Dinner time can also become a time of negotiations over what your toddler or child will eat. I decided no more negotiating. I will do what all good mommies do. I lie and hide the veggies. Here is a simple recipe to hide some veggies in your meatloaf.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of ground beef
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs ( I use Italian bread crumbs)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 medium onion
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup and 1 Tbs of beef broth
• 1/4 cup of worcestershire
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 Tbs dry onion
• 1/2 Tbs dry garlic
• 1/2 Tbs sea salt
• 1 Tbs of paprika
• 1 Tsp pepper
• 1 tsp oregano

Sauce ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce ( brown sugar is the one I use)
• 1Tbs of honey
• 3 dashes of Worcestershire
• 3 Tbs of ketchup

First things first, you want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While your oven is preheating dice your onion, red pepper and your garlic.

Next place your olive oil in the pan and heat at medium.

Once your oil is heated. Add your veggies.

Stir fry until your onions are translucent and your peppers are softened. You want to make sure you really cook down your vegetables.

Once the vegetables have softened place them in a food processor or blender. Blend completely. This is important because you want to hide those veggies when you combine with the meat.

Set the mixture aside. In a small bowl mix bread crumbs, beef broth, And egg

Once combined mix in the Worcestershire.

Grab a big bowl and take your bread crumb mixture and add it to your meat.

Next add the vegetables mixture. The color may be bright. Don’t worry it will mix in with your meat well.

After everything is combined. Add your spices.

Place in your baking dish and set aside. Now it’s time to make your sauce for the top. In a small bowl combine the BBQ sauce, Worcestershire, honey and ketchup.

Add your sauce on top of your meatloaf. Place in the oven for 45 minutes .

Take your meatloaf out and rest for 5 minutes before serving. This recipe can feed a family of 6. Makes for great sandwich left over as well. Take a slice warm it, place on toast with mayo and arugula. Enjoy!

Like most kids, my kids are picky eaters. I have learned that if I give something a fun name then they will most likely try it. Thus was born the Chunky Monkey Banana Bread. This is a simple and quick prep kind of bread. I know it is so hard for me to get things prepped quick and in time to move on to the next activity. Most of the time I am working on more than one thing at a time and this recipe is great to do with kids. It is moist and great for a quick breakfast meal with a side of yogurt or fruit.

What will you need: Cooking Spray, Loaf Pan

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 3 cups of Flour
• 1 tspBaking soda
• 1tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp of Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of walnuts (optional)

Wet Ingredients:

• 6 ripe bananas
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup of Buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 eggs

First things first. You are going to want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

While your oven is preheating, spray your baking dish. Make sure it is completely coated.

In a medium size bowl combine all your dry ingredients. Flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. You want to sift the dry ingredients. This will make for a smoother batter.

Once combined you can set aside your dry ingredients. Now for the fun part my kids love! You want to peel and smash your ripe bananas. My kids love to really mash them into paste like mixture.

Set that aside and mix the sugar and butter together until fluffy.

On low speed you want to add one egg at a time.

Don’t forget to mix in the sides. We want this to be well blended.

Once well combined you can add the vanilla , banana and buttermilk. If you can’t find butter milk here is a simple way to make it. Combine 1/2 cup of milk and 2tsp of vinegar or lemon juice and let sit for 5 mins.

After all the wet ingredients are all combined, add the dry mixture. I suggest dividing the dry ingredients into 3 . This will evenly mix the wet and dry.

Once everything is combined I add the chocolate chips. At this point you can also add some chopped walnuts. I leave them out because my kids aren’t big fans of walnuts.

After everything is combined together place mixture in your baking dish. This mixture makes 2 loaves. Bake for 1hour and 19mins. Keep an eye after the 60min mark. Every oven is different and may change baking time.

After the your loaf or loaves are baked . Let sit for 5 mins. Then turn onto a cooling rack. Let cool for an hour.

After an Hour it is ready to cut and enjoy!