Peppermint Ice Cream

I had this several times at Christmas time.  So, so good!  Make sure you use hard peppermint candies, NOT candy canes.  We made that mistake and ate ice cream that tasted like toothpaste!

Peppermint Ice Cream

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ice Cream Maker Time: 25-30 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups  heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
3/4 cup crushed hard peppermint candies
1/2 cup chocolate chunks (optional)

Directions:

Mix milk and sugar together until the sugar dissolves completely.  Add heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and peppermint extract and stir until completely blended.

Pour this mixture into your ice cream maker.

Add crushed hard peppermint candy to churning mixture.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

To watch this Video-Recipe please click HERE!

Hi everyone!
Today I'm bringing you another vegetarian Dish! This one is my Favorite vegetarian dish of all times! It is super easy to make and the flavors are just amazing! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Serves 3 (as a main dish, and 6+ as a side dish)
Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower (2 or 2½ lbs)
• 2 lbs. Broccoli
• 2/3 cup chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups of Parmesan cheese
• ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups Italian bread crumbs

(I will be using my fresh Italian Breadcrumbs, recipe follows:)

• 3-4 slices of whole wheat bread (sandwich bread)(use white bread if desired)
• ½ cup fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 ½ tablespoons Italian seasoning

Preheat the oven to 450ºF

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into bite size pieces. Cook them in boiling, salted water for 5-8 minutes or until Al Dente.  Drain and set aside.

To make the bread crumbs:
In a mixer or food processor, blend the bread, parsley, garlic and Italian seasoning. Blend on high, until you get a coarse crumbs texture.

In a small pan, or skillet, melt the butter,  and brown the the bread crumbs, cook them for about 2-3 minutes or until they get a nice brown color. (This will also cook the garlic, and the heat will allow the bread crumbs to absorb all the awesome flavor  and oil from the garlic!) Set them aside for a minute.

In another skillet, heat up about ½ tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes or until it becomes transparent.  Add in the cooked broccoli and cauliflower, toss together and season with half the bread crumbs, and ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, give it a stir, taste the flavor and add any salt or black pepper if needed. (do not add too much salt, remember we will still top it with the rest of the cheese)

Give it one last toss and add the rest of the breadcrumbs over the vegetables and cover with the rest of Parmesan cheese and bake  at 450ºF for 5-6 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has a nice golden brown color!

And that's it. Enjoy!

Grilled Island Chicken

pic courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe

I made this last week and it was really good! It was different from the regular old soy sauce-type marinade (even though this has soy sauce in it). It's a great summer meal.

Grilled Island Chicken
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe 


*Serves 2-4, depending on how many chicken breasts are marinaded

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons)
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-4 chicken breasts
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients except chicken in a mixing bowl or large airtight plastic bag. Whisk or shake well until the marinade is well mixed. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl or plastic bag so that they are covered by the marinade. If using a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap. If using a plastic bag, press out all the excess air and seal the bag tightly. Refrigerate and marinate up to 10 hours (I would suggest marinading for at least 3 hours at the minimum).
Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Grill the chicken for 6-7 minutes per side (depending on how thick the chicken breasts are), until the chicken is no longer pink in the center (if you have a meat thermometer, the chicken should register 165 degrees). Tent with foil and let the chicken rest for about five minutes before serving.
Alternately, the chicken can be baked using the following directions:
When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and pour the excess marinade over them. Bake in the oven until cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165° F, about 45 minutes (exact baking time will depend on the size of your chicken pieces.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Lemon Cornmeal Crisps

I am so excited to finally share this recipe with you! A while ago (oh, geeze, can it really have been over two years ago!?!), I shared a recipe with you for lemon cornmeal cookies. In that post, I detailed how I had been fiddling with two different recipes. The recipe I previously posted makes a light, tender, lemony cookie that is sweet and - most definitely - a cookie. The other recipe, which I am sharing today, is a cookie-like crisp that is less sweet, more crispy, and has some resemblance to a thin, crispy cracker. Although the basic flavors of the two are the same, the end result is quite different, and I absolutely adore them both!

I am trying to come up with the best way to describe the texture of these lemon cornmeal crisps. If you look at the following picture, showing the top and bottom of the crisps, you can see they almost look like really thick tuile cookies. And in a way, they fit that bill. These crisps are snappy and delicious!

I mix the dough in a food processor. The procedure for making this dough is very similar to making pie crust. I love the wonderful texture and flavor that cornmeal adds!

After mixing the dry ingredients (including the sugar), add the cold butter (cut into cubes) and the lemon zest. Pulse just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix the buttermilk and vanilla together and then add to the processor, only working the dough until it just starts to pull together. A word of caution: this dough is quite a bit stickier than regular pie crust due to the high sugar content. If you dampen your hands before handling it, it helps a bit.

Dump the dough onto the counter and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours. Longer tends to be better in the case of this dough. Again, it's a bit sticky, but as it sits in the refrigerator, the cornmeal hydrates and results in a less sticky dough. When you are ready to cut the cookies, cut the dough into four sections so you can work with a small amount at a time. Keep the remaining parts refrigerated until you are ready for them.

Prepare sheet trays with parchment and preheat the oven to 375° F. The crisps don't spread too much, so you can place them fairly close together (closer even than I show in this picture).

The big thing is to roll them thin!! Again, this dough can be a little tricky to work with, but I promise the end result is worth it. Just roll them as thinly as you can while still having the dough maintain its integrity.

The last step, if you're so inclined, is to sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar. I really like the added crunch this adds to the crisp, but it is entirely optional. I also like how it adds a little sparkle to the crisps. In the photo below, the crisp on the left is naked while the one on the right was sprinkled with sanding sugar.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are nicely golden. The crisps will not brown evenly and they will burn on the edges before the centers become golden, so keep an eye on them. Like any cookie this thin, once they start to brown at all, keep a close eye on them; they can go from "not yet" to "oh no!" in a matter of moments. Let the cookies cool briefly on the sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Strangely enough, I find I prefer these cookies after they have had a chance to sit a few days. This can be a wonderful thing as they make great gifts that can be made ahead of time.

Lemon Cornmeal Crisps

Yield: approx 60 - 2 1/2 inch rounds

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

sanding sugar (optional)

In a food processor, pulse together the first four ingredients. Add the butter and lemon zest and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix together the buttermilk and vanilla and add to the processor, mixing only until the dough starts to come together. Dump the dough out and shape it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours. For easier dough handling, longer refrigeration is better.

When ready to bake, cut the dough disk into four pieces. Rolling one piece at a time, keep the remainder refrigerated until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Roll the dough out as thinly as you can. This dough can be a bit tricky and you will want to use plenty of flour to keep it manageable. I cut mine into 2 1/2 inch rounds, but you can cut them in any shape you desire. Sprinkle with sanding sugar if you want a shiny, crispy top to the crisps. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the crisps are nicely golden around the edges. They will not brown evenly; the edges will become too done before the center turns golden, so keep an eye on them. Cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container for up to ten days. These crisps actually taste best two or three days after they are baked.

Old Fashion Apple Pie

To watch this Video-Recipe please click HERE!!

Hi everyone! Today's recipe is an "Old Fashion Apple Pie", very easy to make, no fancy flavors or ingredients, just apples, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and few other ingredients. It is really simple to make but it does require a lot of time. Preparation time is about 20-30 minutes, plus 30 minutes to 1 hour of waiting for the dough to chill and 1 hour of baking. So that's about 2:30 hours total. But every minute is worth it!

Makes 1 9in Pie.
Ingredients for the Crust.

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup COLD unsalted butter,
• 3 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
• 5-6 tablespoons cold water (start with 5, add 1 more if necessary)

Ingredients for the Apple Filling:

• 6 green apples (about 2½ lbs.) ( I used Granny Smith apples)
• 1½ tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon  unsalted butter
• 1 egg + ½ tablespoon sugar

To make the crust:
In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients:  (2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, mix well.)

Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the dry ingredients.  Also add in the Vegetable shortening, mix everything with a fork, your hands or in a electric mixer; mix until you get the texture of coarse crumbs.  Then add in the water, one tablespoon at a time. Mix until you get a nice soft dough. But do not over mix.

**Remember, it is very important that the butter, vegetable shortening and water are cold. Cold ingredients will give your crust a nice flaky texture.

Make a ball with the dough, and refrigerate  it for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before using it.

30 minutes before you start baking the pie, Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
 
To make the Apple filling:

Wash, peel, core and slice the apples. My slices are about ½ - ¼in thick.  Sprinkle  the apple slices with 1½ tablespoons of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of salt, the zest of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, mix everything together until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.

After 30 minutes -1 hour.
Get the dough from the refrigerator and cut it in two section. Make one section slightly bigger than the other one.
Roll out the larger section of dough, on a floured surface. roll it out enough to cover a 9in pie pan.
Line the pan with the pastry and using a small knife cut any excess dough.

Fill the pie with the apple filling, try to arrange the apples in an even layer.  Dot 1 tablespoon of butter over the apple filling and set a side for a minute.

Roll out the rest of the dough, roll it out enough to cover the pie.

Make an egg wash, beat 1 egg and ½ tablespoon of sugar together, whisk together until well combined.

Brush the edges of the pie pastry with the egg wash. Then place the remaining pastry over  the apple filling and with a small knife remove any extra dough and press around the edges with your thumbs to seal both pastries together.

( To make sure my pie is completely sealed, I usually press down both pastries with my thumbs,  then fold them inwards then press down all around the edges with my thumbs again.)

Brush the surface of your pie with the egg wash. And with a small knife make a small cut on the top of the pastry to let the steam out.

Bake at 450ºF for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350ºF and continue to bake for 40-45 minutes or until the apples are nice and soft and the crust is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Orange Dream Fudge

photo from realmomkitchen Imagine a creamsicle that doesn't melt at room temperature.  You got it-amazing! Orange Dream Fudge Recipe from realmomkitchen

o    3/4 cup butter

o    3 cups sugar

o    3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

o    1 (10-12 oz) package vanilla or white chips

o    1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow crème

o    1Tbsp orange extract

o    12 drops yellow food coloring

o    5 drops red food coloring

1.       Line a 13×9 in. pan with foil and grease with butter; set aside.

2.      In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, heavy cream, and butter. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved (this is a key step)

3.      Once sugar is dissolved, bring to a boil over medium heat; cook & stir for 4 minutes.

4.      Remove from heat; stir in chips and marshmallow crème till smooth.

5.      Remove one cup from the mixture and set aside.

6.      Add orange extract and food coloring to remaining mixture; stir until blended.

7.      Pour the orange mixture into prepared pan.

8.     Drop reserved marshmallow mixture by tablespoonfuls over the top; cut through with a knife to swirl.

9.      Cover & refrigerate until set. Using foil, remove from pan and cut into squares.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry

To watch this Video-Recipe click HERE!!

Hi Everyone!
Today's recipe is another Asian Inspired dish! "Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry", it's really good, and very easy to make, it does take some time, but every minute is worth it! I hope you give it a try!

Serves: 4-5
Ingredients for the  Sweet and Sour Sauce.
1/2 cup of rice vinegar
5 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons ketchup
1 cup water
pinch Crushed red pepper
1 tablespoons cornstarch

Ingredients for the Stir Fry:
2 large chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 onion cut in large chunks
2 cups Bell peppers, cut about the same size as the onions chunks
1 carrot also cut in chunks
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil
1-2 tablespoons of Asian Seasoning (if you don't have this, you can use Ginger and Garlic powder)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Ingredients to marinate the chicken: (Optional)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Mirin (Japanese Rice Wine)
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Asian seasoning

**Marinate the chicken pieces with: 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Mirin, 1 tablespoons of Asian seasoning, a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Mix well and marinate for at least 10 minutes.  (If you don't want to marinate the chicken, just season it with Asian seasoning, salt and ground black pepper. Set aside for a minute.)

To make the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
In a sauce pan on medium-low heat, add in 1/2 cup  of rice vinegar, 1 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 5 tablespoons of sugar, 6 tablespoons of ketchup, and a pinch of crushed red pepper, mix well and bring to a boil. (it will take about 8-10 minutes to boil.) Set aside until ready to use.

To make the stir fry:
In a skillet or wok, add 1 tablespoon of  vegetable oil, minced ginger and garlic, cook on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes or until the garlic becomes transparent  and the ginger becomes aromatic.

After 2 minutes or so, add in the chicken, and stir fry for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken, ginger and garlic from the skillet, and set it aside for a moment. (Don't worry if the chicken isn't cooked completely. It will finish cooking in the sauce later.)

Reheat the same skillet and and 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil, add in the onion, carrots and bell peppers,  season with ½ tablespoon of Asian seasoning and stir fry for 3-5 minutes. (I like my veggies to have a little crunch, so I only stir fried them for about 3 minutes. If you want them softer
stir fry for 5-6 minutes.) Remove the vegetables from the skillet and set them aside with the chicken.

In the same skillet on medium heat, add in the sweet and sour sauce,  and also add in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, whisk together, until the cornstarch is dissolved and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the sauce has reduced to half.

Add the chicken and vegetables back into the sauce, stir  together, make sure all the ingredients are well coated with the sauce and continue to cook for about 3-5 more minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked. Serve at once.

Serve with white/brown rice or over rice noodles, garnish with green onions.
Enjoy!

Coffee Liqueur

Sometimes it makes me chuckle at how much I enjoy making homemade liqueurs considering I'm not a huge fan of drinking them. But they make wonderful gifts and I enjoy using them to make other homemade goodies taste even better.

Take this coffee liqueur, for instance. I don't drink coffee, but I do love a good dark chocolate, coffee truffle. You can make this coffee liqueur much more cheaply than you can buy a bottle of the good stuff. The other nice thing about this liqueur, unlike the blackberry I posted earlier, is that it can be made, start to finish, in less than a week. How's that for handy!?!

Coffee Liqueur

Yield: approximately 4 cups

2 2/3 cup vodka

2 cups whole French vanilla coffee beans

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Dump the coffee beans into a large glass jar with a tightly fitting lid. Pour the room-temperature vodka over the beans. Put the lid on the jar, swirl to mix and then set in a cool, dark place to steep for five days, swirling occasionally.

After the five days, the vodka should be quite dark. If it is not, give the mixture another day or two to sit. I wouldn't recommend letting the mixture sit over two weeks, at the maximum. Strain the vodka, first with a colander and then through a couple of coffee filters to ensure a nice, clear product.

Heat the sugar and water just until the sugar melts. Let this mixture cool to room temperature. Pour into the strained vodka and stir. Decant into pretty bottles and enjoy!

NOTE: Obviously, the quality of vodka you choose to use in this recipe will affect the outcome. It all depends on what you intend to do with the final result. If you are looking for a fine sipping liqueur, then buy the best quality vodka you can afford. If you are making this recipe to use as an ingredient in other products, you can get by with the cheap stuff.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

This has been quite a week. After driving two days with my horse from Florida to Virginia, and dropping her off to live with a good friend, I've been looking at potential rental homes in the Washington DC area. We're moving there later this summer and are trying to get our ducks in a row. Although there's been very little cooking, there has been a lot of good eating! It has inspired me and I am excited to get back home and start cooking and baking again.

This is a recipe I have made quite a bit. I often make it to give to friends as a thank you gift. It is beautiful and it has a wonderful soft, spongy texture with a fantastic lemon kick. I think I could eat this cake day in and day out and never get sick of it.

Making this cake is a little more involved than for most pound cakes, but it is very worth it... and it's not hard, it just entails a few extra steps.

The first step is to sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then beat the eggs and sugar together in a mixer until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thick and light yellow, about 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, gently melt the butter and then add the cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and poppy seeds. Make sure it is not too hot before moving on to the next step.

So, this recipe involves three separate mixtures that are then brought together: the egg/sugar mixture, the butter/lemon mixture, and then the flour/leavening mixture.

Fold the flour mixture into the eggs and sugar. Then spoon one quarter of this batter into the butter mixture to lighten it, and then fold in the remaining batter until just mixed.

Pour the mixture into a prepared pan. To ensure I have a clean release, I grease the pan and then line with a small piece of parchment. There is nothing more frustrating than to go to all the trouble to make a nice cake and then have a big chunk of it remain in the pan. This recipe will make one 9x5 cake or one 8x4 and one mini loaf. I often like to go the later route because then I can partake of the bounty without having to eat some of the main cake.

Bake the cake in a preheated 325° F oven for 60-70 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a rack in the pan for 20-30 minutes before removing to finish cooling. Once the cake is completely cooled, mix the icing and pour over the top of the cake. I keep the cake on the cooling rack, but place the rack over a pan to catch the excess icing. Let the cake sit out to let the icing dry completely before serving or storing in an air tight container. While the cake will keep for a week, it is best within the first two days.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Yield: one 9x5 cake or one 8x4 and one mini loaf

Adapted from Joanne Chang's Flour Cookbook

2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp table salt

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup + 3 TBS butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 TBS lemon zest

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS poppy seeds

For the icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 TBS lemon juice

1-2 TBS low-fat milk

Preheat the oven to 325° F and prepare the pan by greasing it and lining with a piece of parchment. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In a mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale yellow, about 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan, gently melt the butter and then, off the heat, add the cream, zest, lemon juice, and poppy seeds. Let the mixture cool, if necessary, until lukewarm before proceeding.

Fold the flour mixture into the egg/sugar mixture. Spoon about a quarter of the batter into the butter mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining batter, just until mixed. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 325° F for 60-70 minutes, until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 20-30 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and set back on the rack to finish cooling. When the cake is completely cool, mix the icing and pour over the top of the cake. Let the cake sit out until the icing has completely dried. Store in an air tight container. Cake is best if served within two days.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

Pic courtesy here

I can't believe I'm just now getting around to posting this recipe. It was SO good. I love cilantro and I love tacos and this was perfect for satisfying both!

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
from "What's Cooking Chicago"


cooking spray for sauteeing
2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cilantro lime pesto (recipe follows)
flour or corn tortillas
preferred taco garnishes (salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc)


Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute chicken over medium high heat and cooked through. Toss cooked, seasoned chicken with the pesto. Fill tortillas with chicken and top with preferred garnishes.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Cook chicken as directed as above and cool. Place chicken in freezer bag. Prepare cilantro lime pesto as directed below. Place a 1/2 cup of pesto in a small storage bag then place inside the freezer bag with the chicken. Freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost and heat chicken. Toss chicken with defrosted pesto. If desired, heat chicken and pesto together before filling tacos.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

recipe adapted from Food Network

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems)
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds
3 tablespoons chopped, fresh garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup shredded asiago (Parmesan or Romano can be substituted too)
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chicken broth


Using a blender, mix together the cilantro, olive oil, almonds, garlic, lime juice, asiago, salt and chicken broth on low speed for 2 minutes.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

To watch this Video-Recipe click HERE!!

Hi Everyone! Today I will be showing you how to make Banana Oatmeal Muffins! They are Amazing, they have a really delicious nutty-banana flavor, I loved them and so did my husband! I hope you like them as well!

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1½ cups flour ( I used cake flour, but feel free to use all purpose flour)
½ cup old fashion oats
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional, I'm not using any because of allergies)
3 ripe bananas
½ cup milk
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Melt the butter in the microwave, it takes about 30 seconds to melt, set aside for a minute.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, and also sift in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add in the brown sugar and the old fashion oats. (Also add in the nuts if you are using any) Mix together and set aside.

In another bowl, mash the bananas until you get a puree consistency. Add in the vanilla extract, stir together and also add in the melted butter, mix well and set aside for a minute.

Beat the egg and the milk together, until the egg is well combined with the milk. Pour the egg mixture over the banana puree and mix well until thoroughly incorporated.

Pour the banana mixture over the dry ingredients. Using a fork or a spoon, mix all the ingredients until well combined, but do not overmix.

I'm using cup cake wraps but you don't have to, spray a cup cake pan with cooking spray, and pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 375ºF for 22-25 minutes or until the muffins are cooked.

And that's it!  Enjoy!

Baked Potato Wedges and Fry Sauce

photo from favfamilyrecipes.com

I really loved the flavoring of these wedges.  The parmesan cheese made all the difference.  And fry sauce....yum!  We used the bbq sauce instead of the ketchup!

Baked Potato Wedges

Recipe from favfamilyrecipes.com 

4 to 5 small potatoes

olive oil

Johnny's Seasoning Salt (or any kind of seasoning salt)

Parmesan cheese

Scrub potatoes well, slice into wedges and place in a large plastic bag.  Add a little olive oil and toss to coat then transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet with the skin side down. Sprinkle potatoes generously with seasoning salt and parmesan cheese. Bake at 450-degrees for 30-35 minutes (or until cooked through and golden brown). Do not stir while cooking.  Serve with ketchup, fry sauce, or ranch dressing.

Fry Sauce

1/3 c. ketchup (if you want to make it more like Red Robin you can substitute BBQ sauce)
2/3 c. mayonnaise
optional: 1 tsp mustard (just for a little added zip)
(If you want it like In-n-Out's special sauce: add some pickle relish)

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Eat with fries or chicken nuggets. Enjoy (I know you will)!