This is a New York Times recipe. I made this the other day and it is delicious. Be sure to heat the Nutella (not too long -- just enough to spread easily) as it was difficult spreading it when cold. The bourbon addition was suggested in the NYT Notes section, so is optional. Haven't tried it with the bourbon.

NUTELLA BANANA BREAD

(cooking.nytimes.com) Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1-1/2 cups mashed bananas, (about 3 medium bananas)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 eggs

1teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (Nutella)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

Stir the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.

Brown butter: Melt butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook butter, occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Don’t walk away from the pan during this process. The butter will go from browned and nutty to acrid and burnt in moments. Transfer butter to a large heat-safe mixing bowl and let it cool slightly.

When the butter has cooled a bit, add the mashed bananas, sugar, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined, then add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

Pour half the batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly with a knife or offset spatula. Spoon half the chocolate-hazelnut spread in several dollops over the top and use a toothpick or skewer to swirl it into the batter. Spoon and spread the remaining batter over the top followed by dollops of the remaining spread. Swirl in the spread, then bake the bread for 55 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes: Heat Nutella for few seconds to soften, makes spreading easier. Also, add 2 teaspoons bourbon.

Chicken and Orzo

This one pan wonder will become your favorite go to meal!  Using chicken thighs or chicken breasts it comes together in less than 30 minutes!

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: 4 people

: 523 kcal

: Kathi & Rachel

Ingredients

• 6 boneless chicken thighs or 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• salt and pepper
• garnish with parmesan if desired and more fresh thyme

Instructions

1. Wash and pat dry chicken. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper on both sides

2. Heat large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat.
3. Add olive oil and butter. Heat about two minutes until bubbly.

4. Place chicken in pan, sear for about 4 minutes on each side until a nice crust forms. (chicken will not be cooked through but will continue cooking with orzo).

5. Remove seared chicken to plate and keep warm.
6. Add mushrooms to hot skillet and sauté until golden.
7. Reduce heat to medium.

8. Add garlic and orzo to pan and sauté for 2 minutes or until orzo is lightly toasted and garlic is fragrant.

9. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

10. Add chicken stock, cream and thyme.

11. Nestle chicken on top of orzo mixture.

12. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until internal temp of chicken reaches 165 degrees and orzo is tender. NOTE: About half way thru stir chicken and orzo around a bit to be sure it isn't sticking. 

13. Top with parm and serve with a simple salad or fresh steamed veggies.

Grilled Sea Scallops with Green Onion Relish and Warm bacon Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons of olive oil
8 ounces bacon, cut into small dice
2 green onions, white and green parts, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 shallots finely diced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
grilled sea scallops

1 pound of sea scallops (muscle removed)
Heat grill to high
Brush the scallops both sides with olive or canola oil (make sure they are well coated) season with salt and pepper.
place scallops on the grill and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3 minutes. Turn over and grill 2-3 minutes

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp. 8-10 minutes.
remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.Transfer the bacon to a small bowl, stir in the green onions and set aside. (reserve the bacon fat in the pan)

Increase the heat under the pan to high, and add the shallots,and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar, bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat, stir in the mustard and thyme and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer scallops to a platter, drizzle with the warm bacon vinaigrette and top each scallop with some of the green onion relish

Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Apple

I took this one straight from Cooking Light this month. I made it last night and I think its a keeper. Has a good sweet salty combo and its healthy!
Hands on Time: 30 minutes, Total time: 40 minutes

2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 garlic cloves
4 ounces chicken apple sausage, sliced (this may be hard to find, but Wegman's carries it, it does have a great flavor if you can find it)
5 cups Chicken Stock
8 ounces chopped potato
3 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I used meat from a rotisserie I'd bought)
2 cups sliced Granny Smith apple
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add caraway and fennel; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Place in a spice or coffee grinder; process until ground (I didn't do this because I didn't have one of these and it still turned out okay)
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic; cook 6 minutes. Add sausage, cook 1 minute. Add ground spices; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add Chicken Stock and potato; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add cabbage and remaining ingredients; cook 3 minutes.

Turkey Burgers

1 medium yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
4 tbsp dried bread crumbs
2 tbsp barbecue sauce
3 tbsp quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper

Chop onion into 1/8" to 1/4" pieces. Warm oil in skillet, add onion and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes, until onions start to brown, stirring frequently. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time, as necessary, to prevent burning. Transfer to large bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Add all other ingredients to bowl, mix,  and shape into 4 burgers.  I made them an hour ahead and stuck them into the freezer to prevent them from falling apart on the grill.

Grill for 7 minutes a side, until no longer pink in center and thermometer registers 165.

Chicken with Tomato-Herb Pan Sauce

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 tsp paprika Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 1/2 pints grape tomatoes
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Dry white wine or chicken broth, to deglaze the pan

I got this recipe from epicurious (originally Bon Appetit). It was a hit at home, but this could've had something to do with the amount of Christmas leftovers we'd been having.

Pound chicken and season with salt and pepper. Mash butter, garlic, oregano, and paprika in small bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper.

Melt half of blended butter in skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink in center, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.

Deglaze pan with wine or chicken broth. Increase heat to high and add tomatoes, stirring occasionally until they begin to char and burst. Add other half of blended butter to skillet. Crush tomatoes lightly leaving some chunks, stir one minute. Spoon tomato sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

I served it over rice but would be good over pasta or on its own!

Pauline Kippen's Cranberry Relish

Everyone loves this recipe from my mother-in-law. It's a staple for our Thanksgiving dinner.

1 pkg. cranberries, ground in processor (or blender)

3/4-1 cup sugar

1/2 orange with zest (chopped)

1 Macintosh apple (chopped)

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1/4 nuts chopped

1 pkg lemon jello

1 cup boiling water

Add sugar to ground cranberries, let sit for 1 hour.

Add orange, apple, celery and nuts.

Add lemon jello mix and boiling water

Pour in mold sprayed with Pam or I just put it in a pretty glass bowl.

Refrigerate over night.