Nutella Filled French Toast

Who doesn't love the gooey, chocolately, hazelnuty spread that is Nutella? And having it for breakfast - what a great way to start any day! If you don't live alone, make sure you make enough for everyone in the house, because I can guarantee they will be coming for yours if you don't. You are going to love this recipe for its ease and will be coming back to it again and again (whether it be by request or your own sweet tooth!)

Recipe yields 2 servings

Ingredients
4 pieces of bread (your choice!)
4 tbsp Nutella
2 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar

Spread about 1 tbsp of Nutella on each slice of bread. Match up the two pieces, so you have two Nutella 'sandwiches.'

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

Heat a skillet and coat with cooking spray. Dip your Nutella sandwich into the egg mixture and make sure all sides are evenly coated.

Add it to your pan. (I used a small pan, but if your pan is big enough, you can cook both at the same time.)

Flip over and cook both sides until golden brown.

Remove to a serving dish and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with fresh fruit and enjoy!

Warm Cornbread

As promised, here is my moist cornbread recipe.  You are going to love this recipe because it has all the flavor and texture of cornbread with a special surprise from the creamed corn. That is my little secret, a single can of creamed corn can make all the difference in this recipe. You will never make cornbread another way again.

Recipe yields 16 pieces

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup half and half
1/4 unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 can creamed corn

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, melted butter, honey and granulated sugar.

Add your wet ingredients to the bowl of the dry ingredients to combine. Stir until just combined, it is alright if there are still clumps.

Gently stir in your can of creamed corn.

Pour the batter into a 9"x9" greased baking pan and bake for 25-28 minutes. You will know it is ready when the sides begin to turn golden.

Allow to cool completely before cutting. Serve with butter and honey on the side. Enjoy!

Chicken & White Bean Chili

For those of you that are regulars, I am sure you know I do not have a precise posting schedule. I like to  keep quality posts coming, whether it be 4 posts one week and 6 posts the next. Due to some personal time restraints, I am going to be moving to a 3 posts a week schedule for a little while. I wanted to give all of you, my readers, the heads up, so you do not think I am losing my interest in you. In a few short months, things will be all back to normal.

Today's recipe is for chicken and white bean chili. This dish is thick, warm and hearty. It has a nice kick to it from the green chilis, which you can add more or less of depending on your tolerance for heat! I highly suggest making extra, because you will enjoy having this for lunch the next day.

Recipe yields 6 servings

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 lbs chicken breast
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
4 oz chopped green chilis
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 cans cannellini beans
1 can sweet corn

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Season chicken breast with salt and pepper and cook through, about 4-5 minutes each side. Remove and shred into bite sized pieces. Heat the last tablespoon of oil in a large pot. Add chopped onions and minced garlic.

Cook the onions until translucent. Add the can of green chilis, cumin, and oregano. Stir to coat evenly with the spices and continue to cook until fragrant.

Add in your flour and coat all ingredients evenly.

Pour in the chicken stock and give it a good stir. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat and let the pot simmer.

After about 15 minutes or so, add one can of drained beans to the pot. Using a potato masher, crush all the beans to add thickness to the soup.

Add the second can of beans (with the juice) and the shredded chicken. Stir and bring it back up to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Ladle into soup bowls and serve alongside my delicious cornbread (recipe to come later this week!) Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate 'Banice Cream'

Banice cream is a name I have completely made up but basically is 'ice cream' made from frozen bananas. If you love ice cream, but probably shouldn't be eating a bowl of it every night (guilty!), this is a great alternative. Using frozen bananas is a healthy way to create the ice cream texture, with plenty of flavor but severely lacking in calories. I created mine into a peanut butter chocolate flavor - but get creative and try any flavors you may enjoy.

Recipe yields 3 servings

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas, frozen
1 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp peanut butter

Freeze your bananas for a few hours or overnight. I figured this out after the fact, but it is better off to peel your bananas before you freeze them. It can be quite difficult to remove the peel when it is frozen. Once frozen, slice your bananas into 1/2" inch pieces.

Add banana pieces and cocoa powder to a food processor or blender. I used my nifty new KitchenAid immersion blender (another Christmas gift from Carmine!). It worked really well to smooth those frozen banana pieces into a 'soft serve' style ice cream texture.

Add in your peanut butter and continue to mix until well combined. At this point, it is ready to eat, but I chose to throw mine into the freezer for another 30 minutes to stiffen it up a bit.

Scoop into a serving bowl and enjoy your guiltless treat!

French Onion Burgers

Burgers are always an easy weeknight meal that can be changed up in so many ways. For today's rendition, I made a 'French Onion Soup' themed burger. All the flavor of the caramelized onions and the bubbly cheese really pack a punch.

Recipe yields 6 burgers

Ingredients
2 lbs lean chopped meat
1 large yellow onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
1/2 cup beef stock
2 tsp onion powder
2 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

6 rolls or burger buns

Preheat the broiler to high heat. Slice yellow onion into rings.

Heat oil in a skillet and add onions. Cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes.

Add salt and sugar and continue to cook for 10 minutes until deep brown in color.

Add 1/2 tbsp Worcester sauce and beef stock and simmer until liquid has mostly disappeared.

While onions are cooking, combine chopped meat, onion powder and remaining Worcester sauce in a mixing bowl.

Form six patties and place on a broiler pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. (If you like your burger cooked more well-done, you can keep it in the broiler longer). Helpful Hint: Whenever you are making burgers, form a flat patty and then push your thumb down on the middle to create an indentation. Do you ever start off with a flat patty and once it is cooked it looks more round then you remember? Well creating this indentation before hand will help produce a nice flat surface once it is finished cooking.

While burgers are in the broiler, you can prepare your buns. Mix together both cheeses in a bowl and then evenly distribute them amongst the top and bottom buns of all six rolls. Right after you take your burgers out, place your rolls under the broiler for 1 minute to melt the cheese.

Now it is time to assemble. First the bottom bun with a layer of melted cheese. Then your burger. Topped off with a helping of cooking onions. And finally the top bun with a second layer of melted cheese to close it up.

Serve with fries or chips and enjoy!