Banana-Rama

So what do you do when your husband purchases ten pounds of bananas for a race, then forgets to take them to the race? As it turns out, you have just a few days to figure it out before your entire house starts to smell like over-ripened banana. It took me a day or two to decide it was time for banana-rama at our house, starting with a homemade Salted Caramel Banana Ice Cream.

Salted caramel made its way on to my radar sometime last year, and I am smitten. I love the saltiness balancing the sweetness of the caramel, and love how it goes with just about anything. So I adapted a Ben and Jerry's Banana ice cream recipe, adding a ribbon of salted caramel through the ice cream (and of course with a drizzle over the top!). It turned out quite well! Next time I make this, I think I'll add toffee or chocolate to it for a little crunch as well. Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Banana Ice Cream (adapted from Ben and Jerry's Banana)

2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 bananas, mashed
juice of 1 lemon

1 bag Kraft caramels (or caramel sauce, if you want to cheat)
Coarse sea salt
1 tbsp heavy cream

Whisk eggs in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in sugar until blended. Add cream and milk and blend. Put in ice cream freezer and follow manufacturer's directions. Add lemon juice to bananas and stir well. Add banana mixture to ice cream during last few minutes of freezing.

To make the salted caramel, put about half of the unwrapped caramels into a heat-proof bowl with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Microwave in 30-60 second increments, stirring frequently - watch out, it'll burn!

When caramels are melted, sprinkle coarse sea salt on top - 1/2 - 1 teaspoon depending on your tastes

Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then add to ice cream and stir just once or twice until a ribbon of caramel runs through the ice cream. Place in freezer and allow to freeze. 

To make sauce for the top of the ice cream, melt a few caramels with a dash of heavy cream, drizzle over the top of the ice cream and sprinkle with coarse sea salt - enjoy immediately!

I'm Back!

Ok, so it's been a few months since I've posted. My apologies. Between work, baby, and life, I've just been too exhausted to keep up. I've tried quite a few new recipes, though, and can't wait to share them! Another added bonus - I convinced the husband to get us a good camera, so no longer forced to take pictures of food with my iPhone (feel free to gush at how beautiful my food looks, now).


It's nearly May, and after the oh-so-mild winter and beautifully warm and sunny spring we've had so far, today turned miserably cold and wet. They called for eight inches of snow, but instead it was 34 degrees and raining the entire day. So I made the best of it and whipped up my favorite cold weather staple: white chili. It is simply chili made with roasted chicken, white (northern) beans, tomatoes, green chilies, and chicken broth. I also added sweet potato for extra flavor, and love the sweetness to balance the smokiness of the chili. Enjoy!

Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
2tbsp olive oil
1lb chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 sweet potato, cut into 1" cubes and steamed 10-12 minutes
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can fire roasted green chilies
1 can white northern beans, drained and rinsed
1tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1 avocado, sliced

Spices:
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp chipotle powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin

Mix the spices up in a small bowl

Take about half of the spices and rub into the chicken - I like to lift up the skin and put the spices underneath so I can remove the skin later but keep all the flavor

Bake chicken for 25 minutes at 375F. 

Let cool, then remove the skin and pull the meat off the bone

While the chicken is cooking, heat 2tbsp olive oil in a dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot.
Cook chopped onion, jalapeno and garlic 2-3 minutes
Add the chicken broth to the pot and stir
Add in the remainder of the spices from the dry rub
Add in the chicken meat, beans, tomatoes, chilies, and sweet potato. Let simmer at least 20-30 minutes

In the last few minutes of cooking, add in the fresh lime juice and cilantro and stir

Garnish with sliced avocado, cheese and sour cream if desired.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

My sister recently invited me to Pinterest, though at the time I had no idea what Pinterest was. I just didn't get it - an online pinboard? Why do I need that? Then, one day, I decided to sit down and look at it, just to try it, and see what all the buzz was about. It seems like everybody I talk to is on Pinterest, and to make it even more "in" you have to be invited to even get on the site. So, I may as well look. Well, as it turns out, Pinterest is pretty awesome. What I discovered was access to all sorts of recipes, blogs I've never heard of, food combinations I've never tried, all sorts of things delicious. And it opened my eyes. So now, most recipes that I try, I saw on Pinterest ("Oh yeah, I pinned that!")

The recipe for today is less of a recipe, and more of a great idea, courtesy of Pinterest. This recipe was found on a blog called Baked Perfection. One of those where you see it and think "why didn't I ever think of that???". It is simple, and it is fabulous.

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites, makes 40 brownie bites
1 box brownie mix, prepared (I made mine from scratch)
1/2 cup peanut butter chis
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Fill mini muffin cups 3/4 of the way full, bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until done
When they come out of the oven, indent the middle just a little (you can use a spoon, or a clean fingertip), then spoon in 1tsp creamy peanut butter into the indentation
Top with peanut butter chips and chocolate chips
Enjoy!

Winter's Return

Somehow we managed to make it all the way to January before winter found its way back to us. We really lucked out through November and December, with surprisingly mild days through fall and early winter. Being a southern girl, I love mild winters. The third day of January brought with it a big gust of wind and our first real snowfall of the season, and in response I cuddled up with a blanket and my iPad to search for some new recipes that would make me forget about the upcoming months of cold and snow.

I respect the winter  because it makes me appreciate spring and summer even more. Since moving to the north from southern Georgia, I enjoy a little bit of snow, for the novelty of it. But, come February I am almost always sick and tired of winter. And the return of blustery winter days kind of makes me sad, in a way. But, on the other hand, there is no time like winter for comfort foods, which happen to be my favorite. If it weren't for winter, there would be many foods that just wouldn't taste as good - can you imagine eating a steaming hot bowl of chili in July? 

I may have found my favorite tomato soup recipe today. It was easy, and it was awesome. And, best of all, it was made in the crock pot, so all I had to do was throw some ingredients in and let it do its thing all day. I also made a parmesan focaccia to go with it, a twist on the usual grilled cheese and tomato soup, and have to say that it was a hit. 

Parmesan Tomato Basil Soup - adapted from 365 days of slow cooking

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced celery

2 cans fire roasted tomatoes (28oz total), undrained

4 cups chicken broth

1 stick butter

1/2c all purpose flour

1/3c fresh basil

1tbsp fresh thyme

1 spring fresh rosemary

1-2 bay leaves

1 cup parmesan cheese

2 cups half and half

Put onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and chicken broth into slow cooker for 6-7 hours (I only had 5, so I sauteed the onions, carrots and celery in a little olive oil in a dutch oven before putting them in the crock pot). During the last 1-2 hours of cooking, add in the fresh herbs.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, make a roux with the butter and flour. If you've never made a roux before, this is done by melting the butter in a skillet and whisking in the flour. Then keep on whisking for five minutes or so, until you reach what they call "peanut butter roux" - which means it is the color of peanut butter. When you've gotten to this point, add in 1 cup of the soup to the skillet and whisk until incorporated, then add in 2-3 more cups and whisk. Then put the entire mixture back into the crock pot and stir well.

Add the parmesan cheese and half and half and bring back to temperature, salt and pepper to taste (and basil or more thyme if needed) before serving.

For the final touch, use immersion blender to blend to desired consistency.