Double Chocolate Banana Bread

I have this . . . well let us just call it a quirk, there is a very small window of ripeness during which I can eat a banana without the ole' gag reflex kicking in. I'm all about firm fruit. Since my children seem to pick 1 fruit each week that they are willing to eat, I am frequently left with a bunch of brown bananas. I LOVE my mom's banana bread, but I am unable to duplicate it. So I was excited to find this recipe! It comes out great every time, fills the chocolate craving and gets rid of the funky banana stink in my kitchen. And for those who have a distaste for bananas, you'll be glad to know that my picky-eater-baby sister didn't even know they were in there. From The Sisters' Cafe.

1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 1/4 c. mashed bananas (about 3)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray bottom of loaf pan with cooking spray (I spray the entire pan with Bakers Joy). Beat sugar, eggs and oil together in a large bowl at medium speed until combined. Beat in banana mixture on low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 60 -70 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Like I said in my last post, I am all about Our Best Bites. Haven't made a recipe from them that I didn't love. So with that being said here is another of their gems. The dressing in this recipe that is used to baste and marinate is incredible. It may some day replace ranch dressing in my life. Alright, you can't replace ranch dressing, but it may come close. I excluded the mushrooms and cherry tomatoes because I despise them both and they were still AMAZING. Fire up your grill and give these babies a try.

1 lb. chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
8 oz. small whole mushrooms, stems removed
1 each yellow and green zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
sweet cherry tomatoes
2 -3 bell peppers (in a variety of colors), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small red onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 recipe Zesty Italian Dressing:
1/4 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 c. canola oil
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese (can be fresh or from a can)
3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

In a blender, combine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, salt, seasoning salt, black pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes. Blend. While blender is running, slowly add oil in a steady stream. Turn off blender and add Italian seasonings and Parmesan cheese. Pulse blender 2 -3 times to combine the herbs and cheese. Remove 1/2 c. of dressing for basting during grilling and set aside. Place cut up chicken in a shallow dish and pour a little less than half of the remaining dressing over the chicken. Place in refrigerator for 2 -3 hours or until ready to use. Place chopped veggies in a 9x13 pan and pour remaining dressing (except for reserved 1/2 c.) over veggies. Toss gently to combine. Set aside. If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for about 30 minutes to avoid burning while grilling. When chicken is done marinating, skewer veggies and chicken (use about 2 -3 pieces of chicken per skewer with as many veggies as needed). Preheat the grill and cook skewers for about 10 -12 minutes over medium heat, basting with reserved 1/2 c. of dressing, until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender-crisp, turning at least once.

Black Bean Soup

Wow. This is - wow. I was skeptical. I don't usually go for soups with the main ingredient being beans or pea. Some weird food aversion, can't explain it, don't know why, that is just how I am. My husband however mentioned that HE would be willing to try it. SOLD. Anytime I can get him to agree to eat something new I jump at it. So last night after we put the family circus to bed I whipped this up real quick. Which is another major plus to this soup, easy and quick, we're all about that. This soup is really loaded with flavor. It's amazing! Amazing I tell you. Okay, I was starving by the time we finally got to eat so that may be part of why it was so amazing, but I promise you that you will not be disappointed with this. I'm all about these ladies recently, this is one of theirs.

1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 c. diced carrots (about 2 med. carrots)
3/4 c. diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1 c. diced onion (about 1 small-med onion)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1- 3.5 oz. can green chilies
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dry oregano leaves
1 bay leaf
juice of 1 lime
Optional toppings : sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro

Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat. when pan is warm, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes. Add in the black beans, chilies and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for about 20 -25 minutes or until carrots are tender.
Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup. Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters. Puree soup until completely smooth. Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from 1 lime and pulse to combine. Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges. Makes about 8 c. of soup.

Pink Lemonade Butter Cream Frosting

This is a winner. My sister reminded me today that I never did post it, so here it is.

3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar

1 stick, unsalted butter, softened (I use salted)

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate, thawed (I usually end up using 3 -4 Tbsp)

pink food coloring

Add all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mixer on low speed using paddle attachment until combined. Increase speed to med-high and continue to beat until butter cream is fluffy and uniformly pink.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Some how I had lemons and blueberries in my fridge yesterday. No bread, but I had lemons and blueberries. Guess it is time to go grocery shopping but that is beside the point. I spied this recipe a week or so ago and finally decided to make them. They are heavenly. The recipe only makes 12 so next time I will be doubling it. I substituted butter in place of shortening and I used fresh, not frozen blueberries. I also cut the topping in half and it was still more than enough. For the original recipe check out The Sisters Cafe.

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

zest of one lemon

1 egg

1 c. milk

1/2 c. butter

1 c. blueberries

Topping:

1/4 c. butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. sugar

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat egg, milk and butter together. (Make sure to warm the milk or it will quickly solidify the butter.) Stir in blueberries. Add dry ingredients and lemon zest. Stir gently to combine. Bake at 375 F. for 20 -25 minutes ( I pulled mine out after about 19 minutes). Combine melted butter and lemon juice. While the muffins are still warm, dip tops in the butter mixture then dip in sugar.

Rainbow Cake

I've always wanted to try this one. Now I have. Probably will never do it again. Okay, maybe for a dear niece or nephew someday when I get to be there for a birthday. The cake itself wasn't bad at all. Of course I cheated and used a box mix which I'm sure saved me a good hour or so. The frosting was what had me nervous. There are certain things that just do not do well in my presence: yeast, living plants, egg whites and cooking sugar. But my dearest was tired of the plain ole' butter cream, so I risked the inevitable flop. And then the unthinkable happened, it worked! Somehow I pulled of the frosting and I was happy beyond belief. Be warned - the frosting ALONE contains a full pound of butter. That's 4, count them, four sticks of the glorious golden stuff. So be sure that you have a good number of people to feed this to. The original recipe called for another 1/2 recipe of frosting to allow for a crumb coat. I found that I didn't need it because the frosting went on so smooth that it didn't pull of any crumbs as I worked. You can find the original recipe at Martha's place.

Cake:

2 white cake mixes (you need 6 cups of batter, each cake mix yields about 4 1/2 c.)

Mix cake mixes as directed on the box. (I used the egg white directions to keep the batter white to make the coloring process easier.) Grease and flour 9" rounds. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom of each 9" round. Grease parchment paper and place in the pans. (You can use six disposable aluminum round pans or just bake in turns using regular 9" rounds.) Set aside. Using 6 separate bowl, place 1 cup of batter in each bowl. Color each bowl of batter (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple) with gel food coloring. Pour each cup of batter into an individual prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 -12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rake for 5 -10 minutes before removing from pan. Allow each layer to cool completely, remove parchment paper from bottom the bottom, then wrap cake in plastic wrap to keep from drying out.

Lemony Swiss Meringue Frosting:

9 large egg whites

1 3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 c. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

2 tsp. pure lemon extract

Cook egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. (This took me about 10-15 minutes) Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; mix on high speed until mixture is near room temperature and soft peaks form. (You don't want the egg white mixture so warm that it melts the butter.) With the mixer on medium-low, add butter, one piece at a time, mixing well after each addition. Remove whisk attachment and switch to paddle attachment. Increase speed to high and beat until butter cream comes together, about 5 minutes; beat in lemon extract.

Begin laying the cake, starting with purple, cover each layer of cake with frosting before adding the next layer. Frost top and sides of cake. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store covered in fridge.

Cinnamon Syrup

Maybe it's the holidays or maybe I'm just missing my mom. I've been craving things from my childhood lately. My mom made this syrup for us whenever we had french toast as kids. It is so sugary, cinnamony yummy. We also discovered this morning that it is excellent on pumpkin pancakes.

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. light corn syrup

1/4 c. water

1/2 c. light cream or evaporated milk

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cinnamon. Add corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Stir in cream/milk. Serve warm over French toast or pancakes. Makes 1-2/3 cup.