The Ultimate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin

The Ultimate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin

 Most of my Saturday mornings start off with baking.  I let the dogs out and hope this is the morning when one of them will finally bring the paper in for me.  With my first cup of coffee in hand, I pick out which muffin, scone or coffee cake to bake.

Overripe bananas end up in my freezer.  One of my brother-in-laws once commented that my sisters and I always have a bunch of black bananas in our freezers.  Stop by any one of our homes and check the freezer.  There is a 99% chance that you will find frozen bananas waiting to go in smoothies or better yet be the basis of the recipe for The Ultimate Banana Muffin.

I received this recipe from my friend Amy Baragar who I worked with at a small gourmet cafe in our town.  We had a fun time cooking and baking together and would make batches and batches of these muffins.  I was skeptical of the recipe at first for 2 reasons:

1.  it contains no eggs
2.  it calls for LOTS of bananas

But the recipe makes the moistest, bananaiest muffins I have ever tasted so I will never go back to my old recipe again.  I like my muffins to be homemade but look professional so I use these muffin papers and this sanding sugar.

The next time you find you have a few black bananas on hand, whip up a batch of The Ultimate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.  If you are out of black bananas, stop by my freezer.  I am sure I will have a bunch to lend you.

The Ultimate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin

makes 14 muffins

2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil - I use extra light virgin olive oil
4 large, very, very ripe bananas
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
sanding sugar or Sugar In The Raw Turbinado Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a regular sized muffin tin with muffin papers and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in the oil; the batter will be very dry.  Mash the bananas in a bowl and add them along with any of the accumulated juices and the chocolate chips to the flour mixture.  Stir to combine.

Fill the muffin papers almost to the top and sprinkle with a generous amount of sanding sugar or Sugar in the Raw.  Bake for 20 minutes rotating the pan once during baking.  Let cool in the pan for 5 - 10 minutes then serve.

Pasta Fagioli

Some days, I barely have enough time to walk in the door before one of my kids is asking what's for dinner.  After a long day of cooking for my EAT! personal chef clients, occasionally my brain has a hard time coming up with a meal to serve my family at dinner time.

Pasta Fagioli fits my criteria for an easy, healthy and satisfying weeknight meal.  This thick, stew version of pasta e fagioli makes a great leftover.  Double the recipe and just add a little more stock when reheating if it seems too dry.


Add this to next week's dinner menu.


Pasta Fagioli


adapted from this recipe in the December 2010 issue of  Everyday Food 


1 tablespoon olive oil

3 celery stalks, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 cup sweet onion, such as Vadalia, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes

2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1/4 cup shaved Parmesan for serving

1 cup small pasta, such as ditalini

1 can (15.5 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

In a medium sized pot, heat oil over medium. Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 9 minutes. Add oregano, tomatoes, and broth. Increase heat to high and simmer rapidly until liquid thickens slightly, 5 minutes. Add pasta and cook, partially covered, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add beans and cook until warmed through, about 3 minutes. To serve, sprinkle with shaved Parmesan.

Southwestern Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Chipolte Rice

Having a personal chef allows my clients pick and choose what meals they would like me to prepare for them.  Unlike a restaurant menu which has a set list of entrees, my menu is limitless and always changing.  One of my weekly clients enjoys the variety of entrees I have prepared for him.  Since I began cooking for him over 4 months ago, I have yet to repeat a single entree.  He enjoys opening his refrigerator and being pleasantly surprised at what he has in store for dinner for the week.

While I was recently cooking for him, he was reading over the menu that I had planned for the upcoming week.

"Oh.  Finally a repeat," he commented sounding a little disappointed.

Ugh!!!!!  No!!!!  My mind began to race as I was deciding on what I was going to make with the ingredients I had on hand.  I channeled my best impersonation of an Iron Chef and viola!  Barbecued Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps were changed to Southwestern Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Chipolte Rice with spices in my chef kit and the remaining ingredients from other recipes I was preparing that day.

Near tragedy averted.  And Southwestern Chicken Lettuce Wraps will be on my menu for other clients as well as for dinner for my family too.

If having a personal chef is not for you, Dinners for a Year and Beyond is a tremendous source for dinner recipe ideas.  The recipes that appear in the blog are the same ones I make for my clients and family.  If you are searching for easy recipes to make that are a little unique, Dinners for a Year and Beyond is the place to look for dinner ideas.  Take a peak at some of the recipes.  Give a few a try.  And let me know how you like them.

Southwestern Chicken Lettuce Wraps

serves 4

1 cup jasmine rice

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock

1/8 teaspoon chipolte powder

olive oil

1 pound chicken breast, boneless and skinless and cut in small pieces

1 small onion, small dice

1 red pepper, small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon chipolte powder

1/3 cup tomato sauce

salt

hot sauce to taste

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

lime

12 Romaine or bibb lettuce leaves

In a medium sized pot over high heat, add rice, chicken stock, and chipolte powder.  Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and keep warm until serving.

Heat a large saute pan to medium high heat.  Add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the hot pan and add the chicken.  Cook the chicken for about 3 - 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the onion, red pepper, garlic, cumin and chipolte powder and cook for an additional 3 - 4 minutes.  Stir in the tomato sauce and cook for a minute or until heated through.  Season to taste with salt and hot sauce.  Stir in cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.  Serve in lettuce leaves with Chipolte Rice.

Caramelized Onion Patty Melt

New Jersey is home of the diner.  Every town has a diner and many even have two.  With menus containing 10 or more pages and endless dining options, there is hardly an entree, salad, breakfast item or dessert that is not offered.  Have a taste for Peking duck at 2 am on a Tuesday?  No problem.  How about chocolate chip banana pancakes topped with whipped cream for dinner?  Order up.  They are available 24 hours a day.  Have a hankering for a slice of key lime pie with merguine a mile high?  The local New Jersey diner has key lime pie as well as apple cobbler, strawberry topped cheese cake, German chocolate cake and peanut butter pie too.

My Middle One is a burger aficionado and will order a burger for breakfast while the rest of the family is eating fluffy pancakes, eggs over easy with crispy hash browns and overstuffed omelets.  In my December 2010  issue of Everyday Food, I spotted a recipe for a patty melt (a burger that is offered at every diner) and knew I had to make it for my daughter. 

The patty melt is a diner staple.  A thin burger is sandwiched between slices of  bread along with caramelized onions and cheese and grilled in a saute pan just like a grilled cheese sandwich.  This was a dinner I knew she would love.  The lack of conversation at dinner was an indication that they thought my recreated diner entree was good as she and her sister enjoyed their patty melts.  As they came up for air after finishing their dinners, they said they were good, really good.

It looks like I will be making Caramelized Onion Patty Melts again.

We had one extra patty melt that was wrapped up for later.  That was 2 days ago so don't think that it is still in the refrigerator.  It has already been eaten.

Caramelized Onion Patty Melt

Adapted from this recipe in the December 2010 issue of Everyday Food magazine

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 large Vadalia onion, slice thin

1 pound ground beef, 93% fat free

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

8 slices American cheese

8 slices white bread

butter

In a large saute pan over medium high heat add the olive oil, butter and onion.  Saute for 10 - 15 minutes or until the onions a softened and are light brown.  Remove from the pan to a plate and cover with foil.

In a bowl, combine the ground beef, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and onion.  Form into 4 very thin patties.  Heat the saute pan to medium high heat and add the patties.  Depending on the size of your pan, it may be necessary to cook the patties in batches.  Cook the patties for about 3 - 4 minutes per side.  Remove from pan and wipe clean with paper towels.

For each patty melt, place two slices of bread on a work surface.  Put a slice of American cheese on each slice of bread and top one slice with a patty.  Put 1/4 of the caramelized onions on top of the patty and top with the other slice of bread with the cheese.  Repeat the same process for the remaining patty melts. 

Heat the saute pan to medium high and add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter.  Cook the patty melts until lightly brown on each side and the cheese is melted, about 2 - 3 minutes for each side.  Remove from pan and slice on a diagonal to serve.

Chicken with Shiitake Marsala

At least once a day I discuss what I am making for dinner with family, friends or even strangers at the grocery store. While chatting on the phone with a friend a couple days ago, I mentioned that I was making Chicken with Shiitake Marsala for dinner that evening.

"I am just making baked chicken,"  she commented.  "Your dinner sounds too fancy and complicated to make for my family."

"Poppycock," I replied.  (I really didn't say poppycock.  I just like saying poppycock.)  But I did explain to her that making something a little different for dinner was not difficult at all.

Most dinner entrees I prepare (and have posted on my blog) actually can be prepared in about a half hour.  And my dinner making time is usually not a continuous chunk of time as I am also doing laundry, picking someone up from somewhere, and getting ready for the next day's personal chef client all at the same time.  It is not rocket science to prepare a good dinner.  It just takes a little planning to make dinner interesting.

Here is how I get dinner on the table during the week with have a minimum amount of thought and stress on my part.

On Sunday afternoon, I chose 3 entrees to make during the week.  With leftovers and nightly activities, about 3 dinners is a good number for me to prepare between Monday and Friday.  I hit the grocery store with my list and buy everything that will be needed for the meals.  That way, I won't have to run to the store at 5 p.m. with the other harried dinner-makers to pick up a pound of ground beef or a package of mushrooms.

When it comes time to make dinner each night, I tape my recipe to the kitchen cabinet so I can refer to it and note any changes I have made along the way.

Chicken with Shiitake Marsala is a one pan dinner that was a snap to prepare. Don't let the fancy, restaurant-sounding name scare you from making this tender chicken entree with a Marsala sauce loaded with shiitake and crimini mushrooms. All the ingredients are readily available at your local grocery store so picking up the ingredients is a one-stop shop.

Our family enjoyed the Chicken with Shiitake Marsala along with steamed broccoli and cranberry brown rice (1 and 1/4 cups brown rice simmered for 45 minutes in 2 and 1/2 cups chicken stock and tossed with 1/2 cup dried cranberries the last 5 minutes of cooking) that was served along side.

 The most glowing review came from My Oldest.

"Dinner was just bursting with flavors.  From the sweet of the cranberries mixed with the brown rice to the garlic and mushrooms in the sauce on the chicken, it all went together well.  And it was so colorful too."

Sounds like a restaurant review.  Or maybe just an extremely hungry teenager.

Shake up dinner in your kitchen this week.  Give Chicken and Shiitake Marsala a try for your family tonight.

Chicken with Shiitake Marsala

serves 5

olive oil
5 chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each), boneless and skinless halves
salt
pepper
1/2 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 package (3.5 ounces) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 package (10 ounces) crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 cup chicken stock, low sodium
1 medium tomato, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Heat a large saute pan to medium high heat and add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for about 4 - 5 minutes per side or until just barely cooked through.  Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

In the same saute pan over medium high heat, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the chopped onion, garlic, both types of mushrooms, and basil.  Saute for 8 - 10 minutes or until the onions and mushrooms are tender.  Sprinkle with the flour and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in the Marsala wine and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2 - 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens.  Add the tomatoes and the chicken and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or until it is heated through.  Sprinkle with the scallions and serve.