Banana Bread Nutella Muffins

We eat our share of muffins in this house.They are easy to make and the kids can grab them as they are walking out the door. We also pack them for trips.Super easy to transport and there is never  any leftover. These muffins were made based on what I had leftover in the  pantry.A bit of nutella, a bit of leftover cinnamon chips and very overripe bananas. These muffins are dense and full of  banana-hazelnut-cinammon flavor.  This recipe yields 12 muffins.Perfect for freezing for later -in-the-week breakfasts.


Banana Bread Nutella Muffins



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2  teaspoons ground  cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
2 overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cooking Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the  flours, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine Nutella, banana, butter, milk, egg, vanilla and cinnamon chips.  Stir the nutella mixture  into dry just until combined. Do not overmix.Mix just until moistened.If you overmix, the muffins may not rise.  Spoon into greased muffin tins about 3/4 full.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Homemade Canned Salsa

 

This  year our garden is overrunning  with tomatoes. Last year we did not get hardly any tomatoes at all.This  year has definitely made up for it though. We like tomatoes as much as the next guy,but you can only eat so many tomato sandwiches before  it looses its appeal.This year I made a mental note to home  can as much food as possible. We have cold,long winters here in Pennnsylvania and having a pantry full  of yummy food is really important to me. I hate driving in snow and would much rather hibernate in my house with my  kids and not  venture out the the store. So with  the abundance of tomatoes we are blessed with this year , I am canning salsa, tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce. My crew here goes through salsa very fast around  here. We eat it with tortilla chips, add it to cream cheese for an awesome chicken enchilada base, added to  black  beans and chicken broth for black bean soup, and baked on top of chicken or pork for an easy weeknight  meal. The tomato sauce I use as a base for tomato based soups (green pepper soup,  hamburger soup etc) and the spaghetti sauce is for rigatoni,lasagnas and quick pasta dishes.I just add ground beef, turkey or sausage and simmer.

This recipe for canned salsa is very easy. I think the only tedious part is chopping all of the vegetables. but once that is done, it comes together quickly.I use the hot water bath method on all of my tomato based canning.My nana always made her canned tomatoes that way, and I am carrying on the tradition. I doubled  this recipe and came away with 12 pints of salsa. Stay tuned for pictures and recipes for other canned food.

*note -you can adjust the amount of hot peppers to make your salsa as hot or mild as you  like.I made one batch as written and the second batch with less peppers, for my younger boys.

Ingredients

• 10 cups roughly chopped tomatoes
• 5 cups chopped and seeded bell peppers
• 5 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups hot peppers, chopped, seeded (more or less to your taste)
• 1 1/4 cups cider vinegar(you could use white distilled vinegar)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except tomato paste in large sauce pot.
2. Simmer until desired thickness.
3. Stir in tomato paste.
4. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head-space.
5. Process 25 minutes in a hot water bath.

Frozen Berry Lemonade

 We are in the hottest part of summer here in PA and my kids are constantly drinking or eating   popsicles. I switch it up some afternoons by making them frozen lemonade slushees. I try to  keep frozen  fruit in the freezer so I can whip these up quick. Our favorites are strawberry, blackberry  and peach. The beauty of this recipe is ,you can use any fruit and juice combo.I stick to lemonade because it is a favorite of my boys, but you can use mango , orange or grape juice as well.  The measurements are not exact, I just eyeball it and add sugar to taste.This recipe makes enough for a glass each for each  of my 4 kids.

Frozen Berry Lemonade
 serves 4


2 cups prepared lemonade (I use Simply Lemonade)
2 cups frozen fruit (blackberries were used in the pic above)
2 1/2 cups ice cubes
2 T sugar (optional)

In a blender, add all the ingredients and blend until a smooth consistency .

Hickory Smoked BBQ Meatball Sandwiches & a Feature Spotlight

 Every once in awhile I come across a blog that blows me away.The recipes,the pictures,the writing. Last week I was lucky enough to find a new favorite blog, The Fresh Fridge . The design of Megan's blog is classy and her recipes sound awesome. One that intrigued me right  off the bat was Hickory Barbecue Meatball Sandwiches . I added the recipe to my menu plan and made them last night. All I can say is awesome.Everyone was quiet at the dinner table, because they were  eating these   sandwiches. And let me tell you, to quiet my entire bunch for  a few minutes is a feat. Four boys and an italian husband makes for a level of loudness incomprehensible to some people ;) .So I am happy to report that  this meal  will definitely be made again.I will play around with it and see if I can convert it to a crockpot meatball, so we can have them ready after football practice in the coming months. I did not change up the recipe , just added slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese and slathered the buns with a bit of barbecue sauce too.

Hickory Barbecue Meatball Subs
adapted from The Fresh Fridge 


Ingredients:
For meatballs:

• 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 eggs
• pepper to taste

For Sauce:

• 1 and ¼ cup Ketchup
• ¾ cup hickory flavored  barbeque sauce
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• garlic powder to taste
• pepper to taste

Extras:
      * extra sharp cheddar cheese slices
      * shredded lettuce
Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread, onion, milk, salt and eggs. Shape into little meatballs, about 1 inch in size. Place the meatballs into a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine ingredients for the sauce and then pour barbecue sauce over the meatballs. Bake for 1 hour.
3. While baking: At 30 minutes – turn the meatballs over halfway through and drain the grease off halfway through and at the end. The sauce can make them burn on top so put foil on top the whole time or at least the last 30 minutes of the bake time. You can also reserve more sauce to put on top toward the last 30 minutes.
4. To make sandwiches, slather a bit of  barbecue sauce on a hoagie roll, add a few slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese ,shredded lettuce and meatballs. (I usually take  some of the bread out of the top piece of the bun and make it hollow,then add it on top of the meatballs.That way the meatballs are nestled in the sandwich and do not fall out of the sandwich as easily.  A life saver for me, since I usually have meatballs rolling all over the floor if I don't.)

In other awesome news, I am a featured blogger over at Take it From Me: Welcome Wednesday .I am so excited to  be featured this week, and even more excited to have brand new followers.I hope that everyone who stops here will find at least one recipe that peaks their interest. Here is a list of the participating  blogs  this week,just in case you would like to browse a few new ones yourself.



And  I am linking  up to these parties this  week:
Full Plate Thursday @Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Show Off Your Stuff@Fireflies &Jellybeans
Hookin" up with HoH @ House of Hepworth's
Rounding Up @ Gooseberry Patch


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Homemade Egg and Cheese Bagel Sandwiches

My kids are the kind that wake up in the morning ready to eat.The  absolute second those little  feet hit the floor, they are ready to grub. I wake up a few hours before them and usually have muffins or pancakes ready for them when they wake up.  For a few weeks now,I have been making these awesome egg and cheese sandwiches for them.  The eggs are baked in a muffin tin! I just drop one egg into the muffin cups and bake. So easy, and they come out perfectly cooked and perfectly round. I usually use those mini wheat bagels, but we were all out, so I used my 100 calorie bagels instead. You can add bacon, sausage, tomato...the possibilities are endless.They can also be made ahead and  frozen for busy mornings.Just pop them, frozen, in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes !  I don't recommend the microwave for reheating - it leaves the read soggy. Yuck!

Homemade Egg & Cheese Bagel   Sandwiches

6 eggs (I  use cage free,from a local  farm)
6 bagels (mini bagels are perfect size)
6  slices cheese (I use white cheddar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Lightly grease 6 muffins tins and break  one egg into each.
Bake the eggs for 20-25 minutes, until  set.
Break the bagels in half and place a slice of cheese and an egg in each.Serve warm.






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Honey Raspberry Sweet Iced Tea

I think  I speak for most of you when I say that summer heat is in full swing. Southwest Pennsylvania is hot and humid.Unbearably so, at this point.My lids are going through popsicles faster than I can make them. I am also making on average, two  pitchers of sweet tea every day. I made this wonderful tea as a change  of pace ,and it is  so good. You can  definitely add more or less sugar to your  taste, and change up the juice.I used cran-raspberry because that is what I had on hand.I plan  on making a pitcher tonight with cran-blueberry! Hope everyone stays cool the  next couple of days!


Honey Raspberry Sweet Iced Tea

2 cups tea, fresh brewed
2 cups cran-raspberry juice
2 T honey
1/4 cup sugar (optional)

1.In a large,heat -proof pitcher, whisk  together all ingredients until all incorporated.It will take a few minutes of whisking to dissolve the honey .

2.Chill until ready to  serve.

3.Serve over ice.Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.








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Herb Grilled Chicken

Super easy and very tasty chicken marinade. I use this marinade during the summer months when we entertain friends. Marinate it and grill.The flavor is fabulous. I always cook extra chicken and make chicken salad the next day.

HERB GRILLED CHICKEN
Ingredients

* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* 1 teaspoon marjoram
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
* 1/4 cup snipped parsley
* 2 lbs chicken breast

Directions

1.Mix all ingredients together (except meat) and whisk thoroughly.
2.Put chicken in a large 8 x 11-inch glass baking dish and pour marinade over it
3.Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.
4.Drain chicken of the marinade and grill, basting with marinade until meat is done

Zucchini Bread

I was browsing some of my favorite foodie blogs last night and came across more than one post on zucchini bread.I have about 3 zucchini harvested from my garden every day.I have started to give them away,but kept them yesterday to make a few loaves of zucchini bread. Yum!

Zucchini Bread

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp vanilla
2 cups zucchini, shredded
2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

In a large bowl,mix the sugars,eggs,oil,vanilla and shredded zucchini.Mix well.Stir in the flours,salt baking soda,cinnamon and baking powder.Mix until all ingredients smooth into a batter .Pour into two bread pans sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 325 for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.

Baked Parmesan Zucchini

One of the things I love about summer cooking is the easiness of food preparation. In general, we eat lighter , and , in our case, tons of fresh vegetables. I have a garden full of produce this year and zucchini is running rampant in my garden. Not complaining, though. We love it! This dish is one of the favorites at our summer table, hands down. With a few simple ingredients, this dish is so flavorful. You can also use yellow squash, but we prefer the zucchini . 

Baked Parmesan Zucchini

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise and into spears

1/2- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt , to taste

pepper, to taste

garlic powder, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium casserole dish, drizzle  olive oil on the bottom. 

Roll the spears of zucchini in the olive oil and sprinke with salt, freshly ground pepper and garlic powder to taste. Then sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. ( I use closer to 3/4 - 1 cup )

Bake in the 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the zucchini is soft and the cheese is melted.

Kung Pao Chicken Drumsticks

One night this week, I was not in the mood to cook any food for dinner. It was so hot, the kids were grumpy (and let's face it, I was grumpy) , hubby was working late and I had no idea what I was going to put on the table for dinner. We live in the middle of nowhere, and taking the kids out to a restaurant was out of the question. I had chicken drumsticks in the fridge that I was planning on barbecuing later in the week, but decided I would cook them for dinner instead. My 7 year old said he wanted Chinese food.So ... I made a kung pao sauce , and baked the chicken legs. Home Run! The kids loved  them, the hubs said he loved the spiciness and I had none left over. You could definitely use a bottles kung pao sauce or other variation of a chinese sauce for these. I think I will use the sauce for bourbon chicken next time . I served  the chicken with teriyaki noodles and corn on the cob. Easy weeknight meal that I will make again * Note - I garnished my plate and hubby's plate with chopped scallions and chopped peanuts.I didn't even bother with the kids plates, because I knew they would complain :)

Kung Pao Chicken Drumsticks

 Chicken Ingredients:
14-16 chicken legs
1 tablespoon  oil (canola or vegetable)
Salt and pepper
garlic powder

 Sauce Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
¼ cup fresh ginger, minced
½ cup finely chopped onion
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons mirin 
¼ cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
½ cup low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons hot chili sauce ( I use Sriracha)

¼ cup salted roasted peanuts, finely chopped

1 small bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with non stick aluminum foil and set aside. Place chicken legs in a large bowl and drizzle with one tablespoon of canola oil. Season generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss to coat. Place on prepared cookie sheets and lightly drizzle with canola oil. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until nicely browned.
2) In a medium sauce pan over medium heat , add 1 tablespoon canola oil. When the oil is hot add the ginger and red onion. Cook for 4-  5 minutes, stirring often.
3) Add the garlic to the ginger and onion mixture and cook for anther  minute. Add the honey, mirin , rice wine vinegar,soy sauce, hoisin sauce and hot chili sauce and simmer for about 3 minutes until slightly reduced.

4) Place the kung pao sauce in a casserole dish . When the chicken is cooked, using a pair of tongs, transfer the drumsticks into the casserole dish. Roll each drumstick in the sauce to coat.
5)When serving, you can add the peanuts, the green onions and a drizzle of honey. I left this off for the kids, but added it to the adult plates.

Linking to:
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Motivate Me Monday
Amaze Me Monday
MAFF @ The Saturday Evening Pot
Mingle Monday

Cinnamon Blueberry Butter

I had a small container of blueberries in the refrigerator  that were on the verge of being thrown out. I made a cinnamon blueberry butter that is wonderful on waffles, pancakes,bagels, toast and even melted over grilled chicken or pork. This recipe is so easy and you can use different types of fruits that you have on hand. My kids were a bit skeptical when I pulled the butter out of the fridge and slathered it on mini bagels this morning. But after tasting it, I got a thumbs up from them! I am going to try to have  at least one flavored butter available all the time. Next I am going to try peach and cinnamon. * note - I use a cinnamon grinder from King Arthur Flour , which is why the cinnamon in the picture looks flaky and large.

Cinnamon Blueberry Butter


2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 
1 cup blueberries
2  T (or more to taste) powdered sugar
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon 


In a food processor or blender, puree the blueberries ( you can also use the back of a spoon to crush them)


In a medium bowl, mix together the softened butter, pureed blueberries, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly. Adjust the sugar and cinnamon to your taste. (I always add a bit more cinnamon) Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.




Linking up to :
Full Plate Thursday
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @Somewhat Simple
It's a Keeper Thursday
Show off Your Stuff Party @ Fireflies & jellybeans
These Chicks Cooked
Cast Party Wednesday @Lady Behind the Curtain

Sweet Tooth Friday @Alli n Son
Weekend Showoff Party @ Ladybird Ln
Frugal Friday @The Shabby Nest
Fresh Food Friday @ La Bella Vita
Friday Favorite Finds @ Joy in My Kitchen
Fridays Unfolded @ Stuff & Nonsense
Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table & Dreaming
Recipe Link up @Remodelaholic
Recipe Roundup @ Goosberry Patch Blog