Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins

Happy Friday, everyone! Have I got a recipe for you! I experimented this week and ​baked some delicious muffins at 5am because I was up and the brown bananas were just staring at me. I whipped these up in 10 minutes, did my workout while they baked, and viola, fresh baked muffins for breakfast!! We all have been enjoying them all week, especially smeared with some peanut butter! Hope y’all enjoy the recipe!

And since it’s the weekend, I highly recommend you make these muffins and enjoy them as well!! Happy Friday folks! 

Slow-Cooker Steak Taco Soup

It’s finally getting a bit cooler in Southern California, which means it is soup season!! I personally love chili but Vasken is not a big fan, so I decided to try a variation with steak meat instead of ground beef and no beans, and it was a hit! Plus, it took 10 mins to throw into the crock pot and dinner was ready 6 hours later...perfect! Here’s the recipe! 

We loved this soup and I am sure it is going to be a winter time staple!

Mexican Lasagna

This dish used to be a staple in our home when I was growing up. We loved it and it made such a large amount of food for very little effort, which is always a win in my book! I made a few tweaks to it this time and it turns out delicious!

Here's my quick and easy Mexican Lasagna recipe!  

Grab a casserole dish and start assembling! Here's how my layers went! 

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Cheese  

This was so easy to whip up and we are still living off the leftovers! We ate this with a southwest salad (courtesy of Trader Joe's) and it paired great together! 

If you are looking for a new dish to add to your routine, this one is definitely worth trying! Easy, delicious, and great as leftovers! 

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones

​I have always loved scones, especially from the tea place my mom and I went to ever since I was a little girl. I even had my bridal shower there and loved it! (Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena, CA!) There was just something so magical about tea, scones, jam, and cream. I could care less about the little sandwiches, it was those scones that did me in, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

This coming weekend, I am hosting an "afternoon tea" for my family, so I decided to test out a scone recipe yesterday. I was torn between just buying a mix (scones from scratch have always seemed so high maintenance to me!) but I decided to test out a recipe I stumbled upon for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones (link above). I made a few modifications, and the finished product was delicious!

I recommend hosting an afternoon tea ASAP and making these. They were way easier than I thought and with a few modifications, totally guilt free! I hope you all enjoy!

Lentil Patties (Vospov Kufteh)

I am SO sorry it took so long to get this recipe up!! But trust me, it's worth the wait! This was one of my favorite meals growing up, and I finally made it all by myself this past week! It's the perfect meatless Monday meal option and pairs perfectly with a fresh salad! In Armenian, it's called "vospov kufteh," but it's essentially lentil patties with cracked wheat and spices! This is my mama's recipe and it's delicious! Hope you enjoy!

I served this with a light cucumber-tomato salad, then had it again for lunch over some spinach and tomatoes! Fresh veggies are SO good with this meal!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe! Maybe try it next Monday for a yummy meatless meal!

**a note on the bulgar: my mom usually buys this for me from an Armenian market; however, I do believe places like Sprouts and Whole Foods carry it! It is probably called something like "cracked wheat fine #1." ;)

Black bean & veggie enchiladas

Well, we are finally moved in, unpacked, and settled in our new home. We are so excited to be here. God has blessed us so so much this past year, and we are excited to have a new home to enjoy with each other and with friends and family!

Last night, I cooked our first real dinner in the new house. I have been missing my kitchen so much! I whipped up a black bean and veggie enchilada recipe that was so easy and SO tasty! It was also a treat because we actually have a dining room table to eat dinner on now instead of just plopping down in front of the TV like we did in our one-bedroom apartment. Ohhhh the joys of sharing dinner and chatting about our days on an actual table! :)

Anyways, back to the food...these turned out so delicious and flavorful, so I just had to share the recipe! Enjoy!

Makes 7-8 enchiladas depending on how much you stuff 'em!

These were so easy to put together, and we had plenty left over for dinner tonight. Plus, you won't even miss the animal protein, because this meal is packed with vegetables and legumes, which provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant protein as well (yep, plants have protein too). And it was also approved by my meat-loving hubby, so it's a WIN in my book!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and are able to try it out soon! Have a happy Tuesday! :)