Chocolate Banana Yogurt Muffins

I made these for my kids on the first day of school and they loved them!  I found the recipe on a website called Chelsea's Messy Apron.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour or plain white flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup miniature dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
• 1 cup extremely ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Generously coat a muffin tin with cooking spray and then dust the cavities with cocoa powder. These muffins stick to muffin liners so I do not recommend using them.
3. Remove 1 tablespoon of the 1 cup of flour.
4. In a small bowl, toss together the remaining flour (after removing 1 tablespoon from the 1 cup), cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and both types of chocolate chips. Stir.
5. Make sure your bananas are at their very ripest (black skins are best; see post to speed up the ripening process if not all the way ripe.) Remove the skins and mash the bananas extremely well.
6. In another bowl, briskly whisk together the egg and Greek yogurt. Stir in the melted coconut oil (slightly cooled, but measure in it's melted state),vanilla extract, brown sugar, and the extremely ripe mashed bananas.
7. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until JUST combined. Over-mixing results in denser muffins.
8. Separate the batter evenly among the 12 cavities or fill up 9-10 for extra large muffins.
9. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.
10. Allow to cool and then remove from the muffin tin. (Use a butterknife to cut around the edges and help pull them out!)
11. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
12. When ready to enjoy a muffin, microwave for 15-20 seconds. Spread with peanut butter if desired!

Terri's Clam Chowder

This is the clam chowder we all love every year at the beach.  Yum!  I quadrupled this recipe for 36 people.

Ingredients:

1 C celery
1 C onion
3 C red potatoes diced, or russet potatoes peeled and diced

3/4 C butter
3/4 C flour

1 quart half and half
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
pepper to taste
2 (6 1/2 oz) cans minced clams

Variation: Add  2 Tb wine vinegar or 4-6 strips of bacon crumbled

Instructions:

Dice celery and onions and cube potatoes. Saute them in a smidge of butter for a few minutes.  Drain the clam juice into the pot.  Add just enough water to cover the vegetables.  Simmer vegetables until the potatoes are the proper texture.  While the vegetables are cooking, form a roux with the butter and flour.  Once the roux starts to bubble, cook for an additional minute or two, stirring the whole time.  Add the half and half gradually while whisking to avoid any clumping while thickening the soup.

Once the vegetables are cooked, drain the liquid, saving it in a bowl.  Add the strained vegetables to the pot with the white soup base.  Add salt, sugar, pepper, and clams to the soup.  Add a small amount of the liquid drained from the vegetables to thin the soup to your preferred thickness.

Baked Kale Chips

I just love them!!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.