Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

This morning I realized I had 3 over-ripe bananas in my fruit bowl & didn't want them to go to waste, so I decided to make some banana muffins.  I found a really basic recipe on Pinterest that only called for 2 bananas & I actually had all of the other ingredients at my house, so I decided to give it a whirl.

My banana muffin idea was great in theory, but as I started peeling the bananas to mash them, I realized 2 of the 3 were disgustingly over-ripe & I couldn't use them.  But by this point I had already gathered my other ingredients & was REALLY dying for some muffins, so I started thinking about what I could use as a banana substitute--all I needed was the equivalent of 1 more banana.  As I started to think about this, I thought of how my grandmother always used to make me bananas & peanut butter for a snack--and VOILA!  There was my idea.  It took some tweaking, but I actually ended up with some seriously good muffins!  I am usually a stick-to-the-recipe kind of girl when it comes to baking, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well these turned out.  Enjoy!

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

1 ripe banana
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy b/c that's what I had)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk

Crumb Topping (optional--just mush these 3 ingredients together with a fork):
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 375 & grease muffin pan or line with paper liners.
2. Mash banana & mix with peanut butter, egg, vanilla, & butter.
3. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Dump dry mixture into the wet mixture.
5. Gradually add milk (up to 1 cup) until you get a good muffin texture--not like cookie dough, but not too runny.
6. Spoon into muffin pan & sprinkle with crumb topping.
7. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins.

Pizza Pockets

 

 

So, what do you do when you have a can of crescent rolls that's about to expire and you need a quick dinner?  Tonight, my first instinct was to take the tried & true pig-in-blanket route--but alas, there are currently no hot dogs in my refrigerator!  I also have a great creamy chicken pocket recipe (that I will have to remember to post on here soon!)--but only frozen chicken that I wasn't in the mood to thaw & cook.  SO...I started digging around for something that sounded like it would taste good wrapped up in a crescent roll.  (Although, let's be honest--what WOULDN'T taste good wrapped in a crescent roll, right?)  I decided to get a little creative with some pizza-making ingredients left over from the weekend and pizza pockets were born!  I added a nice salad on the side and VOILA!  Dinner in about 20 minutes! 

 

AND it got a thumb's up from my toughest little food critic! :-)

 

 

 

Here are the ingredients I dug up:

 

 

(SIDENOTE: If you have a Publix in your area and you are a feta cheese fan, give their basil & tomato feta a whirl...it is to DIE for!!)

 



Pizza Pockets

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 can of crescent rolls
pizza sauce
shredded cheese
desired pizza toppings
(Optional topping -- garlic powder & grated Parmesean cheese)

1.  Preheat oven to 375.
2.  Separate crescent rolls into 4 rectangles on a cookie sheet & press seams together.
3.  Spread a pizza sauce, cheese, & desired toppings on each rectangle.
4.  Fold in sides of crescent rolls to create a pocket & press seams together to seal in the filling.
5.  Sprinkle a little garlic powder & Parmesean cheese on top before baking for a little added flavor.
6.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Lemon Peeper Cookies

In my search for a fun, toddler-friendly treat to take to Morgan's school for her Easter party, I came across these! These have to be the cutest, easiest cookies I've ever made! I came across a similar idea on Pinterest, but the original recipe comes from Pillsbury and can be found HERE. There was no photo on the Pillsbury website, so I had to just wing it (no pun intended!) when it came to the decor. Being in the huge hurry that I always am, I had to make do with what I could dig up at our Wal-Mart (which I am convinced is THE world's worst...but that's another story for another day.) So here we go:

Lemon Peeper Cookies
Makes 12-18 cookies
(depending upon size)

1 box of lemon-flavored cake mix (or whatever flavor you want them to be)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Orange Tic-Tacs & chocolate chips (or other decor of your choosing)


Optional:
Yellow food coloring (to make brighter yellow)
Coconut or yellow sugar crystal sprinkles

1.  Combine cake mix, eggs, & oil in a large bowl and mix until dough forms.
2.  Add yellow food coloring (if desired).
3.  GREASE a cookie sheet.
4.  Roll a ball for the body (about 1 1/2") and a smaller ball for the head and put on cookie sheet touching each other.  (You may want to flatten them a little and mush the 2 balls together a little for a prettier end result.)
5.  Sprinkle with yellow sugar sprinkles.
6.  Bake for 10-12 min. at 350, or until they are barely starting to brown.
7.  Remove from oven & immediately add candy for faces.
8.  Cool on rack.


SEE!  Told you it was easy!

My Notes:
1.  If you add a lot of food coloring or it's really humid, you may need to add extra flour to the dough until it gets un-sticky enough for you to roll it into balls.  Otherwise, you'll just make a huge mess & get frustrated!
2.  The original recipe says to roll the balls in coconut flakes before putting them on the baking sheet.  I'm not big on coconut (and I didn't think toddlers would be, either), so I chose to use yellow sugar crystal sprinkles instead.
3.  The original recipe says to use pastel yellow petite mints (petite non pareils) for the beaks...but I couldn't find such a delicacy at Wal-Mart...so I went the orange Tic-Tac route!
4.  Per Melissa's suggestion on my Facebook page, these would also make great snowmen for winter!

Hope everyone has a HAPPY EASTER!!!

Skinny Cajun Chicken Linguine Alfredo

I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest...but it originally came from www.recipekitchen.net.  One bite & you'll never believe it's low fat!  If you like Pasta Milano from Macaroni Grill, or Cajun Chicken pasta from Chili's, you'll LOVE this!

Skinny Cajun Chicken Linguine Alfredo
Serves 4

1 lb. chicken, cut into chunks
6 oz. linguine, cooked al dente
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
3 tbsp reduced-fat butter
2 green onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (if using oil-packed, blot well w/ paper towels)
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
ground black pepper to taste

1.  Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.
2.  In a large nonsitck pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
3.  Add chicken pieces & cook chicken until no longer pink (5-7 minutes).
4.  Reduce heat, add green onions, milk, tomatoes, basil, garlic powder, and black pepper.
5.  Cook for a few minutes until heated through.
6.  Add cooked linguine to chicken mixture, add parmesean cheese, and stir to coat pasta.
7.  Divide among 4 pasta bowls & serve immediately.

My Notes:
1.  I didn't have any Cajun seasoning on hand, so I sprinkled on a little Old El Paso taco seasoning.  (I keep a big shaker of this in my pantry...you NEVER know when it will come in handy!)
2.  I used skim milk & it turned out great--you'd never know I used fat-free!
3.  I've found that sun-dried tomatoes are one of those love/hate kinds of ingredients.  If you don't like sun-dried tomatoes, I bet some chopped red peppers would be a delicious substitute!
4.  Next time, I think I might double up on the sauce mixture & try adding in some veggies like yellow squash, broccoli, or zucchini.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Here it is...probably my most-requested recipe ever--and probably one of the easiest!  How long does it take you to open 5 cans?  Well...that's how long it will take you to throw this together!

I really can't take credit for it, though.  The original came from the Fix It and Forget It cookbook, but I have modified it so much over time that it has kind of taken on a mind of its own.  You can switch out the types of beans, meat, and level of spiciness to fit your taste.

This is also one of the few recipes I could make while I was pregnant and on salt restriction due to my super cankles.  Simply buy the "no salt added" versions of the canned stuff for a lower-sodium alternative.

There is no "right" way to make this...but here's my favorite rendition:

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Serves 8+

2-3 chicken breasts (you can just throw them in frozen!)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 cup salsa (mild, medium, hot...whatever your taste)

Garnishes:
Tortilla chips
Sour cream
Shredded cheese
Chopped green onions
Whatever else you like!

1.  Dump all of the above ingredients in the crockpot (no need to drain anything) & cook for 6-8 hours on low.
2.  Before serving take chicken breasts out, shred them & return them to the soup.

...and you are DONE!  THAT'S IT!!!

Put some tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, dump some of this yumminess on top, & garnish with sour cream, cheese, green onions...whatever taco-like toppings you like!

FYI:  This recipe makes A LOT, but freezes great!  So have a couple of containers on hand.

Cheesy Tomato-Chicken Skillet

Per Anna's request, one of my faves! :)  This one came from one of those little Pillsbury magazine-like cookbooks you see in the checkout line at the grocery store.  The link to the original recipe is HERE.

Here is my modified version:
(Photo courtesy of Pillsbury.com)

Cheesy Tomato-Chicken Skillet
Serves 4

2 cups bowtie pasta
3/4 lb. chicken breast chunks
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
3-4 Roma tomatoes (diced)
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 cup Italian blend cheese

1.  Cook pasta as directed on package.  Drain & cover to keep warm.
2.  Meanwhile, spray large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.
3.  Add chicken and cook 4-6 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.
4.  Reduce heat to medium & add soup, tomatoes, milk, & basil.
5.  Mix well and cook & stir until bubbly.
6.  Add pasta and mix well.
7.  Remove from heat, sprinkle cheese on top, and cover for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Now go enjoy your ooey, gooey goodness! :)

Crustless Quiche Muffins

Now this particular recipe resulted from a range of ideas and other similar recipes.  I am a fan of quiche, but it seems like it always takes FOREVER to bake...no fun when you are starving for brunch after church and you have a crazed toddler running around!  So I came across a pin on a friend's board on Pinterest that was for making a quick "to-go" breakfast for weekday mornings using Egg Beaters and toppings in a muffin pan.  So when I was looking for something to whip up for brunch after church this morning, I thought why not try this out with all of the usual ingredients for quiche?  Cooks faster, much easier to get out of the pan, AND I can put them in baggies to grab for a quick on-the-go breakfast...win-win-win!

So here's how it all came together:

Crustless Quiche Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

8-10 eggs
3/4-ish cup milk or half & half (I used a bit of both because I didn't have much half & half left)
omelet/quiche-like toppings (I used chopped bacon, Roma tomatoes (which are great b/c they don't have too much juice), and Vidalia onions and then topped with cheddar cheese because that's what I had on hand)

1.  GREASE a muffin pan.  (Be very thorough!)
2.  Beat eggs & milk together and divide among muffin cups (fill about 3/4 full)
3.  Add toppings.
4.  Bake for 30 min. at 375 degrees.

Notes for next time:
1.  Perhaps cut up a pre-made Pillsbury pie crust to put underneath each muffin to make a true mini-quiche in a little pie shell.
2.  Add a little salt & pepper (ended up sprinkling it on to taste after...wasn't sure how much salt the bacon was going to add already)
3.  More grease in the pan!!!