Every Tuesday, it is game night for our family. We'd make an effort to have dinner early and then have a round of one of our favorite board game. We have been enjoying games like "Catan", "Ticket to Ride", "Sushi Go" and "Ramen Fury", just to name a few. And some of these games would take us 1.5 hrs or more to complete. So, to avoid having the kids go to bed too late, I'd usually make a quick and easy dinner bowl for the family.

This Mongolian Ground Beef stir fry is packed with amazing umami flavors and was so delicious, the family gobbled it up so quickly. We had some leftovers for the kids' lunch the next day and it tasted even better. You can serve it with rice and a side of sautéed spinach with red bell pepper (as shown). For a lower carb option, you can serve it with lentils (as shown) or quinoa.

Mongolian Ground Beef Bowl
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, inspired by Dinner Then Dessert

Recipe
Ingredients
2 lbs Ground Beef
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 Onion (diced)
3 tbsp Minced Ginger
4 tbsp Mirin
4 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1/2 cup Light Soy Sauce
2 tsp Sesame Seeds
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
Chopped Scallions (for garnishing)

Cooking Method
​1. In a wok, heat up 2 tbsp of sesame oil. Brown the ground beef and drain the liquids when cooked.
2. Add in diced onion and 3 tbsp of minced ginger. Stir fry until fragrant.
3. Add in 4 tbsp of mirin, 4 tbsp of rice vinegar, half cup of light soy sauce and 2 tsp of sesame seeds. Continue cooking until the meat has absorbed the liquid seasoning..
4. Garnish with a dash of crushed red pepper, chopped scallions and serve with rice, lentils or quinoa. (I added the crushed red pepper on top of the meat before serving as my kids preferred it non-spicy. You may add in the crushed red pepper while cooking for some heat and spiciness, if preferred).

Makes 4-6 servings

Does this happen to your family a lot too? Whenever I buy bananas for the family, nobody eats them and then they get overly ripe, just hanging around in the kitchen. And when I don't buy any bananas, my family asks me for them. I never seem to be able to catch the wave. :)

So, having a couple of recipes that would use up these overly ripe bananas comes in handy. One of my family's favorite is Cekodok Pisang (Fried Banana Balls). They're lovely as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Some other recipes that I'd make with bananas are "Old School" Banana Cake or for a simple breakfast option, Gula Melaka Banana Pancakes.

This time around, I decided to make a Banana Bread instead. It is a basic recipe that you can build upon and customize to your own liking. I only had 3 bananas left and it still turned out great. However, I am certain you can add up to 5 or 6 bananas if you have that many. Both Bella and Jamie enjoyed the bread for breakfast and sometimes for afternoon tea too.

Banana Bread
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from All Recipes

Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups All Purpose Flour (sifted)
3/4 cup Pure Cane Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Butter
3 to 6 Overly Ripe Bananas (mashed)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

Cooking Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add in eggs and mashed bananas, mix until well combined.
4. Gently stir in sifted flour, baking soda and salt until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes or when a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf. Cool slightly before removing from pan to slice and serve.

It has been over a month since we've been staying home and social distancing. Being home has definitely inspired me to better hone my baking skills. I must admit I am not a very experienced baker and only have a few recipes under my belt. But I do enjoy the baking process. I find it rather therapeutic. And, with the desire to try and still keep our carb and sugar intake low, I have been exploring with low carb and low sugar dessert recipes.

Last week, I was looking through my pantry and discovered that I do have a handful of ingredients that I can pull together to attempt as low carb and low sugar chocolate brownie recipe. The original recipe is  keto-diet compliant but I did not have any monkfruit sweetener so I substituted with Truvia Baking Blend instead. Y'all, this Low Carb Chocolate Brownie is delicious and delightfully rich! It is not overly sweet and we liked it that way. I had reduced the amount of sugar substitute but you are welcome to add more if you prefer a sweeter version. I also baked the brownie through so it had a rich cake-like texture. I would definitely try reducing the bake time a little to achieve a fudge-like texture next time. 

Give this simple and easy recipe a go to satisfy your sweet tooth craving without having to feel too guilty.

Low Carb Chocolate Brownie
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from Fit To Serve

Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 cup Almond Flour (sifted)
3/4 cup Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend
1 oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
10 tbsp Butter
3 Large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder

Cooking Method
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and lightly grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.
2. Using a double boiler, melt the butter, baking chocolate, Truvia Baking Blend and salt.
3. Once melted, mix in the cocoa powder. Stir well until well combined and let it cool slightly.
4. Once cooled, whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
5. Add in almond flour and baking powder. Gently stir until well combined.
6. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 min. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.