Double Dark Chocolate Banana Muffins

Delicious, moist chocolate muffins with a banana taste mixed in.  This was the perfect start to a rainy Fall morning but will taste good anytime of the day.  

Double Dark Chocolate Banana Muffins

2 bananas, mashed

1/3 cup canola oil

1 large egg
3/4 cup milk

Mix together in a medium sized bowl.  Gradually stir in the remaining ingredients -

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup dark cocoa (I used King Arthur Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Using an ice cream scoop, fill almost all the way and scoop into a lined muffin tin.  Bake for 22 minutes at 350°.  Cool for 5 minutes before serving.  Makes 18 muffins.

Cheesy Hash Brown Soup

A co-worker was telling me how much he loved this soup his roommate had made him last Spring.  I was going to try it then but the weather got nice and all thoughts about soup vanished as grilling took over.  Fall is here now and even though the first day of it was not soup weather by any means, the second changed all that.  I decided to add a little kick in the soup by using pepper jack cheese and my go-to for every soup recipe - hot sauce.



Cheesy Hash Brown Soup

32 oz chicken stock
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. flour
32 oz frozen shredded hash browns
8 oz pepper jack cheese
4 oz cheddar cheese
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups ham, diced
3 dashes hot sauce (I used Frank's)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a stock pot or dutch oven, heat up chicken stock, milk (shake in a covered container with the flour before adding) and cheeses over medium heat.  Add in the hash browns and ham.  Cook about a half hour and add in hot sauce, salt and pepper. 

Caramel Apple Tart

It's definitely caramel apple season in my home.  This dessert has the smooth, silky caramel on top of an apple tart.  

Caramel Apple Tart

Tart Shell ~

1 ¼ cups flour

¾ cup powdered sugar

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

½ cup cold butter, sliced in small pieces

1 large egg

1 tbsp milk

½ tsp vanilla

Put all the dry ingredients in your food processor with the blade and pulse until combined.  Add in butter slices.  Pulse again until just combined so the butter doesn’t get too warm.  In a small dish, combine the milk, egg and vanilla.  Pour into the flour mixture and pulse until a dough forms.  Remove the dough from the processor and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for a half hour.  Remove from the refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes.  Roll out until the dough is ¼” thick.  Butter  the bottom only of your tart pan.  Place dough in pan.  Only lightly pressing down and on the sides.  Trim off any extra.  Return to refrigerator while your oven heats up to 350°.  Cover the bottom of the dough with aluminum foil and add pie weights.  When the oven is heated, bake for 30 minutes.

Let the tart cool for 15 minutes.  While that is going on, melt 1/2 cup butter and allow to cool slightly.

When cool, stir in ~

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Skin and slice 2 apples and lay in a circular pattern on your tart crust.  Pour butter mixture evenly over the top.  Return to the oven and bake for an additional 50 minutes.  Allow to cool.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat 20 caramels and 1 tbsp of milk for 1 minute.  Drizzle over the top of the cooled tart.

Caramel Apple Snack Mix

This is a fun snack mix that is full of Fall flavors.  It makes quite a bit so the whole family will have plenty of snacks for watching football games or to take along to work/school.

Caramel Apple Snack Mix

8 cups popcorn
4 cups Golden Grahams cereal
8 oz cashews
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
5 oz dehydrated apples
Combine popped popcorn, cereal and cashews in a large bowl.  In a large saucepan, melt butter.  Combine with brown sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes without stirring.  Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Mix together well and pour over popcorn mixture.  Bake for 1 hour at 250°, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from roaster and spread out on wax paper.  Store in a airtight container.

Blackberry Pear Crisp

I have loved this flavor combination ever since I made jam using them together.  It's makes a perfect dessert for a nice (or even rainy) Fall day.  

Blackberry Pear Crisp

3 pears, peeled and diced

1 1/2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2  cup water
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter melted

Place the blackberries and pears in a greased 9" square pan.  Mix first five ingredients together and stir into blackberries and pears.  Sift remaining ingredients (not the butter) together, add the beaten egg and stir until crumbly.  Sprinkle over top of the fruit mixture.  Drizzle melted butter over topping.  Bake for 1 hour at  325°

German Chocolate Brownies

I originally thought about making cupcake but then decided to make some brownies and top them with coconut & pecan icing instead of a chocolate fudge icing.  It was my first time making this icing and it's really simple to do...much better than the premade stuff.

German Chocolate Brownies

Brownies -

In a medium saucepan -

Melt 1 stick of butter
Stir in -
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder.

Pour batter into an 8 x 8 pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil.  Bake at 375° for 35 minutes.

Icing -

1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Combine the evaporated milk, egg yolks, butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring frequently.  Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla.  Stir and then add in the pecans and coconut.  Allow to cool to room temperature before icing the brownies. 

Peach Salsa

It's peach season and I've been meaning to make peach salsa for years now and finally got around to it over the long holiday weekend.  I bought a really good vegetable cutter off Amazon called LOVKITCHEN cutter and the peaches and tomatoes were cut in seconds.  The jalapeno skin was too thick but it did leave scores so you could cut in even pieces easily. This salsa can be eaten with chips or top it on chicken or pork chops.

Peach Salsa

4 ripe peaches, peeled and diced

3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

juice from 1 lemon

1/2 tsp ancho chili powder

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. cilantro

Sea salt & pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and cook until onions and garlic are tender.  If really juicy, cook until it thickens.  Can what you don't intend to use right away.