A cherry twist on banana bread

I have to admit, I love cherries.  If you do too, here's another cherry recipe for you.

Cherry Banana Bread
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/04/cherry-walnut-banana-bread.html
I have not made this bread with the walnuts listed in the original recipe since we're trying to keep things really low fat.  I have baked this recipe as mini loaves and as muffins.  I love her tip of letting the bread cool completely overnight to make it more moist.   I found the mini loaves to be more moist but the muffins almost as good, and more convenient (we always seem to be in a hurry!)   Remember, if you bake the bread in these smaller sizes, you need to adjust your baking time.  Start checking the muffins after 18 mins and the mini loaves after about 22 mins.   My yield on this recipe is 18 muffins or 4 mini loaves.

My quick baking tip for applesauce - use the kid snack sized cups of unsweetened applesauce instead of trying to measure it out.  They're roughly equivalent to 1/2 cup or 4oz.

Frugal and tasty vegan slow cooker soup

Our lives are very hectic so I'm always happy when I find a slow cooker recipe that the entire family enjoys. I love being able to make dinner when I have time early in the day, stick it in the slow cooker, and come home at dinnertime to a hot, homemade dinner!

Lentil & Black Bean Soup
http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/2013/03/slow-cooker-lentil-black-bean-soup-023.html
I love that this recipe uses ingredients I almost always have on hand at home, the prep is simple & straightforward, and the cost per serving is approx. 25 cents!

You can see from the Nutrition Facts here that is a very low calorie &  high protein meal.

I adapted the original recipe just a bit...


INGREDIENTS
8oz (1/2 of a 1 lb. bag) dry lentils
1 can black beans
1 medium onions (finely diced)
2 large carrots (finely chopped)
1 (15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. cumin
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
5 cups HOT water

3/4 Tbsp salt (to taste)*
1/2 tsp. black pepper (to taste)*

*Added at the end of cooking

DIRECTIONS
Rinse lentils and black beans. Discard any small pebbles or bad beans. Put them in the slow cooker. Add the diced onions, chopped carrots, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, chili powder, parsley, and HOT water to the slow cooker.

Cover, and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. No peeking, no stirring.

Remove the lid, and add the salt and pepper to taste. Scoop out  3-4 cups of the soup into a blender and puree and then pour it back into the slow cooker and stir.  This soup is very thick ... almost like chili, and tastes great by itself, over rice, served with tortilla chips, or with cornbread.

Store in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 4 months.