Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread

There's something to delight all of the senses about having banana bread baking in the oven.  Especially on a cold, cozy morning with a crackling fire in the fireplace..."kids" sleeping in, awaking to the lovely aroma of freshly baking, banana bread in the air.  I usually make this recipe a few times over the holidays.  Who doesn't love Starbuck's Banana Bread!?

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1⅛ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 bananas mashed very well
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 8x5 loaf pan with non stick spray and line it with parchment paper if desired.

Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon to a small bowl and set aside.

Mix egg, sugar and oil and stir until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir well. The mixture will be thick and dry.

Next add milk, vanilla and bananas and stir until incorporated.
Mix in walnuts and pour into a loaf pan.

Cook 50-75 minutes, checking regularly until a knife comes out clean.

Notes:

The success of banana bread depends on bananas.  You really want super ripe or slightly brown bananas for the best flavor.  If your bananas are fresh you can place them in a brown paper bag closed tightly for a day or two to help them brown, keep them attached at the stem for faster ripening or if you need them brown right away, place them in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes and then let cool for 30 minutes.  Be sure to place foil or parchment under the bananas before popping them in the oven as they may leak a tiny bit.

If you want an authentic Starbucks experience, add nuts to the dough and sprinkle on top as well.

You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to 1/2 cup milk let set for 5 minutes.

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy

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Baby Bok Choy is our newest favorite veggie.  We've been including it in our pho, stir fries and of course, our gurgling hot pots.  This recipe in particular is a new addition to our repertoire.  It's super easy to prepare and is full of crunchy goodness.  Enjoy!

1.5 lbs (about 4) Baby Bok Choy, halved with bottoms trimmed

4 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp water

black and white sesame seeds

  

In a large wok or skillet, heat sesame oil over medium high heat. Working in small batches, add in bok choy cut side down until lightly browned. Remove from pan and continue until all bok choy has been used.

Once it’s all been browned, add all of the bok choy back to the pan along with the minced garlic and cook 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Add soy sauce, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and water. Bring to a simmer, stirring bok choy until well-coated. Cook for another 2 minutes and remove from heat. Top with sesame seeds and more red pepper flakes before serving. 

Note: 

The BBC is done when the dark green leaves are wilted and light green stalks are tender, but still have a slight crunch.

**This recipe is adapted from TheModernProper.com

Chicken Tikka Masala

Happy Fall y'all!!  I hope everyone is staying happy and healthy.  Like everyone, we're cooking more than ever and I'm trying to step it up and be more adventurous with our meals.  This is a new recipe I've cooked for the family a few times and it's enough of a hit that I decided to post it.  I've been trying to replicate the Tikka Masala we get at the local, Indian restaurant, Roti Grill here in Dallas. Serve with some warm naan bread to soak up all that delectable sauce and you've got yourself a lovely, fragrant curry meal. 

I haven't tried either, but I feel like this recipe would adapt well to the crock-pot and the Insta Pot.  Enjoy!!  😄

1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs or tenderloins
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee), or more as needed....I use regular butter
1 yellow onion, chopped  
1 serrano pepper, chopped

¼ cup tomato paste
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger, or more to taste
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 (13 ounce) can coconut milk or coconut cream
½ cup chicken broth, or as needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Basmati Rice, cooked

Place chicken in a bowl and drizzle vegetable oil over chicken; toss to coat.

Whisk kosher salt, garam masala, ground cumin, garlic powder, ground coriander, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom together in a small bowl. Season chicken with spice mixture and turn to coat evenly.

*I let the chicken marinate in the spice for at least 30 minutes

Melt clarified butter in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Cook chicken in hot butter until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into bite-size pieces.

Reduce heat under the skillet to medium-high. Stir onion and Serrano pepper into skillet; saute until onion softens and turns translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. Saute until paste caramelizes, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic and ginger into tomato-onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour the crushed tomatoes into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend and sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.

Stir chicken, any accumulated juices from the chicken, cilantro, and red pepper flakes into tomato mixture; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve over steaming, hot Basmati Rice.  Garnish with a few cilantro leaves.

Note: 
You can substitute tomato puree for the crushed tomatoes, if desired. You can also use 1 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream instead of the coconut milk.

**This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com and Chef John.

A Virtual Tour of Our Psychedelic Bus, Sugaree

First and foremost, I hope you and your families are safe and well!  Although this post is not exactly food related, I thought I'd share this anyway because it certainly does involve family, friends and fun...and a little love too.  Hopefully this little tour of our beloved bus, Sugaree will brighten your day and put a smile on your face.  Love to all!!  xoxo

Desperado - Sausage & Potato Hash Topped with an Egg Over Easy

This breakfast is another family favorite and a recipe I've posted before, but it needed some tweaking and what better time than now.  I recreated this recipe from a restaurant chain in the Dallas area called "Le Peep."  I think there might be one left in Plano and Dylan said there's at least one in Colorado.  Anyway, it's a versatile dish, where you can add some tortilla chips, substitute the pork sausage with chorizo and serve with flour tortillas and you have Migas, similar to what they serve at another Dallas favorite restaurant or our's, Cafe Brazil.  Use whatever spices you have on hand.  Sometimes I will substitute a half an envelope of Lipton's Onion Soup if I have it, it's great for seasoning hash brown potatoes.

This meal is good for a crowd, just double the recipe.  I especially love serving this at our lake house because I can have the sausage and potatoes all cooked and teed up and finish the process after everyone wakes up.  Even the pickiest of eaters will eat this up.


Enjoy!!

Serves 4 - 5 people

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 diced large russet potato

1 - 16 oz pkg Jimmy Dean's Sausage

1/2 cup yellow or red onion diced

4 minced garlic cloves

Tony Cachere's Creole seasoning to taste or Old Bay

Pepper to taste

1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tbsp butter

5 eggs

Cheddar Cheese

Salsa

Tabasco

jalapeno slices (optional)

Flour tortillas (optional)

Microwave potato for 3 minutes or until cooked halfway through. In a frying pan heat oil add potatoes, fry until golden brown. In another frying pan, brown the sausage. After the meat is halfway browned, add the onions and then the garlic. Drain the fat from the sausage. Season the potatoes with Tony Cachere's seasoning and pepper. Season the sausage with Worcestershire. Combine the two mixtures in one pan and keep warm. In another pan heat butter and fry the eggs. While the eggs are cooking prepare each plate with a heaping serving of the potato and sausage mixture. Layer with a little cheddar cheese. Flip the egg for just 30 seconds and serve on top of the cheese. Serve with Salsa, Tabasco for people to add to their liking.

To make Migas:

Substitute Mexican Chorizo for Jimmy Dean's Sausage.  Add fried tortilla strips or chips.

Shrimp Curry Hot Pot with Crispy Rice

...Also known affectionately in our home as the "Gurgling Hot Pot."  This is our newest favorite creation, although David is the one who gets all the praise for perfecting our home version.  This Vietnamese-inspired dish comes from one of our favorite Vietnamese restaurants here in Dallas, Mai's on Bryan at Fitzhugh.  On their menu it's 45A and to us, it's comfort food at its finest.  All of us McQuaid's love Asian food of any kind.

Especially now, at this very challenging time in the world with Covid-19 running rampant and with social distancing, we're all trying to come up with creative dishes to serve ourselves and our families.  This is a great recipe to clean the frig out, you can use most any veggie you can get your hands on.  Our favorites are baby bok choy, broccoli, mushrooms (of any variety), shredded carrots, green onions, garlic, ginger.  Really any combination of your favorite veggies that you would put in a stir-fry will work well.  This is also a great dish to get everyone at home involved to help with the stir craziness.  One or two can be in charge of chopping, another can be in charge of the rice and one can be in charge of sautéing all the wonderfulness.  We love nothing more than cooking together as a family and I'm so very grateful for that.

I am really looking forward to getting back to my blog, so come back to check us out again, as I intend to share many more family favorite recipes.  Stay safe and well my friends.  May God Bless you all!  xoxo

Serves 4

2 cups Basmati rice
2 tablespoons butter
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 cup milk 
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
Pinch of saffron
32 medium raw, deveined shrimp- we usually do 8 to 12 shrimp per person
Baby bok choy - 3 heads sliced
Broccoli, 1 crown, chopped into bite sized pieces
mushrooms, a few sliced into bite sized pieces
1 - 2 shredded carrots
1 bunch green onion, sliced (or any kind of onion you have on hand)
a few sprigs of fresh basil, chopped or dried
garlic, 6 cloves, diced
ginger, 2 tbsp, shredded
1 jalapeño, diced (optional)
1 habanero pepper diced (optional)
1 - 4 oz jar green curry paste
1 - 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar 
1/8 cup olive oil 
1/4 cup half and half
1 - 14 oz can coconut milk or cream
1 TBSP Fish sauce

Start with preparing the rice:

Rinse rice well in cold water, until the water runs clear. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the washed rice, and cook for five minutes, then drain.

In a large cast-iron pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add reserved rice, salt, milk, and oil. Stir to combine, then spread the mixture evenly in the pan, poking holes into the rice with the bottom of a wooden spoon to let the steam escape. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes without disturbing it.

Submerge saffron in 1/2 cup hot water.  Let steep for a few minutes, then pour the liquid over the rice. Lower the heat a little and continue to cook the rice uncovered for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pot occasionally to ensure the heat source touches the bottom of the pan evenly. Listen to the rice carefully and occasionally prop up a section of the rice with a spatula and peek at the underside to make sure it's not burning--you're looking for a thick golden crust.

Once the rice sounds like softly popping corn and smells nutty, it's done. Let the rice sit for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert it onto a large platter, breaking up the crunchy bits and piling them on top.

After rice is cooked, or at least well on it's way, sauté all of the veggies in a large pot in olive oil.  After a few  minutes add the jar of green curry paste.  Mix well.  Add the half-n-half, coconut milk and fish sauce.  Mix well.  Add the shrimp and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until the shrimp turns nice and pink in color.  Serve in a bowl and top with crispy rice.  You can put some rice in the bottom of the bowl also, but we've found that once you add the liquid to the rice on the bottom of the bowl, the rice loses it's crunchiness.  Therefore, we add it to the top and get a glorious bit of crunch in each and every bite. 


**Our rice portion of this recipe was adapted by Bon Appetit's "Crunchy Rice" recipe.

Shake It, Shake It Sugaree

Happy Summer everyone!  I hope this summer is finding you all happy, healthy and wise!  Well, we're off on our shenanigans again in our sweet Sugaree.  This time our travels are taking us to the Pacific Northwest.  In gearing up for this latest quest, we've started another blog in honor of our Sugaree and all of the fun times we've had with her along the way.  So please, check it out at Sugaree so that you can read all about our latest tales from the road and get all caught up on how we got Sugaree to the state in which she is and where all we've been up until today.

Lot's of good stuff to come and to document both here and there.  Stay tuned here for all kinds of healthy recipes, including a deliciously light, grilled, foil-packed salmon recipe, with snap peas that is served with a lovely edamame pesto sauce. And always remember...life is so very delicious! 

xo

Easy Crusty Artisan French Bread

Happy Summer to all!  In preparation for another epic road trip I made the Decadent French Toast Casserole recipe I previously posted.  That recipe is super easy to make ahead of time and it's easily transportable and most importantly, it's a crowd pleasure.  I used this recipe for the French bread called for in the casserole, which was perfect for a smaller square pan that will fit in our toaster oven on that's conveniently stored on our bus.

Yes, another road trip is in full swing as I'm writing this.  Of course, complete with family and friends.  David and I both will keep a travel journal of sorts here, along with good RV'ing recipes, for anyone who cares to keep up with our travels and our newest Foodie craze...whatever that might be. First stop Santa Fe!! 

Here's a somewhat quick homemade bread recipe that is super easy to whip up with only 5 ingredients.  Let the dough rise for a bit and then simply use your Dutch Oven in your oven to bake.  No need for a bread making machine.  The longer you let your dough rise the better and more airy your bread will be.  Serve this with dinner slathered with butter or use for hearty sandwiches.  The biggest bonus is how awesome this makes your home smell. 

Happy cooking and safe travels everyone!  xoxo

2 - 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar

1 - 1/4 cups warm water (about 100 degree F)
1 - 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
3 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus extra for dusting

Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a large mixing bowl.  

Let the yeast proof (sit) for about 5 - 10 minutes, until the mixture looks nice, foamy and is bubbling.

Add Kosher salt to the bowl.

Add flour to the bowl a little bit at a time.  Mixing with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.  Lightly flour all sides of your dough (don't mis the flour in - it's just to keep the dough from sticking) and turn it over inside the mixing bowl to coat with flour on all sides.  Cover with a tea towel and let rise on the counter for 8 - 12 hours.  If you need to fix this super quick you can let the dough rise for an hour.  Although it will be more dense and less airy.

When the dough has risen, lightly flour a large cutting board.

Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board.  DO NOT PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN - you want to keep all those nice air bubbles intact so you have an airy, delicious loaf of bread.  (Note: If the dough is sticking to the bowl a bit, just wet your hand with a bit of water and gently seperate the from the bowl to get it all out).

Sprinkle a bit of flour across the top of he dough, then begin shaping it into a round loaf.  One method is to pull each corner of the dough towards the center, like folding an envelope.  Then flip the dough over and form it into a nice, round loaf.

Flour your cutting board and place your loaf onto it seam side down.  Cut an "X" with a knife on top of your loaf.  Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes or so.

While the dough proofs, place an empty Dutch oven with the lid on and in your oven while the oven preheats to 450 degrees.

When the oven is hot, you're good to go.  USE OVEN MITTS to pull the Dutch oven out and USE MITTS to remove the lid. 

VERY CAREFULLY - without burning yourself - place the dough "X" side up into the very HOT Dutch oven

Put your oven mitts back on, put the 

Dutch oven lid back. On the pot and slide the whole thing back into your hot oven.

Cook bread foe 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, using your mitts again, remove the lid from your Dutch oven.  The bread should be crusty and lightly browned.  Continue cooking uncovered, for 10 - 20 minutes more until the bread has deepened in color and you have a beautiful golden brown crust.  

When bread is done, use oven mitts to pull the pot out of the oven.

Use a long spatula to very carefully lift the bread out of the Dutch oven and onto a cooling rack.  Let cool for 10 minutes or so before slicing it.  Slather with butter if serving with your meal and enjoy!

**This recipe is adapted from Itsalwaysautumn.com and Lifeasastrawberry.com

Overnight Decadent Blueberry French Toast

I'm back and I'm ready to get back to blogging, cooking and simply enjoying our friends, family and life.  We've been very busy, coming up with new ideas on how to improve our Sugaree.  We've had a few trips this summer and while enjoying our time with family and friends.  I found some recipes that are not only easy to make on the road (by halving the recipe and cooking in a square pan in a toaster oven), but the next couple of recipes are great for cooking for a crowd and are unbelievably easy to prepare.

We were vacationing on North Captiva Island recently, where we were on our own to provide most meals.  We had a party of 9 and unfortunately our pans weren't cooperating because everything was sticking, making frying bacon, hash browns and eggs a bit challenging.  So, I'd seen some really great French toast casserole recipes online and I got on trusty pinterest to see what kind of wondrous breakfasts I could conjure up for a crowd without  the hassle of half of our breakfast sticking to all of the pans.  Here's what I found and it proved to be a crowd pleaser.  You can double the sauce up and use the remaining, warmed sauce over ice cream.  Also, you can substitute the blueberries with strawberries or blackberries and you can use frozen or fresh.  You could even substitute a lovely fruit jam for the sauce.  It's fun to be back...Lots of memorable times will continue to be had with lots of deliciousness to surely occur.  Happy cooking my friends!  xoxo

12 slices thick, stale Italian or French bread
2 - 8 oz pkgs cream cheese or mascarpone cheese, cut into cubes
1 cup blueberries (maybe a little more)
12 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup

Blueberry Sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 TBSP cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries
1 TBSP butter

Spray a 9 x 13" baking dish with nonstick spray.  Set aside.

Cut the bread into 1" pieces.  Place half into prepared baking dish.  Cut cheese into cubes or use a small cookie scoop and place on top of the bread.  Top with blueberries and then remaining bread cubes.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Whisk in the milk, vanilla, cinnamon and syrup until well combined.  Pour over the bread cubes.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  You might like to place a book on top of the wrap to sink the bread into the liquid to make a more gooey, dense cake.  I prefer not to place a book on top and I like to loosely place the plastic wrap over the casserole to make a lighter more airy dish. 

The next morning remove the pan from the fridge 1/2 hour prior to baking.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the plastic wrap, then cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 10 - 15 minutes or until the center is set and color is golden.

While the french toast is baking, prepare the sauce:
In a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.  Add the water and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir constantly and boil for about 3 minutes.  Stir in the blueberries and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the blueberries begin to pop.  Stir in the butter until melted.  

Pour warm sauce, and/or maple syrup over individual servings.  To make it extra decadent add a dash of whipping cream.

*Recipe adapted from recipegirl.com