Waffles Topped with Caramelized Bananas

Waffles are the perfect breakfast dish! They are crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside. People tend to put blueberries and chocolate into their waffles but I think that adding things to a waffle ruins the texture and the consistency of the waffle. I love fruit on top of waffles but bananas are the best fruit to put on top of breakfast items like pancakes and french toast. So to add more flavor I caramelized the bananas making them sweet and substituting other syrups that you put on top of waffles. I hope that you enjoy this sweet breakfast treat!

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil

Caramelized Bananas:
1 1/2 bananas
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter

First mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a big mixing bowl.

Then add the milk, egg, and the canola oil to the mixture and mix until smooth. 

In a waffle iron put the waffle mixture in a cook for about 5 minutes. In a pan cook mix the butter and sugar together until combined, then add the bananas, and cook for about 3 minutes. 

Place the banana mixture on top of the waffles, and you are ready to serve! If desired top with some whipped cream, and enjoy!

Bacon Risotto Balls

In my town, there is a restaurant that you drive by everyday and never notice it. This place is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to. This restaurant is all about making classic dishes unique, like their shrimp and grits has sausage it in to add flavor. But the best item on the menu is the risotto balls. This is a clam risotto which is then turned into a ball and fried and then covered in this amazing sauce. Instead of trying to replicate this recipe I decided to use the idea of a risotto ball but make it different. My twist on this dish is making it smokey, and adding bacon into the risotto. I hope you enjoy my twist on risotto balls!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cups chicken broth (2 teaspoons chicken bouillon paste and 2 cups water) 

1/2 a yellow onion

1/4 cup white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup flour

2 eggs

2 cups bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup canola oil

In a big pot cook the chopped onion and bacon in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil until translucent. Next, add the rice and let it cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add white wine and let it cook for another minute. Add a ladle full of warm chicken broth into the pot and keep adding a ladle full every 1-2  minutes, or whenever the rice doesn't seem to have much liquid, while stirring constantly. Cook on low for about 18-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Chicken Paste

Cooking Risotto 

Finished Risotto

Then place the risotto on a baking sheet and let it cook in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Before Fridge

After Fridge

Then form into balls using your hands, and make sure your hands are damp because the mixture is sticky.

Then place the risotto balls in flour, then egg, then the bread crumbs. Place the risotto balls into a pan with 1 cup of hot canola oil, let them cook for 1 minute on each side or until golden brown.

Place into a 350 degree fahrenheit oven for 5 minutes with a little piece of butter on top. Take out of the oven and enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling

Valentines Day is coming up and love is in the air. People are planning dinners for themselves and their significant other, or are hanging out with friends eating chocolates and watching chick flicks like The Notebook. On Valentines Day people are eating tons of chocolate and other desserts. As I was looking thought a drawer in the kitchen I found a heart shaped cupcake mold and wanted to create a Valentines Day treat. I have created a dessert that anyone can enjoy on this love filled day using my heart shaped cupcake mold. This is a vanilla cupcake stuffed with raspberry jam and topped with vanilla frosting. It is an amazing treat that will melt in your mouth! The raspberry adds a punch of flavor that is missing from regular vanilla cupcakes. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 1/2 cups four
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 skicks butter (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
12 ounce container raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon
2 teaspoons corn starch

Frosting:
1 stick butter (room temperature)
1/8 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar

First pre heat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Then cream the butter and sugar together in a kitchen aid until fluffy.

Then add the eggs and vanilla to the mixture and mix until combined. Next add the salt, baking powder, and salt to the mixture and continue mixing until fully incorporated.

Put cupcake wrappers into the cupcake mold or butter the cupcake mold and fill them 3/4 of the way so the cupcakes can rise.

Cook the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until you put a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.

In a pot add the raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice and mash with a fork until the mixture becomes a sauce.

Then pour the mixture into a stainer to get out the seeds, then return to the pot. Add the corn starch and stir until the corn starch is fully incorporated and put into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In the kitchen aid, cream the butter and the confectioners sugar together until fully combined. Then add the milk and the vanilla extract and mix until fluffy.

Use a cupcake corer to get the center of the cake out, save the piece of cake because you will need it later. Pour the jam into the center of the cupcake and put the piece of cake into the hole.

Then frost the cupcakes, and they are ready to eat!

Enjoy!

Chicken Soup

During the cold winter months nothing sounds better than sitting by the fireplace and drinking hot coco or eating a warm bowl of chicken soup. Whenever I am sick or my family and I are snowed in my mom makes a giant bowl of chicken soup. When being snowed in or sick, a bowl soup always sounds good, and just the word "soup" makes my mouth water. Since I have had about 2 snow days I decided to help my mom in the kitchen to make a snow day classic. I hope you enjoy this recipe for chicken soup!

Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken
1 Large Onion
6 Carrots
2 Parsnips
About a Handful Of Dill
Tops Of 3-4 Celery Stalks
2 Celery Stalks
Enough Water To Cover The Chicken
1 Spoonful Chicken Bouillon Paste
2 Teaspoons Salt

First quarter the chicken and add it to a big pot. Cover the chicken with water and turn the stove to medium heat. Quarter the onion, chop the carrots into thick pieces, chop the parsnips into thick pieces, and cut the celery stalks into thick pieces.

 After the chicken is partly cooked add the carrots, onion, parsnips, and celery to the pot. Then take a spoon and skim the fat off the top of the soup.

Add the chicken bouillon paste and salt to the pot and stir until the paste has dissolved. In a cheese cloth add the celery tops and dill and tie it closed with kitchen twine. Add the cheese cloth to the pot and stir the mixture until the cheese cloth is submerged into the soup.

Keep the pot over high heat until it comes to a boil, then put a lid on top of the pot and turn to low and cook for 2-3 hours.

When ready to eat take the cheese cloth and the chicken bones out of the pot and you are ready to serve. You can add matzo balls, rice, or egg noodles to the dish to add a starch if desired.

 Enjoy!