Banana "Ice Cream" Fakeout

So, the only problem I have with this recipe is that I didn’t come up with it myself!  I saw Rachael Ray make this quick and simple “ice cream” using only bananas and milk, and I had to try it.  The consistency is that of soft serve ice cream.   It’s ingenious AND healthy to boot!

In my haste to share this recipe, I didn’t invest too much time playing around with it.  When I’ve found the opportunity to experiment and come up with additional variations, I will share them with you. 

Until then, here’s how to make it.

To get the ice cream into scooping and stacking 

consistency, I froze it  for about 1 hour.

Banana “Ice Cream” Fakeout

Slightly adapted version of Rachael Ray's

3 bananas, frozen and cut into small chunks

1/4 to1/2 cup milk (I used 1% milk)

1 tbsp. agave nectar (optional, for added sweetness)

1 tsp. vanilla extract  

Start by pulsing banana in a food processor to break up the chunks. 

Puree bananas, adding milk, a little bit at a time, until mixture begins to smooth out.   Add vanilla and agave nectar.  Continue pureeing, adding more milk if needed, until mixture becomes thick, smooth, and creamy. 

Rachael says it should take about 2 minutes to whip.  It took me about 5 minutes.  I had to use a spoon to break up and redistribute the semi frozen mixture a couple of times when it seized up in the food processor.

The original recipe says to serve immediately, but if the consistency is too soft, I recommend freezing the ice cream for at least one hour to firm it up. 

Makes about 3 ½ cups.

Chicken and Mozzarella Bite Kabobs

Eating things off a skewer is always fun.  So, mozzarella sticks and chicken on a skewer is double the fun and double the deliciousness.  These baked tasty bites make great treats for the family or for a crowd (this recipe can be easily multiplied).

I recommend taking the time to pre-toast the Panko crumbs to obtain a golden brown finish as the cheese and chicken require a short baking period.  If you don’t have the time, skip the skewering and serve with skewers on the side and dig in!

Chicken and Mozzarella Stick Bite Kabobs

4 mozzarella cheese sticks, cut into fifths

1/4 pound boneless chicken breast (slightly more is okay)

3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 tbsp. milk

1/8 tsp. salt

a pinch of pepper

20 skewers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat egg and milk to make an egg wash.  Set aside.  Place flour in a small bowl.  Set aside. 

Spread Panko crumbs evenly on a cookie sheet.  Bake until crumbs are golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Stir halfway if Panko begins to brown unevenly.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Place in a small bowl and stir in Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.

Working in batches of 4 or 5 pieces at a time, roll mozzarella in flour, shake off excess, dip into egg wash, and roll in Panko mixture.  Place on a plate.  Continue to coat all of the cheese.   Freeze for 1 hour to prevent oozing during baking.

Meanwhile, cut chicken into 20 small bite size pieces (about 1 inch thick each).  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Use the same dredging process as for the mozzarella, dipping in flour, then egg, then Panko.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Can be chilled while waiting for the cheese.  Do not freeze.

Remove mozzarella from freezer after one hour.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Spray top of cheese with cooking spray.  Spray top of chicken with cooking spray.  Bake both in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 8 minutes.  The chicken is done when it becomes white inside; do not over bake.

To serve, work quickly to place one chicken and one mozzarella bite on each skewer.  Serve with marinara sauce.  Makes 20 skewers.

To double the recipe, use these measurements:

8 mozzarella cheese sticks, cut into fifths

1/2 pound boneless chicken breast (slightly more is okay)

1 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

2 tbsp. milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

40 skewers

Instant Oatmeal Cereal Cookies

I wanted to come up with an oatmeal cookie recipe that is unlike any I have ever seen and offers more nutrition than a traditional recipe.  It occurred to me that the perfect solution would be to use a high fiber instant oatmeal cereal as the base.  The one I use is cinnamon flavored with a whopping 10 grams of fiber per packet!  And, because it is a breakfast cereal, it is also enhanced with minerals and vitamins including folic acid.

When you do the math, this recipe uses 8 packets of oatmeal cereal and produces 36 cookies, resulting in cookies that have over 2 grams of fiber each!

It’s a treat I can feel good about eating and serving to the kids.

Instant Oatmeal Cereal Cookies

8 (1.58 oz.) packets of high fiber cinnamon instant oatmeal cereal

1 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

8 oz. butter, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup egg substitute

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Combine oatmeal cereal, baking powder and flour.  Set aside. 

Beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.   Add egg substitute, beating for about 1 minute. It will look lumpy.   Add the dry ingredients and blend well using a wooden spoon.  Dough will be sticky. 

Using a small ice cream scoop (equivalent to one tablespoon), drop batter onto a greased cookie sheet.  Spray hands with cooking spray and press dough into 2” to 2.25” wide discs.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Don’t over bake.  Allow to cool on cooling rack.  Tends to soften when stored at room temp.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Variation:

The guys in my house prefer the drier version slightly more.  For this version, reduce egg substitute to  1/4 cup.  Batter will be thick, using hands to incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet is recommended.  No need to spray hands to press cookies flat.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Don’t over bake.

Peanut Buttery Brownie Torte

This is by no means a healthy dessert, but I’m taking the opportunity to add a little bit of goodness to it anyway (with the addition of banana and ground flaxseed).  The banana enables less oil to be used, keeps the brownie moist, and provides just a hint of banana.

You may notice from the recipe that I don’t use a lot of sugar in the frosting as I’m not a fan of super sweet frosting.  Add more sugar to suit your own taste. 

Peanut Buttery Brownie Torte

1 (18.3 oz) package brownie mix

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup oil

1 medium banana, thoroughly mashed (about 1/3 cup)

2 tbsp. ground flaxseed

4 oz. cream cheese (low fat or regular), room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

8 peanut butter cup candies (miniature size), chopped

Additional oil for prepping cake pans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Oil bottom and sides of three 6-inch cake pans.  Line bottom of pans with parchment paper.  Brush top of parchment with additional oil.

Combine brownie mix, water, oil, eggs, banana, and flaxseed.  Whisk until well blended, about 50 strokes.  Divide batter equally into the three cake pans.  Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted.  Allow to cool.

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and peanut butter until smooth and creamy.  Remove brownies from pans and peel off parchment paper.  Stack cake layers, spreading frosting and sprinkling peanut butter cups on top of each layer.

Mini Pork Aracini, Asian Style

Aracini is an Italian fried rice ball often stuffed with cheese, with or without meat.  I have put my own little twist and created an Asian version, filled with pork meatballs and no cheese.   To keep it on the lighter side, they are baked, not fried.  

Aborio rice is commonly used to make aracini, but I find that regular white grain rice works well.  All it needs is a little bit of manipulation to bring out the starch to help with binding.  My technique is revealed in below.

I decided to make mini aracini mainly because it is easier for little children to handle and eat.  I have made 2" - 2.5" inch wide ones in the past that turned out really nice.  Just a word of caution, since there is no cheese to bind the rice layer, it might have a tendency to break apart when bitten into if the layer is too thick.  Don't go too thick on the rice.

We enjoy the aracinis as is, but if you must have sauce, a tasty ginger dipping sauce recipe is included below.   Since the ginger sauce might be a little on the exotic side for a lot of children, the sweeter duck sauce is a good alternative.  The little ones I feed prefer the aracini without  sauce.

Mini Pork Aracini, Asian Style

8 oz. ground pork

1/3 cup minced button mushrooms

1 tbsp. flaxseed meal

1/4 cup chopped scallion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. minced ginger

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. salt 

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups water

2 eggs

1cup panko crumbs

Boil water in a heavy bottom small saucepan.  Add rice and lower heat to medium low.  Give rice a stir for about 10 seconds.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow rice to sit for 5 minutes.  To bring out the starchiness, use a rubber spatula to stir rice and gently press  as you stir until it becomes sticky, should take about 1 minute.  Spread on a cookie sheet to cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Add panko crumbs and bake for 3-4 minutes until panko turns light brown.   Remove from oven and stir crumbs around using a spatula.  Set aside.

For the pork filling, place first nine ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add one egg, slightly beaten.  Thoroughly combine all ingredients. 

Slightly beat the second egg and add to cooled rice.  Thoroughly blend.  Scoop about a rounded tablespoon of rice into your palm and form a ball.  Hollow out the ball using a finger to create a well.  To prevent sticking, wet hands with water before handling rice.  Fill well with about 1 teaspoon of the pork filling.  Pack the rice around the pork filling.  Set aside.  Repeat steps for the remainder rice balls.

Roll each aracini in panko crumbs.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Coat aracinis with a generous layer of cooking spray.  Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven for 25 minutes or until pork is  no longer pink when cut into. Makes about 24, approx. 1.5” to 1.75” arancinis.

Ginger Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

2 tsp. grated ginger

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. finely chopped scallion, greens only

1 tbsp. super fine sugar

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well until sugar is well incorporated.  Allow to rest 15 – 20 minutes before serving.

Banana Tempura

It is amazing how sweet banana gets when it is heated.  For this reason, it makes a terrific dessert.

Tempura dishes are traditionally deep fried, but I make this by using the shallow frying method.  I have to admit, I’m not sure if my method really shaves off the calories, but it makes me feel a little better about frying. If you choose to deep fry, set the oil temperature to 175 degrees F and fry bananas about 1 minute or until the batter is golden and crispy.

Whether shallow frying or deep frying, there will be a bit of oil splatter.  I find that using a saucepan or a skillet with deep sides helps reduce the mess.  Don’t let the splattering deter you.  It will be worth the effort!

Banana Tempura

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup chilled club soda

3 large bananas

canola oil

Whisk the first five ingredients just until smooth, don’t over mix.  Set aside.

Peel and slice bananas to 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick.  Heat a medium size skillet with deep sides on medium to medium high heat.  Add 1/8 inch of oil to skillet. 

Working in small batches, dip a few banana slices in batter.  Add to hot oil, one at a time.  Be careful not to let the batter touch as the bananas will stick to each other.  Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Flip over and cook until the second side is golden and crispy, about 1 minute.  

Transfer to paper towel line plate and gently pat dry.  Transfer again to a serving dish.  Do not let the bananas sit on the paper towel as they may stick.  Serve plain or with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. 

Skillet Tricolor Pearl Couscous and Ham

Tricolor Pearl Coucous is larger than regular couscous and is such a pretty pasta.  It makes a perfect base for a deliciously colorful dish. I tested this recipe out this week.  I am happy to report that it got six out of seven thumbs up from a group of two teenagers and five toddlers and preschoolers.

Hope you’ll give it a try!

Tricolor Pearl Couscous

Skillet Tricolor Pearl Couscous and Ham

1 cup Tricolor Pearl Couscous

2.5 cups water, divided

1/4 lb. thick sliced deli ham                         

2 tbsp. finely chopped chives

1/2 cup finely diced carrots  

1/2 cup minced onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 tsp. salt  

1/4 tsp. pepper  

Prep the carrots first as it requires the longest cooking time.  Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a covered medium skillet.  Add finely diced carrots and boil gently for about 8 minutes. Remove carrots from skillet and discard any liquid.

While carrots are cooking, finely mince the onion, garlic and chop the chives.  Finely dice the ham.  

Reheat skillet on medium heat.  Add olive oil to pan and stir in onion and carrots.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add couscous and garlic, stirring frequently for 3 minutes.  Add 1.5 cup water, salt, and pepper.  Allow to come to a boil.  Cover, and reduce heat to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in chives and ham.  Cover and continue to simmer until couscous is soft and all the water has been absorbed, about 5 additional minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cheese.  Serve.