Breakfast for Dinner: Pumpkin-Banana Pancake

Ingredients

1 medium banana, mashed
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin spice mix
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions

In a small bowl mash a medium size banana.  Add pumpkin puree to the bowl.

Add the egg, oil, and spices, and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and brown sugar. 

Whisk all of the ingredients together until the lumps are gone.

Begin adding flour to the batter in batches and whisk to thoroughly combine.

Begin slowly adding milk, and whisk the batter until becomes a thick batter. Some lumps from the banana are ok. 

Heat a pan and add butter to the pan.

Add two ladles of batter to the heated pan.

The edges browning is the clue. Normally we look for bubbling of the batter in the middle, but that doesn't apply to this batter for some reason.  See the change in the batter's edges? That's what we're looking for before flipping.

Ugly pancake flip! Let these cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup and butter or pancake syrup! :-)

Ugly Pancake #2

Ugly Pancake #3

Ugly Pancake #4

Extraordinary Entree: Stewed Ground Beef, previously Kheema

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef (ground turkey or ground lamb works well, too)
1 packet Sazon
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Green Grind Seasoning
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic!)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon geera (optional)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon store-bought or homemade garam masala (I'll post a homemade recipe as soon as I test one!)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, optional
4 medium vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
1-1/2 cup water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen peas and diced carrots, thawed
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few extra leaves for garnish


Directions

Season ground beef with onion powder, garlic powder, Sazon, and Green Grind Seasoning.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the diced onion and minced garlic. Cook until onion is translucent but do not allow garlic to burn.

Stir in the ginger, geera, coriander, paprika, garam masala, cumin and cayenne (if using), and cook for 1 minute.

Add the beef, breaking up lumps with a spoon, and saute until the meat is no longer pink.

Add the tomatoes & water, and season with salt and pepper.

Smash the tomato into the mixture, creating a tomato sauce.

Heat through and allow sauce to reduce by 1/4.

Sprinkle in the frozen diced carrots and peas. Stir well and simmer, partially covered.

Stir in the vinegar and chopped cilantro, and let simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Serve with roti or over rice.

Adapted from Aarti Party on Foodnetwork.com.

Video of the Day: How to Brine a Turkey

Christmas is days away and many of you will be displaying your turkey making skills once again this year! Try soaking your turkey in a brine. There are a ton of recipes online but the main stars to the brining show are 1) a cooler; 2) lots of ice; 3) cold water; 4) lots of salt; and 5) sugar to balance the salt. Everything else is just delicious flavoring! Check out one chef's technique! ENJOY!

Sensational Sides: Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

2 (10.75 ounce) cans Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup heavy cream
1 pack Sazon
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 cups cooked cut green beans
1 caramelized sweet onion
2-1/2 cups French's® French Fried Onions, divided
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Stir soup, heavy cream, spices, beans, caramelized onion,  and  1/2 of the french fried onions into a 3-qt. casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the casserole becomes bubbly.

In a bowl mix together the cheddar cheese and remaining french fried onion.  Top the casserole with the cheese-onion mixture, and bake for 5 minutes more or until the cheese melts.

Adapted from:  Campbell's Soup Recipe, which can be found on Allrecipes.com

Sensational Sides: Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients

5 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
6 bananas, unpeeled
1 (4.6-ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, put them in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes.

Add the bananas into the pan and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes, until both the bananas and potatoes are very soft. Remove the pan from the oven but DON'T turn the oven off.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Peel the bananas and add them to the bowl along with 1 stick of the butter.

Add the evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, beaten eggs, salt and pepper, to taste.

Beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until everything's well combined and the mixture is fluffy.

Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, and bake for 25 minutes.

In a small bowl, toss together the marshmallows, and coconut.

Remove the casserole dish from oven and top with the marshmallow-coconut mixture. Bake until the marshmallows are lightly toasted, about 5 to 10 more minutes.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Video of the Day: Chef Anne Burrell

Chef Anne Burrell, you were robbed!!!!!

Video of the Day: Tempering Eggs

This came in very hand when I was assisting on dinner roll making duties for Thanksgiving. Sometimes when following a recipe you have to use your kitchen know-how. The recipe didn't call for tempering the eggs, but if my cousin hadn't we know we would have had scrambled eggs in that warm milk...ENJOY!

Video of the Day: How to Make Yeast Rolls

Another video I found to help me out with my Thanksgiving Day meal...yeast rolls! So I'm either making these or hot cross buns...we'll see. I'm going to make this a game time decision...

Extraordinary Entree: Curry Chicken

 

Ingredients

Poach Chicken:
4 pounds of chicken
Green Grind Seasoning
Adobo
1/4 yellow onion, rough chopped
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
4-5 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon salt
water*

Curry Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon curry
1/2 tablespoon garam masala (optional)
1/2 tablespoon geera (optional)
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 green onion
1/2 stalk celery, diced
onion powder
garlic powder
1 envelope Sazon
Adobo
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Clean chicken and season with Green Grind Seasoning and Adobo.  If you choose to debone your chicken, then season and save those bones for the poaching process.

2.  Fill a pot with water, onion, garlic, thyme, and reserved seasoned bones. Bring this water to a boil on high heat.

 

3.  Carefully transfer the seasoned chicken into the boiling water. Reduce heat to med and cover.  Poach for 20 minutes or until the chicken runs clear.

4.  Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid, cover with plastic wrap or foil, and set aside.

 

 

5.  Strain the stock removing any excess fat and bits from the stock.

 

6.  In a large saute pan heat the olive oil.  Add the garlic and onion to the heated oil and saute until the onion is translucent. Do not allow the garlic to burn or else the dish will have a bitter aftertaste.

7.  In a cup or bowl mix together the curry powder, garam masala, and geera. Dilute this mixture with water. Pour this diluted mixture into the saute pan. 

 

8.  Add the chopped cilantro, green onion, and celery. Season this mixture with onion powder, garlic powder, Sazon, Adobo, salt, and pepper.  Let the mixture cook on med heat for about 3 minutes, then taste to ensure seasoning is to your liking.

9.  Add the chicken to the curry sauce and about 2 cups of the strained chicken stock. Adjust the seasoning as necessary. 

 

 

10.  Bring the pot to a vigorous simmer on med-high, then reduce heat to med-low.  Let the chicken to stew in the sauce on med-low for at least 30 minutes.

 

11.  Serve with rice and channa & potato.  Not in the mood for rice?  Pick up some roti on the way home and eat this dish with roti! DEE-LISH!!!  ENJOY! :-)  

Sensational Sides: Channa and Potato

Ingredients

1 pkg 14 ounce dry chickpeas
2 pounds potato
water
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon curry
1/2 tablespoon garam masala (optional)
1/2 tablespoon geera (optional)
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 green onion
1/2 stalk celery, diced
onion powder
garlic powder
1 envelope Sazon
Adobo
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Soak chickpeas overnight in water.

2.  The next day when ready to cook set the chick peas to boil for 2 hours.  Bring the water to a boil on med-high heat , then reduce to med heat. Watch the water level and fill the pot as necessary.

3.  Peel and dice the potato.

4.  Soak in water to remove some of the starch while the chickpeas boil.

 

5.  In a large stock pot heat the olive oil.  Add the garlic and onion to the heated oil and saute until the onion is translucent. Do not allow the garlic to burn or else the dish will have a bitter aftertaste.

6.  Chop cilantro, green onion, and celery, and set aside.

7.  In a cup or bowl mix together the curry powder, garam masala, and geera. Dilute this mixture with water. Pour this diluted mixture into the stock pot. 

 

8.  Add the chopped cilantro, green onion, and celery. Season this mixture with onion powder, garlic powder, Sazon, Adobo, salt, and pepper.  Let the mixture cook on med heat for about 3 minutes, then taste to ensure seasoning is to your liking.

9.  Drain the potatoes and pour into the curry mixture. Stir to coat.  Add enough water to the pot to just cover the potatoes.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Boil for about 10 minutes.

10.  Drain the chickpeas and add to the stock pot. Add more water as necessary to just cover both the potatoes and chickpeas. Adjust seasoning again as necessary.  Cook for another 15 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender. Some potatoes may begin to break down and thicken the mixture. 

11.  Serve with rice and curry chicken.  Not in the mood for rice? Pick up some  roti at a local Indian  or Trinidadian restaurant!

I had this along side Curry Chicken and Pigeon Peas & Rice! Excuse me while I ENJOY!   

NOW LET'S GET COOKING!