I love muffins. No surprise there. I bake enough of them. I am always up for trying a new recipe if it catches my eye and so it was with the Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe that I spied on Simply Recipes the other day.
I just happened to have some ripe bananas that I wanted to use up and had thought to make a cake or a loaf, but then I saw these muffins and all was lost. If there is anything I love quite as much as a muffin, it is a muffin containing chocolate chips!
They sounded and looked like real muffins, and by that I mean muffins. Not cupcakes disguised as muffins.
I want a small bake that is dense and moist, not soft and spongy. Something that you can really sink your teeth into and enjoy along side of a hot drink. Something meant to be enjoyed with a hot drink.
No bells. No whistles. Studded with perhaps a few nuts, or some dried fruit, maybe even fresh fruit, and yes, chocolate chips.
Streusel or no streusel. Meant to be eaten out of hand. A portable breakfast if need be. Something not too sweet to be enjoyed mid-morning when you start to feel a bit peckish and want just a little something to carry you over to lunch time.
These muffins are exactly that. Dense and moist. Not too sweet. Nice and banana flavored and studded with plenty of chocolate chips. I used both milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips and I used full sized, even though the recipe called for mini chocolate chips.
I had no minis and I am not one to quibble about the size of something like a chocolate chip. Banana and chocolate are perfect flavor partners, no matter the size of the chocolate chip and I am all in!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
Nothing really out of the ordinary. Do note that the riper the banana the better!
- 1 3/4 cups (245g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 6 TBS (84g) butter, melted
- 3 TBS canola oil (I use light olive oil)
- 1 large free range egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (2 medium) overripe bananas, well mashed, with no lumps (I put mine through a sieve)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup (180g) chocolate chips (I use a mix of milk and semi sweet)
HINTS AND TIPS FOR MAKING REALLY GOOD MUFFINS
- Read through the recipe several times before beginning and gather your ingredients. I like to have all of my ingredients at room temperature.
- Always make sure your oven is preheated. This ensures that your muffins bake through and properly in the allotted time. I like to give my oven a good ten minutes to preheat before I start baking.
- Weigh everything and measure accurately. Baking is an exact science. So many people just fudge things together and then wonder why what they bake hasn't turned out, blaming the recipe. Accuracy is everything in baking. I prefer to measure by weight as it is the most precise of all. A gram is always a gram is always a gram.
- Sift your dry ingredients together or at least give them a good whisking. This helps to prevent pockets of baking soda or baking powder. Everything should be mixed together evenly.
- Don't be tempted to add extra baking powder or soda thinking it will give you a higher lift. More often than not it will actually cause them to fall, and it will give them a definite wonky unpalatable taste.
- Even a pinch of salt is better than none. A small amount of salt helps to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Don't overmix your ingredients. It is okay for muffin batter to be a bit lumpy, in fact it is preferable. What you don't want is large dry streaks. Overmixing causes flat tops, tunnels and your muffins will be tougher.
HOW TO MAKE BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
I found the recipe on the original page to be a bit faffy, so I have streamlined it a bit. I thought much of the faffing about to be totally unnecessary and superfluous. In other words a tad pretentious. Sorry! They do recommend letting the batter sit for an hour prior to baking. I thought this to be quite unusual so I did it. I don't think it is totally necessary to do so, however. You will still get a very good muffin.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together in bowl. Set aside. Whisk the sugar, melted butter, canola oil and vanilla together in another bowl until well combined. Whisk in the egg, whisking it vigorously until the egg is well amalgamated, when whisk in the mashed banana and buttermilk.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet. Stir together until just combined and no dry bits remain. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover with a clean tea towel and let sit on the counter for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Fill 12 regular sized muffin cups with paper cups. Divide the batter between the muffin cups evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 9 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4 without opening the door and bake for a further 4 minutes.
Rotate the pan and bake for a further 4 to 6 minutes longer. When done the tops will spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store any leftover in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
You can freeze them, tightly covered, for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
This was a really good banana muffin. It had plenty of banana flavor without them being too banana-y. I liked that. By using a mix of milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips, I added interest to the muffin. Milk chocolate chips by nature tend to be a lot sweeter, and so the semi-sweet chocolate chips helped to cut the sweetness a tiny bit.
I would bake these again. I did not cut the recipe in half because I wanted to give some to my sister to put in her husband's lunch, and having said that, they do freeze very well.
Some other muffin recipes in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:
TRIPLE BERRY MUFFINS-These moist and delicious muffins are filled with not one, not two, but three different berries. Blueberries, raspberries and diced strawberries. It is also a small batch recipe and makes just 9 delicious muffins.
MORNING GLORY MUFFINS -This is a small batch of one of my favorite muffin recipes. These re moist and filled with the goodness of carrot, apple, coconut, pineapple, toasted nuts and whole and regular wheat flours. The recipe makes 6 largish muffins.
Yield: 12
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 17 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 27 M
These are moist and delicious and filled with lots of chocolate chips. The batter for these needs to sit on the counter for an hour prior to baking. You don't have to do this, but they will have more evenly rounded tops if you do.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (245g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 6 TBS (84g) butter, melted
- 3 TBS canola oil (I use light olive oil)
- 1 large free range egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (2 medium) overripe bananas, well mashed, with no lumps (I put mine through a sieve)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup (180g) chocolate chips (I use a mix of milk and semi sweet)
Instructions
- First make the batter. Whisk the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together in bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the sugar, melted butter, canola oil and vanilla together in another bowl until well combined. Whisk in the egg, whisking it vigorously until the egg is well amalgamated, when whisk in the mashed banana and buttermilk.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet. Stir together until just combined and no dry bits remain. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover with a clean tea towel and let sit on the counter for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Fill 12 regular sized muffin cups with paper cups.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 9 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4 without opening the door and bake for a further 4 minutes.
- Rotate the pan and bake for a further 4 to 6 minutes longer. When done the tops will spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store any leftover in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
- You can freeze them, tightly covered for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
I decided to cook sausages for my dinner today. I had found a recipe on Eating Well 101 for a delicious looking pan sausage dish. Garlic Butter Sausages & Broccoli Skillet.
Quick, easy and nourishing the original recipe feed four people. I cut the recipe in half to feed only two, and in fact I actually cut it in half yet again to feed only one person, myself. I froze the the other four sausages from the package individually to enjoy another time.
To freeze them individually, I wrapped each one first in some waxed paper, completely encasing it. Then I packed them into a zip lock freezer bag.
That way they won't stick together when freezing and it will be very easy for me to remove one at a time for cooking at a later date.
Wrapping everything really well helps to prevent freezer burn, and it also helps to prevent flavors from other items in the freezer from contaminating things. ie. you won't end up with a piece of chicken that tastes like a sausage, etc.
Now before you say it I am going to put you out of your misery. You are right, that is not broccoli that you see here. It is a vegetable called tenderstem cauliflower. Its like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.
I have also seen it referred to as sweet sprouting cauliflower, and caulilini.
It is delicious. Its like having the best of both worlds at your fingertips. Broccoli and cauliflower. If you are a lover of the cruciferous vegetable then you will love this. I had picked some up yesterday when I was with my sister that was marked down 30% as a use by today item. How could I resist!
All too often they will charge extra for specialty vegetables like this. I thought where it was marked down it was a good opportunity for me to try something I normally would not get to eat.
My sister has roasted it in the oven along with broccoli and assured me that it was really good. I am a huge fan of the cruciferous vegetable and so I picked it up! I did need to cook it by today however. I thought it would work well in this recipe and I was right. It did!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GARLIC BUTTER SAUSAGES & BROCCOLI SKILLET
Simple delicious fresh ingredients and a mix of herbs, garlic, butter, lemon.
- 1/2 pound thick style sausages ( sweet Italian are nice)
- 1/2 pound broccoli, cut into florets (I used tender stem cauliflower)
- 1 1/2 TBS butter, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 TBS vegetable stock
- pinch of crushed rec chili flakes
- 2 TBS chopped fresh parsley (I used 1 TBS freeze dried)
- 1/2 TBS fresh thyme leaves (I used 1/2 tsp dried)
You want to use the larger thicker sausages for this easy entrée. An Italian sausage works beautifully. I used Honey Garlic Bangers that I had bought earlier this week. You just don't want to be using those thinner breakfast type of sausages.
You could also use bratwurst or smoked sausage.
You don't have to limit yourself to using broccoli or cauliflower. Green Beans also work very well as would thick slices of zucchini.
I did not have any fresh herbs, but I do keep a store cupboard of good quality freeze dried herbs that work just as well.
HOW TO MAKE GARLIC BUTTER SAUSAGES & BROCCOLI SKILLET
This was really quite simple and easy to make. It also went together very quickly, being ready to eat in less than half an hour.
Blanch the broccoli (cauliflower) florets in some boiling water for 3 minutes until crispy tender. Drain, drop into an ice water bath to stop from cooking further and then drain again. Set aside.
Lay the sausages in the skillet along with 1/2 cup (120ml) water. Cook, half covered, for 10 minutes, turning frequently, over medium heat. When the water has totally evaporated, add 1 TBS of butter, and half of the minced garlic. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until the sausage have browned all over. Transfer to a plate, tent with foil, and set aside.
Add the remaining butter to the skillet and lower the head to medium low. Add the herbs, remaining garlic, Italian seasoning and crushed red chili flakes. Toss in the vegetables and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly until cooked to your preference. (I like crispy tender.)
Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice and stock. Return the sausage to the pan and heat through. Serve hot, with some of the pan juices spooned over top.
I served my sausage with half of a large baked sweet potato that I baked in the microwave oven. I just cut it in half lengthwise, fluffed it up a bit with a fork and added a small pat of butter.
This was really delicious. Simple to make. Quick. Easy and quite healthy. The tenderstem cauliflower was nice and crispy tender and the sausage perfectly cooked. There wasn't a lot of sauce actually, so if you are wanting lots you may want to double the sauce ingredients, but all told, this was fabulous!
Some other sausage recipes which you might enjoy are:
BRAISED SAUSAGES WITH AN APPLE GRAVY - This is a fabulous recipe! Hearty, rich and comforting. This is a real belly warmer! The apple gravy is really delicious!
OVEN BARBEQUED SAUSAGES - Meltingly tender sausages and onions in a rich BBQ gravy. Perfect served with some fluffy mash and a vegetable on the side.
ROASTED BANGERS AND MASH WITH AN ONION GRAVY - Bangers and mash are a traditional favorite supper in the UK and no small wonder. Meaty sausages and fluffy mash with a delicious onion gravy spooned over top is something that really can't be beat!
Yield: 2
Garlic Butter Sausages & Broccoli Skillet
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min
This one pan sausages and vegetable skillet is perfectly sized for two people, delicious and very easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound thick style sausages ( sweet Italian are nice)
- 1/2 pound broccoli, cut into florets (I used tender stem cauliflower)
- 1 1/2 TBS butter, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 TBS vegetable stock
- pinch of crushed rec chili flakes
- 2 TBS chopped fresh parsley (I used 1 TBS freeze dried)
- 1/2 TBS fresh thyme leaves (I used 1/2 tsp dried)
Instructions
- Blanch the broccoli (cauliflower) florets in some boiling water for 3 minutes until crispy tender. Drain, drop into an ice water bath to stop from cooking further and then drain again. Set aside.
- Lay the sausages in the skillet along with 1/2 cup (120ml) water. Cook, half covered, for 10 minutes, turning frequently, over medium heat. When the water has totally evaporated, add 1 TBS of butter, and half of the minced garlic. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until the sausage have browned all over. Transfer to a plate, tent with foil, and set aside.
- Add the remaining butter to the skillet and lower the head to medium low. Add the herbs, remaining garlic, Italian seasoning and crushed red chili flakes. Toss in the vegetables and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly until cooked to your preference. (I like crispy tender.)
- Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice and stock.
- Return the sausage to the pan and heat through. Serve hot, with some of the pan juices spooned over top.
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I had a quantity of leftover chicken that I wanted to use up today. I had been eyeing this recipe for Crunch Wraps Supreme for a while now.
I am not overly fond of ground beef however and so I thought I maybe could shred up my leftover chicken and use it in much the same way.
The end result was actually quite delicious, although I did experience some teething pains along the way. My tortillas were actually too small, so I had to kind of fudge some of them together to make the wraps complete.
I also didn't have any tostadas so I used tortilla chips.
I got called away in the middle of it and so they ended up on the stove a bit longer than they should have been and so the lettuce did not stay crunchy like it should have done.
I was tempted to call them a failure, but then I tasted one and aside from the limp lettuce, and soggy tortilla chips, I would not call these entirely a failure.
I also thought about not sharing them with you, but really, in the path of transparency, I thought it was a good thing for me to share them. It's important for you to know that things don't always turn out for me the way I want them to.
These were not the most attractive. Largely due to my not having had the proper sized tortillas to use. Also due to them sitting longer than they should have done the lettuce is not crunchy like it should have been, and the tortilla chips were no longer crunchy.
I have full confidence however that, with the right sized tortillas and with them being served right away, they would look great and be perfectly delicious. They were perfectly delicious, soggy lettuce and all.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHICKEN CRUNCH WRAPS
A bit of this and a bit of that. Leftover cooked chicken being in the main.
- 4 large (12-inch) flour tortillas
- 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken
- 1 TBS Taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup nacho cheese dip (in the jar, about 1/3 of the jar)
- 16 crisp restaurant style tortilla chips
- 1/2 cup (60g) dairy sour cream
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 4 TBS tomato salsa
- 1 cup (120g) grated Mexican blend cheese
- 1 TBS oil
Do try to use the right sized tortillas. It will make all the difference in the world as far as looks go. I think you could also use flavored tortilla chips if you wanted to inject even more flavor into the mix.
You can add more taco seasoning if you wish. I don't like my food really spicy and so I always err on the side of caution.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHICKEN CRUNCH WRAPS
They really are quite easy, even with the too small tortillas!
Shred your chicken into a bowl. Add the taco seasoning and toss together to combine. Warm your nacho cheese dip until it is the consistency of a drizzle.
Working with one tortilla at a time, place 1/4 of the chicken mixture in the center of the tortilla. Flatten it a bit but leave enough of an edge around the tortilla to fold up over it to cover.
Drizzle with 1/4 of the nacho cheese dip. Crumble 4 tortilla chips over top. Dot with 1/4 of the sour cream. Top with 1/4 of the lettuce, 1 TBS of the salsa and 1/4 of the grated cheese.
Repeat with the 3 remaining tortillas. Fold the edges of the tortillas up over the center of the tortillas, covering the filling and making it as tight as possible.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the wraps, pleated sides down. Cook until the pleated side is golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip over and cook the other side until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. (You may only be able to cook two at a time. You can keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the other two.)
Cut in half to serve. Serve immediately with your favorite taco toppings.
Although these ended up not being the most attractive things, they were really quite delicious. I served them with some salsa and sour cream. I think guacamole would also be very nice.
I am always trying to come up with ways to use leftover cooked chicken. I would not count this entirely as a loss. Given the right materials to use they would be fabulously tasty and would also look a heck of a lot nicer!
Easy BBQ Chicken Tostadas - Crisp charred Tortillas topped with a delicious mix of shredded leftover cooked chicken, spicy chipotle paste, BBQ sauce and cheese. Tres yummilicious!
Chicken Dinner Poutine - Crisp chips, melting cheese, chicken, gravy, stuffing and peas. This is such a simple thing and yet the flavors are amazing. If you are a fan of the Canadian dish called Poutine, then you best prepare yourself to fall in love because this is one of the tastiest versions I have ever eaten!
Yield: 4 crunch wraps
Homemade Chicken Crunch Wraps
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 20 Min
A down sized and adapted recipe which ended up tasting fabulously delicious. Homemade and healthy! Quantities are for two people but can certainly be doubled
Ingredients
- 4 large (12-inch) flour tortillas
- 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken
- 1 TBS Taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup nacho cheese dip (in the jar, about 1/3 of the jar)
- 16 crisp restaurant style tortilla chips
- 1/2 cup (60g) dairy sour cream
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 4 TBS tomato salsa
- 1 cup (120g) grated Mexican blend cheese
- 1 TBS oil
Instructions
- Shred your chicken into a bowl. Add the taco seasoning and toss together to combine.
- Warm your nacho cheese dip until it is the consistency of a drizzle.
- Working with one tortilla at a time, place 1/4 of the chicken mixture in the center of the tortilla. Flatten it a bit but leave enough of an edge around the tortilla to fold up over it to cover.
- Drizzle with 1/4 of the nacho cheese dip. Crumble 4 tortilla chips over top. Dot with 1/4 of the sour cream. Top with 1/4 of the lettuce, 1 TBS of the salsa and 1/4 of the grated cheese.
- Repeat with the 3 remaining tortillas. Fold the edges of the tortillas up over the center of the tortillas, covering the filling and making it as tight as possible.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the wraps, pleated sides down. Cook until the pleated side is golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip over and cook the other side until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. (You may only be able to cook two at a time. You can keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the other two.)
- Cut in half to serve. Serve immediately with your favorite taco toppings.
Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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