you want to enjoy it hot, ladle out a mug or two while the spices are steeping. Heat some milk in the microwave (or the stove if you're careful not to burn it) and mix with about 1 part of each.

However I wanted something iced - so I've been letting it steep for maybe half an hour now, after removing the tea bags, and once it is much cooler, I'll pour it into the pitcher, straining out the spices with a paper towel spread over a metal colander. Then, add cold milk for a refreshing, slightly caffeinated, spicy treat.

Come back later today for dinner - Chicken Tortilla Soup! Also, I can't stop thinking about that delicious mac and cheese! I'll probably end up making it again relatively soon, even though I'm trying to vary what I make. I definitely highly recommend it!

Citrus Chicken and a Revelation

Today was great - our dishes finally came, so we can eat off of these awesome polka dotted plates instead of out of stainless steel pans and mixing bowls! We celebrate by going out to the grocery store and getting some rice (and other things). So in addition to tonight's recipe, I've decided to start incorporating as much information about costs as possible. In response to girlyjock's post about childhood obesity, I want to show that eating healthy, delicious food, is truly affordable and not very time intensive.

So today's recipe is: Citrus Chicken and Rice with Mixed Green Salad

• 1.5 lbs boneless chicken breasts
  ($3.00 - we got it on a buy one get one sale, so we got 3 lbs for $7.50, and only used about half of 1.5 lbs for this meal)
• 1 cup long grain brown rice
  ($0.50 - we got a large bag for $2.69 and this is the cost for tonight's meal)
• water, salt, pepper
  (negligible cost)
• 3/4 cup Dole Pineapple Orange Banana juice
  ($0.50 - we used a small part of a $2.17 carton of 100% juice)
  
• 1/2 bag premixed Dole Italian Salad blend
  ($1.25 - we used half of a bag that was on sale for 2 bags for $5.00)
• 1 tomato, italian croutons, miscellaneous trail mix
  ($1.50 - probably overestimated)
  
  
• Total Cost = $6.50 give or take, for two people, or $3.25 per serving
  
  To make, simply mix all salad ingredients together. For the rice, cook as recommended, adding 1/4 cup of juice near the very end. For the chicken, begin cooking in skillet with spices, adding 1/2 cup of juice once the chicken has been flipped once. The juice will help keep the chicken moist and tender, and add a little flavor to the plain brown rice.
  

So it's really not very expensive to eat delicious, healthy food. My boyfriend agreed that it was delicious, after telling me I needed to make dinner because I was the "expert" since I had a blog. I guess I didn't let him down!

On a side note, we also shared a bottle of California Riesling with dinner, to complement the citrus notes in the chicken and rice. This white wine probably cost us all of $5.00, because we stocked up on cheap but tasty wines when the supermarket was having a sale - buy 6 bottles and save 25%.

I guess my biggest advice today would be to buy nonperishables while they're on sale. Or even if it is perishable and can be frozen, like meats, fishes, shredded cheese, bread, frozen fruits and veggies, take advantage of the sale! Keep the freezer filled with healthy items and leftovers, and you won't have to reach for the ready-made high sodium, high calorie, high fat foods.