White Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Dang, that is a mouthful.

But it is an oh-so-delicious mouthful.

It's no secret that I tend to put a little too much on my plate, from time to time. And unfortunately, the things that seem to go by the wayside are all the baking-related endeavors that I have planned for myself.

My sister got me a drunken cupcakes cookbook for my birthday. It has about a million recipes in it that I am dying to try out and report back about. But I haven't had time.

The only real baking that I got around to do this week was out of necessity--I had a mess of bananas taunting me from my fruit basket. When I bought them, I had every intention of eating them. But then better things came along. Baked things, I'm guessing.

So, I had to do something with them. I can't just throw them away. And I'm leaving in... oh, about 20 minutes to head up to the bay area for a week. So, my taste buds and I set out on a mission...

And I bring you the results. The soooo freaking delicious results.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup white chocolate (or plain) peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/4 white chocolate chips
• 1/4 chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Line a cupcake pan with liners.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda and the salt.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the peanut butter. Add the egg.
4. Fold in the banana.
5. Add the flour mixture.
6. Fold in the chips.
7. Spoon in to muffin cups. Fill 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Fantasy

This is pretty much the epitome of how I feel right now. 

99.997 percent of the time, I love my job... And I would rather be at work than anywhere else in the world. But... right now? Not so much.

Can I day dream for a moment?

This is where I want to be right now. In all of it's messy glory.

In my head, I'm at home. In my favorite sweatpants and tie dye sweatshirt (yes, I'm a hippie at heart). I'm in the kitchen. I'm baking. And it's amazing. The oven radiates heat, warming my kitchen and frozen toes (because our heater still doesn't work). The sun filtering in through the leaves of the big tree in our front yard, and creating the perfect sunning spot in our greenhouse window for Daisy.

This is where I am. Only it's way messier and not nearly as friendly or happy looking.

In reality, I'm sitting at my desk at school, trying to avoid having an aneurysm. My car, which is only 3 years old, is having serious issues. It could be the battery. It could be the starter. It could just be breaking up with me. I don't know. And I don't feel like I have time to deal with it. The internet filters at school went haywire, bringing my publications' productivity to a screeching halt. Luckily, a few smartly placed phone calls and a "don't screw with me" attitude got that fixed right quick. The piles of papers on my desk refuse to grade themselves. I just spent my entire prep cleaning my classroom and organizing my cabinets. Because my brain will not function at a capacity that allows me to do anything that is actually productive. My to-do list is literally making me sick to my stomach.

Can't I just go home and bake? Please? I'll bring you cookies tomorrow, if I can call it quits on working today...

Butternut Squash Soup

I'm sorry. I've slacked on posting. I've been busy. Crazy busy.

And it was my birthday. That gets me out of jail free, right?

I feel like I've been apologizing to people a lot lately. The last two and a half weeks or so have been absolutely insane, as far as my schedule has been concerned. Deadlines galore, and a weekend out of town to top it off. Not that I'm complaining. I like my life busy. But... really? It was a little much.

But now I'm home. And refreshed. And ready for this four-day work week followed by another week off. Gosh, being a teacher is tough. Ha. If you only knew.

Best thing about being home? Being able to cook my own food! And to celebrate that amazing freedom, I made the best soup ever on the face of the planet. Honestly, it's that good.

Butternut Squash Soup

adapted from My Aunt Virginia's Recipe

 photo by Jessica Y.

So good with cornbread! (see archives for a recipe!)

1 Butternut Squash (2 lbs. or so)

1 Acorn Squash (1 lb.)

2 Sweet Potatoes

2.5 cubed granny smith apples

3 chopped cloves of garlic

1 chopped white onion

2 chopped red bell pepper

2 T grated Ginger root

2 15 oz. cans chicken broth

4 stalks celery

1 cup half and half

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. onion salt

2 tsp. garlic pepper

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. smoked paprika

2 tsp. dried basil

 

1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place it cut side down in a 9x13 baking dish, with about 1/2 cup of water in the bottom. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork several times. Place on a cookie sheet. Put the potatoes and squash in the oven at 350 for about an hour and 15 minutes. Remove them and let them cool enough to handle (I did these the day before and just refridgerated them until i was ready to use them).

 

 

2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion, ginger and garlic. Once the onions start to brown, add the apple, squash, celery, potatoes, pepper and seasonings. Add the broth and heat to a boil. Continue to boil for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

 

Feel free to sample your concoction while it is boiling, and add any spices you'd like. You won't screw it up, I promise.

 

3. After the soup boils for a little over an hour, use a food processor to blend the soup until smooth, eliminating all the large chunks.

 

4. Once you have blended the soup, add 1-2 cups of half and half (depending on the consistency that you want), and mix thoroughly. Return to heat and boil for about 10 minutes.

5. Serve with corn bread. Devour.

6. Write me love letters, thanking me for this recipe.

Maple-Sausage Biscuits 'n' Gravy

If your life is anything like mine, you've got a honey-do list that is about a mile long. And a honey who doesn't so much like to "do" when you would like him to.

In my mind, weekends mean chores, catching up on everything I ignored for the week and just, plain and simple, getting things done. Apparently, this is abnormal. Who knew?

But if you want t light a fire under your honey's behind, this is what you do...

And if you know me, you know sausage and big heavy breakfasts are not my thing. But if you know my honey, you know that those things pretty much define his ideal weekend morning.

photo by Jessica Y.

Biscuits, gravy and eggy goodness (or so I've been told).

Maple-Sausage Biscuits and Gravy

1 (12 ounce) package breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Drizzle with syrup. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. 

2. Stir in the butter until melted. Add flour, and stir until smooth. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until light brown. 

3. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stir in cooked sausage. Reduce heat, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. If gravy becomes too thick, stir in a little more milk. 

5. Spoon over warm biscuits and top with an over-easy egg.

6. Taunt your Honey with the plate until he agrees to your "Do" list.

7. Get stuff done!