Nutty Bananas Foster

I’ve LOVED bananas foster ever since I had it in my high school culinary class for the very first time (sans rum of course). 

I particularly love temperature contrasts in food so I love the warm sauce served over cold ice cream.  In my own version I bump up the contrast even more, only with texture. By adding toasted pecans it adds a crunch that takes it next level. 

While I usually serve this bananas fosters sauce over vanilla ice cream, it can also be served over pancakes, crepes, French toast, cakes, or bread pudding. 

Nutty Bananas Foster 

4 tablespoons butter 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

3 bananas, sliced 

*3 tablespoons dark rum (optional) 

1/2 cup chopped, toasted, pecans 

Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon and let the sugar dissolve 

Add in sliced bananas and stir gently. Let cook about 2 minutes.  It will seem like there isn’t enough sauce at first, but as the bananas cook down a little they will release so moisture and it will become more saucy. 

*Optional after the bananas have been added and cooked for about 2 minutes, add the rum to the pan and light to flambé. 

 

Stir in the toasted pecans. 

Serve over vanilla ice cream 

Pumpkin Spice Chex Treats

If you like the idea of making a seasonal Fall dessert but aren’t down with the idea of  actually baking, this is the dessert for you! These pumpkin spice Chex treats are as easy as opening a few bags and stirring. That’s pretty much it. 

I chose cinnamon Chex over the traditional krispies because..

A. Cinnamon 

B. Chex has more of a crunch rather than just a light crisp (I’m sorry, “Krisp”) that I enjoy 

C. After already knowing I loved A & B, I made them and realized that I also love that Chex are hollow inside. It makes for a great texture as you bite into them. Me likey. 

I’ve gotten pumpkin spice marshmallows at both Walmart and 99c Only. Of course, you could always do regular marshmallows and add your own spice mix, but buying these makes it even easier. 

Pumpkin Spice Chex Treats 

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

2-8oz bags pumpkin spice marshmallows 

1 tsp vanilla 

8 cups cinnamon Chex 

In a pot melt the butter over low heat. Add in your marshmallows and melt them down, stirring often. 

Stir in your vanilla extract and then pour in your Chex. Fold carefully to coat the cereal evenly. 

Spread into a 9x13 pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Disperse evenly but don’t press them into place so as not to make the treats too dense and hard. 

*You can also use a 10 inch square pan if you like your treats thicker. 

The texture I love from the Chex being hollow 

Cinnamon Crunch Pumpkin Bread

About 7 months ago I created a Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread recipe and I fell deeply in love! I know I had to “crunchify” all my quick bread recipes now and with it being Fall it’s pumpkin’s turn. What’s not to like? Moist (sorry…I know a lot of people hate that word but what else do you say? Lol) and lightly spiced cake made even better with the crunch of cinnamon sugar and butter. 

Of course, you could always skip the butter and cinnamon sugar exterior (but why would you??) because the pumpkin bread on its own is delicious.  This recipe yields two loaves so you could always cinnamon sugar one and leave the other plain. When left plain it’s great served warm with a little butter. 

This bread is extra moist with just a half cup of oil (for two loafs!) because of the pumpkin and applesauce. I also tent the bread lightly with foil while it cools which locks in the moisture even more. 

Hope you enjoy it!

Cinnamon Crunch Pumpkin Bread 

1- 15oz can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

4 eggs

1/2 cup neutral tasting oil

1 1/2 cup applesauce 

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 

1 tb Vanilla extract 

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt 

2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp nutmeg 

1 tsp ginger I

Coating

1 cup Granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 stick Butter, melted 

Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, applesauce, oil, sugars, and vanilla until well combined. 

In a large bowl stir together the dry ingredients. Pour in the wet ingredients and gently fold to combine. Do not overmix or your bread will be tough. (This goes for all quick breads) 

•Preheat oven to 325 and prepare two 9x5 loaf pans with nonstick spray or shortening. 

•Divide the batter into the two prepared loaf pans and bake at 325 for 1 hour or until the center is completely set and a toothpick comes out clean. Low and slow is the way to keep your bread from getting to dark and crispy before it is cooked all the way through. 

•Remove loaves from pans and cool on wire rack

*Optional Step* Lightly tent the loaves on the cooling rack with foil until cool. This helps lock in moisture. 

•Mix your cinnamon and granulated sugar together and transfer to a plate or container large enough for an entire loaf to fit into. 

•Brush your loaf with melted butter and roll and press it into the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating the top and sides of the loaf. 

•I like to give the sides of the loaf just one coating, but 2-3 coats of butter and sugar on the top of the bread. Do whatever you prefer! I like a thick, crunchy sugar crust on top. I also like to end with butter brushed on the top of the bread. This will keep the cinnamon sugar from sprinkling off and “glues” the crust in place so to speak. 

That One Soup From that Chain Restaurant with the Endless Salad & Breadsticks

 As the title states, this is my version of that one soup from that one chain restaurant with the endless salad and mediocre breadsticks. Every time I say that people recoil in disbelief but I just don’t get the hype over the bread.  Oh well 🤷🏻‍♀️

About the soup, I’ve actually never even had it from the restaurant. I’ve probably only even eaten there 4 times in my 32 years of life and and it’s been at least since I was a teenager. Even though I’ve never had it, I’ve sure heard a lot about their Tuscan soup, so I decided to make it at home. 

I looked up copycat recipes to get an idea but bumped up the flavor. Based on the ingrendients listed I felt like it needed a little boost. Now, I can’t say how mine compares to the actual restaurant version, but I can say that everyone loves it. Whenever I make it people ask for the recipe and The Boy LOVES. Yesterday, there was a cold snap here in Phoenix and it was only 93 degrees, so I broke out my Dutch oven to make it. 

Hope you enjoy it! 

My Version of Zuppa Toscano

1 pound bacon, medium diced 

1 pound Italian sausage

1 Onion, medium diced 

4 Cloves garlic, minced 

2 tsp. Dried basil

2 tsp. Italian seasoning 

2 1/2 pounds peeled and medium diced potatoes

2-48oz boxes chicken broth (12 cups)

1 tsp. Red pepper flake (optional. Or use spicy Italian sausage)

1 cup heavy creamy 

5 tb. Cornstarch mixed with 5 tb water (optional)

3 handfuls of torn or roughly chopped kale, thick stems removed (you can also use frozen chopped kale or spinach)

Pepper to taste 

2 tsp. Kosher salt**

•In your soup pot, crisp the diced bacon. Remove the crisped bacon and let drain on paper towels, reserving for later.

•Crumble and brown the Italian sausage in the bacon fat. 

•After the sausage is cooked, add the diced onion and cook until soft and translucent. 

•At this point, drain any excess fat. 

•Stir in your minced garlic, basil, and Italian seasoning and stir cooking for about a minute letting it become fragrant but not letting the garlic brown. 

•Pour in your broth and stir in the red pepper flakes and potatoes. 

•Bring to a boil and let simmer until potatoes are soft, then pour in the cream. 

•Mix your 5 tb of cornstarch with equal parts water to create a slurry. Pour this into the boiling soup. This is optional, but I like this additional step. It won’t thicken it enough to be like a chowder, it will still be more of a brothy soup. However, it adds just just enough body to help it coat the potatoes and other ingredients and acts as an emulsifier with any remaining fat. It also Keeps the broth and cream emulsified together as well .

•Season with pepper to taste and kosher salt

**I ended up using 2 tsp Kosher salt but it all depends on how salty your bacon and broth are.  Start with less and season to taste. 

•Remove from the heat and stir in the reserved bacon and the kale. The residual heat will wilt the kale but keep the vibrant green color. 

Elote Inspired Pasta Salad

One of my favorite ways to get creative with food is to pull the flavors from one thing that I love and do a mash up with something else that I love. I love elote and I love pasta salad, so let’s make elote inspired pasta salad!

Clearly, this is in no way traditional nor am I trying to pass it off as such. It’s simply a way to bring the flavors I love in elote to a summer pasta salad. A fun variation to throw into your pasta salad rotation. 

As far as the corn goes, use whatever you have! Whether it’s thawed frozen corn, from the can, or straight off the cob, any will work for this recipe. 

If you want to bump up the flavor even more you can grill the corn (if on the cob) or even sear it in a hot pan for a little char. I didn’t do it this time but it adds a little extra flavor that I love. 

Elote Inspired Pasta Salad 

1 pound pasta of choice, cooked and cooled

4 cups corn (thawed frozen, canned, or off the cob…any will work)

1 cup red onion, small diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1 cup Cotija cheese (may use grated Parmesan as a substitute) 

Dressing

1 cup sour cream 

1/2 cup Mayo

2 limes, zested and juiced

2 tsp. Kosher salt 

1 tsp. cumin 

2 tsp. chili powder 

2 tsp. garlic powder 

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, Mayo, lime zest, lime juice, kosher salt, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder until well combined. 

In a large bowl, gently toss together the cooked pasta, diced red onion, corn, cilantro, and cotija cheese (reserve a little for garnishing the top of you'd like)

Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and gently fold to coat and combine. Serve chilled. 

The Key to Making the BEST Egg Salad

Look, I hate to be the type of person who tells people that they’re doing it wrong, but….you’re doing it wrong 😜. At least most of you judging by what I’ve seen with my own eyes and the recipes I’ve read online.  There’s a way to make your egg salad soooo much better! 

The key is simple: treat it just like you would deviled eggs. That means separating the yolks from the whites. Yes, it’s that simple but makes ALL the difference! By separating the two it makes for a much more rich and creamy egg salad that requires less Mayo. Instead of just chopping your eggs whole, the yolks are mashed and mixed with the Mayo and mustard.  You’re essentially just creating deviled egg filling and then folding in your chopped egg and other adds ins that you like. 

I like to chop my egg whites very finely (it all blends together better that way) and personally like the addition of celery and onion to my egg salad. You can leave it out if you want to, but I love the added crunch from the celery and zing from the onion. It gives it a little something extra. 

There you have it…that’s the secret! Thick and creamy egg salad that can’t be beat. I prefer to eat my egg salad with crackers or open face on toasted bread. I like textural difference that crackers and toast offer as opposed to it all being soft. (Old school tea sandwiches on soft, untoasted white bread is not my favorite)

The Best Egg Salad 

6 Eggs, hard boiled and peeled 

3 Tb. Mayo

1 Tb. Dijon mustard 

1 Tb. Yellow mustard 

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt 

Pepper to taste

1/8 cup Celery, finely diced 

1/8 cup Onion, finely diced 

Slice your eggs in half and separate the yolks from the whites and place in a bowl. Mash the yolks well with the back of a fork. 

Mix the Mayo, dijon, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper into the yolks. 

Finely dice the egg egg whites. Fold the egg whites, onion, and celery into the yolk/Mayo/mustard mixture. Enjoy!

Juicy Hamburger Patties and Burger Sauce

There’s nothing quite like a good burger. It’s one of those things I can eat fairly often without getting sick of it. I like them both piled high with lots of fancy toppings, or simple with just pickles and ketchup like when I was a kid. 

When I’m making burgers at home I have a go to mix for the meat. I know it’s more convenient to buy the frozen preformed patties, but most of the time they turn out kind of chewy like a puck and tasteless. I promise the few extra steps of making your own are totally worth it! You get a burger that’s well seasoned and stays nice and moist. 

The Burger Mix

Normally I don’t buy a ton of premixed spice blends.  I prefer to mix my own, but this McCormick Hamburger seasoning is one I make an exception for. 

This along with garlic powder season the meat perfectly. And then, there’s the other secret ingredient, relish! Yep, I put relish in the meat mixture. Dill please, not sweet. It doesn’t leave your burgers tasting like pickles, but keeps the meat nice and moist. The extra fine dice of relish ensures it mixes through evenly keeping everything evenly moist and delicious. 

Whether you form then into thick patties, or smash them thin, your burgers will moist and tasty. 

The Burger Sauce

I know most burger sauces are the same. They are a pink mixture of Mayo and ketchup and so is this one. But I do have something a little extra, horseradish. Not too much, just enough to add a background zip that you can’t quite put your finger on.  And don’t just limit this to burgers, it’s a great fry and onion ring sauce too. 

Burger Mix Recipe

1 pound 80/20 Ground beef 

1 tablespoon Hamburger seasoning 

2 tablespoons Dill pickle relish 

1 teaspoon Garlic powder 

 Mix together all ingredients together with your hands and form into patties in whatever size you prefer. Grill or smash on a flattop or pan to your desired doneness.

You can see the relish bits in the meat.  That's what keeps it so moist

Burger Sauce Recipe 

1/2 cup Mayo 

1/4 cup Ketchup 

1 teaspoon Garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt 

1 1/2 teaspoons Horseradish 

1 tablespoon Pickle juice 

Mix all ingredients well. Serve with burgers, fries, or onion rings.