November 8, 2013

November 8th!  The leaves are almost entirely off the trees, parent-teacher conferences are here (or around the corner) and Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.  The weather is turning colder, in fact snow showers are predicted for the week ahead.  All this talk of fall would lead you to believe I had some great recipe for mulled apple cider, or a warm pot roast.  But you'd be wrong...instead I bring you taco hummus and banana muffins!

Yes, this week we tried a hummus recipe.  Hummus is so easy to make it is a shame to buy it if you have about 8 minutes to spare, and a blender or food processor.  A can of chick  peas (or garbanzo beans - same thing!) is very inexpensive, and you can flavor it with nearly anything!  I made some that had taco seasoning in it and we used it with veggies and tortilla chips during game night.  Quick and easy and delicious to boot!

As for those banana muffins, they came about because we had a fruit bowl with the last few bananas that were looking overripe, and no one was going to eat them.  Rather than wait for a fruit fly infestation, I found the most basic banana muffin recipe and went with it.  Seriously - there is barely anything in this recipe.  This then gives you a blank slate upon which you can add cinnamon, or walnuts, or streusel, but we just left ours plain.  The kids adored them!  Sometimes plain is the way to go!

Perhaps next week, if we really see the snow they are predicting, I'll have some of those more autumnal recipes for you.  But for now you'll just have to settle for taco hummus and banana muffins!

Happy cooking!

New Recipes
Nothing but Banana Muffins
Taco Hummus

Taco Hummus

Ingredients
* 3 tsp taco seasoning
* 15 oz can chick peas
* 1 tbsp lemon juice
* 2 tsp olive oil
* 1 clove garlic

Directions
1. Drain the chick peas and reserve the liquid.
2. Add the chick peas, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and taco seasoning to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Add chick pea liquid until you reach your desired consistency, 1 tsp at a time.
3. Serve with chips or veggies.

Notes
This was really easy and yummy!  I added quite a bit of the chick pea liquid, but did add it just a tsp at a time so I didn't go overboard.   Hummus is so easy to make, and there are so many recipes out there - give it a try!

Nothing but Banana Muffins

Ingredients
* 2 cups AP flour
* 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1 1/2 cups ripe mashed bananas (about 4)
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 egg

Directions
1. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar and baking powder) in a large bowl.
2. Combine the wet ingredients (bananas, milk, oil and egg) in a second bowl.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
4. Fill greased muffin cups with batter and bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool in the pan 4- 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes
These are very basic banana muffins.  Feel free to add cinnamon, or walnuts, or a streusel topping, but I was looking far a very basic recipe.  I had 4 bananas at the end of their lives on my counter, and needed to use them.  I saw this recipe, though the original called for 1 cup toffee bits in the batter, and another 1/2 cup bits sprinkled on the tops before cooking!  It is just after Halloween and my family is off the candy train, so I left that out.  My kids thought these were great!  The next time you have a few bananas on your counter and are looking for an easy outlet to use them in, try this recipe!