Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I am a huge sucker for banana bread! It's funny, since I'm not a big fan of bananas themselves. There's just something about the crunchy exterior and the moist, sweet interior that have me reaching for seconds, then thirds... My sweet little two year old is obsessed with chocolate chips (generally hateful towards bananas), so I've sweetened the pot by adding them to my go-to banana bread recipe (I had to scrap the pecans since my sweetie won't go near them). The result is good enough to be called dessert!

Yields: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 stick plus two tablespoons of butter

2 cups of all-purpose flour

3/4 cups sugar

2 tbsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 overripe bananas

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup toasted pecan chips (optional)

Assembly:

Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Cream butter and sugar over medium speed. Add the bananas, vanilla, sour cream and eggs, continuing to mix on medium speed. Sift in the salt, flour, baking soda, and baking powder, mixing to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle with pecan chips (optional). Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until top is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Blueberry Muffins with Cinnamon-Streusel Crunch

Do you know anyone who doesn't love a good blueberry muffin? I don't! My husband isn't a big fruit eater, but he goes bananas for these yummy muffins filled with plump berries and topped with a rich, brown sugar crust. I honestly think that it's the streusel that knocks these out of the park. Try it with other muffin recipes too; you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

Muffin:

1 stick of softened butter

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Streusel Topping:

2/3 cups light brown sugar

4 tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 tbsp. flour

1 pinch of Kosher salt

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin or line the cups with paper liners. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add 1 cup of the sugar and mix. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt and mix. In a shallow bowl, mash 3/4 cup of the blueberries with the back of a fork. Add to the batter and mix. With the mixer running at low speed, add 1/2 of the flour, then 1/2 of the milk, and mix. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Fold in the remaining 1 3/4 cups whole blueberries by hand until well mixed. In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Combine the streusel ingredients and break up lumps with a fork. Sprinkle the cinnamon streusel over the muffins and bake until golden brown and risen, 25 to 30 minutes.

Chocolate-Hazelnut and Strawberry-Cream Cheese Crepes

There is seriously nothing better than some delicious homemade crepes to start off your morning (or even end your day!). Every now and then I make these for my husband either for brunch or a weekday dinner. The cream cheese/strawberries and chocolate compliment each other beautifully and ooze delightfully out of each crepe. Add some ice cream and you have an amazing dessert! They are light, fluffy thin pancakes that can be served with either savory or sweet accompaniments. This is a great recipe to get your kids involved with; they can be in charge of filling their own crepes and adding different toppings. This recipe is a showstopper, but it is surprisingly simple to make. Just get your basic crepe making technique down, and the possibilities will be endless!

Servings: approximately 10 crepes

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup flour
3 tbsp. melted butter
strawberry sauce (search for this recipe in the sidebar)
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup Nutella
fresh strawberries
whipped cream (search for this recipe in the sidebar)


Assembly:
Combine milk, water, flour, butter and eggs in blender and mix for 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. Microwave Nutella and cream cheese in separate bowls until soft (about 20 seconds). In a small, nonstick skillet heated on medium, pour in 1/4 cup of the batter and swirl around the pan. When the sides begin to crinkle, scoop this crepe into the garbage (you always want to toss your first crepe!). Pour another 1/4 cup in and swirl. After 1 minute, flip and cook another 30-45 seconds. Remove to a plate. Repeat until you have used all of your batter. While you are making crepes, spread a tablespoon of Nutella onto a crepe and roll it. Do the same for the cream cheese, adding 1 tablespoon of strawberry sauce before rolling. Garnish with fresh strawberries and whipped cream and serve immediately.

Breakfast for Dinner: Home Fries with Eggs and Sausage

One of my favorite things is breakfast for dinner. There's just something so enjoyable about eating a good breakfast food in the evening... I make this dish when we're in the mood for something savory and crepes when we're in the mood for something sweet (my crepe recipe will be up soon, so keep watching!). This potato and egg dish is one of my favorites to serve if I've had a rough day and can be easily whipped up when you're running low on groceries.

I probably should note that most of the recipes on this blog serve 2-3 people (this doesn't include desserts). Unless otherwise noted, you can go ahead and assume that these recipes will make enough to feed two adults with a little left over for a snack later!

Home Fries:
2 small to medium sized Idaho potatoes, washed, dried and diced (skin on)
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/4 red pepper, chopped
1/4 green pepper, chopped
salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper (a good few shakes will give these potatoes a nice zip!)
paprika (a dash of this give these potatoes a little smokiness and great color)
3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Heat oil on high in a medium sized pan and add diced potatoes. Add vegetables and cook for several minutes to allow potatoes to brown on the bottom. Flip potatoes/vegetables and add spices, cooking for five or so more minutes. Stir and lower heat to low, adding a cover to the pan. Cook for approximately five minutes (this step will soften the potatoes and eliminates a parboiling step prior to adding them to the pan). Remove cover and cook 10-15 minutes on medium heat to desired crispiness.

Assembly:
Fry two eggs any way you'd like (scrambled with cheese is a yummy alternative). Typically we saute some mushrooms to sandwich between the potatoes and eggs and add shredded colby-jack cheese before topping with eggs. This dish is delicious with bacon/sausage/ham or just plain meatless. You can also incorporate bacon, sausage or ham into the dish by cooking, dicing and adding it with the cheese before topping with eggs. Yum!