Tasty Tuesdays: Banana Crunch Muffins

My banana crunch muffins for Easter Brunch

Sorry I was out of pocket last week...things got a little too busy at the gallery for blogging, but I'm back!

We were invited to a beautiful Easter Brunch this past Sunday and I helped out by bringing a few items, one of which was a huge hit: Banana Crunch Muffins. You can't really go wrong with a foundation of a great banana bread recipe that has additions of fresh coconut, walnuts and granola. They were absolutely fabulous. See for yourself when you try this easy yet tasty treat courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa, my favorite!

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 extra-large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)

1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)

1 cup small-diced walnuts

1 cup granola

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Tasty Tuesdays: Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles

Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine.

Last night I made this delicious and easy Mexican treat that is a staple in our house! I originally got the idea for making this casserole when we used to head up Buford Highway (Atlanta's very own international mecca) on Sunday mornings for Mexican breakfast. This is a mainstay that many Mexican families make with leftover meat, tortillas, cheese, and beans. For this version, I often just find whatever cheese, tortillas, and leftover meat I have in the fridge. It's easy and quick...try it, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 cup thinly sliced onion

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 (7 3/4-ounce) can salsa de chile fresco (such as El Pato)

15 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips

1 cup shredded queso blanco (about 4 ounces)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chicken; cook 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in beans. Add broth and salsa to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Place half of tortilla strips in bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of chicken mixture over tortillas; top with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Pour broth mixture evenly over chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until tortillas are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Note:

A traditional Mexican breakfast favorite, chilaquiles (chee-lah-KEE-lays) is a sauté of day-old tortilla strips, fresh tomato sauce, cream, and cheese. This hearty version is baked. Refrigerate leftover chilaquiles in individual containers with tight-fitting lids. To reheat, drizzle with a tablespoon of water, and microwave just until thoroughly heated.

Julianna Grimes Bottcher, Cooking Light

NOVEMBER 2006

Tasty Tuesdays: Penne alla Vodka

Courtesy of williams-sonoma.com.

It's been another great week for cooking at my household. Yesterday I made these delicious chocolate chocolate chip muffins and later this week, I'll be cooking this fabulous Penne with Vodka Sauce. This is a perfect weeknight meal: quick, easy and scrumptious! And, if you are lucky like me, you can pick up the fresh pasta at your local Italian market, like Toscano and Sons which is located right across the parking lot from Emily Amy Gallery!

From williams-sonoma.com:

For a new spin on classic vodka sauce, add a splash of brandy or Cognac to the 1/3 cup vodka. Simply substitute 2 Tbs. brandy or Cognac for the 2 Tbs. vodka.

Ingredients:

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbs. vodka

2 Tbs. slivered fresh basil

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 tsp. plus 2 Tbs. salt

1 lb. penne or other tubular pasta

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Make the sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. In a large fry pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the cream. In a small bowl, dissolve the tomato paste in the vodka. Stir into the cream mixture. Add the basil and red pepper flakes. Season with the 1 tsp. salt. Cook until most of the alcohol has evaporated and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.

Cook the pasta

Meanwhile, add the 2 Tbs. salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce and warm briefly over low heat to blend the flavors. Add the cheese and toss to combine. Add as much of the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce and serve. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Pasta, by Julia della Croce (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Tasty Tuesdays: Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

2006, Ellie Krieger, All Rights Reserved

As many of you know, I am a huge cook and this new theme for Tuesday's posts, "Tasty Tuesday" will feature a new recipe from my file every Tuesday. We hope that you enjoy and cook! This is what is for dinner at my house this evening...

Ingredients

Fish:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound white flaky fish fillet, like tilapia or halibut

Chipotle cream:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage or lettuce

1/2 cup corn kernels (thawed if frozen)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Lime wedges

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pour over the fish fillets and let marinate for 20 minutes. Put the yogurt into a strainer lined with apaper towel and place over a bowl to drain and thicken for 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the marinade and grill on a preheated grill or nonstick grill pan over a medium-high heat until cooked thorough, about 3 minutes per side. Set the fish aside on a plate for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the thickened yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle pepper.

Heat the tortillas on the grill or grill pan for 30 seconds on each side.

Flake the fish with a fork. Top each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the chipotle cream. Top with fish, cabbage, corn and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

**In related matters, this week we are starting a new plan for the blog: themes! We are thrilled that we will be offering content daily so please check back and FOLLOW US!**