Hayley Hendel's Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

2 large, ripe bananas (I used about 258ish grams.)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1/4 cup REAL maple syrup

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup cottage cheese

2 cups pancake mix of choice

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-count muffin tin.

2. In a large bowl, mash bananas, then add peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla.  Whisk until ingredients are well incorporated.  Then, mix in the cottage cheese. (If the thought of "bits of cottage cheese" in your muffins sounds unappetizing, you can blend the cottage cheese with a hand mixer prior to adding to the rest of the ingredients.)

3. Next, add in pancake mix and use a rubber spatula to fold until ingredients are just combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Add batter to muffin liners (to top) and bake for 20-22 minutes.

5. Let cool completely before removing them from the liners.  Enjoy warm! 

(I store mine in the fridge and then heat them for 30 seconds at half power.)

*Hayley Hendel Instagram

Hayley Hendel's Bacon Cheddar Sous Vide Egg Bites

This pan is a splurge purchase, but because of its absolutely no-stick capabilities, it is 100 percent worth it.

Cleaning a muffin pan is one of my least favorite kitchen items to tackle.

Ingredients:

6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice

8 eggs

1 cup cottage cheese

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Place a 9x13 baking dish on the bottom rack and fill 2/3 full with water and allow to warm while the oven preheats.

2. Cook bacon as desired.  (I use precooked, bake mine in an air fryer for 5 minutes, remove and set on paper towel, and allow to crisp.)

3. Omitting the shredded cheese, in a blender, combine remaining ingredients (eggs to pepper).

4. Using avocado oil spray, generously grease a muffin tin and divide blended mixture evenly into 12.  They fill about 3/4 full.  Top each with cooked, crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese.

5. Place muffin tin on middle rack and bake for 25 minutes.

6. Store in sealed container in refrigerator.  When ready to indulge, reheat and serve warm.

*Ingredients to switch up the flavor of egg bites can vary!  Instead of bacon, try diced ham + peppers, or even spinach, tomatoes, and feta for a Greek-inspired flavor combo!   

*Hayley Hendel Instagram

Chicken Milanese

The original recipe serves 4; my modifications to serve 6 are in red, just in case 

you need a bit more chicken for your family or want leftovers!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1.5 pounds (I used 3 breasts, roughly 1.8ish pounds.)
• Kosher salt and black pepper, for seasoning 
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (I used Italian-seasoned.)
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (I used an entire lemon.)
• 1/2 cup olive oil, for frying
• Arugula, for serving
• Lemon, for serving (I used the lemon I zested!)

Directions: 

1. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice the chicken breast halves horizontally, butterflying them open. Cut each breast in half, to create 4 equal size pieces. (Because I used one more breast, I had 6 pieces.)  Cover the chicken with plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Remove the plastic wrap and season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. In a medium shallow bowl or baking dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Set aside.

3. In a second medium bowl or baking dish, whisk the eggs and set aside.

4. In a third medium shallow bowl or baking dish, combine the panko, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and lemon zest.

5. Create an assembly line; dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, coating both sides, shaking off excess. Next, dip the chicken into the eggs, letting any excess drain off. Add the chicken to the panko mixture and press until both sides are well coated. Repeat until all pieces are all breaded.

6. In a large cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully place 1 or 2 pieces of chicken into the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, on each side, or until chicken is cooked through.

7. Remove the chicken to a paper towel lined plate and repeat the process with the remaining chicken. Add more oil, if necessary.

8. Transfer chicken to a plates and serve with arugula salad and a squeeze of lemon juice. (I drizzled my arugula with lemon-infused balsamic vinegar!)

*www.twopeasandtheirpod.com

S'mores Cookie Cups

The recipe calls for 24 s'mores cups.  Each time I've made these, there's been enough graham cracker mix to make anywhere from 28-30, so if you have extra marshmallows and chocolate, make a few more! 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1¼ cup all-purpose flour (not packed)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 large marshmallows, cut in half
• 2 Hershey’s chocolate bars (24 chocolate pieces)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth.

3. To the butter/sugar mixture, add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the large bowl (wet ingredients) and mix until just combined.

5. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough into a greased mini muffin tin.  (Using a tablespoon cookie scoop is super easy!)

6. Using the backside of a tablespoon measuring spoon, press dough down into the muffin tin to create a small indent in the dough. (I like to spray the back of the tablespoon with a little bit of cooking spray avoid the stickiness of the dough to the spoon.)

7. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are just getting golden brown.

8. Remove from oven and gently press a half marshmallow, sticky side down, onto each cookie.  Let the cookies cool completely.

9. Once cooled, preheat the broiler (lowest broiler setting) on your oven.

10.  Place cookies back in the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don’t burn! (Do not exceed two minutes.  I usually end up just standing there the entire time to monitor.)

11. Once golden brown, remove from the broiler and place/gently set a piece of chocolate on top of each cookie.  No need to press them down; the heat from the marshmallow will help the chocolate to adhere.

12. Let them cool completely before removing them from muffin tin.  (TIP!!!  After I place the chocolate onto each cookie, I give them a minute or two to adhere, and then put the muffin tin into the refrigerator for quicker cooling time.  The cold temp from the fridge hardens the cookie, making it much easier to pop out.  I use a toothpick to poke into the edge of each cookie and it pops right out.  Don't worry, the cookies will soften once they've gone back to room temperature.)

*www.sixsistersstuff.com

Maple Rosemary Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup real maple syrup
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided (I only used 2.  See directions below.)
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (I used frozen Dorot cubes.)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine maple syrup, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, diced shallot, chopped rosemary, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and minced garlic.

If chicken is not of even thickness, pound for more even cooking.  Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.

In a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, combine maple syrup mixture and chicken; marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight, flipping the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade and discard.

Preheat grill to medium high heat, around 400-450 degrees.

Brush chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.  (I did not do this.  Instead, I lightly spritzed the tops of the chicken with avocado oil spray.)  Add chicken to grill and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.  Dependent on its thickness, it can take anywhere from 10-12 minutes or so.

Serve immediately.

*www.damndelicious.net