The Easiest Banana Muffins

Once upon a time, I went on a quest to find a good banana bread recipe. I tried so many different ones, but none seemed right. Some didn't taste enough like banana, some were too dense, others required extra ingredients like sour cream but still didn't taste right, and I began to despair of ever finding the perfect recipe.

Then one day, in the summer of 2011, I went to India for the first time.

And my friend Amanda made me her banana bread.

And I knew, I had found the one. THE one. 

And here it is...the simplest, easiest, most delicious banana bread (or muffins, in this case).

Easiest Banana Muffins

Original Recipe

3 ripe bananas, mashed (If the bananas are kind of small, I use 4. I recommend NOT using the stumpy little banana variety though...they're too starchy and not sweet enough).

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

2 cups of flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more...)

In a large bowl, mix the vegetable oil, sugar, and egg together. Add mashed bananas. Then add the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop into 12 greased muffin tins or into a greased 9x9 baking dish or bread pan.

Bake at 170 degrees C (350 degrees F) for 20-25 minutes for muffins, or 40-45 minutes in a pan, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

I also love to make a batch of these (since bananas go bad quickly here so I seem to always have overripe bananas) and then wrap them with cling wrap, put them in a Ziplock freezer bag, and freeze them to have on mornings when I need a little something sweet with my coffee. Take them out of the freezer and microwave for about 30 seconds.

Thank you, Amanda, for changing my life ;)

Chicken Lazone

I don't really know why this recipe is called Chicken Lazone, but that's what the original recipe dubbed it, so we'll roll with it. I Googled the term and I think it's something related to New Orleans?

Regardless, this is definitely a dish you need to try.

It.was.delicious.

Landon asked for 3rd helpings, which is saying a lot from my picky eater.

This dish is definitely not going to win any awards for health or diet functionality (butter and cream tend to not make those lists) but it definitely wins on the flavor scale. And EASY! The original recipe claimed it could be done in 15 minutes, and I think that's true, except I was also making sauteed zucchini and therefore got distracted a few times. 

So the recipe calls for heavy cream, and here's the stuff I used in India:

I don't really understand what the heck this stuff is. Because it doesn't have a high enough fat content to actually whip into whipped cream, but this stuff is THICK. Thicker than any heavy cream in America. Like, a semi-solid thick. So the recipe called for 2 cups of heavy cream, and I started pouring it in and after about a cup and a half started having second thoughts, so I stopped and didn't add the full two cups. The next time I make it I plan to use a mixture of milk and cream and see how it turns out. {Edit: I tried it, and it was great! A little bit thinner of a sauce but just as tasty.}

Enjoy! Be sure to lick all the sauce off the plate when you're done. :)

Chicken Lazone

Original Recipe

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into strips like chicken tenders

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup butter, divided

1 cup cream

1/2 cup milk

250 grams of your pasta of choice

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Combine salt, chili powder, onion powder, & garlic powder. Sprinkle over both sides of chicken and rub in. 

In a saute pan, melt half of the butter over medium heat. Cook the chicken tenders until done, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve on a plate.

Stir the cream and milk together in a cup. Add remaining butter to saute pan along with cream/milk. Stir to combine, and then place chicken back in pan. Lower heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes until sauce thickens. Spoon chicken and sauce over pasta.

Serves 3-4 people.

Chicken & Broccoli

This recipe is E-A-S-Y! And also very tasty :)

And what I love even more, is that I got this recipe from my mom! When she was visiting us here in India, one night she made the suggestion that we make chicken and broccoli stir fry like she and my aunt used to make back home. I had completely forgotten about it, so she walked me through how to make it, and I have made it several times since then because it's so quick and delicious. Plus, you could easily add in any other kind of vegetables other than just broccoli, or even serve it over fried rice!

Chicken and Broccoli

3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves of minced garlic, or 1 tsp of garlic paste

2 crowns of broccoli, cleaned and cut
Any other veggies to add (bell peppers, peas, carrots, mushrooms, etc.)

1-2 TBS soy sauce, to taste

2 cups chicken broth

1-2 TBS olive oil

1-2 TBS flour (optional)

Cooked brown or basmati rice for serving

(Cook rice according to package directions.)

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a skillet that has a lid. Add the onion, garlic, and chicken and cook about 3 minutes on each side, till browned and cooked through. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet. Spread the broccoli on top of the chicken in the skillet. Dash the soy sauce around all over the broccoli. Cover with the lid and let cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, or until the broccoli is cooked to your desired doneness. 

I personally like the sauce to be a little bit thicker, but if you like it thin and watery, you can skip this next step. Spoon out about 1/4 cup of the sauce/broth into a cup, and mix with 1-2 TBS of flour. Stir the thickened sauce mixture back into the pan and let it cook for just a minute or two more to thicken the rest of the sauce. Serve over rice. 

Serves 4-5 people.

Crockpot Lemon Garlic Chicken & Potatoes

This recipe was incredibly easy - it reminded me of back in Kansas, when I would throw a pot roast and potatoes in the crock pot to cook all day long, and make the most easy, delicious meal. It would make the house smell awesome all day long with minimal effort. (I need to stop thinking about pot roasts...chicken, Tracy, chicken, chicken...)

To be perfectly honest, I didn't actually love this dish. But I think that's just because I'm not a huge lemon fan. So I decided to post it anyway, because if you like lemon, then you'll probably really like it! I hardly changed the original recipe, except I added some sliced onions to the crock pot, and I also increased the amount of chicken broth slightly. It seems to me that crock pots here cook hotter than in America, probably because of the super charged electricity, so I think liquids cook off and evaporate more quickly.

Crockpot Lemon Garlic Chicken & Potatoes

Original Recipe

3-4 chicken breasts

4 potatoes, cut into large chunks

1 onion, sliced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

4 TBS lemon juice

1-2 tsps oregano

Salt

Pepper

1 cup of water

1 chicken cube 

(or 1 cup of chicken broth, instead of the water and chicken cube)

Place the potato chunks and onion in the crock pot. Rub the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper onto both sides of the chicken breasts. Place chicken in crock pot. Pour the cup of water into crock pot, and throw the chicken cube directly in (it will dissolve as the water simmers). Pour the lemon juice into the broth. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Spoon extra broth over the chicken and potatoes when serving.

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Ok, I realize the title of the recipe says chicken spaghetti, and the picture has penne pasta, but, hey, it's what I had on hand. It's also easier for the kiddos to eat!

My friend Melodie sent me this recipe from allrecipes.com, and it was one of the very first meals I made in India! When I first started making it I used a packet of the Chicken Delite soup in place of the cream of mushroom soup, because it was before I found the cream of soup from scratch recipe. But I like it better with the from scratch version - it eliminates the "India" flavor in it. 

Mel told me that she made this recipe using chicken keema (ground chicken), so that's what I've always done, but you could easily cook some chicken breasts and cube them up or shred them. If you do that, I'd recommend sauteing the onions and peppers for a little bit before mixing them in to soften them up. I actually used the other half of the cooked chicken keema with peppers and onions I had frozen when I made my Taco Pasta last, which made this super fast to whip up! I just thawed it out and then stirred it right into the cream of chicken soup base. The instructions below are from ground zero though! Double the recipe to make a 9x13 sized casserole.

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Original Recipe

1/2 lb chicken keema

1 onion

1 red pepper (or any color)

1/2 lb/250 g of spaghetti

1.5 cups of cheese

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp Italian Seasoning (optional)

Cream of Chicken Soup Base:

* 2 TBS butter

* 3 TBS flour

* 1/2 cup chicken broth

* 1/2 cup milk

* salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. If using spaghetti, break into pieces.

Meanwhile, brown the chicken keema along with the onion and red pepper, and Italian seasoning. Set aside.

Make the cream of chicken soup base: in a saucepan, dissolve 1 chicken cube in 1 cup of water. Reserve 1/2 cup of broth in a measuring cup, and pour the other 1/2 cup into the chicken. Melt butter in sauce pan. Whisk in flour and stir till smooth. Stir in the reserved 1/2 cup of chicken broth and milk. Whisk until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Drain pasta, then stir in the chicken mixture, the soup mixture, and the cheese. Spread in a baking pan and bake at 170 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 15-20 minutes (really, if you're in a hurry, you could even skip the baking step and just eat it straight from the bowl!). Serves 3-4 people.

This is a small baking dish, not a 9x13

Crispy Ranch Chicken

This dinner was super simple and TASTY! The breading turned out so crunchy - definite win.

I got the recipe from Pinterest (duh) but alas, the pin itself only led to an image, not an actual website, so I can't link to the original recipe. But you can check out my "Cooking in India" board on Pinterest for the original! 

Once again I scaled the recipe back from the original 8 chicken breasts it called for to only 2, because that would feed our family just fine. But I still used just as many cornflake crumbs...how in the world would you make a cup of cornflake crumbs go for 8 chicken breasts? Ridiculous!

Before breading, I actually either cut my chicken breasts into strips to make chicken strips, or in half across the full length, aka butterflied them to make 4 thinner chicken "cutlets." I do this 1) to reduce the cooking time 2) to increase the crispy breading ratio. We all know the breading is going to be the best part. 

This recipe does require a couple of ingredients from America, just fyi.

I served this with mashed potatoes and corn, and it was perfect!

Crispy Ranch Chicken

2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips or in half to create 4 chicken cutlets

1 cup of crushed Cornflakes

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (the recipe called for more, but I'm stingy since I don't have much)

2 TBS Ranch Dressing powder (the original recipe called for a whole packet, which is 3 TBS)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg, beaten

Combine the crushed cornflakes, Parmesan cheese and ranch dressing powder in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken cutlets in the egg, and then into the coating mixture. Place in a baking dish and bake at 175 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 30 minutes. Finished! So easy!

Sauteed Green Beans

This sounds ridiculous, but before coming to India, I had never cooked fresh green beans before. I always used canned, or frozen, which are similar to fresh but are already partially cooked. So as embarrassing as it is, I actually Googled "how to cook fresh green beans" and came away with some Pioneer Woman inspiration.

So in case anyone out there has also never cooked fresh green beans before, here's my go to method! I love adding a sprinkle of the bacon bits I brought from America, but if you don't have any, you could also saute some fresh chopped onion and red pepper along with the green beans to add good flavor.

Sauteed Green Beans

250 grams fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half

1-2 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup water

Sprinkle of bacon bits (or onions and peppers)

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat in a skillet that has a lid. When hot, add green beans (and onions/peppers, if using). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let sit for a minute, then stir around. Saute in the oil for 3-4 minutes. Then pour the water into the skillet and cover with lid. You might need to turn the heat down a little bit. Let the green beans "steam" in the covered pan for about 10 minutes total. I usually stir halfway through. When they've reached your desired softness, remove the lid, and sprinkle in the bacon bits, if using. Continue to saute for another minute or so until all the water has cooked off and bacon flavor is evenly dispersed :)

Chicken Scampi with Linguine

My friend Tina made this dish for us one time, and it was so delicious I asked her for the recipe!! Unfortunately I can't credit/link to the original recipe, because it's from a random cookbook Tina got in India, but, thank you original recipe author!!

My phone picture doesn't do justice to how yummy this was. I mean, basically, the sauce is butter, garlic, and lemon juice. Who can argue with that? 

I cut the original recipe in half to make just enough for Kyle, me, Landon & Layla (they don't eat much). However, I still used about the same amount of breadcrumbs as the original recipe because I coated my chicken really well. So you'll just have to eyeball and adjust how much breadcrumbs you want to use. Also, if you can't find breadcrumbs, you can just crush up some Monaco crackers instead.

Chicken Scampi with Linguine

2 chicken breasts

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup bread crumbs, or crushed Monaco crackers

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 cup parmesean cheese

1/2 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp pepper

1/3 cup oil

200 grams of linguine or other pasta (approximately...I don't measure the amount of pasta I use)

For the sauce: 

1/4 cup butter (if you cut the block of butter into 4 sticks, use half of a stick)

4 cloves minced garlic

1 TBS lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

Fresh parsley for garnish, optional

OR

1/2 TBS dried parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions. 

Combine the bread crumbs with cheese, salt & pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, then dip in the beaten egg, then the breadcrumbs. Bread all chicken pieces. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook chicken in oil, approx 3 minutes per side or until cooked through and golden brown. Set aside.

You can wipe the oil out of the same skillet to use less dishes, and then add the butter to the skillet. Melt, then add garlic and cook one minute. Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Also stir in parsley if you are using dried. Drain the pasta, and you can stir an additional 1-2 TBS of butter into the pasta, if desired. Add chicken to the lemon butter sauce, then add that to the pasta and toss to mix. Toss in parsley, if using fresh.