Banana bread, peanut butter cookies, and the end of LOST

Banana bread with chocolate chips based on this recipe from Simply Recipes.
I used two previously frozen bananas, two fresh bananas, and substituted 1/2 cup high protein flour mix, 1 cup all purpose flour mix, and 1/2 Tbsp (1 1/2 tsp.) of xanthan gum for the wheat flour to make it gluten free.  The flour blends I use are from an old issue of Living Without.  I added 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips as well.

Peanut butter cookies made from 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1 egg.

While watching LOST we had Trader Joe's chicken lime burgers with mayo, tomato, red onion.  I had mine on a Gillian's gluten free roll, which was really good.  The Big B picked them up for me at the grocery store!  (I had 1/2 a roll the next day for lunch too, topped with egg salad.)  The bun-burger combo, however, was kinda bland.  It definitely lacked for something zesty.  Like queso (Rotel dip to some of you).  Thankfully, that was our side dish for dinner!

Barbecue Chicken Nachos

There's this concession stand in the Verizon Center that serves barbecue chicken nachos.  They are messy and delicious.  Since we had leftover pulled chicken and queso from the Super Bowl, we decided to recreate them.  They were messy and delicious.  And probably something that should NOT become part of the regular rotation around here, despite how tasty they are.

Tortilla chips, black beans, barbecue chicken, onion, queso (Velveeta and Rotel), salsa, sour cream.

Chili Night at the G's B&B

Carried out in an effort to fill the G’s freezer.

Beef chili made with one box of Carrol Shelby Chili Mix. Served with Fritos, shredded cheddar, diced green onions, cilantro, avocado, and sour cream.

We even documented the different ways we all composed our chili bowls.

We also made Giada’s White Bean and Chicken Chili. Made with only one pound of chicken, instead of two; without a few spices (fennel seed, cumin); and with the addition of two bay leaves. Served with avocado, parmesan, cilantro.

No pictures of the white bean and chicken chili, but it was delicious.

We also made simple roast chicken and potatoes one night and chicken enchiladas another.

The final freezer tally for the week included:

1 pan chicken enchiladas,

3 2-cup bowls of beef chili,

3 2-cup bowls of chicken and white bean chili,

3 cups shredded chicken (for making Southwest King Ranch casserole),

as well as 2 containers mashed potatoes, 2 containers chicken Marbella, and one container green beans left in the fridge. Phew. At least she'll be eating well for the next month or so!

Chicken Marbella

We’ve eaten this dish before, but hadn’t cooked it until recently. We made it for company while visiting family. I knew it was easy, but was impressed at just how easy it was (and it still turned out great, even cooking at almost 10,000 feet!)

Marinade made the night before (measurements loosely followed, until it looked “right”). Chicken baked at 380 for about 50 minutes. Served with simple mashed potatoes (butter, milk) and green beans sautéed with garlic, onion, and topped with a squeeze of lemon.

Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

De-licious snow day dinner. Chicken breast (bone-in, skin-on) stuffed with diced prosciutto and goat cheese, roasted at 375. Served with caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash, and crispy sage.

Busy Kitchen Extravaganza Sunday

After a delicious brunch of smoked salmon hash with poached eggs, I set about making:

Pistachio Biscotti



using the Food Network recipe from Tyler Florence,

Peppermint Bark



using a mix of a few different recipes I found online,

and goat cheese and sun dried tomato stuffed chicken breast with sauteed kale for dinner.

The chicken was an Ina Garten recipe from the Food Network and the kale is an Emeril recipe from Emeril Green on PlanetGreen. The chicken and the greens were both delicious recipes we will be making again, for sure.



Wine: Kemblefield 2009 sauvignon blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand. Pretty good. I'd drink it again.

Peppermint Bark:
about two cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used about 1/3 of a 32oz bag of Guittard)
1 12oz bag white chocolate chips (I used Guittard)
a scant 1/2 Tbsp peppermint flavor (peppermint oil and other oil)
1/2 cup crushed candycanes

Line 13x9 pan with foil, spray with Pam. Spread chocolate chips in bottom of pan and place in 250 oven until melty. Spread into even layer. Allow to cool until hard (for me, I let it cool on the stove for awhile, then the fridge for 20, and the freezer for 15. I was afraid to move the pyrex pan from stove to fridge or freezer. Melt white chocolate chips in microwave - 1 minute on high, stir. (The bag said 2 minutes on half power, stir, then go in 15 second increments until melted.) Stir in peppermint oil or extract. Measure extract with 1/2 TBSP because your 1 tsp. and 1/2 tsp. are dirty and you can't be bothered to clean them. Pour over chocolate layer and sprinkle with candycanes. Super easy. When layers separate when you try to cut them, stick the whole thing back in the oven at 250 to re-melt them slightly. Allow to cool. Mine got pretty messy. I'm still not sure they are going to stick together, but I re-baked them and they're cooling in the fridge again.

Chicken Tikka Masala

After a long day of household chores, before a trip out into the cold to visit friends, a warm dinner of chicken tikka masala.



1 jar Patak's Tikka Masala sauce prepared with
1 pkg boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 1 diced tomato
1 1/2 cup rice (last of the bag), seasoned with ginger, garlic, and a little butter.

Cauliflower tossed with olive oil and curry powder and roasted at 400 for about 45 minutes.

Served with Trader Joe's naan.

Wine: last of a bottle of Fratelli D'italia pinot grigio. Just okay.