Banana Bread

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

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix 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 the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Nancy's Take:  YUMMY!!  Make it right now.

Beer Can Chicken

Rub
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Chicken
4 pound whole chicken, washed and dried
Vegetable oil
1 (12-ounce) can beer

For the rub:

In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together and use for the grilled chicken. You can store extra rub mixture in an airtight container for up to 6 months. 


For the chicken:
1 Prepare your grill for indirect heat. If you are using charcoal, put the coals on one side of the grill, leaving another side free of coals. If you are using a gas grill, fire up only half of the burners.

2 Remove neck and giblets from cavity of chicken, if the chicken came with them. Rub the chicken all over with olive oil. Mix the rub in a little bowl, then sprinkle it all over the chicken.

3 Make sure the beer can is open, and only half-filled with beer (drink the other half!) If you want, you can put a sprig of thyme (or another herb like rosemary or sage) in the beer can. Lower the chicken on to the open can, so that the chicken is sitting upright, with the can in its cavity. Place the chicken on the cool side of the grill, using the legs and beer can as a tripod to support the chicken on the grill and keep it stable.

4 Cover the grill and walk away. Do not even check the chicken for at least an hour. After an hour, check the chicken and refresh the coals if needed (if you are using a charcoal grill). Keep checking the chicken every 15 minutes or so, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F - 170°F or the breast reads 160°F - 165°F. The total cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken, and the internal temperature of the grill. A 4 lb chicken will usually take around 1 1/2 hours. If you don't have a meat thermometer, a way to tell if the chicken is done is to poke it deeply with a knife (the thigh is a good place to do this), if the juices run clear, not pink, the chicken is done.

5 Carefully transfer the chicken to a tray or pan. I say "carefully" because the beer can, and the beer inside of it, is quite hot. One way to do this is to slide a metal spatula under the bottom of the beer can. Use tongs to hold the top of the chicken. Lift the chicken, beer can still inside, and move it to a tray. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Carefully lift the chicken off of the can. If it gets stuck, lay the chicken on its side, and pull out the can with tongs.
 

Nancy's Take:  Made this for friends - bummed I did not get to eat it!  Looked awesome.  Will make again.

Rosemary Chocolate Chip Shortbread

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cream the butter with sugar using a handheld mixer. Mix in the rosemary, salt, and flour, 1/4 cup at a time. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips, and stir by hand until well-distributed. Gather the dough into a ball. Cook's Note: If the dough begins to soften or feel greasy, chill the dough for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough out into a rectangle of 1/2-inch thickness and cut into rectangles about 1/2-inch by 2-inch. Place the dough on a cold ungreased baking sheet. Prick the top with a fork. Bake the shortbread for 25 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn a golden color. Remove the shortbread from the baking sheet and let cool completely on a rack.

Nancy's Take:  Loved it - and so did the friends I made it for.  The rosemary adds a unique taste - you could omit it if you don't like it.  A great base for so many other ideas........  lemon, lavender, almond...............

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

I don't bake cookies or cakes very often.  Today I wanted to make a different cookie - not the traditional chocolate chip cookie.  I saw this recipe on a blog I enjoy and it looked super yummy!!


1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of Nutella
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts
 
1 Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter in an electric mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and Nutella and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. 

2 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the vanilla and mix for 10 seconds.

3 Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda (do not skip this step as sifting eliminates clumps of cocoa). Mix into the butter mixture on low speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides at least once to ensure even mixing. Fold in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes. 

4 Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

Dave's Take:  He LOVED them!



Nancy's Take:  Terrific!!  A glass of milk and you are done.  Everyone loved them from my parents to the kids.  Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

Cold Oven Pound Cake

Today I wanted to bake with my little girl, Erin.  So, we made a wonderful pound cake recipe.  It makes a nice dessert or even breakfast bread. 

3	cups cake flour
1/2	teaspoon baking powder
1	teaspoon salt
1	cup whole milk
2	teaspoons vanilla extract
20	tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened
2 1/2	cups sugar
6	large eggs

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Grease and flour 16-cup tube pan. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Whisk milk and vanilla in measuring cup. 

2. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of milk mixture. Mix on low until smooth, about 30 seconds. Use rubber spatula to give batter final stir. 

3. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Place cake in cold oven. Adjust oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake, without opening oven door, until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65 to 80 minutes. 

4. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve. (Cooled cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

Dying to know why a cold oven makes the difference?? A Cold Oven Really Makes a Difference Curiosity led us to try baking our Cold-Oven Pound Cake in a preheated oven. The cake baked more quickly (no surprise), but it was squat and lacked the thick crust we’d come to expect. Evidently, the hot oven stopped the small amount of leavener in our recipe before its work was done. And it turns out the crust on our Cold-Oven Pound Cake is formed by moisture in the oven reacting with starch in the batter. A hot oven is drier than a cold oven (heat evaporates moisture), so there wasn’t enough moisture in the preheated oven to form a nice, thick crust.

Dave's Take:  Another slice please!

Nancy's Take:  Everyone loved it!!!  Super easy and tastes just great!

Salsa Verde

2 cans tomatillos  - drained                                   
1/2 onion  - quartered                                         
1-2 jalapeño peppers                                           
2 cloves garlic                                                
Lime juice of 1/2 lime                                         
1/2 teaspoon salt                                              
5-6 sprigs cilantro                                            

Put all of this into the food processor and just process until you get the right consistency. 

Easy as pie.


Nancy's Take:  AWESOME!!  The trick is salt and lime - and a little kick.  I know it is right when my shoulders bounce up and down with delight.

Roasted Orange Chicken

8 skinless boneless chicken breasts                            
Salt                                                           
Black pepper                                                   
1 cup orange marmalade                                         
1 tablespoon soy sauce                                         
1 teaspoon liquid smoke                                        

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray.

Season chicken all over with salt and black pepper. Arrange chicken in prepared pan and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine orange marmalade, soy sauce and liquid smoke. Mix until blended. Pour mixture over chicken.

Roast 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Serve 4 chicken breast halves with this meal and refrigerate remaining chicken until ready to use.

Turkey Breast

4-6 pounds turkey breast - bone in our out - I always use bone-in.                     
2 cups white wine - I have substituted chicken stock                                                                              
1 onion                                                        
Black pepper                                                   
Salt                                                           

Unwrap the turkey breast and pat it dry with paper towels. Susan taught me this. If desired, cut off the skin with poultry shears, and discard.  Salt and pepper the breast liberally.

Plop it, breast-side down into the crockpot. Wash your hands well.

Cut up an onion coarsely and push some pieces down next to the turkey and put a few in the rib cavity. Add the stick of butter.  Pour the wine over the top.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. Use a meat thermometer to test doneness--it should register at 170°.

Remove from crockpot, and let sit for about 20 minutes before carving. The meat will be much more tender than if cooked in an oven.


Nancy's Take:  One of my FAVORITE crock-pot recipes.  Just delicious.  Meat can then be used for a varitey of casserole type things - or tacos - or just with rice and veggies.  So easy and tastes just wonderful.

Dave's Take:  He is out of town, but he likes it a lot.   Don't you miss his wit.............

Buttermilk Pancakes

These are the best pancakes ever!!  The recipe is from Cooks Illustrated and there are a few twists that were different from any pancake recipe I'd ever made - which was probably off the back of a Bisquick box.  But, last year our pancake eating went up significantly and these became my specialty!  They are good with syrup - my girls prefer them with jam or preserves.  Sometimes to save time in the morning I would gather all my dry ingredients ahead of time so things were ready for a quick prep.

2 cups flour                                                    
2 tablespoons sugar                                            
1/2 teaspoon salt                                              
1 teaspoon baking powder                                       
1/2 teaspoon baking soda                                       
2 cups buttermilk                                              
1/4 cup sour cream                                             
2 larges eggs                                                  
3 tablespoons melted butter                                    
1-2 teaspoons oils                                             

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Spray wire rack set inside baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; place in oven.

Whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in medium bowl.

In second medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, and melted butter.

Make well in center of dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients; gently stir until just combined (batter should remain lumpy with few streaks of flour). Do not overmix.

Allow batter to sit 10 minutes before cooking.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Using ¼ cup measure, portion batter into pan in 4 places. Cook until edges are set, first side is golden brown, and bubbles on surface are just beginning to break, 2 to 3 minutes. Using thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Serve pancakes immediately, or transfer to wire rack in preheated oven. Repeat with remaining batter, using remaining oil as necessary.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe is one of our favorites.  It is a mildly annoying to make - so many ingredients and takes a while to make.  But, this time I tried to do as much in advance as possible, and that helped.  Even just measuring out spices and cutting the onion ahead of time.  It is one of Dave's all-time-favorites!  The gets super excited when I make it.  It is copied from Cooks Illustrated.
 
1/2 teaspoon cumin                                             
1/2 teaspoon coriander                                         
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper                                    
1 teaspoon salt                                                
2 pounds chicken breasts - skinless                            
1 cup plain yogurt                                             
2 tablespoons vegetable oil                                    
2 cloves garlic - minced - or crushed                          
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger       
                        
SAUCE                                                          
3 tablespoons vegetable oil                                    
1 medium onion - diced finely                                  
2 cloves garlic - minced or crushed                            
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger                                
1 serrano chile - ribs and seeds removed - flesh minced        
1 tablespoon tomato paste                                      
1 tablespoon garam masala                                      
28 ounces crushed tomatoes                                     
2 teaspoons sugar                                              
1/2 teaspoon salt                                              
2/3 cup heavy cream                                            
1/4 cup chopped cilantro                                       

1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.

2. FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.

Jambalaya

It is almost Fat Tuesday - which means Jambalaya!!  This is a great recipe to make on Sunday and have throughout the week for lunches.  So yummy and not too tricky to make.

3 cups chicken broth                                           
3-4 pound whole chicken - I used a chicken from Costco         
2 medium onions chopped                                        
3 cloves minced garlic                                         
2 tablespoons coarse salt                                      
28 ounces canned whole pealed tomatoes                         
1 tablespoon allspice                                          
1 tablespoon thyme                                             
1 teaspoon basil                                               
1 teaspoon oregano                                             
1 teaspoon hot sauce                                           
1/4 cup vegetable oil                                          
1 1/2 cups celery                                              
1 green bell pepper chopped                                    
2 pounds kielbasa or andouille sausage, sliced - turkey sausage works fine

2 cups long grain rice                                          

1 pound medium shrimp peeled, deveined and tails removed - I omit the shrimp often...
1 red bell pepper chopped                                      

In a large dutch oven, combine chicken broth, tomatoes, allspice, thyme, basil, oregano, and hot sauce over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery, chopped onions, bell peppers, and minced garlic. Cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes; add to Dutch-oven.

In the same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over high heat; add sausage, and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to Dutch-oven. Add shredded chicken, rice, and salt; simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add shrimp, and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand for a few minutes, and serve.

Carnitas

3 pound pork roast

5 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
12 ounces Beer

• Place pork roast in bottom of slow cooker.
• Toss the pepper, salt, jalapeno and garlic together.
• Spread around and over roast.
• Pour beer over everything.
• Cover and cook on high 5-6 hours until pork is tender and fork pulls easily.
• Serve with warm tortillas, your favorite toppings and salsa.

Nancy:  This was great!!  So super easy and so wonderfully delicious!  I'll definitely make it again - and the kids are already asking for it!  They seem to want everything taco style lately!  I even found really tasty whole wheat tortillas we've been enjoying.  I'll try to spice it up a bit next time.  I did not have a jalapeno, so we did not include that in the recipe.  From the looks of this blog, we eat a lot of pork!  That was not until this blog started - not sure what's going on that I keep making it, but my kids are loving it!

Dave: What a welcome change to taco night.  The pork was tender and the girls DEVOURED it.  They ask for seconds and finished.  I really liked it too.  The carnitas along with avocado, salsa, cheese, beans, and rice made great tacos.  The one thing I would suggest for next time is that the carnitas when all by itself was a bit bland.  I think some spices (not too much but some) would go along way, just like the ground beef usually has some taco spices.  I don't think this should permanently replace ground beef for taco night, but alternating or switching it up with this carnitas recipe every now and then would be a good thing.

BBQ Pulled Pork

4 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)
2 large sliced onions
1 cup ginger ale
1 bottle favorite BBQ sauce - I bought based on the label I liked best - used a bottle of spicy and sweet because I had to make a larger roast to serve more people...
Barbecue sauce, for serving

Place one onion in crock pot. Put in the roast & cover with the other onion. Add ginger ale. Cover/cook on LOW for about 12 hours. I had to start mine on high due to time constraints... Then cooked on low... Just don't check on it too often - you lose a lot of heat every time you open the crock pot.

Remove the meat, strain and save the onions, discard all liquid. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding remaining fat, bones or skin. Most of the fat will melt away.

Return the shredded meat and the onions to the crock pot, stir in the barbecue sauce. Continue to cook for a few hours on LOW.

Serve w/ buns or rolls and bbq sauce. Leftovers freeze well.

TIP: freeze ready-made sandwiches - a scoop of meat on a bun, well-wrapped. To reheat, remove wrapping, wrap in a paper towel, and zap 1-2 minute in microwave.

Note: Shoulder or butt are recommended because the meat shreds very well. I used a Boneless Boston Butt – and it was great! The bone is no big deal – but buy more than you think you’ll need, as the bone is weighty.

Note 2: If you have a newer or bigger crock pot, you may need to revise times downward, esp. after the bbq sauce is added.

Note 3: Turn the roast over after it's cooked a while, to ensure more even cooking.

Nancy's Take: Yummy! I really liked it and have nothing bad to say about it! I think it would be yummy on a flour tortilla with crispy onions and maybe pickles! But, a real winner – my entire family enjoyed it. It also reheated very nice. I might make a batch and have Dave take it to work for lunches periodically.

Dave's Take: This was a winner. The pork was extremely tender, the onions added a tangy sweetness and the sauce was a hit. It was a combination of both a sweet and hot BBQ sauce. And that made me wonder, how much of this execution was actually determined by the selection of the sauce? I bet you could have very tender pork and everything could be great but if you choose the wrong sauce I bet you could spoil the whole thing. But, not today!! Nancy told me that her selection of sauce in the supermarket was based entirely on the label and its marketing presentation on the shelf. There was an old black gentleman and Nancy said “that guy looks like he knows how to make BBQ”. And low and behold, he did. I would recommend this recipe along with a mixture of mild and spicy Stub’s Texas BBQ sauce.