Peanut Butter Banana Bread

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What a simply wonderful breakfast or snack, banana bread makes.  This banana bread has a twist; it has crunchy peanut butter in it.  So don't throw out those squishy bananas, make a treat that the whole family will love!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 4 bananas (make sure that they are nice and mushy)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (I like to use crunchy)

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas.

Add the peanut butter, and stir until completely combined.

Add the eggs, and milk.  Stir until combined.

Stir in the flour 1/2 cup at a time.

Using a spatula, transfer the batter into a Bakeware 9-by-5-Inch Loaf Pan
.

Place the bread in the oven, and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick (or a Cake Tester) inserted into the center comes out clean.

What and easy and delicious treat!

Enjoy!

   ~ Chef Megs

Budget-Friendly Meals: Peanut Chicken

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Looking for an inexpensive meal that can be whipped up in a pinch?  Well here's a tasty (easy-on-the-wallet) solution:  chicken in a delicious peanut sauce over rice.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon jarred garlic 
• 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (I like the crunchy because it has little chunks of peanuts in it, I think it adds something extra.  However, creamy would work just fine too.)  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice (If you don't have lemon juice 2 teaspoons of vinegar can be used as a substitute.)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Steps:

Heat the olive oil in a medium to large skillet.

Add the garlic, nutmeg, and ginger to the pan and allow to get hot heating over medium-low heat.

While the oil and the spices are heating, cut the chicken into strips.

When the oil is hot, add the chicken.

Cook the chicken completely, stirring occasionally.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce.

In a medium sauce pan add the soy sauce, lemon juice (or vinegar), and water.

Add the sugar and the peanut butter.

Heat over low, using a wisk to stir occasionally.

Heat until the mixture is smooth.

When the chicken is done cooking, mix the chicken with the peanut sauce.

Serve over rice with egg rolls.

This quick and satisfying meal is as good for your taste buds, as it is for your wallet.

Enjoy!

   ~Chef Megs

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

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If sour cream sauce isn't your favorite topping for chicken enchiladas, then this recipe is for you!  This dish includes white corn tortillas stuffed with seasoned chicken and cheese, then topped with a homemade enchilada sauce and more cheese, then they are baked until ooey-gooey perfection.

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This delicious enchilada sauce can be made spicy or mild, and its not as difficult as you would think it would be.  Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients to enchilada sauce:

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (for an added kick, try using mexican style stewed tomatoes.)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (use more or less depending on how spicy you like your enchiladas)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon jarred garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Steps:

Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan.

When the oil is hot, stir in the flour and chili powder, and cook until browned 3-5 minutes stirring constantly.

Slowly stir in the stewed tomatoes and the water.

Add the spices.

Continue cooking the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.

Easy!  It tastes so much better than store bought too.  It has all of those delicious chunks of tomato in there.  Mmm...

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Ingredients for the enchiladas:

• 12 white corn tortillas
• 3 chicken breasts (de-frosted if using frozen)
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning (I like McCormick)
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (I like to use medium sharp or sharp cheddar; add more if you like your enchiladas extra cheesy)
• enchilada sauce (you can use store bought if you like, but homemade is so yummy)
• oil

Steps:

Fill a large stock-pot with a good amount of water.

Add the taco seasoning, as well as the chicken breasts to the water and simmer for 35-40 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the tortillas.  This is also a good time to make the enchilada sauce.

 Pour enough oil into a large sauce pan to cover the bottom.

Heat over medium-high heat until hot. 

When oil is hot, place two corn tortillas in the pan at a time, and lightly fry: about 15-30 seconds on each side.  This will ensure that your tortillas are nice and flexible, so they won't break when you roll them.

Set fried tortillas on a plate lined with a paper towel or a towel.

When chicken is cooked, remove from water, and place on a cutting board, and allow chicken to cool for 10 minutes.

When cooled, shred chicken either using clean fingers (I find this to be the easiest option) or two forks.

Place your shredded chicken in a bowl.

Now its time to assemble your enchiladas!

At the head of your assembly line have your plate of fried tortillas.  Next, place the shredded chicken in one bowl, the grated cheese in another, and the enchilada sauce in another.

Brush a tortilla on each side with enchilada sauce.

Add 1 tablespoon of shredded chicken and as much cheese as desired to the inside of the tortilla (make sure not to overstuff the tortilla, this will make it hard to roll the tortilla up.)

Roll the enchilada tightly, and place it into a 9X11 glass baking dish.

Repeat with the remaining 11 tortillas.

Top the enchiladas with the remaining enchilada sauce and top with desired amount of grated cheddar cheese.

Place in a 350 F degree oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melty and looks delicious!

Serve with Spanish rice.

Who needs a mexican food restaurant for delicious cheesy chicken enchiladas when you can make them so easily from your own kitchen?!  This recipe will surely be one that is requested over and over again.

Enjoy!

    ~ Chef Megs

Comfort Food: Battered Chicken Tenders and French Fries

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Sometimes you just gotta have it at the end of a hard week: warm, delicious, made with love, comfort food.  These stick-to-your-ribs chicken tenders are battered, seasoned with Italian bread crumbs, Cajun seasoning, and cayenne pepper, then fried to palate-pleasing perfection.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of frozen chicken tenderloins
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you prefer spicier add 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I used Old Bay seasoning, however Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning would work well too)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons water
• Oil for frying

Steps:

Defrost the chicken.  I used the whole bag.  To defrost the chicken, I placed the bag in a large pyrex bowl in the sink.  Then I ran cold water over the bag until the chicken was thawed.  This took about 20 minutes or so.  

While the chicken is defrosting, prepare the batter.

In a shallow dish, like a pie dish, pour the flour.

In another dish, mix the bread crumbs, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and Cajun seasoning.  Make sure that these ingredients are mixed well.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and water.

When the chicken is finished defrosting, take one piece at a time, and coat it thoroughly with the flour.

After the chicken has been completely coated with the flour, dunk the piece into the egg.  

Let the excess egg drip off of the chicken, then coat with the bread crumb and seasoning mixture.  Make sure to coat the pieces well.  Flip the piece over several times, and pat to make sure that the mixture gets into every nook and cranny.

In a deep fryer (I have a small one that is great for storing if you don't have a lot of extra counter space) heat your oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the oil has heated, fry the tenders, 2 at a time for 6 minutes.

Place the tenders in a paper towel lined baking dish, and let cool for 5 minutes.

A perfect thing to do while you are waiting for your chicken tenders to cool is to fry up your french fries!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 russet potatoes
• salt or seasoning of your choice
• oil for frying

Peel the potatoes.

Cut the potatoes into fries.

Submerge the raw fries into a pot of water.  Make sure the water fully covers the potatoes.

Boil the potatoes until fork tender.

In your deep fryer, heat the oil to 375 degrees.

Make sure that the boiled fries are dry, then fry the fries for 5 minutes.

Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate.

Sprinkle fries with salt or other seasonings.

Serve fries with golden brown chicken tenders and some honey mustard for dipping.  Yum!!!

Enjoy!

     ~ Chef Megs

The Secret To Making The Best Homemade Turkey Burgers

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Turkey Burgers are one of those things, at least for me, that I'm kind of iffy about eating. I'm not really sure if I like them or not because I'm a burger guy after all. Being a burger guy translates to, "Where's the beef?" to borrow a famous ad slogan from the 80's. Turkey burgers just aren't beef, they taste like something else entirely, which isn't bad if you know how to make them taste good. That's just exactly what this post will teach you, and maybe every once in awhile you'll say, "Where's the turkey?" That's because the way we make them aren't your usual run of the mill turkey burgers, they got taste, and a lot of it. Here's how to do them at home using our method.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground turkey 
• Small red onion pureed 
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic (jarred)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Looks like something alien but it's all part of the plan

Step 1: In a blender, place cut up pieces of red onion, garlic, salt, and pepper, and puree until desired constancy. Then a medium sized skillet heat a small amount of olive oil. When the oil is heated, add the puree, and saute for 5 minutes (above).

Step 2: After sauteing for 5 minutes your red onion puree should look like the above image. Then in a large bowl, mix together the sauteed onions, egg white, soy sauce, and raw ground turkey.  The best method for mixing these ingredients all together is with your hands.  Make sure that they are clean!

Step 3: I choose to make my own bread crumbs (however, you can use store brought if you desire). To make your own, put two pieces of toasted bread in a blender and make crumbs using the chop setting.

Step 4: Add the bread crumbs to the ground turkey and then using your hands, mix throughly. 

Step 5: Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium. Then split the meat into 4 equal parts and fry on the already heated skillet for 5 minutes per side.

If those fries, look kind of good...they are. For the recipe, please see Comfort Food: Battered Chicken Tenders and French Fries

Enjoy these super tasty homemade turkey burgers. Not only are they very satisfying but they're healthy so you can be full yet enjoy a low fat meal. This will entirely feed a family of four and leave everybody completely satisfied. Also, unlike a cooked beef made burger, they stay better in the fridge and will reheat very well (which helps so you don't have to make a mess of a pan again) and will make a quick and great lunch or dinner.

Bonus: Chef Matt's serving suggestion !