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Tollhouse Cookie Bars

February 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Happy February, here’s a sweet treat to start the month off right! It’s chocolatey, crunchy, and a childhood favorite in a new way.

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Tollhouse cookies are a family tradition. We’ve been making them for dozens of years I think! My mom and sister have memorized the recipe, and no one can turn down a delicious cookie. I personally think the dough is the best part and even used to save some in the fridge when I was a kid.

I adapted the recipe into cookie bars to try something different, and they take less time in the kitchen since you spread all the dough out to cook at once.

I also had some peanut butter chocolate chips that my mom brought us for nibbling. I crushed them all up and used them in the recipe with regular chocolate chips to try something different. It didn’t taste as much of peanut butter as I thought, but they were just as good as regular chocolate chips.

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Tollhouse Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter or margarine, softened (2 sticks)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I used half peanut butter chocolate chips)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
  • Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Gradually beat in flour mixture.
  • Stir in morsels and nuts.
  • In a rectangular pan (I used a 9 x 12), spray with cooking spray and spread dough evenly.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack, cut into squares.

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 A delicious variation on the traditional cookie, and just as good! I hope you try these out this month!

Tollhouse Cookie Bars
Print
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 55 mins
Ingredients
  • Tollhouse Cookie Bars
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter or margarine, softened (2 sticks)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I used half peanut butter chocolate chips)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
  3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  5. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
  6. Stir in morsels and nuts.
  7. In a rectangular pan (I used a 9 x 12), spray with cooking spray and spread dough evenly.
  8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack, cut into squares.
Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged With: , , ,

Citrus Fest

January 30, 2012 by 1 Comment

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The past few weeks have been “Citrus Fest” at our Central Market grocery stores. Usually I am not much a fan of oranges because of the work they take to get the good stuff, but if Central Market says it’s prime orange time, I’ll try it. I bought a few navel oranges, and they were so delicious! So then I bought some more the next week, and more again. They were the juiciest and most pretty oranges.

Then I saw a beautiful smoothie on Edible Perspective last week using blood oranges. Her smoothie turned a beautiful pink color. I didn’t have blood oranges, but did have my beautiful navels. I also never really thought about using oranges in a smoothie because I didn’t think a blender was strong enough to get through the pulp.

Have no fear, it blended up very smooth and frothy and tasted like a smoothie and not like orange juice.

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Orange Yogurt Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 navel orange, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 banana
  • 4 oz Greek yogurt (I used Chobani Very Berry kids cup but if I had a tub of plain I would use that)
  • 1/4 C orange juice
  • 1/4 C skim milk
  • few ice cubes
Instructions:
  • Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.
  • I topped mine with a little crunchy granola and ate it with a spoon, but you could drink it without that, or add a topping of your choice.

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I thought this smoothie was very refreshing and I liked that it used a different fruit for a smoothie than I would think to use. The yogurt and milk made it creamy, and added some protein. A winning snack or meal!

Speaking of Greek yogurt and Chobani, see this article from the weekend in USA Today.

Filed Under: Snacks · Tagged With:

Back to Basics: Granola

January 27, 2012 by 1 Comment
I have a new idea for the blog–a series on basics. Not all recipes can be creative, take a half a day to make, or use lots of ingredients. And not all weeks have original content all the time! We like repeats too, especially when they are awesome. It also takes a lot of time to continuously find new things to try and write about!

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This week, we’re talking about granola! If you were reading about a year ago, I was on a granola kick. There were bars, sticky bites, loose granola. It was crunchy, sticky, one burnt batch from not watching close enough, and some were fruity or full of good spices. We went through a lot of Quaker Oats!

Recently, I’d been thinking about granola again. I like it with breakfast, on top of yogurt for a snack, and I had a lot of raisins in my pantry.

I referred to my favorite recipe from last year and made some modifications based on what I had in the pantry. From the original recipe, I accidentally left out the brown sugar and didn’t notice in the taste. I don’t have flax meal in the pantry anymore, and I used more raisins instead of craisins. I also didn’t have almonds so I used more pecans and peanuts. Use what you have!

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Oatmeal Raisin Granola

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 C old-fashioned oats
  • 3/4 C pecans, chopped
  • 1/4 C unsalted peanuts
  • 1/4 C sweetened coconut
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C gold rainsins
  • 1/2 C black raisins
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  • 3 T applesauce
  • 2 T smooth peanut butter

Instructions:

  • Mix maple syrup, applesauce and peanut butter in a small pan on the stovetop and let simmer for 8-10 minutes over low heat. It will get thick and caramel-like. Don’t let it burn.
  • Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the wet to the dry once thickened.
  • Pour on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Bake at 300* for 45 minutes, stirring every 12-15.**
  • Cool for 20 minutes before eating.

For this batch, I actually had to take Lily for a walk while the granola was baking. She insisted. I turned the oven off at about 20 minutes and left the tray in. It was perfectly done when I got back. Just watch your batch so it doesn’t burn!

 

Oatmeal Raisin Granola
Print
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
  • Oatmeal Raisin Granola
  • 2.5 C old-fashioned oats
  • 3/4 C pecans, chopped
  • 1/4 C unsalted peanuts
  • 1/4 C sweetened coconut
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C gold rainsins
  • 1/2 C black raisins
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  • 3 T applesauce
  • 2 T smooth peanut butter
Instructions
  1. Mix maple syrup, applesauce and peanut butter in a small pan on the stovetop and let simmer for 8-10 minutes over low heat. It will get thick and caramel-like. Don’t let it burn.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the wet to the dry once thickened.
  3. Pour on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
  4. Bake at 300* for 45 minutes, stirring every 12-15.**
  5. Cool for 20 minutes before eating.
Filed Under: Breakfast, Snacks · Tagged With: , , ,

Homemade Veggie Burgers

January 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
 

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Trying to make a veggie burger from scratch has been on my to-cook list for months. I pulled a recipe at least six months ago and have been telling myself I need to make it probably since then. The problem is that it’s a food processor recipe, and sometimes, cleaning that thing takes the fun out of using it!

I finally wrote down what I needed to buy, made hummus so the food processor was already dirty, and got to work on the burgers last Sunday.

The recipe made 9 small-ish burgers, and I plan to eat some this week and freeze them to take for lunches.

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I really liked the texture and spices, and am very glad I finally tried them! No need to buy the frozen version when homemade is so much better, and you can freeze them to use one at a time. Really, these made my lunches so much better!

While this may look like a long ingredient list, it’s actually a lot of pantry items and spices that you might already have as a kitchen staple.

I also had one for dinner with sauteed veggies and some rice.

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Homemade Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 1 egg
  • 1 C old-fashioned oats, processed into flour
  • 1.5 C bread crumbs
  • 1 C carrots
  • 1 C black beans, rinsed and mashed
  • 1/4 C parsley
  • 1/3 C cashews (or any nut like almonds, pecans, etc)
  • 1/3 C sunflower seeds
  • 1 T EVOO
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions:

  • In a food processor, pulse together carrots, garlic, onion. Add about 3/4 C of the black beans and pulse again. You want the consistency to be mashed but not mushed.
  • In a mixing bowl, add the remaining 1/4 C unblended black beans.
  • Remove food from processor and add to a mixing bowl.
  • Add almonds and sunflower seeds and pulse to a fine chop. Add to mixing bowl.
  • Add oats to the processor and grind to a flour. Add to mixing bowl with bread crumbs.
  • In mixing bowl, stir to combine, then add egg, EVOO, soy sauce, and all spices.
  • Stir to combine.
  • The mixture should hold together in your hand when you try to squeeze it. Before you try to add water, form a burger and see if it holds. I thought mine might need more liquid, but it held together as a burger, so I didn’t add anything.
  • Form mixture into patties and lay on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or cooking spray.
  • Bake at 350* for about 22 minutes, flipping halfway through.
  • Remove when burgers are starting to brown.

 

Homemade Veggie Burgers
Print
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 22 mins
Total time: 37 mins
Ingredients
  • Homemade Veggie Burgers
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 1 egg
  • 1 C old-fashioned oats, processed into flour
  • 1.5 C bread crumbs
  • 1 C carrots
  • 1 C black beans, rinsed and mashed
  • 1/4 C parsley
  • 1/3 C cashews (or any nut like almonds, pecans, etc)
  • 1/3 C sunflower seeds
  • 1 T EVOO
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, pulse together carrots, garlic, onion. Add about 3/4 C of the black beans and pulse again. You want the consistency to be mashed but not mushed.
  2. In a mixing bowl, add the remaining 1/4 C unblended black beans.
  3. Remove food from processor and add to a mixing bowl.
  4. Add almonds and sunflower seeds and pulse to a fine chop. Add to mixing bowl.
  5. Add oats to the processor and grind to a flour. Add to mixing bowl with bread crumbs.
  6. In mixing bowl, stir to combine, then add egg, EVOO, soy sauce, and all spices.
  7. Stir to combine.
  8. The mixture should hold together in your hand when you try to squeeze it. Before you try to add water, form a burger and see if it holds. I thought mine might need more liquid, but it held together as a burger, so I didn’t add anything.
  9. Form mixture into patties and lay on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or cooking spray.
  10. Bake at 350* for about 22 minutes, flipping halfway through.
  11. Remove when burgers are starting to brown.
Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , , , ,

We Tried Chicken Again

January 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

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If you are like our house, you are always looking for a better way to cook chicken. I am not much of a fan of the bird, but Jeffrey desperately wants us to figure out how to cook good chicken.

Last month’s issue of Cooking Light had 25 chicken recipes as its cover story, and he picked this recipe for Chicken Piccata for us to try. Lucky for me, he did most of the work. I just took the pictures and went to the grocery store.

We served our chicken with roasted vegetables. I really liked roasting potatoes and asparagus together because it took care of the veggie and starch part of the dish.

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The chicken turned out pretty, and I think it was a recipe worth keeping to make again. We saved it for leftovers but didn’t eat any of it, but Jeffrey said he approved and really liked it.

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Chicken Piccata 

(by Cooking Light)

  • 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 2 ounces all-purpose flour, divided (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions:

  • Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.
  • Place 1 teaspoon flour in a small bowl, and place remaining flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour in shallow dish; shake off excess.
  • Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
  • Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  • Add wine; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
  • Cook until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally.
  • Add 1/4 cup broth to reserved 1 teaspoon flour; stir until smooth.
  •  Add remaining 1/2 cup broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half (about 5 minutes).
  • Stir in flour mixture; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring frequently.
  • Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, juice, and capers.
  • Place 1 chicken breast half on each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle each serving with about 2 teaspoons parsley.

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We Tried Chicken Again
Print
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
  • 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 2 ounces all-purpose flour, divided (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
  1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.
  2. Place 1 teaspoon flour in a small bowl, and place remaining flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour in shallow dish; shake off excess.
  3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
  4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  5. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  6. Add wine; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
  7. Cook until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally.
  8. Add 1/4 cup broth to reserved 1 teaspoon flour; stir until smooth.
  9. Add remaining 1/2 cup broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half (about 5 minutes).
  10. Stir in flour mixture; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring frequently.
  11. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, juice, and capers.
  12. Place 1 chicken breast half on each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle each serving with about 2 teaspoons parsley.
Filed Under: Dinner · Tagged With:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

January 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

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On Sunday, we had some friends over to watch football. I wanted to make a sweet treat for the noon game for nibbling and wanted something not messy and easy to pick up. I tagged this recipe in November’s Cooking Light, and had everything at home except for one can of condensed milk. I love it when you don’t have to buy a lot of stuff for a recipe!

It is also a no-bake recipe = even easier. Just two bowls, a spatula and a pan for it to set. It has to sit for a few hours, meaning it’s a make-ahead dish too. Love that! I made this on Saturday afternoon for the Sunday game.

Fudge may sound complicated, but it’s one of the easiest desserts to make.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

  • 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk, divided
  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup salted, dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Instructions:
  • Line an 8-inch square baking dish with wax paper (I used parchment, it worked good too).
  •  Place 9 tablespoons milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Add chocolate chips, cocoa, and coffee. Microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until melted. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread into prepared pan.
  • Combine the remaining milk, peanut butter chips, and peanut butter in another microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until melted. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
  • Spread evenly over chocolate layer, and sprinkle with peanuts. Cover and chill 2 hours.
  • Cut into 25 squares.

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Mine made exactly 25 squares (after one was sacrificed for tasting). Very simple to make and pretty to display too! Serve chilled.

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged With: ,

Hearty Minestrone Soup

January 4, 2012 by 1 Comment
Here’s another easy weeknight meal. We made this on Monday night after our weekend away. A hearty soup is a great way to get back to eating your veggies and not eat something so rich and gluttonous after the holidays. We love our soups.

I found this recipe on the Whole Foods iPhone app in the car on the way home. I changed out some veggies to suit what we like, and served it with mini cornbread muffins that I made real quick. If it were just for me, I would have added mushrooms and some squash, but that’s a no-go for the other one eating.

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The recipe called for chickpeas and cannellini beans, but Jeffrey doesn’t like beans so I left that out and just used the chickpeas. It gave the soup a nice crunch to go with the other softer veggies. I also left out cabbage and replaced with more carrots and celery. And I love fusilli in soups.

We thought the soup was very thick and tomato-ey. I didn’t mind and like thick soups, but Jeffrey would have used less tomato or more broth. However, 6 cups of broth and 28 ounces of tomatoes makes a lot of soup! There was lots leftover. A great soup for freezing too! On the second night, I added some water to thin it out and it helped a lot. Do that.

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped basil (subbed rosemary)
  • 2 large stalks of celery, sliced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
  • 1 cup dried fusilli pasta
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  • In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium high heat.
  • Add garlic and onions and cook until translucent.
  • Add broth, tomato paste, parsley, basil, celery, carrots, bay leaf, and tomatoes with their juice and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
  • Add chickpeas, pasta, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Ladle soup into bowls and serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

To go with the soup, I made a half batch of cornbread mini muffins. If you have cornmeal in your pantry, you probably have everything else you need–flour, egg, milk, oil. I amped it up by adding some frozen corn kernels, rosemary that we used for the soup, and some cayenne to give it a slight kick. A half batch made about 16 mini muffins–good to last a few days or take for lunch too!

As you can see, I love it when meals last a little while.

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Hearty Minestrone Soup
Print
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Ingredients
  • Hearty Minestrone Soup
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped basil (subbed rosemary)
  • 2 large stalks of celery, sliced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
  • 1 cup dried fusilli pasta
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium high heat.
  2. Add garlic and onions and cook until translucent.
  3. Add broth, tomato paste, parsley, basil, celery, carrots, bay leaf, and tomatoes with their juice and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
  4. Add chickpeas, pasta, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.
Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes · Tagged With: , ,

Easy Weeknight Dinner

January 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It’s always my goal to have a few dinners during the week made at home. It seems healthier, I can use all the foods in our fridge, freezer and pantry, and it’s cost efficient. I also like the idea of getting in a habit of cooking dinner during the week.

On this particular night, we were probably going to pick something up. We couldn’t agree on anything we both wanted and we were just back from one trip and about to leave for another = not much food in the house.

Jeffrey ended up working late and I was in my pajamas and didn’t want to go anywhere, so I put together a dinner at home. I really like the challenge of making dinner from what I have. Although many times I’ll make a messy salad of leftovers or eggs and a bagel, sometimes I can actually put something decent together.

The only trick of being able to make something without a plan is having good things in your house already. I keep veggies in the freezer, bought a pack of tortellini probably two weeks ago that we never made, and had spices and other staples in either the fridge shelves or pantry. Might as well use what you have! Then you get to buy new things.

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Veggies & Tortellini

Ingredients:

(this is what I used, but as you’ll see, you can use anything you have.)

  • from the freezer: edamame, broccoli, corn kernels
  • from the pantry: black olives, flavored salt (thanks sis!), pepper, red pepper flakes, olive oil
  • from the fridge: sun dried tomatoes, tortellini, grated parmesan cheese (the lazy kind in a tube)

Instructions:

  • Cook pasta according to package (7-9 minutes in boiling water)
  • In a skillet, combine frozen vegetables plus a bit of water (I used 1/2 cup). Let cook until water absorbs. Add other vegetables and spices. Cook until soft, flavor to taste.
  • Drain pasta and add into vegetables. Stir to combine.

What’s your easy weeknight dinner?

Filed Under: Dinner · Tagged With:

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

December 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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I was really looking forward to trying this recipe that I saw about a week ago. I love a good banana bread, and how could adding chocolate make it bad? I decided that I don’t really love chocolate and bananas together, but if you do, you’ll probably like this recipe.

It seemed too decadent to eat for breakfast, and I don’t really like banana flavored things for dessert. So I guess it’s a good snack bread. With a stick of butter inside and three kinds of chocolate, it’s not exactly slimming, but it still looks really good. Just warn people that it is banana flavored, or I think they may think it’s a weird chocolate loaf.

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If you want a purely chocolate loaf, I think there are better ones. And if you want a great banana bread, I think there are better ones too.

For this recipe, I made it into one foil tin loaf for giving away and one mini loaf. It would probably fit one normal sized loaf pan or a few mini ones. The pictures are the mini loaf size. I am taking the foil one on vacation this weekend. If people like it, I’ll let you know!

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

makes one large loaf (or about 3 mini loaves)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 large bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, melted (I subbed semi-sweet baking squareS)
  • 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a loaf pan liberally with non-stick spray.
  • In a bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder, then set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until smooth.
  • Whisk in vanilla extract, then add bananas and milk and mix until combined.
  • Add in dry ingredients slowing, mixing with a spoon until batter comes together.
  • Add in melted butter and mix until incorporated, then stir in melt chocolate.
  • Fold chocolate chips into batter. Pour batter into loaf pan. Set pan on a baking sheet, then bake for 55-60 minutes, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cook time may be shorter if you do mini-loaves.
  • Remove bread from over and sprinkle with additional chocolate chips if desired. Let cool completely (1-2 hours) before cutting.

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Print
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 55 mins
Total time: 1 hour 15 mins
Ingredients
  • Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
  • makes one large loaf (or about 3 mini loaves)
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 large bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, melted (I subbed semi-sweet baking squareS)
  • 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a loaf pan liberally with non-stick spray.
  2. In a bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder, then set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until smooth.
  4. Whisk in vanilla extract, then add bananas and milk and mix until combined.
  5. Add in dry ingredients slowing, mixing with a spoon until batter comes together.
  6. Add in melted butter and mix until incorporated, then stir in melt chocolate.
  7. Fold chocolate chips into batter. Pour batter into loaf pan. Set pan on a baking sheet, then bake for 55-60 minutes, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cook time may be shorter if you do mini-loaves.
  8. Remove bread from over and sprinkle with additional chocolate chips if desired. Let cool completely (1-2 hours) before cutting.
Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: , ,

Cookies & Cream Trifle

December 20, 2011 by 2 Comments

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This is a decadent one. It’s also very simple and no bake/cook.

I was looking for a recipe for a work holiday party that was more exciting than a cookie and not as much work as a whole cake with icing. I remembered this Oreo trifle that my aunt, Heidi, makes and I even had the recipe already. It is basically layering lots of good things over and over to fill your trifle dish. Let me show you…

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You start with Lady Fingers, then there’s Devil’s Food pudding, then Cool Whip, then Oreos, and repeat three more times for four layers of each. Here are the details…

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Cookies & Cream Trifle

Ingredients:

  • 2 small packages instant Jello Devil’s Food Pudding
  • 4 C milk
  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 3oz packages of Lady Fingers
  • 32 Oreos
  • 12 oz Cool Whip
Instructions:
  • Place pudding mix, 3 C milk and cream cheese in a large bowl of electric mixer. Mix on low speed until well-blended. Small pieces of cream cheese are ok.
  • Split the lady fingers in half lengthwise. Place half the package cut sideup in the bottom of a trifle bowl.
  • Drizzle 1/4 C milk over the lady fingers to moisten.
  • Spread 1/4 of the pudding over lady fingers.
  • Spread 1/4 of Cool Whip over pudding
  • Chop up 8 Oreos and sprinkle over Cool Whip.
  • Repeat three more times.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
  • Add extra Oreos if desired.

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 What I liked about this recipe is that it is a no-bake and easy dessert. It is a little messy, but that can be fun. It is something different than the holiday flavors you see everywhere since it isn’t just a holiday dish.

And it is more exciting than bringing cookies to a party, even though that can be very tasty too. It also gives me a reason to take out my trifle bowl.

Hope you enjoy!

Cookies & Cream Trifle
Print
Prep time: 25 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Ingredients
  • Cookies & Cream Trifle
  • 2 small packages instant Jello Devil’s Food Pudding
  • 4 C milk
  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 3oz packages of Lady Fingers
  • 32 Oreos
  • 12 oz Cool Whip
Instructions
  1. Place pudding mix, 3 C milk and cream cheese in a large bowl of electric mixer. Mix on low speed until well-blended. Small pieces of cream cheese are ok.
  2. Split the lady fingers in half lengthwise. Place half the package cut sideup in the bottom of a trifle bowl.
  3. Drizzle 1/4 C milk over the lady fingers to moisten.
  4. Spread 1/4 of the pudding over lady fingers.
  5. Spread 1/4 of Cool Whip over pudding
  6. Chop up 8 Oreos and sprinkle over Cool Whip.
  7. Repeat three more times.
  8. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
  9. Add extra Oreos if desired.
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