Banana Bread

This recipe is fast, easy and very basic.

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Optional: Walnuts

• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• With a wooden spoon, mix melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add walnuts if you wish. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.
• Bake for 1 hour.
• As soon as I pull it out of the oven, I add brown sugar to the top just to give it a little extra sweetness.
• Cool on a rack until you are able to remove from pan for easy slicing.

~ Kassandra

Peach Cobbler.

Oh, baking. I love it. My family loves it. And boy does it make the house smell scrumptious.

We bought some organic peaches at Whole Foods the other day and I thought to myself, I've never made peach cobbler before! Googled a recipe, tweaked it a bit and voila! Here ya have it. It came out pretty amazing. I've never made homemade crust before. I'm kind of proud. :)

Ingredients
2 cups organic pastry flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup shortening
1 egg
1/4 cup cold water

3 pounds fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced
2 cups of orange juice
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, and salt. Work in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and cold water. Sprinkle over flour mixture, and work with hands to form dough into a ball. Chill 30 minutes.

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Roll out half of dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Place in a 9x13 inch baking dish, covering bottom and halfway up sides. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

3.In a large saucepan, mix the peaches and orange juice. Add 1/2 cup butter, and cook over medium-low heat until butter is melted. In a mixing bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups of sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cornstarch; mix into peach mixture. Remove from heat, and pour into baked crust.

4.Roll remaining dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into half-inch-wide strips. Weave strips over peaches. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

5.Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until top crust is golden brown.

Please, enjoy! A nice gallop of vanilla ice cream makes this recipe to die for. ;)

I couldn't get a picture after it came out of the oven because everyone attacked it. Hehe.

Honey Chicken Kabobs.

(A.J at 18 months first time eating chicken kabobs )

This is A.J's favorite thing to eat. He loves to eat kabobs, he will ask for seconds, and thirds until there's none left! It's a super easy recipe, and I've made mass quantities of it for BBQ's.

Honey Chicken Kabobs

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic
skewers


DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken and garlic in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (the longer the better).
Preheat the grill for high heat.
Drain marinade from the chicken and discard marinade. Thread chicken onto skewers. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Enjoy!

Cheese & Pepper Dip

Cheese & Pepper Dip

• 1 cup of dry lima beans
• 1-2 serano peppers
• 1 medium sweet red pepper
• olive oil spray
• 1/4c of onfat plain Greek-style yogurt
• 1/4 part skim ricotta cheese
• 1c feta, crumbled
• 1tbsp fresh oregano
• 1tsp lemon zest

1/4tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Cook lima beans until soft and tender, measure out 1 cup.

Preheat oven to 400*. Place hot and sweet peppers on a baking sheet misted with cooking spray. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, until soft but not black. Let cool, then peel off skin and chop. In a large bowl of a food processor add 1cup of beans, roasted peppers, yogurt, ricotta and 1/2c of fetta.
Puree for 30 seconds until smooth. Transfer to medium bowl. Add oregano, lemon zest, and black pepper.
Fold in remaining feta. Serve at warm or at room temperature.

I love to eat these with Pita chips. It's too spicy for the boys, but perfect for us!

-Patty

Steak Fajitas With Peppers & Onions

Hello Fellow Chefs!

Last month (I think) I was reading through one of my favorite publications....Parenting Magazine. Weird? Maybe but I adore that magazine. Anyway, I came across a couple recipes that looked good, I ran them by my super picky husband and he said he'd be willing to guinea pig it with me, and that is where this recipe comes in.

It was surprisingly good. I really liked it. Super picky husband even liked it. He wasn't too keen on the bell peppers (what a weirdo, haha), but did say he would eat it again. Woo!

Here's the dirty details:

Prep time: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes (1 hour resting)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice*

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons dark brown sugar

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced, divided

2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 lb skirt steak, cut crosswise into 3 to 4 pieces

8 (8-inch) flour tortillas

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced in 1/3 inch strips

1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced in 1/3 inch strips

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Optional toppings:

Salsa, sour cream, sliced avocado or guacamole, lime edges, cheese

What to do:

1. Whisk together the lime juice, 2 Tbsp olive oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, half the garlic, and cumin. Pour into zip lock bag, add the steak, and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, turning the bag occasionally.

2. Preheat oven to 325*. Wrap stacked tortillas tightly in foil; warm for 15 minutes.

3. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high/ Remove the steak from marinade, and let excess drip off. Season with 1/4 tsp each of the salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness. Transfer steak to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

4. While steak is grilling, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and the sliced peppers and onions. Sauté stirring often, 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly charred. Add the remaining garlic in the final minute, season with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt.

5. Thinly slice steak on the diagonal, across the grain. Transfer to one side of a serving platter an pile the veggie mixture on the other side. Arrange the toppings in small bowls, wrap the tortillas in a soft towel, and let everyone make their own fajitas at the table. Serve with black beans and rice.

I did take a picture, with my cell phone, of the platter (because it looked fab)....too bad it was very small and not at all worth sharing. This is a fantastic recipe though, I recommend everyone give it a try!

*Chef's note: I bought 3 limes and used 2 1/2 to get the 1/4 cup lime juice and the last 1/2 for the top of the fajitas. I have a citrus juicer that gets every drop out of the rind, so if you plan to squeeze by hand, you might get 4 or 5 limes.

Bon Appétit

Katie

How To: Artichokes

Here's how I steam artichokes, a favorite vegetable of mine!

1. Remove discolored leaves; trim stem even with base.

2. Cut 1 inch off top and discard. Snip off points of the remaining leaves with scissors. Rinse with cold water. Optional: To prevent discoloration, dip into 1 quart cold water mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

3. Steam top down for 20 to 25 minutes or until bottom is tender when pierced with a knife.

4. Enjoy with something on the side. We prefer melted butter. My husband sometimes dips them in mayonnaise (ew, haha).

Bon Appétit

-Katie

Chocolate Chip Banana Pudding

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cup of ice cold water

1 (3.4 oz) Jello Vanilla Pudding mix

3 cups heavy cream

1 (12 oz) Nabisco Nilla Wafers

5 bananas sliced ( I like mine slighty under ripe)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass - I didn't have glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity.

Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding sprinkle chocolate chips. Repeat the layering two more times. Sprinkle choc chips on top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours. It will taste best within 4-5 hours of assembling it, but can most certainly be eaten the day after, the Nilla wafers will not be crunchy though.

Velbekomme!