Whole Wheat Banana Pecan Muffins

My kids are muffin enthusiasts, and they really liked these muffins we made from OurBestBites.com...

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 c. mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large bananas or 3 smaller ones)

1/3 c. plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. pecans, chopped

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners–you’ll need about 15-16.Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, honey, and butter. Add each egg in one at a time, combining completely after each addition but not over-mixing. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined (don’t over-mix).Divide the batter evenly (so the cups are about 2/3 full) among 15-16 muffin tins. Combine the chopped pecans and brown sugar and sprinkle them on top of the batter. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to finish cooling.

Homemade Granola

2 cups oats
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup cashews
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
3 T honey
1 cup dried fruit (I use craisins)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Melt butter with honey in small saucepan over low heat. Pour over granola mixture and toss well. Spread on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Add fruit, mix, and continue baking 5-10 minutes.

Note: I also like altering this recipe to make banana walnut granola. Just omit the allspice and cinnamon, substitute walnuts for the other nuts, and substitute dried banana chips for the craisins. Yummy!

Chicken and Mushroom Fettucine Alfredo

Ingredients:

3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts (Too make this quick, I used a rotisserie chicken. However, you can cut the raw chicken into chunks and cook them in the process).
1 carton mushrooms, sliced
1 pint heavy cream
Grated pecorino romano cheese
Grated, sliced, or shaved parmesan cheese
1 box fettucine noodles

Instructions:

For noodles, boil water in a large pot. Add a good amount of salt (like a tablespoon or so) to flavor the water. Cook to al dente (I usually do this at the same time as the sauce mixture.

In a large, deep skillet, add the olive oil and butter. Heat over medium high until butter is melted. Add the garlic and stir while it becomes fragrant. Before the garlic burns, add the mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms are golden and tender. At this point you have two options:

1- Remove the mushrooms and add the uncooked chicken. Stir, cook until chicken is done, and then add the mushrooms back in.

or my favorite option:

2- Add the breast meat that has been shredded/chunked from a rotisserie chicken. Stir to incoporate the garlic flavor.

Then pour in the heavy cream. Stir.

Then you'll start adding your cheese in small amounts so it can melt into the cream. Use only the pecorino romano for the sauce. I usually use about 4 oz of the cheese. You can use more or less, taste as you go. You'll also be able to smell it.

Transfer the noodles into the skillet. Toss until well coated by the alfredo sauce and chicken/mushrooms.

Serve hot with parmesan cheese on top.

French Onion Soup

Melissa d/Arabian's Soup recipe

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
4 yellow onions (about 1 3/4 pounds), thinly sliced with the grain to hold their shape
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups beef stock
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup grated Swiss
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
4 (1-inch thick) baguette slices, cut on the bias
Directions
In a heavy bottomed Dutch oven or large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, cover, and cook until deeply caramelized, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn the heat up to medium and sprinkle the onions with the flour. Stir and allow to cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the red wine. Add the thyme, bay leaf, lemon juice, and stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed. Ladle the soup into 4 ovenproof crocks.


Heat the broiler to high. Mix the cheeses together in a small bowl. Top each crock with a baguette slice and evenly distribute the cheese on top of each. Place the crocks under the broiler just until the cheese is bubbly and browning, about 1 minute. Serve hot.

Chocolate Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white, 1 cup wheat)

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, milk, and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add to the banana mixture and mix just until combined. Transfer to a greased loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes for large loaf or 35-38 minutes for mini loaf or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pans to wire rack.

Butterfingers

16 oz. candy corn
16 oz peanut butter
chocolate for dipping candy

In a glass bowl micro wave candy corn for 1 min. Stir. Continue in the micro wave at 20 second intervals and stirring until candies are melted. Stir in peanut butter. Put mixture in a square pan lined with parchament paper. When cool cut into pieces and dip in chocolate.

Cheeseburger Muffins

If you think these are just for kids, you would be wrong... The adults in our household loved them.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T brown sugar
1 T mustard
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tube (12 oz) refregerated buttermilk biscuits (10 count)
1/2 cup cubed process cheese (Velveeta)

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

Press each biscuit onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin cup. Spoon beef mixture into cups; top with cheese cubes. Bake at 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.