FRIED EGG SANDWICH with SPINACH & AVOCADO (a 2 banana level difficulty)

Unfortunately my cooking exploits have been dark for awhile. I've just been a bit too busy to be adverturesome in the kitchen and try out new things! However this rainy weekend has given me a brief respite and allowed me to cook up something AND to shoot some photos!

So..........today 'this monkey' will show you how to make a quick & easy (and of course delicious) Fried-Egg Sandwich!

WHAT YOU NEED:
2-3 Eggs (depends on how big you want your sandwich)
1/4 Avocado (sliced)
1/2 c Fresh Spinach (loose & dry)
2-3 T Parmesan Cheese (shredded) 
2 T Salsa (Mrs. Renfro's Medium Salsa)
2 Slices of Good Bread
1 T Butter
1-2 T Olive Oil
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Kosher Salt

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
Spatula
1 Small Frying Pan
1 Med/Large Frying Pan

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Heat the Smaller Pan over Medium & the Larger Pan over Medium High for 2-3 minutes.
2. Once the Pans are heated, add Olive Oil to the Smaller Pan and Butter to the Larger Pan
3. After the Oil & Butter are heated, add Spinach to the Smaller Pan & carefully add the Eggs to the Larger Pan.

4. Frequently stir the Spinach until it is nicely wilted (3-ish minutes). Be sure to monitor the progress of the Eggs...

5. Reduce Heat to Low for the Spinach. I like to add Avocado & Cheese at this point to warm them up a bit. 

6. Once the bottom part of the Eggs have cooked nicely (3-ish minutes), it's time to carefully flip them. 

7. At this point, you have a decision to make...over-easy or over-hard. I reduce heat to Medium & cook for 2-3 more minutes because I like them a little runny. If you like eggs over-hard, then cook a little longer.

8. Start building your Fried-Egg Sandwich...

and there you have it...A Fried-Egg Sandwich for a rainy day!

Until next time...your favorite neighbor-web monkey!

WALNUT-CRANBERRY NO-BAKE ENERGY MONKEY BARS (a 2 banana difficulty level)

A few weeks ago I made the basic Energy Monkey Bars recipe:  http://www.anymonkeycan.com/2014/08/no-bake-energy-monkey-bars-2-banana.html. They were pretty good so I wanted to try a version where I omitted the PB chips & added dried cranberries & walnuts. Just a bit healthier than the PB chips version! Well that's what we did today. I decided to double the recipe & use the bigger pan. Let's get started...

WHAT YOU NEED: (doubled recipe)
2 c Rolled Oats (I used rye rolled oats again. Old-fashioned oats are probably the most common)
1 1/3 c Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (toasted) - Coconut flakes can be used
1 c Almond Butter 
1 c Ground Flaxseed
1 c Cacao nibs 
1 c Dried Cranberries
1 c Walnuts (Ground)
2/3 c Honey
2 T Chia Seeds (optional)
2 t Vanilla

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
Large size mixing bowl
Large spoon
9x13" non-stick pan

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Place ALL ingredients in the medium bowl and mix well.

2. Place in 9x13" non-stick pan & press into the bottom.

3. Cover tightly and refrigerate AT LEAST 1 hour, preferable overnight.

4. Serve and enjoy!

Really simple to make! A bit of a messy clean up, but it's nice knowing everything that is in your energy bar. 

Until next time...your favorite neighbor-web monkey!

NO-BAKE ENERGY MONKEY BARS (a 2 banana difficulty level)

MONKEY BARS! I might need a whole section devoted to this...well at least a tag devoted to this! One of my favorite cookies growing up was some sort of no-bake variety. It probably came from the side of Hershey's Cocoa because I seem to remember it having Hershey's Cocoa and some peanut butter and probably sugar. I came across this not too long ago. Similar in concept to the no-bake cookie from my youth, but branded as an "energy" bar.

Hey, do you know the difference between a candy bar and an energy bar? Usually about a buck...hey-O!

It has the flexibility to substitute many of the ingredients with other ingredients that are similar in nature.

Today, 'this monkey' will show you how to make NO-BAKE ENERGY MONKEY BARS...let's get started!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 c Rolled Oats (I used rye rolled oats because that's what I had. Old-fashioned oats are probably the most common)
2/3 c Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (toasted) - Coconut flakes can be used
1/2 c Almond Butter (or peanut butter)
1/2 c Ground Flaxseed
1/2 c Cacao nibs (or choc chips or Reese's peanut butter chips)
1/3 c Honey
1 T chia seeds (optional)
1 t Vanilla

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
Medium size mixing bowl
Large spoon
8x8" non-stick pan

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Place ALL ingredients in the medium bowl and mix well.

2. Place in 8x8" non-stick pan & press into the bottom. You can use a glass pan lined with wax paper.

I increased the ingredients by 50% in order to use a bigger pan.

 Also, I added BOTH PB chips AND cacao nibs

3. Cover tightly and refrigerate AT LEAST 1 hour, preferable overnight.

4. Serve and enjoy!

Pretty simple stuff! Flexible and delicious! These are a bit more healthy than straight cookies, but you don't want to consider them a health food.

Until next time...your favorite neighbor-web monkey!