October 30, 2026. Afternoon. Roasted Buttercup Squash Discovery I discovered this squash earlier in the season when I was shopping for carving pumpkins at my local grocery store. Nestled among all the seasonal cooking pumpkins and squashes were these Buttercup Squashes. I was curious and …
January 25, 2023. Wet, rainy day. Best Creamy Rice Pudding. Updated and published October 29, 2026. When I picked up my son from school today, the first thing he asked was “Please make that yummy Colombian rice treat! Pretty please!” How can I refuse such …
December 11, 2021. Cold autumn day. Best Ever Banana Bread Muffins.
Updated March 30, 2023
Jump to RecipeI wanted to share a fabulous and easy recipe that I have been making again and again for the past few weeks since the guys can’t seems to get enough of it! It’s really easy and tasty (and great for using up ripe bananas!). We always have bananas on our counter and invariably they all seems to be unripe one day, and then the next they are all starting to turn black before we can eat all of them. So, this recipe is a perfect solution!
I like that this is easily made without needing any fancy gadget. Just mixing bowls, fork, spatula and measuring cups and spoons. Less to wash is always good in my books! Also, this can be whipped up in under an hour, and that is wonderful since you don’t have to sit around and wait for it to rise, develop, etc. It’s simply mix the batter, spoon into the pans, bake and voila! scrumptious mouth watering treats ready to go. It’s perfect if you have impatient eaters, who is drawn to the smell of it baking the oven, and whom most likely would ask “it is ready yet?” every 5 minutes or so. Lol.
Without further ado, let’s get to the banana bread muffins!
Let’s start by gathering all the ingredients.
You will also need 1 large microwave-safe bowl for the wet ingredients, one large bowl for the dry ingredients and 2 standard sized muffin pan to bake the treats.
Gather all the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep the muffin pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
Melt butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.
Peel and add ripe bananas into the melted butter and mash into chunks.
Add the eggs into the mixture and add vanilla extract. Mix well.
In a separate large bowl, add all the dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips and nuts -flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
Add the combined dry ingredients in bowl 2 to the prepared wet ingredients in the first bowl. Use a spatula to gently mix the banana bread muffins batter till combined. If you are planning to use chocolate chips and chopped nuts, add in now. Do not over mix.
In the prepared muffin pans, evenly divide the banana bread muffins batter.
This is purely optional: Slice banana into thin discs and put on top of each banana bread muffins. You can also add one or two chocolate chip on top for a loaded treat!
Pop the filled pans into the preheated oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
When done, remove from pan and let cool in rack. Enjoy!
Love a good breakfast bake? Try my Strawberry Craisin Oatmeal Cups too!
Banana bread and many of its variation is probably one of the most popular recipes many beginner bakers love to try. It is not too intimidating and banana is a flavor most people would find it easy to like. I have probably tried more than half a dozen of various recipes that is available online as well as from old fashioned cookbooks. The recipe I used is a combination of different recipes that I have tweaked and adapted to suit my taste. Specifically, I would like to give a nod to BonAppetit, MarthaStewart and the salty marshmallow for their recipes.
Ever wonder wonder are the benefits of eating bananas? I decided to read up a bit about this delicious fruit. Here’s a link (out of many many articles online about this fruit) that may be informative about Bananas: A Nutritional Powerhouse => https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/health-benefits-bananas
Retro Upside Down Four Citrus Cake Originally published on Sept 10, 2020. Updated on August 27, 2021. This Retro Upside Down Four Citrus Cake is one of the loveliest cakes I have ever made. My baking group’s weekly challenge called for an upside down cake. …
June 28, 2021. Sunny summer day. Giant Spicy Potatoes Nest & Eggs. I love spicy potato nest eggs and this is one of the recipes that I’ve been obsessing over for the past few weeks. The inspiration recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s website and I …
May 19, 2021. Sunny Spring Day. Scrumptious AND Easy Shrimp & Grits,
Jump to RecipeHaving lived here in the southern part of the US for over a dozen years now, I have really grown to love delicious classic Southern cooking. The food tends to be unapologetically authentic and sometimes full of ingredients that are not for the calorie conscious. Butter? Yes, gobs, please! Bacon? Of course! Cream? Lashing of it! And recipes and dishes that are just loaded with fabulous flavor! I think of it as comfort food at its best!
The first time I tasted this dish was wayy back when I was a student at UVA in Charlottesville, Virginia. A friend took me to a local place and I have been hooked ever since. There are many variations on this recipe, but ultimately the composition is similar – cook some awesome, delicious shrimp (large prawns) in some tasty sauce (bacon fat, butter combo anyone?) and then lavish it on top of a perfectly cooked creamy grits (boiled ground maize porridge). The spice and seasoning might differ slightly, but generally this is how it’s made.
This make-at-home version is pretty straightforward and takes LESS than an hour from start to finish. Overall, I start by making the grits since it takes the longest to cook; then onto cooking the shrimp; and finally plating and putting the 2 delish components together to make a dreamy dish! I think shrimp and grits are good eats for anytime of the day – breakfast, lunch, dinner or even for a hearty snack. Haha. Just saying.
Without further delay, let’s get cooking!
You’ll need a medium size saucepan to cook the grits, a whisk to combine the liquids for the grits and a large sauté pan to cook the shrimp.
Creamy Grits
2 cups milk, full fat – don’t use skim or low fat milk
2 cups chicken stock – use homemade if you have it handy!
pinch of salt to taste
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup yellow corn grits – I used Bob’s Red Mill
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Buttery Shrimp
3 to 4 slices bacon, thick cut, cooked and chopped into small pieces
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined – use the biggest and freshest ones available to you
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste – optional
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup chicken or seafood stock
1 Tbsp flour – to thicken the sauce
2 stalks scallions, sliced thinly
Since this dish comes together quickly, gather all the ingredients before starting to cook. You don’t want to be scrambling to find an ingredient when putting this together. We’ll start by preparing the shrimp. Place peeled and deveined shrimp in colander and gently rinse with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and generously season with salt and pepper (and cayenne, if using).
Note: I used frozen Jumbo Shrimp that I thawed in the fridge overnight. It has tails on, but deveined and peeled, which makes prepping a breeze.
In a medium sized saucepan, combine and heat on medium 2 cups of chicken stock with 2 cups of milk, 2 tablespoons of butter and salt. When the liquid starts to boil, stir in the grits and whisk to combine thoroughly. Then, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Whisk occasionally to prevent sticking. The grits are fully cooked when creamy.
Note: there is a whole range of corn grits (and style) to choose from but I like the taste of this type of coarse ground golden corn.
As the grits are cooking, let’s prepare the bacon. In a large sauté fry pan (cool and unheated), place the 3 to 4 strips of bacon. Put about 1 tablespoon of water over the bacon and turn on the heat to medium and gently let the bacon cook until crispy, turning once to make sure both sides are browned and crispy. Then, remove cooked bacon from pan and set aside to cool. Drain all the bacon grease from pan.
Note: There will be some bits of bacon stuck to the bottom of the pan. It’s okay to leave it in the pan and it’ll add a delish flavor to the shrimp and sauce!
Add about 1 tablespoon of bacon grease back to the pan. On medium-high heat, cook the prepared shrimp and stir the shrimp in the heated bacon grease until they start to turn pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. As the shrimp start to turn pink, add in 2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 cup of stock until the sauce starts to bubble. To thicken the sauce, add in 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour and stir into the liquid until it is well incorporated, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Note: Do NOT overcook the shrimp! It’ll get rubbery and chewy if overdone. A properly cooked shrimp usually looks pink and should be tender and moist.
Check on the grits. When the grits are cooked, stir in 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese until well blended. Next, scoop the cheesy creamy grits into bowls.
Top grits with the shrimp and ladle some of the bacon buttery sauce over the entire thing. Finally, top the shrimp and grits with chopped bacon bits and garnish with thinly sliced scallions. Optional, add a sprinkle of cayenne for a bit of heat. Your scrumptious quick and easy shrimp and grits are ready!
This dish is best served hot, eaten immediately, accompanied by a crunchy green salad, maybe with something pickled and tart, and to sop up all the deliciousness, some southern cornbread or maybe some light, pouffy popovers would do the trick. Happy Eating!
Feeling adventurous and want to try something fun for brunch? Please check out my Giant Spicy Potato Nest & Eggs recipe!
I was reading up on some of the most iconic and famous dishes that are typically associated with Southern US cooking. This Southern Living magazine article listed 25, some of which I have yet to try!
https://www.southernliving.com/dish/famous-southern-food-recipes
I love jambalaya, chicken and dumpling, po’boys, and banana pudding! I’m intrigued by Burgoo, a Kentucky version of Brunswick Stew, and Chess Pie, which uses cornmeal and vinegar(!). Not sure about Congealed Salad, which looks a bit intimidating and wobbly! Haha! As always, my bucket list of things to try and make continues to grow.
*If you love this recipe, please share, rate and drop me a comment on the box below. Appreciate your feedback and support!
Check out this lovely no-bake crepe cake => Let’s Make an Elegant Matcha Mille Crepe Cake!
Strawberry Bunny Buns are fun to make and eat! => Let’s Make Easy Adorable Strawberry Bunny Buns
This is a lovely garden focaccia that is easy to make but looks like a million bucks! => Let’s Make Colorful Garden Focaccia!
This Cool Wool Bread is light and fluffy and has big wow factor! => Let’s Make the Unusual Cool Wool Bread
April 8, 2021. Sunny Spring Day. Matcha Mille Crepe Cake. This Matcha Mille Crepe Cake has been on my bucket list for a very long time. It’s a very distinctive looking cake and has gained more popularity after it was featured on one of the …
March 25, 2021. Beautiful Spring day. Strawberry Bunny Buns. As the weather is getting sunnier and warmer, I really wanted to make something fun and spring-like. I was scrolling through Pinterest and these cute bunny buns caught my eye. The inspiration recipe was from BHG.com …
March 20, 2021. First day of Spring. Colorful Garden Focaccia.
Jump to RecipeIt was a beautiful day and I wanted to make something colorful and happy to welcome the first day of spring. Since I have been making all these King Arthur’s Extraordinary Bread recipes, I thought that a Garden Focaccia would be fun!
The dough base recipe is from King Arthur Baking, and the design was something unplanned, that I just created off the top of my head. Making this is relatively straightforward and easy – no fancy ingredients or techniques. First I made the focaccia – a yummy chewy flatbread, and then I rummaged around my fridge and used the veggies I had at hand – bell peppers, green onions and arugula – to decorate the top. I sliced the peppers thinly to create the flower shape I had in mind.
Let’s get baking!
Focaccia Base
Starter
1 cup (120g) Bread Flour (high protein flour)
1/3 cup (60g) Potato Flour or Potato Flakes
1 tsp active dry yeast
1¼ cup (283g) water
Dough
2 to 2¼ cups (240 to 260g) Bread Flour
1½ tsp (9g) salt
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil, and more for greasing the pan
Focaccia Topping
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 green onion, scallion
handful of arugula
black and white sesame seeds
dried cilantro leaves
dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
I would recommend using a stand mixer for this, however, you can also knead by hand, or use your bread machine to make the dough. You will also need a large rimmed baking or cookie sheet (half-sheet size) to assemble and bake the focaccia.
Start by making the starter. In a large bowl, combine thoroughly all the ingredients listed for the starter. Cover and let it rest for 60 minutes. In your stand mixing bowl, add in the bread flour and salt. Whisk to combine. Next, add in the starter mixture and olive oil. Using the dough hook attachment, mix and knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is shiny and elastic. When done, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let it rise for about 90 minutes in a warm place.
While the dough is proofing, prepare the veggies. Wash and dry the veggies thoroughly. Slice the peppers thinly, preferably into long thin spears/triangles. These will be used as petals for the flowers.
When the dough is ready, spread 1 to 2 tablespoon of olive oil on the baking sheet and turn the dough into the sheet. Use your hands to pat the dough flat and push it to the edges of the baking sheet. When flat, gently push the tips of your fingers into the dough to create dimples on the surface. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of the dough.
Start assembling the topping. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Simply let your creativity take over and enjoy yourself.
To recreate the pattern I made, start by placing down the 3 “flowers” onto the dough. To do this, press each piece of veggie lightly into the dough. Begin with the flower petals – first yellow peppers. then the orange and red. Next, create the flower stems with green onions. Then, add the flower leaves with green arugula. For the details, use black sesame for the centers of the 2 large flowers. Cut up the remaining peppers into small pieces and randomly arrange them in the open spaces. Then, add the flower leaves with green arugula. For flavor, sprinkle dried cilantro on the entire focaccia. The last ingredients are a sprinkling of salt and pepper to taste. When done, cover and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or more, or until the crust is golden brown.
Uneaten focaccia can be stored in airtight container for a few days. For longer periods, freeze.
As I was making this recipe, I was curious to see if there were other veggies that would be tasty when roasted. When I roast vegetables, I usually crank up my oven to 400F and toss whatever veggies I have in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and sometimes herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil) and spices (turmeric, coriander, fennel). They usually turn out delish. I found these posts that I thought was worth sharing. Making roasted veggies is really as simple as that.
https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-roast-vegetables/
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/roasted-vegetables/
Another fun spring bake – Strawberry Bunny Buns!
Fun Cool Wool Bread => Let’s Make the Unusual Cool Wool Bread
Delicious Spicy Potato Samosas => How to Make Spicy Potato Samosas
Yummy Kale Chips! =>How to Make Quick & Easy Kale Chips (20 Minutes)
Key Lime Pie with Nut Crust => How to Make Key Lime Pie with Nut Crust
March 13, 2021. Warm winter day. Cool Wool Bread. This ring bread that looks like pouffy skeins of sheep 🐑 wool has been making its round on social media recently. I saw it posted in one of the Baking groups I follow on Facebook. I …