Banana Nut Bread

4 overripe bananas

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 stick butter

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Rum or vanilla 

walnuts

powdered sugar

This is a great way to use bananas that have gotten "too" ripe. Sometime I store overripe bananas in the freezer, save them for weeks and then just warm them up when I have time to make banana bread. 

These are great for an indulgent breakfast or a delicious dessert. Or a snack anytime. 

First, melt the butter and set it aside to cool before you use it. 

In a little bowl, mash two of the bananas with a fork, leaving them lumpy. 

****In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set theses aside for later.

In an electric mixer, add the other two bananas and the sugar. 

Mix on high. I used level 8. 

Whip the bananas and sugar... 

for 3 minutes

until it becomes "banana cream"

Then add the melted butter. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure that each egg is mixed in before you add the other. 

Add in a splash of rum or vanilla. 

Change the setting to low (stir) and slowly add the flour. 

You only want to mix it until the flour is mostly incorporated. 

Don't over stir, or the bread will be tough. 

When the flour is mostly mixed in, then take it off the electric mixer and use a spatula to mix in the rest of the flour. 

Add the bananas that your mashed with a fork and the walnuts. Mix these gently in. 

In a muffin tin, line each cup with a paper liner. 

Using an ice cream scoop, add batter to each cup. The ice cream scoop will help you add the same amount to each liner without dripping on the pan. 

Bake for 30 minutes. 

They will be golden brown when they come out. 

Stick a toothpick into the middle of one of the muffins and then pull it out.

If it comes out clean, with no batter on it, then the muffins are cooked all the way through. 

In a small bowl mix some powdered sugar with a little bit of water. 

When the two are mixed, they will look like this... 

Add a dab of icing to each muffin. 

They wil be warm and delicious. You may want to wait about 10 minutes before you bite into one, as they will be HOT. 

Enjoy!

Moroccan Meatball Stew

1 lb ground chicken

Breadcrumbs

Cinnamon 

Cayenne pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 carrot 

1 red onion

1 bunch of green onions

chicken broth

honey

dried cherries 

butter 

salt and pepper 

There are many variations on this "stew". You can substitute any hard vegetables that you like in this. Potatoes are great in this too. 

In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Add the ground chicken and mix with your hands to combine. Make one giant ball with the meat. Divide this ball into four parts. Then divide each part into smaller balls. In this way, you will ensure that your meatballs are all roughly the same size. 

Heat oil in a pan with deep sides. Set meatballs evenly across the pan. Turn the meatballs when they start to turn white on the bottom, or until you can easily lift the meatball off of the pan. If the meatball sticks to the pan, then it is not ready to be turned over. Cook on the other side and then remove all the meatballs and set them aside on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any extra grease. 

Add diced red onion to the pan. Add salt and pepper. 

Add diced red pepper. 

Add diced carrot. 

Chop up some of the dried cherries and add. 

Add cinnamon, cayenne pepper and salt. 

Cover the pot with chicken broth. 

Add honey. One large squirt. 

Add the meatballs back into the pot. 

Add a little more broth to cover the meatballs. 

Cover with the lid and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes or until you are ready to eat. 

In a small pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. 

Measure out two cups of chicken broth and add to the small pot. 

Measure out two cups of couscous. 

When the broth and butter boil, add the couscous. Stir and TURN OFF THE HEAT. 

Cover with a lid. 

Set the timer for 5 minutes. 

Thinly slice the green onion. 

Add green onion and walnuts to a bowl. 

When the timer goes off, take the lid off of the couscous and fluff with a fork. 

Add the couscous to the green onions and nuts and mix together. 

Take out a few more dried cherries. Leave these whole. 

When you're ready to serve, add the couscous and a couple of scoops of the meatballs with the sauce to the serving bowl. Top with a few cherries. The chopped up cherries that have been cooked should mostly disappear and make the sauce and the meatballs turn a light pink color. Be sure to taste the meatballs and sauce and couscous before you serve them to check to see if they need more salt and pepper. 

Enjoy!