Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

I knew the second I read this recipe in Cooking Light magazine that I wanted to make it for Tom's breakfast. It just sounds sooo good...chocolate hazelnut banana bread..yummm. How bad could anything with Nutella be?

I called Tom at work and asked him how it came out. He said it was "sooo goood" and that I should make this a regular for breakfast. Next mission is making a gluten free version for myself to eat :)

This recipe is a "lighter" version of banana bread but I think you could apply the chocolate hazelnut part to any banana bread recipe. I like to keep things "lighter" for breakfast but maybe if I made this for a crowd I would use my favorite banana bread recipe (full fat version :) This recipe is definitely worth picking up a jar of Nutella and giving a try. Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread
Makes one 9" x 5" loaf

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 medium ripe bananas, sliced
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup whole buttermilk
Cooking Spray or Crisco to grease pan
1/4 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (Optional)
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan and dust with flour (I like to line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. Combine chocolate-hazelnut spread and 1 teaspoon oil in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds or until melted. Stir and set aside.

3. Combine 3 tablespoons oil, butter, brown sugar, and banana in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until combined.

4. Scrape half of batter into a 9 x 5-inch and top with chocolate-hazelnut spread mixture. Spread remaining batter over chocolate mixture. Using a wooden pick, swirl batter. Sprinkle batter with hazelnuts.

4. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread; cool on wire rack.

5. Place bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at high for 30 seconds. Drizzle bread with chocolate; let stand until set.

Teri-Glazed Turkey Meatballs

Here is a great healthy recipe for a party appetizer. My husband, who usually won't touch anything with ground turkey likes these meatballs and ate 10 or more of them the other night. I lost count. These turkey meatballs are very moist and have a great balance of salty from the soy sauce and sweet from the honey.

You can either make these as regular meatballs or turn them into yakitori by shaping them into football shapes and inserting a 6" bamboo skewer to each mealball. This is a nice idea for serving a crowd.

This recipe freezes well, so it is a good make ahead appetizer. To freeze, shape the raw meatballs and place them into ziplock bags and freeze. When you are ready to cook them, defrost them in the refrigerator and proceed with cooking instructions.

You can easily make these gluten free by just using gluten free soy sauce in place of regular soy sauce and gluten free bread crumbs. I find the best bread crumbs come from using the ends of frozen gluten free sandwich bread (such as Udi's), just pulse in a food processor to create crumbs.


Teri-Glazed Turkey Meatballs (Recipe from Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai)
Makes 24 meatballs

Ingredients:
Glaze: 
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic powder

Meatballs/Yakitori:
1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 large egg
1 pound of lean ground turkey
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
16 scallions-finely chopped (I used closer to 10 scallions)
4 garlic cloves-finely minced (I did not add garlic)
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Make the glaze by whisking together honey, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside a few tablespoons of glaze to drizzle at the end.

2. If you are making yakitori: soak twenty four 6" bamboo skewers in warm water for 20 minutes.

3. Toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often, until fragrant and nutty; 1-2 minutes. Transfer seeds to a small plate to cool and set aside.

4. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl. Add in turkey meat, bread crumbs, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, salt and pepper, mix together well.

5. Form mixture into 24 meatballs or for yakitori: football shaped torpedoes with skewers inserted into each ball.

6. Heat a large non-stick pan to medium-high and spray pan with cooking spray or coat with canola oil. Add the meatballs in batches making sure not to over crowd the pan. Cook on one side about 3-4 minutes, turn the meatballs and brush with glaze on the cooked side. Cook the second side 3-4 minutes and continue to brush each side with glaze until the meat is cooked through. Continue until all the meatballs are cooked. (I like to put my meatballs in a 350 degree oven to keep warm and finish cooking while you finish the batches of meatballs)

7. To serve, drizzle with reserved glaze.

Bela's Puppy Peanut Butter Cupcakes

In honor of our dog Bela's 3rd birthday, here is a recipe for Puppy Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Bela loves anything with peanut butter flavor so I always make these for her birthday. Some may say I am crazy but she is as much a part of the family as anyone else!

These freeze well, just wrap them in plastic wrap or ziplock bags and place in the freezer and your pup can enjoy a treat at anytime.

Puppy Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Makes 10-12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose or whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots (3-4 medium carrots)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffins pan with 10-12 cupcake liners.

2.Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Scoop into liners and bake for 15-20 minutes until done.
You can frost these cupcakes with low fat cottage cheese and decorate with carrot pieces. Store in refrigerator. or freezer.

Quinoa Pilaf with Dried Cranberries and Almonds

This must be the week for healthy side dishes. Here is another way to dress up quinoa for a quick side to accompany any meal. Anything with dried cranberries and almonds scores big points with me. In my opinion, if you add in balsamic vinegar and fresh basil, two of my other favorites and you have the makings of a great dish. I served this dish with peach and soy marinated chicken breasts and butternut squash and leek gratins. Overall, a great and super healthy dinner.

Quinoa Pilaf with dried cranberries and almonds (from cookbook: Pretty Delicious) 
Serves 6

Ingredients:
12 oz quinoa (about 2 cups)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup sliced almonds -roasted on baking sheet in 350 degree oven 6-8 minutes until golden and fragrant

1. Place quinoa in a large bowl, cover with cold water and then drain though mesh strainer.

2. Place rinsed quinoa, chicken broth and 2 cups of water in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered until quinoa is tender and has absorbed liquid;12-15 minutes. Scrape quinoa into a large bowl.

3. Whisk together balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper and add to the quinoa. Toss to coat.

4. Add in the cranberries, almonds and basil leaves and serve warm.

Honey Roasted Root Vegetables

I absolutely love this recipe for roasted root vegetables. It's easy to prepare, healthy and delicious. I see myself making this side dish the entire fall and winter season, over and over and over. The whole family devoured these vegetable and were looking for more when the bowl was empty. I am already craving another serving, maybe I will have to make them again this weekend.

The original recipe comes from the cookbook Cooking Light: Cooking through the seasons. The book is broken down into 4 chapters for each season. When I was looking for some recipes for the week I decided to look though the book under the autumn chapter and came across the recipe. My only wish is that I discovered this recipe before so I could have been eating this all along.

The recipe you will find below is my adaptation of the dish. I omitted the garlic but you could easily add in a few gloves of garlic with the other vegetables. I hope you will try this recipe and enjoy it this autumn when all the vegetables are in season.


Honey Roasted Root Vegetables
Serves 4

Ingredients: 
1 small butternut squash, peel and diced (or 1/2 a large squash)
1 small fennel bulb-sliced
2 medium sized parsnips-diced
2 medium sized carrots-diced
1 large red skin potato-diced
3 large shallots-peeled and quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Cooking spray
1-2 tbsp honey
2 tsp cider vinegar


1. Preheat oven to 450°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine all the diced vegetables (try to keep around the same size to ensure even cooking). Add in the olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat evenly.

3. Arrange the vegetable mixture in a single layer on baking sheet.

4. Bake at 450° for 25 minutes or until vegetables are browned and tender.

5. Place vegetable mixture in a large bowl. Add honey and cider vinegar to vegetables, and toss well. You can add more honey or vinegar to taste.