Good Buys & Great Bites

 Banana bread is one of those foods that people seem to be either really great at making, or really terrible at. I’ve received my fair share of loaves of hockey-puck-banana-bread. In fact, I recall the first time I tried making it all by myself… I was a freshman in college and had spoiled milk and bananas, so I called my mom for her famous recipe. Now, she either failed to tell me, or I failed to remember, the one most important part of that recipe; WHIP THE EGG WHITES!!!!!!! Instead, I mixed them right in with the yolks, and when my bread came out, it tasted great… but felt like chewing on a tire. I’ve since mastered this recipe, and, as I just mentioned, the secret is in whipping the egg whites, then gently folding them into the batter just before baking. Your friends will be begging you for this recipe!

This recipe works great for banana bread, or muffins. We prefer muffins around here. This recipe will make 24 traditional-size muffins, AND 24 mini-muffins.  (My little ones just love the tiny ones; they eat so much more, and waste so much less this way!) Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 over-ripe bananas

3 egg yolks

1 cup buttermilk (if you lack this, just sour the milk by dissolving the baking soda in it).

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 egg whites, whipped to form soft peaks

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl; set aside.

Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add all wet ingredients, except the whipped egg whites, and mix until well blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and gently mix them in. Be careful not to beat the batter. Now, GENTLY fold in the whipped egg whites just until blended. If you’re adding nuts, this is a good time to do so. (I usually do half without nuts, for the kids, then add walnuts to the last half of the batter).

Pour into muffin tins and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes for the mini muffins, or 15-17 minutes for the traditional sized muffins. If baking in sweet bread loaf pans, bake for 40-45 minutes, until a knife, inserted in the middle, comes out clean.

I’ve noticed that a lot of moms just don’t use bibs. I wonder if they just don’t care about stained clothes, or if they’re just really amazing at removing the stains? (If so, please share you’re secrets!) I have always used bibs on my little ones, when they’d let me, (which was always, up until a month or so ago).

When my first child was just learning to eat a variety of solid foods, we took a little family trip to Chicago for my niece’s wedding. While there, we ate out as a huge, extended family, and someone, who clearly knew nothing about babies, gave my tiny one a small carrot, which she proceeded to choke on, and all the previous food she’d eaten was no longer in her tummy. (Thank you, person). I recall being so grossed out, that the bib she was wearing was sort of folded up and left on a plate with the remaining napkins and uneaten foods, to be tossed in the trash. “What a waste of a bib”, I thought.

We’ve eaten out many times since then, and I’ve made sure that the above scenario hasn’t happened again, in any form. Bibs aren’t cheap. And a little person feeding him/her self can get quite messy. So what do we do instead of letting their clothes be ruined by marinara sauce? Or being forced to either throw away, or bring home a disgusting bib covered in who-knows-what? Well we use a disposable bib, of course! Bibsters are something we rarely leave home without, and countless outfits have been saved by these little miracles!

I absolutely LOVE how convenient these bibs are. They’re tiny, so you can pack a few in the diaper bag or purse and not even take up space, and, yes, they’re even water-proof! (Thanks to the plastic backing). They have a little flap you fold down to create a pocket which catches all the drips and spills, so your little one’s clothes stay clean and dry. And when you’re all done, just wipe off baby’s hands and face and toss the bib! If  your little one happened to get all the food in his/her mouth, (which happens occasionally), just fold the bib back up and use again for the next meal out.

There are a lot of baby products out there that claim to make the job of the parent easier, and this is one that actually delivers!

I’ve been told before that my cupcakes are as good as Sprinkles Cupcakes. I once tried a cupcake from Sprinkles that tasted like a sugar cookie. I was floored and determined to make one just as delicious. I believe I have finally done just that. I hope you’ll give these a try and let me know what you think!

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks of butter – softened

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean – seeded (if you don’t have a vanilla bean change the amount of vanilla to 1 1/2 Tablespoons)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl combine the flour, soda, powder and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and vanilla bean. (Slit vanilla bean in half lengthwise and run the edge of a knife or spoon along the inside to scrape out all of the black seeds. Add seeds to the batter). Mix well. Add the flour and sour cream alternately, mixing gently between each addition. Add the buttermilk. Mix just until combined. Batter should be quite thick, but creamy. Spoon batter into lined cupcake tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the light touch of your finger.

FOR THE FROSTING:

1 1/2 sticks butter – softened

1 package cream cheese -softened

3- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean – seeded (if you don’t have a vanilla bean add another Tablespoon of vanilla extract)

6 oz. white chocolate – melted

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, salt vanilla and vanilla bean. Whip until light and fluffy. Allow melted chocolate to cool slightly before slowly adding to the frosting, while stirring. Frost cupcakes and enjoy!

I realize this may not sound like a very tasty treat, but I assure you, it is! It’s that time of year when cheese balls and crackers suddenly become popular again, and upon tasting them, we realize what we’ve been missing the past 11 months of the year. This cheese ball is both delicious and easy! (And really doesn’t have to be in the form of a ball; a little glass bowl works fine too).

INGREDIENTS:

2 – 8 ounce packages of cream cheese – softened

1 – 10 ounce can crushed pineapple – drained

1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

2 Tablespoons diced onion

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 Tablespoon salt (Yes, I said tablespoon)

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 dash cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in your Kitchen-aid or Bosch until combined. Scoop out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and fold edges up around to form a ‘ball’. (Skip this step if you plan to just serve it in a dish). At this point you can roll the cheese ball in an additional 1 cup of chopped pecans, if you so choose. Chill in refrigerator over night before serving with crackers. Enjoy!

Have I got your full attention now? =)  Many of you may have tasted something like this at a restaurant or perhaps on a cruise, and you probably paid around $9 for that one, little, rich piece of heaven. Well this recipe tastes even BETTER than those restaurant ‘from-a-box’ lava cakes. And do you know the second best part? They’re SO EASY to make!!! The photos I’m posting with this aren’t my favorite, but each time I make these and place that ice cold scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, it just looks too good to resist, and gets devoured before any camera can be found. So without further adieu…

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips work fine).

1 stick + 2 Tablespoons of butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup flour

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. (No, that’s not a typo).

First melt the chocolate and butter together in a microwave safe bowl, heating for 30 seconds at a time, then stirring. Do this until butter and chocolate are melted and combined to form a smooth ‘batter’.

Next mix in the powdered sugar and flour. This will make the batter turn into more of a dough consistency.

Then add the eggs, yolks and vanilla. Stir until completely combined. (Yes, it’s that easy!)

Pour into 6 – 6 ounce custard cups, (aka ramekins). If you don’t have ramekins, these can be made in greased cupcake tins; just cut the time in half.

Bake in custard cups at 425 degrees for 10-13 minutes until the top of the cakes begin to form a couple thin cracks and appear slightly raised/convex.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving with a scoop of ice-cream on the side. Enjoy!

how it looks after cooling for a few minutes

this is how it should look on the inside

I used to think, “What’s all the fuss about these red velvets? Aren’t they just cake with food coloring?” The answer, my friends, is “NO”. I’m so glad I got past that way of thinking and gave these babies a try because they have changed the way I look at cake all together. I’ve gifted these cupcakes to multiple neighbors, and even to my husbands co-workers and have had them compared to ‘Sprinkles Cupcakes’. (What a compliment!) So in light of this joyous holiday season I’m going to generously share one of my most beloved recipes with you.

INGREDIENTS:
For the cake:
1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour (weighing this is important since flour settles; you’ll end up with 6+ oz. in that measuring cup if you don’t weigh it).
3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon apple cider or white vinegar
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring (1/2 fluid ounce)

For the white chocolate–cream cheese filling:
8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
6 ounces white chocolate, melted
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
For the cake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium size bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the milk, vanilla, and apple cider. In a large bowl with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer), beat the butter on medium-low speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until light in color and fluffy in texture, about 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg and mix until combined. On the lowest speed, add 1/2 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 of the milk mixture, mixing until combined after each addition. Again, add the other 1/2 of the flour mixture, the last half of the milk, mixing after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Maintaining the same speed, add the food coloring (be careful of splatters!) and mix well to color the batter evenly. Spoon the batter into lined cupcake tins.

Bake the cupcakes until they are set on top and spring back when lightly pressed in the center, (12-14 minutes). Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

To make the white chocolate–cream cheese filling:

In a medium bowl (with a handheld or stand mixer), beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until smooth. Pour in half of the melted chocolate and beat until smooth, stopping the mixer occasionally and scraping the down the sides of the bowl. Pour in the remaining chocolate and beat just until combined. Add the butter and then the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and devour!

This is one of my FAVORITE meals to order at P.F. Chang! And I am thrilled to now be able to make it at home, and to share it with all of you! This dish is best served over steamed rice, and paired with  your favorite mixed veggie. Of course, since I’m not always in the mood for meat, but am always in the mood for great flavor, I am going to suggest omitting the chicken, and replacing it with stir-fry veggies. Yum!

For the sauce:

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

3 Tablespoons minced garlic

4 green onions (can use 2-3 Tablespoons of minced white onion if you don’t have green onions on hand)

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons chili sauce (located in the asian food isle of your grocery store, near soy sauce)

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Heat the oil in  medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion. Saute for about a minute, then add the tomato sauce and water. Stir. Add the sugar, chili sauce, and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 to 6 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken, then turn off the heat.

For the chicken:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup cornstarch

Peel from 1/2 an orange, cut into 1/8″ wide strips (Only the orange part)

Heat the 1/2 cup of oil in a wok or large skillet. Trim the chicken breasts and cut into bit-size pieces. Toss the chicken ‘cubes’ in a bag with the corn starch until each piece is thoroughly coated. When the oil in the wok is hot, carefully add 1/2 of the chicken (using tongs), and cook on each side until chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate with paper towels and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Once all of the chicken is cooked, pour out the left-over oil from the wok, and return to the burner. Add the slices of orange peel to the wok and gently stir for 20 seconds. Add the chicken back to the wok and gently stir to combine with the orange peel. Lastly, gently pour the sauce over the top of the orange peel chicken and fold it in until all of the chicken is coated. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes, then serve over steamed rice.

Note: if you decide to use stir-fry veggies instead of chicken, you will need to thicken the sauce on it’s own by mixing 2-3 Tablespoons of cornstarch to 1/4 cup of cold water, stir until combined, then add slowly to the simmering sauce. Add more if needed.

No matter where you go out to eat, almost every restaurant has their own version of this dip. Usually it’s $6-$9 and comes with fried tortilla chips. Well, there’s no need to spend that money on all that grease anymore! Now, what’s really great about a recipe like this, is that you can add and alter thing SO easily and still have it taste AMAZING!

Begin with:

12 ounces fresh or frozen, CHOPPED spinach (thawed and drained of water)

1 can artichoke hearts, chopped into small pieces

1 Tablespoon chopped white onion (Can use a shallot if you can’t find a white onion)

Put all this together in a microwaves safe dish with a lid and cook for 3-5 minutes. Stir, then cover and set aside.

Next you need:

1/4 heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sour cream (can use plain Greek yogurt)

1/2 cup Miracle Whip

1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (can use mozzarella instead or in part)

1/3 cup grated  Parmigiano-Reggiano  cheese (again, if all you have is Parmesan cheese, it’ll do!)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine these ingredients in a medium sauce pan over  medium-low heat. Heat it up slowly for 5-8 minutes, just until all the cheeses are melted and the ingredients are well combined and sauce thickens a bit. Do not allow this to come to a boil.

Add the spinach-artichoke mixture to the sauce and stir until combined. Continue to cook over medium/low heat for 3-5 more minutes, then remove from heat and serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, or, my personal favorite, French Bread.

Yields aprox. 2 cups of dip

Have you ever woken up in the morning craving a delicious, light, fluffy, buttermilk pancake only to whip some up and take a bite and think, “These just don’t taste as good as the ones I had at….(fill in name of favorite diner/restaurant)? Well I have had this happen to me more than once. What is it, I’ve wondered, that makes theirs so much better than mine? Is it all in my head? Well, I’m thrilled to announce I have finally discovered the secret! Thanks to Todd Wilbur and his amazing book Top Secret  Restaurant Recipes 2. Now, of course I have made my own little adjustments, because that’s just what I do, and I can honestly say I won’t ever need to go out to have the worlds best pancakes ever again! These pancakes are so good, in fact, that my dear mother who was recently visiting, (and always on some sort of healthy diet), wanted to have a bite ‘just to see how they taste’, and ended up eating 3 more. (Then had me make them the next two days following that!) Yes, I promise, they are THAT GOOD! I hope you enjoy them as much as I and my family do. (I know you will!)

Buttermilk-Cream of Wheat Pancakes

3/4 cup white flour

1/2 cup wheat flour (can use all white)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/3 cup instant Cream of  Wheat (dry)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

First combine all of the wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well mixed. (If you don’t have instant Cream of Wheat, just cook some regular Cream of Wheat in a bowl  in the microwave for 1 minute, then add 1/3 cup to the wet ingredients. Just be sure it’s cooled slightly so it won’t cook the egg!) Next add the wet ingredients and stir with a fork just until mixed. Over mixing pancake batter will result in flat, heavy, rubbery pancakes.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and, just before pouring your batter onto the hot pan, spray with a thin layer of non-stick spray. (Do this before each addition of batter). Pour 1/4 – 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot skillet and allow to cook until the center begins to bubble and the edges appear to be somewhat dry, (anywhere from 1-2 minutes depending on how high your heat is). Flip over and allow to cook for another 45 seconds or so. If your pancakes are looking dark or over done, turn down your heat. It’s better to cook them at a lower heat for an extra minute than to have a burnt pancake that’s raw in the middle.

As your pancakes finish cooking, place them on a plate with a clean dish towel to keep them from getting soggy and cold. Cover pancakes with the other half of the dish towel. Top pancakes with butter and syrup, or whatever sounds delicious to you.

If your feeling adventurous, try adding mashed up banana or grated apple with cinnamon to the batter for some different flavors.

Batter yields 8-10 pancakes.

I realize I’ve done a pretty bad job of posting ‘good buys’ so far, so allow me to begin with a truly GREAT BUY! The Plasma Car!

I first discovered these amazing rides at a friends house 7 months ago. My toddler and I couldn’t stop riding them around and so it was decided that this must be a Christmas gift. I ordered ours from www.SkitterToys.com, but they appear to no longer be taking orders. Bummer! But www.PlasmaCar.com is! Now, it’s important that I note here that Skitter cars sell GEL WHEELS for an extra price, and these wheels are KEY to making this amazing toy ride smooth, fast, and safely all around the interior of your home. Yes, this toy can be ridden outside. In fact, if you don’t change out the original plastic wheels,  you will have to, as they could damage your floors. (Not to mention the ride will be bumpier and not nearly as fun). Upon looking at PlasmaCar’s website, I don’t see any gel wheels for purchase, so perhaps you could do what some have done and buy 4 roller blade wheels to attach instead of those included; the idea is the same.

All you have to do to ride this car around is to gently wiggle the steering wheel back and forth and it moves forward! It’s so simple, even my 10 month old can ride it! (Which is pretty stinkin’ cute!) And, what’s truly amazing, is it can hold up to 220 lbs! (So dads can ride too!) And trust me, they’ll want to!

If you really want to make your kids happy for their next birthday/holiday, buy them a plasma car. It will give them YEARS of fun, keep them active and fit, and will even help you feel like a kid again as  you enjoy riding this car all around. (I highly recommend purchasing two as it’s a lot of fun to race and ride around on together. Not to mention, this is one toy your kids WILL fight over).

Plasma cars can be found all over the internet and in educational kids stores, from Amazon.com, to OneStepAhead.com. Look around and find the best deal, but know that no matter what price you find, you and your kids will get more than your money’s worth out of it.