Banana Muffins with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

                                                 

Since I had just recently made chocolate chip banana bread, I really needed to think of something different to do with the surplus of ripe bananas in my freezer. I decided on muffins. Muffins do duel duty as breakfast- and dessert. Simply because my kids think they are cupcakes regardless. I loved this recipe. It was so simple. I combined a few differant ones that I had and made my own frosting up. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 ripe bananas (mine are usually frozen so I just set them in the sink to defrost a bit)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup melted butter (cooled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375.

In a mixing bowl mash the bananas with the sugar and egg.

Stir in the (cooled) melted butter.

In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the banana mixture. 

Stir until combined, it will be lumpy. 

Spoon into muffin tins and bake 15-20 minutes.

Until a toothpick can be stuck in and comes out clean.

Allow to cool before frosting.

To make frosting:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 8oz package of cream cheese (softened)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

With a hand mixture beat the cream cheese until fluffy.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix on low until well combined. 

Adjust to taste. 

Of course this recipe can be converted to loaf form if you prefer to have a banana bread, or cake even. It's good any which way because we all know it'll be going to the same place. The thighs and perhaps love handles. So lets enjoy it while we can. Cheers!

                                                      

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

We have all been sick this past week, so all I've wanted to do was make a big ole pot of soup. This was probably the best soup I have ever made. I was extremely proud of this- especially since I winged the whole recipe. I made a huge pot of this - so feel free to cut the recipe in half if it seems like it'll be to much. You can also freeze the leftovers. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 diced onion
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 2 cups half and half 
• 3 cups fresh broccoli chopped
• 1 1/2 cup shredded carrots 
• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar
• salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

The first thing I always do before I cook is set up my "miss en place", which essentially means to gather up all the ingredients and prepare them before you start cooking.

Chopped broccoli- 

Shredded carrots-

Shredded cheddar- 

Diced onions-

And the stuff for my soup base-

This way everything is set up and ready to go. 

No running around to find everything at the last minute. 

In a large pot melt the butter over medium high heat.

Add in onions and sauté until softened, 3-4 minutes.

Add in the flour and stir to make your roux.

Slowly add in the chicken broth. Allowing to thicken as you add it in.

Do the same with the half and half. 

Reduce to medium low and allow to simmer and thicken up. 

Add in broccoli and carrots. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes until veggies are tender. Stirring every few minutes. Reduce heat if to hot. 

Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. 

I served this with grilled cheese sandwiches. In my opinion the perfect friday night meal. The kids really loved this. I probably had 4 bowls over the course of the weekend. Ill only admit that here. Cheers!

Angry Orchard Steamers

                                            

Made some steamers with white wine a few weeks ago, and while those were really good. I think these steamers were way better. Something about cooking them with the hard apple cider. The broth was absolutely to die for. As I'm tying this I'm getting really excited, because I'm actually making these again tonight. Woo hoo!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 bags of little neck steamers
• lemon slices
• 1/4 diced onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 bottle of Angry Orchard hard cider

Place steamers into a large bowl. Cover with cold water.

Let soak for at least 30 minutes, 

then give them a good rinse off- to get all of the sand out.

Discard any with cracked or broken shells.

In a large sauté pan melt the butter over medium high heat, 

then sauté the onions until softened. 

Throw the steamers in the pan, then pour the angry orchard over them.

Toss in a few lemon slices. 

Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. Give a little shake- open the cover and make sure they are all opening. 

Cover and let simmer for another 5 minutes until they have all opened up. 

Serve with crusty bread. 

Seafood is something that I've been craving a lot lately. It's been totally worth it to learn how to cook things like this at home, so I can make it for myself whenever the mood strikes. Cheers!

Harissa Meatloaf

                                                 

I love playing around with different ingredients, and recently we opened a bottle of Harissa sauce from Stonewall Kitchen. They have some seriously awesome products. So I wanted to try to substitute my normal ketchup for the harissa in the last meatloaf I made. It gave it an amazing flavor and just the right kick. 

                                                          

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of meatloaf mix (mixture of beef, pork and veal. This is what I usually use but feel free to use just beef or what you normally use)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup harissa sauce
• 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

In a large mixing bowl combine the ground meat, 

egg, harissa, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. 

Mix until everything is incorporated.

Form into a loaf, and place in a baking dish.

Sprinkle with dried parsley.

Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. 

Or until cooked through (depending on size and shape of loaf)

I served this meatloaf with cous cous and fresh steamed green beans. This was a fast, no fuss dinner that I had prepped and on the table in an hour. Can't beat that! Cheers!

Spaghetti O's with Meatballs

                                   

Growing up, I loved having Chef Boyardee's Spaghetti O's. My kids do too! Who can resist those little meatballs and sweet sauce. Now that I'm adult and trying to be conscious of what I feed my kids, I try to take certain things you would normally buy and make it from scratch. This was a huge hit. It was kind of a pain to try and make all of these "mini meatballs", but the end result was totally worth it. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound "meatball mix" (this usually has beef, veal and pork- 1 pound ground beef is fine)
• 1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large can tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• parsley, oregano, salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups dry mini wheel pasta 

                                                 

In a mixing bowl combine the ground meat, breadcrumbs,egg, milk, ketchup, parsley, oregano,salt and pepper. Mix until everything is incorporated. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Form meatballs, I tried to make as many as possible. 

                                                        

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (depending on meatball size), or until cooked through and starting to brown. 

While the meatballs are baking you're going to put the pasta on to boil, and cook to al dente.

Start the sauce while the pasta is cooking.

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add in onion and sauté for about 3 minutes until softened. 

Add in the garlic and sauté just a minute or two until fragrant. You don't want to burn the garlic.

Add in the tomato paste and mix in with the onions. 

Add the tomato puree and water, stirring in with the tomato paste until combined. 

Stir in the rest of the seasonings and sugar to taste. 

Bring to simmer, stirring every few minutes. 

The sauce, meatballs and pasta should all be done pretty close together. 

Strain the pasta and add it into the large sauce skillet.

Carefully incorporate the cooked meatballs. Being careful not to stir to much and break them apart. 

Season to taste. 

Serve and enjoy. 

I made this about 2 weeks ago- and the kids have asked for this several times since then. I will be making this in the next few weeks again for sure. Give it a try! You can pull this off in under an hour. Cheers!

                                                            

Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Mayo

                                                     

I've been in search of the best way to cook sweet potato stuffs lately. A few weeks ago I made sweet potato wedges, and while they were yummy- they were lacking what I was really looking for. 

In this recipe I soak the fries first, to draw out some of the starch. I really believe this helped in creating fries that were somewhat crispy and not just sagging all over the place. I made a curry mayo to go with them. Sweet potato fries with curry mayo hold a special place in my heart of sides dishes. Very reminiscent of my early 20's spent at the local Irish pub eating and drinking draft beers. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried parsely
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 tablespoons curry powder

Peel sweet potatoes, and cut into 1/2 inch thick fires.

Soak fries in a large bowl of cold water for 1 hour.

Rinse fries with cold water, pat fries dry with a clean towel.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400.

Place fries in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil.

Season with brown sugar, parsley, salt and pepper.

Toss to coat all fries evenly.

Divide fries between both baking sheets. Evenly spread in one layer. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Flip fries.

Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden brown. 

To make Curry Mayo:

Combine curry powder, salt, pepper and mayo in a bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.

We served these sweet potato fries not only with the curry mayo which was amazing, but country ketchup made by Stonewall Kitchen. The pub I used to frequent made their own home style ketchup, this comes in a close second. Cheers!

7 Layer Dip

When researching '7 layer dips' for Taco Tuesday a few weeks ago,  I came across a couple of different options. First I had to decide if I wanted this baked and warm with chips, or as a cold side. I went with a cold side. Actually we just scooped this into our tacos instead of adding individual toppings in. It was really convenient and yummo. 

• 1 can refried beans 
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup diced tomato
• 1/4 cup diced olives
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion

Layer in an 8x8 pan. 

Refried beans, sour cream, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, olives and green onions.

Serve with chips or tacos.

I totally recommend using Doritos Sweet and Spicy Chili chips with this dish. It's my fav. Cheers!