Strawberry-Banana Muffins

In the past week, Kristin and I had a great problem: too many strawberries.  We'd bought some at the grocery store, and then Kristin's mom gave us a whole ton of them from a local fruit farm.  Even the grocery store ones were great, but the local berries were just fantastic - juicy and sweet and just slightly tart.  The trouble was that we just had altogether too many of them.

We decided we ought to bake something, and went out in search of interesting recipes.  We found a couple of strawberry-banana things - a bread and some muffins, in particular.  Neither recipe seemed quite ideal, though.  So finally, we decided to stick with what we know is good.  We adapted my family's trusty Banana Bread and it turned out so, so well.  The muffins were soft, moist, and wonderfully flavorful.  Now I can't wait 'til we have too many strawberries again so we can make another batch.

Here's what we used: flour, sugar, strawberries, bananas, baking powder, baking soda, eggs, margarine, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

First, you'll need to create the ever-photogenic bowl of white powder.  Mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

In a second, larger bowl, combine the margarine, egg whites, sugar, bananas, and vanilla.  Mash up the bananas with a large spoon, potato masher, or other weapon of choice until they're pretty well distributed through the rest, but still chunky.  The mashing and smashing should do pretty well at mixing the rest, but give it an extra stir to be sure.

Pour the dry bowl into the wet and mix well to combine.

Chop your strawberries down into nice small pieces.  We ended up using somewhere between 1 1/2 and 2 cups of chopped berries, all told, and even a tad more could still have worked fine.

Gently fold the strawberries into the batter, and you're ready to go.

Fill greased, un-lined muffin tins about 2/3 full with batter.  We initially used the muffin tins un-lined because we (mistakenly) thought we were out of muffin cups.  It ended up that we weren't, but I think this is still the best way to go, here.  The muffins are so moist that I think they would really stick to muffin cups and you would pull off a lot of the outside when removing the wrapper.  This way, you get maximum muffin.

Bake the muffins for 16-20 minutes at 350 degrees.  18 minutes on the nose did it for us.

Let them cool for 5-10 minutes before you take them out of the muffin tins, then devour promptly.

Recipe: Strawberry-Banana Muffins
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 18 Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3 Egg Whites
• 1/2 cup Margarine, melted
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 3-4 ripe Bananas
• 2 cups fresh Strawberries, diced

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin tins.
2. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, sugar, margarine, egg whites, vanilla, and bananas.  Mash bananas with a potato masher or heavy spoon until thoroughly mixed.
4. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well.
5. Dice strawberries and gently fold into batter until well distributed.
6. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full with batter.
7. Bake 16-20 minutes until brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool 5-10 minutes in muffin tins before serving.

"Broccoli and Friends" Salad

This salad has many names -- most of them lame.  You can find it behind the deli at most grocery stores in one form or another, and it's often called something like "Broccoli Salad."  At really adventurous places, you might see "Broccoli Grape Salad."  Names like that convey and ingredient or two, but they don't capture how tasty this little salad actually is.

Leave it to Kristin's family to come up with a better name.  I had only ever had the supermarket version of this salad a few times before, so I didn't know what was going on or what I should be excited about when I heard Kristin's older sister exclaim "Broccoli and Friends!"  I've become good friends with "Broccoli and Friends" since -- it's a quick, easy, flavorful side that pairs with almost anything, especially in the summer.

Just a few ingredients for this one.  The role of "Broccoli" will be played by broccoli.  The role of "Friends" will be played by red onion, bacon, sliced or slivered almonds, grades, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

First, toast up the almonds in a skillet with just a dash of salt.  Don't get them too dark, you just want plenty of crunch.  If you don't have almonds on hand, pine nuts or sunflower seeds could fill in nicely.

While the almonds are toasting, chop the broccoli into florettes, halve the grapes, and finely dice the red onion.  Combine the broccoli, grapes, onion, and toasted almonds in a large bowl and give them a good mix.

Mmm, bacon.  Chop up and fry the bacon to your desired level of crispyness.  I like it fairly soft for this recipe, but I could see the appeal in another source of crispy crunch, too.  Try both ways for science!

Mix the bacon into the rest of the ingredients.

Finally, whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice, then season with a dash of salt and a good amount of cracked black pepper.  Pour it over the bowl and stir well to make sure everything is coated.

If you're in a hurry, you can serve the salad right away.  It's better if it can sit in the fridge for at least an hour or two, though - it's best nice and cold, and the flavors like a little bit of time to meld.  Either way you do it, offer hearty portions and enjoy!

Recipe: Broccoli and Friends
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 10 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds Broccoli
• 1/2 pound Bacon
• 2 cups Grapes
• 1 cup Slivered Almonds
• 1 medium Red Onion
• 1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Toast almonds with a pinch of salt until crisp and golden brown.
2. Chop broccoli into florettes, dice red onion, and halve grapes.  Mix together with almonds in a large bowl.
3. Chop bacon into small pieces and saute until desired level of crispyness.  Mix bacon into large bowl.
4. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Add a dash of salt and plenty of black pepper to taste.
5. Pour mayonnaise mixture into large bowl and stir well to coat all ingredients.
6. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving.

Salsa

I have a weakness for salsa.  I think it may run in my family.  I think it may run in humanity.  And, really, I'm okay with that.  I like all sorts of salsa, but there's always something about the stuff that you get before a meal at a real Mexican restaurant.  It's not specially flavored, it's not "extra chunky," it's just delicious.  This recipe is a lot like that.  Salsa from a jar may have more "stuff" in it, but this is straightforward, clean, and altogether addictive.

The nice thing about salsa is that the ingredients are eminently variable, so if you don't have or don't like something, you can probably work around it.  Here's what I used, but adjust as you see fit: one large can whole peeled tomatoes, two cans original Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies, one bunch cilantro, a couple of  small Jalapeno peppers, one large green bell pepper, the juice of two limes, one large sweet onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, a bit of sugar, plenty of cumin, some smoked paprika (not pictured - oops!) and some salt.

This recipe is very, very easy, and this first step is most of the work.  Start by chopping up all of the fresh vegetables: the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic.  The blender will finish the job, so don't worry too much about the size or uniformity of the chop.

I like to make my salsa in the blender in stages so I can get the flavor balance just right.  Start by adding all of the chopped vegetables above to the blender along with the large can of tomatoes, sugar, cumin, paprika, salt, lime juice, and salt.  Basically, that's everything but the Ro-Tel and the Cilantro.  I do this so it's easy to adjust the spice level - the spice of jalapenos can vary, especially depending on how many seeds you have (assuming you left them in).  The spice from the Ro-Tel chilies is more or less consistent, so it's easy to add bit by bit to achieve the level of spice you're looking for.  I generally end up content after two cans - you may want anywhere from none to several.

Give everything a few pulses in the blender until it's fairly well-mixed, then taste and see how you're doing so far.  If you're like me, it won't be nearly spicy enough yet, and you may also have underguessed on how much cumin or paprika you want in there, as well.  Adjust the seasonings and start to add Ro-Tel about a half can at a time, pulsing the blender in between to mix.  Stop when you've reached your desired level of spice.

Once things are appropriately spicy, add plenty of cilantro and give it a couple of last pulses to chop and mix through.  The cilantro can't survive much time in the blender, so we add it last to keep it relatively intact.  Taste again and add anything you want more of, then you're ready to serve.

This recipe makes a lot of salsa, so it's easy to serve it in a variety of ways.  It's great on chips, in tacos, or in any recipe that calls for salsa as an ingredient.  Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator - but don't expect them to last long.  If  you have anything like my salsa addiction, you'll pull those leftovers out to finish off in no time.

Recipe: Salsa
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: None | Difficulty: Easy | Yield: Approx. 2 Quarts

Ingredients

• 1 large can (28 oz) whole tomatoes.
• 2 medium (14.5 oz) cans Original Ro-Tel Tomatoes and Green Chilies
• 1 bunch Cilantro
• 2 small Jalapeno Peppers
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 2 clove Garlic
• Juice of two Limes
• 1 tbsp White Sugar
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 2 tsp Salt

Instructions

1. Dice bell pepper, sweet onion, garlic, and Jalapeno peppers.
2. Add diced vegetables to blender along with all other ingredients except Ro-Tel and Cilantro.  Pulse several times to blend.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Add a half can of Ro-Tel at a time and pulse to blend.  Taste and stop adding Ro-Tel when desired spice level is reached.
4. Chop cilantro and add to blender.  Pulse to mix through.
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate to preserve freshness.

Pork Chops a la Nicole

One day, probably about a month or so, my cousin Nicole sent me a message on Facebook asking for a recipe suggestion.  It felt a little bit like Chopped - she had a few ingredients she wanted to use for a dinner, and wasn't sure what to do with all of them.  Thankfully, unlike Chopped, the ingredients all fit together nicely, so it was a fun set to try to think into a coherent recipe.

Here's Nicole with her husband Adam and their (bloody adorable) son Logan.

Nicole had pork chops, diced potatoes, and zucchini to work with, and was leaning toward doing it all on the grill.  Pork chops and the grill get along great, so that was no problem.  When it comes to diced potatoes, my first thought was a hash, and I figured the zucchini could fit in there just fine, too.  I suggested a marinade for the pork and a method for putting together a hash, and Nicole said it went great.

I could hardly suggest a recipe without then trying to make it myself, now could I?  I ended up making a few changes to my original suggestions based on Nicole's feedback, but my end result made or a seriously tasty dinner.

Here's what you'll need: pork chops, a bit of bacon, sweet potatoes, zucchini, a sweet onion, some olive oil, some vinegar (white or cider), garlic or garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme, mustard, salt, and pepper.

First, combine a bit of oil, vinegar, mustard, and lots of the spices into a nice marinade for the pork.  It's best to let it marinate overnight, but if you're in a hurry an hour or two will do the trick.  Let it marinate in the fridge and come back when it's time to cook.

Once the chops have had plenty of time to marinade, grill them up.  For thin chops like I used, 2-3 minutes per side was plenty.  Do your best to time it so that your pork will be done and rested more or less at the same time as the hash, which will take 15-20 minutes to make from chopping to finish.

When you're ready to get started, peel and chop the sweet potatoes, and also chop the zucchini and sweet onion into small, bite-sized pieces.

Give the bacon a rough chop and get it rendering in a pan.  Take care not to overcook it - it'll go back into the pan with the rest of the hash later on.  When it's well rendered, but not yet crispy, pull it out and set it aside.

Drain off most of the excess grease, but leave a few tablespoons in which to saute the diced sweet potatoes.  Cook them, stirring often, until they're starting to brown on the outside.  Try a bite - careful, they'll be hot - and when they're reasonably tender, it's time to add more stuff to the mix.

When the sweet potatoes feel pretty tender, add the zucchini, onion, and bacon, as well as a generous helping of the seasonings - basil, oregano, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Continue to saute, stirring often, until the zucchini and onion are nice and tender, then taste and adjust the seasonings.  I added just a quick dash of vinegar in the last 30 seconds or so of cooking to brighten the flavors up, and it really helped a lot.

Serve your grilled chops atop a generous portion of hash, and be ready to offer seconds.

Recipe: Pork Chops a la Nicole

Prep Time: 5 Minutes (+2-24 hour marinade) | Cook Time: 15-20 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 6 thin Pork Chops
• 4 medium Sweet Potatoes
• 4 medium Zucchini
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 8 oz Bacon
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp Vinegar (white or cider)
• 3 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp Oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine olive oil, vinegar, mustard in a large resealable bag.  Add seasonings to taste.  Marinade pork minimum 2 hours.
2. Grill pork chops 2-3 minutes per side until done.  Rest under foil until ready to serve.
3. Peel sweet potatoes.  Chop sweet potatoes, zucchini, and onion into small, bite-sized pieces.
4. Chop bacon down into bite-sized pieces and render in a pan over medium heat until tender.  Set aside.
5. Drain away all but 2-3 tablespoons of grease.  Saute sweet potatoes in bacon grease until golden brown and tender.
6. Add zucchini, onion, and bacon to skillet with sweet potatoes, season with garlic powder, thyme, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, and continue to saute until all vegetables are tender.
7. Optional: Add 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar to hash in last minute of cooking and stir well.
8. Serve grilled chops hot atop a generous portion of hash.

Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad

Pasta salad deserves better.  Sure, it's a delicious side, but why leave it there?  Every grocery store deli will happily sell you some gloppy macaroni salad, but come on, we can do better than that.  Why not make pasta salad a main course?  Why not add enough great ingredients that it can stand on its own?  Most importantly -- why not bacon?

As you can see, my board is fuller than usual.  A lot of stuff goes into this pasta salad, but there's not a lot of prep for most of it.  You'll need some pasta, of course.  Go for an interesting shape - I used Cavatappi to great success this time around.

We'll feature a pair of proteins, both chicken and bacon.  For the veggies, I use broccoli, cucumber, carrots, and bell pepper - but you can add or change as you see fit.  A lot of people are into tomatoes - raw ones make me sad, but you can go crazy with them if that's your thing.  I also love some cheese in my pasta salad, so I added a block of extra-sharp cheddar.

Finally, the supporting cast is made up of Greek yogurt, a bit of mayonnaise and sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a packet of ranch dressing mix.

We'll start with the chicken.  If it's warm enough outside and you have easy access, you can always just grill it.  Since we don't own a grill, though (alas!), I like to use this method to simulate grilling in the oven while adding a ton of flavor.

First, rinse the chicken and pat it dry.  Season it well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then give dip it in the Greek yogurt to coat.  The yogurt dip will keep the chicken super moist while it cooks, even while you get a nice, slightly-blackened exterior.

Lay the yogurt-dipped chicken out on a wire rack atop a baking sheet -- this should let hot air circulate around the whole chicken breast at once and keep the bottom from getting soggy.  You may even want to line the baking sheet with foil to catch the drips and make clean-up simpler.

Broil the chicken 6 inches away from the broiler about 5 minutes per side until it's nicely blackened on the outside and the inside is up to temperature.  Set it aside for later.

While the chicken is cooking, fry up the bacon.  Try not to eat too much of it before it ever gets into the pasta salad.  Dry the finished product on papers towels and set aside for later.

Don't forget that we need some pasta, too!  Cook it up according to the package directions, leaving it on the al-dente side.  Drain well and set it aside to cool once it's done.

Now for all of that other stuff.  Chop the broccoli, cucumber, bell pepper, carrots, and cheese into bite-sized pieces.  I like to quickly blanch the broccoli for 30 seconds or so in boiling water to soften it just a touch before I chop it, but that's up to you.

The chicken and bacon should be cool enough to handle by now, so give those a good chopping, too.

Finally, it's time to put it all together.  You'll probably need a couple of large bowls for this - this recipe filled up the two largest bowls in my kitchen handily.  Combine everything, preferably leaving a little extra room at the top of the bowl so that you can stir the dressing in easily.

Speaking of dressing, we'd better make some.  Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and ranch dressing mix and stir well.  Give it a taste and adjust as you see fit - I added a little more garlic and some dried herbs.

Add your preferred amount of dressing to the salad and stir well to mix.  I like it fairly lightly dressed - there's enough good stuff in these bowls to be tasty all by itself.

Throw it in the fridge to fully chill and let the flavors marry a bit, and you're ready to serve.  This is a fantastic, summery main course, and so easy to prepare well in advance.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes | Chill Time: 1-2 Hours | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 12-15
Ingredients

• 16 oz Cavatappi Pasta
• 1-2 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• 1 pound Bacon
• 3 heads Broccoli
• 1 large Cucumber
• 2 large Green Bell Peppers
• 8 ounces Baby Carrots
• 8 ounces Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 16 ounces Greek Yogurt
• 1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
• 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Drain well and set aside to cool.
2. Rinse chicken and pat dry.  Season well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder then coat completely with Greek yogurt.
3. Place yogurt-covered chicken on a wire rack atop a baking pan and broil approx. 5 minutes per side until blackened on the outside and done in the middle.  Set aside to cool.
4. Fry bacon in a heavy skillet.  Dry well with papers towels and set aside.
5. (Optional): Blanch broccoli 30 seconds in boiling water.
6. Chop all vegetables and cheese into small, bite-sized pieces.
7. Once chicken and bacon have cooled, chop into small, bite-sized pieces.
8. Combine pasta, chicken, bacon, cheese, and vegetables in large bowl(s).
9. In a small mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and ranch dressing mix.  Adjust seasoning to taste and stir to mix.
10. Add dressing to pasta mixture to taste and stir well to combine.
11. Chill at least 1-2 hours before serving.  Serve cold.