After perusing the web for a while, I combined a variety of recipes to create this one. They all offered similar ingredients and measurments, so today there’s not one link I can send you too.
A few recipes said to add a tablespoon of fresh ground coffee or several tablespoons of peanut butter — so if you want to try that, I’m all for it! I stayed in a comfort zone this time but look forward to adding these extras later.
Ingredients
2 smashed bananas
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup flour (optional: divided between wheat and all-purpose
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat oven to 350
1. Smush bananas with masher. Add butter and mix until lumpy and mixed well.
2. Add sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, baking soda and egg.
3. Add flour and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix. Then add walnuts and mix.
4. Shell out mixture into greased muffin pan, filling each cup about 1/2 full. Sprinkle a few walnuts on top of each muffin.
5. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
**
Voila! These are great snacks and go well with a cold glass of milk.
The chicken and coleslaw come from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast By Martha Stewart Living. This is an excellent cook book with quick, easy recipes based on foods that are in season. The pictures are beautiful and the recipes delicious.
The cottage cheese part of this post is a family recipe that comes down from, I think, my great-grandfather. It sounds as if pasta, pepper and cottage cheese were all he had in his home in the shtetl back in the old country and tossed it all together. Well, it turns out to be pretty darn good!
UPDATE: The cottage cheese pasta recipe has been updated as of May 26. My mom pointed out that I’m missing two ingredients — indicated below in the ingredients and directions in bold.
Ingredients
Chicken
8 slices wheat bread (or 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (overflowing cup)
1 tsp. thyme
garlic powder to taste
chicken breast or legs or whatever part you like
Cumin-Coleslaw
1/4 head green cabbage, grated
3 large carrots, grated
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/4 cup canola oil
2 T. lime or lemon juice
3 T. cilantro or parsley
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Cottage Cheese Pasta
1-2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
Bag of penne, bow tie or fusilli pasta
2 T. butter, melted (optional)
salt, pepper and garlic to taste
cilantro to taste
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Directions
Coleslaw
Start with the coleslaw since it’s the easiest and can be stored while working on the other items.
1. In a large bowl mix the cabbage, carrots and jalapeno. Mix well.
2. Add canola oil. Mix. Add lime or lemon juice.
3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin and pepper. Toss well. Cover with saran wrap and set aside.
Chicken
Now start with the chicken. But at this time, start boiling the water for the pasta and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
If you’re using sliced bread, tear the bread into pieces and put in the blender and voila — homemade breadcrumbs.
1. In one bowl, mix buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, parmesan, thyme, garlic and pepper.
2. Dunk chicken in buttermilk bowl, coating each piece pf chicken completely. Let excess drip back into bow. Then dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture and cover completely. Place chicken on baking sheet.
3. Bake until chicken is golden brown or about 35-40 minutes.
Cottage Cheese Pasta
1. Boil, cook and drain pasta. While in strainer, add butter. Return pasta to boiling pot.
My mom’s recipe. This also gives me a chance to write about mama’s cookin’
Ingredients
1/2 cup orange juice
2 T. dijon mustard
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
pepper and garlic powder to taste
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs*
1 tsp. paprika
3 chicken breasts
dash of rosemary or thyme
* simple bread crumbs: put slices of bread in a blender and mix away.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In small/medium sized bowl, mix orange juice, mustard, worcestershire sauce and pepper/garlic powder.
3. In another separate small/medium size bowl, mix parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and paprika.
4. remove, rinse and pat dry chicken breasts.
5. One by one, place chicken in bowl with all the liquids. Cover chicken completely turning it over a couple times to make sure it’s completely covered.
6. Then dunk in bowl of dr ingredients. Cover chicken completely. Place in baking dish. Repeat with other pieces of chicken.
7. If there is some remaining dry ingredient mix, sprinkle over the top of chicken breasts. Garnish with rosemary or thyme.
8. Bake, uncovered for 40 minutes.
Can be served with long grain rice or green salad.
