Author Archives: The Cooking spoon

Watermelon, Chicken, bacon and Feta Salad, Tahini ranch dressing

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

For the Salad

3 cups market greens
1 cup diced watermelon
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 thinly sliced onion
1-2 avocados sliced
½ cup feta
Handful chopped pistachios
Fresh basil and mint
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the tahini ranch

1 lemon juiced
1 cloves garlic minced
1 shallot finely chopped
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp tahini
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the vegetable oil with the seasoning. Place the chicken in a large zip top plastic bag and add the marinade, give the chicken a little massage and place it in the refrigerator to marinate for about an hour.

Heat a large skillet, remove the chicken from the marinade and cook the chicken for 6 minutes on each side depending on thickness, until it is cooked thru. Remove the chicken from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes on a plate. Slice the chicken and set aside. Whisk the ingredients for the tahini ranch together.

On a large platter arrange the salad greens, top with the avocado, cucumber, watermelon, feta, bacon, onion and chicken. Sprinkle with herbs and pistachios. Serve with tahini ranch.

Enjoy!

Roasted red bell pepper jam

Homemade Chocolate Pudding Pops

INGREDIENTS

1/2 a bag of chocolate pudding mix (28 grs)
175 ml. milk (I used barista Oat milk)
75 gr creamy almond butter
30 ml. / 2 tbsp. Rice syrup or maple syrup
200 gr dark chocolate* see note below
15 ml. / 1 tbsp. Natural oil
A handful of mini chocolate chips
Ice cream molds

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the pudding mix with 75 ml of the milk in a jug and stir until everything is dissolved.
Bring the remaining 100 ml of milk to a simmer in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Once the milk has reached a simmer, lower the heat and add the pudding mixture to the saucepan, stirring constantly for about two minutes.
Remove from heat, add the almond butter and syrup and stir to dissolve and combine.
Let cool a little then fill ice cream molds halfway, divide some chocolate chips over the pudding and top with the remaining mixture. Insert the sticks and cover the molds.
Place in the freezer for at least 6-8 hours.
Melt the chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl, in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Pour chocolate into a tall glass, so you can dip the whole chocolate pudding pop into the chocolate.
Remove the chocolate pudding pops from the freezer and take them out of the molds.
Dip each chocolate pudding pop into the melted chocolate and then hold in an upright position for 30 seconds until the chocolate sets. Place each pop on a parchment lined board or plate and put back in the freezer until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

More yummy desserts?

*There will be chocolate left over, but you need the initial 200 grams so you can immerse the entire pop in one go. Leftover chocolate can be poured into a plastic container and kept in the refrigerator or freezer for another time.

Oatmeal banana breakfast muffins with cookie dough crumble

4 Replies

Where to start with these Oatmeal Banana breakfast muffins? They are the best, everyone in my family loves them and I can’t seem to bake them fast enough to keep up with the demand.
As you know I love baked Oatmeal, but at a certain point you want something else in the morning. Something even easier, better and more delicious. Also more suitable for warmer weather.

They are so simple to make, I blend the wet ingredients in the blender, then poor this over the dry ingredients in a large bowl, give it a stir and scoop into lined muffin tins. Sprinkle with plenty of the topping and bake, that’s it.
The great thing about these Oatmeal banana breakfast muffins is that you can also make these well ahead of time and store them in the freezer. Just pop them in the microwave to re-heat for a bit before serving. I actually microwave them for one minute from frozen, and they are warm and yummy and taste like freshly baked.

I almost forgot to mention the topping, the best part of course. The topping tastes like cookie dough and forms big lumps, just the way I like it and once baked, has a slight crunch too it. You’ll love it!
These Oatmeal banana breakfast muffins are also the perfect treat for when that afternoon sweet tooth hits.

Makes 6 jumbo muffins or 8-10 smaller ones.

INGREDIENTS:

Dry:
1.5 c. oat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. chocolate chips
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Wet:
1/2 c. Greek yogurt
1/4 cup natural oil
2 ripe bananas, peeled
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. stevia extract or 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tbsp. honey

Topping:

3 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 c. All purpose flour
2 tbsp. Natural oil or cold butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F.
In your blender, add all the wet ingredients and blitz until smooth.

Meanwhile add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl, also the chocolate chips and give everything a good stir.

Pour the smooth batter from the blender over the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined.
Scoop into lined muffin tins, I use 6 large muffin tins or you can make 8-10 smaller ones. You have to adjust the baking time, see below.

Make the topping by adding all these ingredients to a smaller bowl, and stir to combine. You can use your fingers to crumble the dough. Place a good amount on top of each muffin.

Place the muffins on a rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 25 min for 6 jumbo muffins or 20 min for 8 medium muffins. But since every oven is different, I advise you to always do the wooden skewer test, when inserted in the middle of the muffin, it should come out just dry, then they are done.

Enjoy!