Banana Muffins

Yes, I know I've done a banana bread recipe before. It was a basic recipe, and I didn't even have a picture. Or if I did, it got lost somewhere, and I didn't post it. Same difference. And while that recipe was good, I like experimenting. So I found this recipe for Coconut Banana bread. That sounded a little weird, but I went with it. I did omit the coconut itself, so the bread doesn't have a very coconut flavor, but I had all the other ingredients on hand, and figured, why not?

So, I give you a twist on the typical banana bread recipe. Enjoy!

Banana Muffins
Adapted from Fat Girl Trapped In a Skinny Body

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (use all purpose and increase baking soda to 1 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, mix the applesauce and sugar. Add the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Mix in the mashed banana and coconut milk. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Incorporate into the wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined.

Pour the batter into prepared pan*, and bake according to the directions below.

*For muffins, line a muffin tin with liners, or grease well. Bake muffins for 15 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For mini loaves, grease the pans well. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For 9 by 5 loaf pan, grease the pan well. Bake for about 1 hour, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My Notes:
If you want to add the coconut, the original recipe recommends mixing in 1 cup shredded coconut at the end. I think almonds might make a good addition to this recipe too, if you're the type of person who typically likes banana walnut bread.

These muffins are super moist, and delightful. They are still very banana-y, but have a depth of flavor beyond that of regular banana bread. I'm not sure if I'll keep this recipe as is, as I don't buy coconut milk too often (I happened to have it on hand because I wanted to make a Thai dish a while back), but never quite got around to it. I'm also not convinced of the supposed 'health benefits' of coconut milk that everyone is touting recently, but that's another story.

As for what to do with the leftover coconut milk... why not make up a small batch of my Indian Chicken Curry? I might come out with a few more recipes soon using coconut milk, so stay tuned!

Ranch Snack Mix

Ranch Snack Mix
Modified from Lick The Bowl Good

3 cups cheddar crackers
3 cups pretzels
2 cups oyster (soup) crackers
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 envelope (3 Tbsp) Ranch dressing mix.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Combine crackers, pretzels, and peanuts in a large bowl. Combine melted butter, Worcestershire and ranch dressing mix. Pour over cracker mixture, tossing to coat.

Place all crackers in a shallow roasting dish. Bake 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
Regarding the choice of crackers: I remember seeing a recipe a while ago in which you toss oyster crackers in oil and some seasoning, and they supposedly are like crack. So I bought them do basically do that. Then I stumbled across this recipe, and decided to give it a shot. It's similar to Chex mix, but with different cracker base and ranch flavoring. Still, you can really use whatever you want. The original recipe focuses on goldfish crackers. I went with more of a Cheez-it cracker. Mix and match to meet your preferences.

It's really good. You won't regret it.

Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Modified from Bev Cooks

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken
1 can sweet corn, drained and rinsed
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2-3 Tbsp chipotle en adobo** (depending on your desired spice)
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 Tbsp Lime juice
1 Tbsp cumin
1 head Bibb lettuce, rinsed with leaves separated.

Dice chicken into fine pieces. Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet, then add chicken. Season with salt and pepper and cook through. Add in corn and bell pepper. Heat through.

In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, chipotle sauce, lime juice, and cumin. Stir to combine. Pour over chicken mixture. Toss to combine and heat through.

Serve a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture in each lettuce leaf.

My Notes:
**So when I buy a can of chipotles en adobo sauce, I always puree everything, the peppers and sauce, to create a thin paste. I then use this in my recipes. The original recipe calls for 2-3 peppers with a tablespoon of the sauce.

I used a combination of chicken breast and thigh, because I didn't have enough breast to make the recipe. I also used orange and yellow bell peppers, because I happened to have some left over in my freezer from when they were on sale a while back.

Overall, this recipe is a keeper. The sweetness of the corn offsets the spiciness of the dish, and the lettuce offers a fresh bite. It was delicious.

Peanut Butter Dip

I'm not dead, I promise. I've just been a bit busy the past couple months... and pretty much without a kitchen. It's on the more difficult side to cook without a kitchen. First, I went to Europe and visited my mom. And while she does have a kitchen, we spent much of that time either eating out or eating at friend's houses, so I didn't get much of a chance to actually use the kitchen there. Then I was with my dad, and I just feel bad using his kitchen for experimentation. Especially since he sleeps during the day. One of these days, I'll actually make dinner for them, but for now, I just make quick snacks for lunch.

Then, I went away for my Surgery rotation, and stayed in a dorm room. Which wasn't bad, because they gave us $22.50 per diem in the cafeteria. Which was bad because I ate cafeteria food every day for a month. Bleh.

Now, I'm finally back home in my own kitchen, though I'm still on Surgery, so the time I have available for cooking is rather limited. So this month's recipes will likely be very basic. Except for maybe some Spinach-Artichoke Pasta, which I've been dying to try for ages. We'll see how that works out.

Without further ado... the recipe.



Peanut Butter Dip
Originally found at FitSugar.com

1 5.3 oz container vanilla greek yogurt
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp honey

Mix all ingredients until well combined. Enjoy with apples or other fruits. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

My Notes:
I found this recipe on Pinterest, of course, and it seemed like a really good idea to add some additional nutrients to peanut butter. I was a bit hesitant to try it, because I don't really like Greek Yogurt on its own, but it was absolutely amazing. As in, I basically ate the whole batch in one sitting. With apples, of course. I have a couple more recipes to try with greek yogurt, so I think I'm going to buy a big container of it, just to have handy for this recipe. That's how obsessed I am with it. I bet it'd make a great frozen yogurt treat too!

Rock Candy

Do not, like me, get confused with the name of this candy. It's just a hard candy, not the rock candy that you make as a kid with a sugar solution and a stick.

Now that we're clear on that...

Rock Candy
From Mrs. Bourke's kitchen

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon flavoring (use LorAnn candy oils, not regular extracts, which aren't strong enough)
food coloring
powdered sugar

Heat the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan over high heat. Heat until the mixture reaches 320*F, the hard crack stage. Mix in flavoring and food coloring quickly, then pour into a well oiled jelly roll pan. Allow to cool slightly, until it can be handled, but is still soft. Using a pair of clean scissors, cut the candy into manageable pieces, then cut into bite-sized pieces over a container of powdered sugar. Cool completely, then sift out of the powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
One of my friends has had this tradition in his family for years, where the whole family gets together one day and makes a ton of this rock candy. This year, my friend invited a bunch of people from school to help out. Total, we made 21 batches of this stuff, in various flavors, including spearmint, wintergreen, peppermint, cinnamon, licorice, and sassafras. It was a ton of fun, and afterwards, we had a fight with all the leftover powdered sugar.

Be warned, though, once the candy starts to harden, it doesn't really stop, so you have to work fast. Thus, it helps to have a ton of people around to help cut. Like this:



Yes, we did end up having fun with all that powdered sugar :)