Recipe: Nutella Banana Bread
Nutella added INTO banana bread? Yes! It’s a simple recipe to make such delicious bread that you’ll never go back to “regular” banana bread again. Thanks to Chef In Training for the yummy recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3/4 heaping cup Nutella
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup softened butter
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8×4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl.
- Beat sugar and butter in another large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until fully blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add banana, milk and vanilla, then beat until blended. Add the flour mixture from the other bowl and beat at low speed just until flour is mixed in, but not too blended.
- Put the Nutella into a small dish and warm in the microwave for 15 seconds. Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter to the Nutella in the bowl and stir them together until well blended.
- Add this newly made Nutella batter, then the plain banana bread batter in alternating layers into the bread pan. Lightly swirl the two types of batter with a knife.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. The bread will seem a little underbaked, but that’s what makes it so good and moist! Let the bread cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan before taking it out of the pan to cool completely.
Recipe: 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Cake with Apple Cider Glaze
Seriously, only 2-ingredients for the cake! You can’t go wrong. This is going to be a yearly recipe. Pin it so you can save it for years to come!
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 1 box of yellow cake mix
- 1 can (15 oz) of pumpkin puree
Glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp apple cider
- 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Directions:
- Empty the contents of the boxed cake mix and pumpkin puree into a large bowl. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat until well mixed together. The batter will be very thick, but it will mix well.
- Pour batter into a greased 7 x 11 x 2 pan (the small rectangular pan). Bake at 350-degrees for 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. DO NOT OVER BAKE!
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, then flip cake onto a plate. While waiting for the cake to cool in the pan, make the gaze.
- Combine powdered sugar, apple cider, and pumpkin pie spice. Glaze should be thick, but thin enough to pour. Add more sugar or apple cider to find the right consistency.
- Pour glaze over the cake while it’s still warm to allow it to harden onto the cake.
- Make more glaze or set aside some to pour onto each piece when served.
Recipe: Candy Corn Poke Cake
Isn’t this SO CUTE!? The blog, Wine and Cake, has perfected this poke cake. I’ve seen it made by Taste of Home and Betty Crocker, but hers is by far the prettiest and easiest to make. Go over to her and say hi and thank you for the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 box of white cake mix, and all the ingredients necessary to make the cake included on the box (eggs, oil, etc.)
- food coloring (yellow & orange)
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- whipped topping (whipped cream in a tub)
- candy corn
Directions:
- Make the cake batter as directed and divide it into 3 equal parts in bowls: Color one yellow, one orange, and leave one uncolored. Make sure you add food coloring enough to make the cake layers really vibrant.
- Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Spread the yellow layer evenly across the bottom, and then stick it in the freezer (make sure it is sitting flat) and leave it for 20 minutes.
- As soon as you pull it out, very carefully add the orange layer, pouring it as evenly as possible around the pan, and gently spreading it out to cover the yellow. Put the cake back in the freezer for another 20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to the temperature on the cake mix.
- Take out the cake batter pan again, and carefully spread the white layer. Let it sit on top of the preheating oven for at least 30 minutes. Bake the cake according to package directions.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes throughout the cake with the end of a wooden spoon. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cake, making sure to fill each hole.
- Refrigerate cake overnight, then top with whipped topping, candy corn, and enjoy!
Recipe: Low Calorie Dark Chocolate Pretzel Turtles
I love chocolate, and I love that dark chocolate is considered healthy (in moderate quantities, obviously). The magnesium alone is worth eating dark chocolate for. This recipe from Women’s Health Magazine is low in calories and fat, plus surprisingly has fiber and protein. It’s a really easy recipe, too. Note: Instead of regular mini pretzels, if you opt for gluten-free mini pretzels, these turtle treats will be 100% GF!)
Directions:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a heatproof bowl, melt 22 dark chocolate kisses in 30 second increments in the microwave.
- Crumble 10 mini pretzels into pieces and gently fold into chocolate, along with 2 tablespoons dried currants.
- Drop 8 spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle each with a pinch of sea salt.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Serving =2 turtles: 140 cal, 8 g fat (5 g sat), 22 g carbs, 120 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein
Recipe: Copycat Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole
One of my favorite restaurants for breakfast is Cracker Barrel, and I mean beyond the giant checker board and triangle peg games. Cracker Barrel’s Hash Brown Casserole is my favorite restaurant breakfast food. I am thrilled to have found how to make it at home!
- 8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, divided
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
- ¼ tsp poultry seasoning
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 (26 oz) package frozen shredded hash browns
- 1 (8 oz) package shredded colby cheese
Note: You can cut the casserole in half and bake into two 8×8″ casserole dishes, then freeze or save for later use.
- Preheat oven to 375 °F.
- In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Once butter is melted, add 2 tablespoons of flour and all listed seasonings. Whisk to create a paste. Add milk, whisking as you pour. Whisk until completely combined.
- In a quart sized mason jar combine 2 tablespoons flour and chicken broth. Seal tightly and shake the living tar out of your mixture. You will create a smooth flour mixture for thickening your sauce called a slurry.
- Slowly pour slurry into mixture, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour soup into 9×13 casserole dish. Add remaining 6 tablespoons butter and onions. Stir until butter is melted. This will also start to cool your soup. Add cheese and frozen hash browns. Mix well with a spoon.
- Bake 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Note: You can add more cheese to the top of the casserole in the last 10 minutes of baking if desired.
- Let cool slightly, cut into 12 pieces, serve and enjoy!