Author: Chez Starz

I have a passion for food and travel. I am always looking for delicious recipes to cook and share with my family. This site is simply a way to share family recipes and those I find in cookbooks and online.

Banana Bread

 

 

 

I am always buying bananas and not eating them before they go bad. This is a great way to use those over ripe bananas and turn them into a decadent bread.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for preparing the pan
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork, about 1 cup
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnut pieces (optional)

Directions:

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. Whisk the eggs and vanilla, set aside. Brush a loaf pan with butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter until incorporated. Add the bananas. Add the flour mixture. Note that the mixture will look curdled but is not.

Use a rubber spatula to mix dry ingredients, fold in the nuts and transfer to prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes then turn out of the pan and let cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap. Best served the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

BBQ Turkey Legs

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This is a recipe my boyfriend has perfected. He made it for a party that he threw for his skills instructors (pictured above) because he runs an EMS program at the local community college. This is a compilation of many recipes found online so it is now his.

Ingredients:

  • 2 liter lemon lime soda
  • 1 TBS crushed red pepper
  • 1 TBS black pepper
  • 2 TBS hot sauce
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • Turkey legs

Directions:

Light your BBQ for direct heat cooking. Add first 5 ingredients together in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Add the turkey legs and cook, uncovered for 45 minutes or until the meat reaches a temperature of 180 degrees. Remove onions and place on the BBQ to create a bed for the legs, add turkey legs on the BBQ with direct heat and lid on. Coat with honey. Cook until there is a nice char on the meat.

BBQ Pulled-pork Sandwiches in the Crock Pot

 

This is a super easy crock pot recipe that makes tender pulled pork every time. Don’t be put off by the cola because it simply develops a sweet crust on the meat. I found this recipe on Pinterest and don’t have the original site it was found.

Ingredients:

  • 4 lb pork shoulder
  • Garlic salt
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce, plus more for serving
  • Coca cola (or any other cola)
  • 1 onion, slices
  • Buns

Directions:

Season pork with garlic salt and place it in the crock pot. Add BBQ sauce, cola to cover meat and sliced onion on top. Cook on low for 8 hours or until pork easily shreds, discard liquid and shred pork to mix with BBQ sauce as desired. Serve on buns.

Pat’s Salmon in Tin Foil

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My children’s grandma, Pat, made this delicious and healthy recipe for the kids and my son came home and told me he liked it. It has now become a regular menu item in our home if I can find wild salmon at the store. Of course, you can use farm raised if you please. but I prefer wild.

Ingredients:

  • 4 salmon fillets and 4 sheets of tin foil
  • 2 tsp. + 2 tbsp. olive oil separated
  • salt & pepper
  • 3 tomatoes chopped
  • 2 shallots chopped
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. dried or fresh oregano
  • 1 tsp. dried or fresh thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush salmon with 2 tsp. olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place each fillet on foil. Mix tomatoes, shallots, 2 tbs. olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. Spoon mixture over salmon and wrap with foil being sure it is completely sealed. Place foil packs on cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Hint; I added a little crushed garlic and chopped ginger and it was delicious.

Lem’s Bar-B-Q House BBQ Sauce

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Hello to my fellow blogosphere friends.  I have been away awhile while completing my degree but, never fail, I will continue to post and post all my favorite recipes.  This is the best homemade BBQ sauce I have ever made.  I have doubled, tripled, quadrupled, the recipe as needed.  It is really good and, like all recipes, can be tweaked to your liking.  I found this recipe in the book America’s Best BBQ by Davis and Kirk.  Lem’s BBQ House is located in Chicago, Illinois at 311 E. 75th St., if you’re ever in the area.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 TBS granulated sugar
  • 2 TBS apple cider vinegar
  • 1 TBS chili powder
  • 1 tsp. dry mustard
  • 2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. finely ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. ground celery salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve all sugars, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes, cool to room temperature.

Lemon Chicken

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Really good wine pairing for this dish pictured above

This is another recipe from my new cookbook I recently purchased called Cooking My Way Back Home.  The original recipe calls for olives and feta which I will include but I did omit because I did not think my children would like it.

Ingredients:

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 4 TBS unsalted butter
  • 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 TBS dried oregano
  • 1 TBS sugar
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 TBS fresh flat-leaf parsley

Garnish:

  • 1 cup nicoise olives, pitted and quartered
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 2 TBS chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, put the flour in a shallow dish and dredge each chicken piece in it.  Heat the oil and add the chicken pieces, cooking for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.  Lower the heat and add 2 TBS butter to pan scraping up any bits, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the oregano, sugar, wine and lemon juice, raise the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.  Add stock and cook 4 more minutes.  Turn the heat to medium-low and add the chicken with the remaining 2 TBS butter, stir to coat each chicken piece and cook 2 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through, add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.  To serve place chicken on plate, cover with sauce and garnish with olives, feta and parsley.

Hot Fried Chicken Sandwich with Biscuits and Coffee-Laced Gravy

 

This is the first of many recipes I will be posting from my favorite new cookbook Cooking My Way Back Home by Mitchell Rosenthal.  In this recipe the coffee-laced gravy is the star.  You can make the gravy and just serve it over biscuits if you like but I wanted to post the recipe in its entirety in case you want to try it  the way its suppose to taste.

Coffee-laced Gravy

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cubed
  • 3 ounces breakfast pork sausage links, casings removed
  • 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
  • 2 TBS unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 TBS brewed espresso or other strong coffee
  • 3 cups Chicken Stock, warmed
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh sage
  • 6 Country Biscuits (recipe follows)
  • 6 fried chicken breasts (recipe follows)

Directions:

In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes, or until some of the fat is rendered.  Add the pork sausage meat and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula, for 3 minutes more, or until it starts to brown.  Add the onion.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft.

Add the butter and stir until melted.  Lower the heat to medium-low.  Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes to cook away the raw flour taste.  Pour in the espresso and stock and stir well, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to dislodge and browned bits.  Raise the heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until reduced by half.

Add the cream and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has a nice gravy consistency.  Finally, stir in the sage, then taste and correct the seasoning.

Split each biscuit in half horizontally and lay the halves, cut side up and side by side, on a plate.  Top with a hot fried chicken breast, ladle the hot sauce on top, and serve immediately.

Country Biscuits:

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 TBS baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 TBS sugar
  • 1 TBS salt
  • 1/2 pound, plus 1/2 stick butter, frozen, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Scatter the butter on top, on low speed with mixer beat until the butter is about the size of peas, combine all bits with buttermilk until it forms into a dough. Turn the dough out into a lightly floured work surface. Fold and pat until soft and cohesive. Roll out to 1 inch thick and transfer to a sheet pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to a day.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Re-roll the dough into a round 1 inch piece onto lightly floured work surface. Cut as many biscuits as possible into 2 inch rounds. Place the biscuits on prepared pan and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake the biscuits for 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Hot Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup buttermilk
Canola oil, for deep frying
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Town Hall Spice Mixture (recipe follows)
1 tsp salt

Directions:

Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and beat with a mallet until 1/2 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and buttermilk into a bowl and coat. Let soak for 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or heavy bottomed frying pan to 375 F. In a bowl stir together flour, spice mixture and 1 tsp salt. Toss the chicken into the flour mixture and out of the buttermilk and cook in hot oil for 4-5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Town Hall Spice Mixture

Ingredients:

2 TBS cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp celery salt

Directions: Mix all ingredients together. Store in airtight container in cool cupboard. Keeps for up to 6 months.

The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever

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This seriously is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. Found on http://www.addapinch.com by my best friend Dawn and given the stamp of approval by my son. My daughter was the first to make this cake by herself after she told me she wants to be a cake baker. I’ve made it several times since.

Ingredients;
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp espresso powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions;
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9 inch cake pans with cooking spray and lightly flour. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisk together. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed, add water until air is added to batter. Place batter in cake pans and cook for 30-35 minutes
Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then remove from cake pans, cool completely before frosting.

Frosting;
Ingredients;
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
5 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp espresso powder

Directions;
Cream together butter and cocoa powder. Add sugar and milk this way; 1 cup sugar and 1 TBS milk at a time, mix on high. Add vanilla and espresso powder. Add more milk if dry, add sugar if too wet.

Chicken Kebabs with Avocado Dip

I’m back to college and trying to juggle studying, children, and work with my personal life. That means less time to share recipes but I haven’t stopped cooking. Cooking gives me a break from studying and relaxes me. This is a rather simple recipe I found in Jamie Oliver’s book titled Jamie does Spain, Italy, Morocco, France, etc. etc. Love his recipes and books and this one is simple and delicious.

This can be served as a main or an appetizer.

Ingredients;
4 boneless chicken breasts
4 pitas or flatbreads (Olga bread works well)
1 lemon

For the marinade;
Fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated, thumb size piece
1 TBS hot paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
3 TBS olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the avocado dip;
2 ripe avocados
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
1 fresh green or red chile, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions;

Cut chicken into pieces for kebabs and mix marinade ingredients together, combine with chicken and cover with plastic wrap, place in fridge for 30 minutes or overnight. Make avocado dip and set aside. Place chicken pieces on skewers, grill for 5-7 minutes on each side and serve with bread and avocado dip.