Happy Monday, all! How was your weekend? My parents were supposed to come visit, but the wicked ice storm north of us forced them to cancel their trip. That meant we had an entire weekend with no plans, which never happens. It’s been amazing! We’ve had a good balance of running errands and relaxing at home. And, we both have today off for MLK Day. What a treat!

It was gray and rainy all weekend, which is perfect baking weather. I’ve been trying to develop a healthier banana bread recipe for weeks and I finally came up with a real winner. I experimented with different combinations of fats to try and come up with a loaf  that tastes like traditional banana bread but cuts down on the refined sugars.

There’s something especially cozy about banana bread. It makes the kitchen smell amazing and it tastes like home. My parents made banana bread quite often when I was growing up and it’s always been one of my favorite treats. I’ll be making it a lot more often now that I have this healthier recipe.

This is a great way to use up bananas that are on their last legs and it’s It’s so easy to throw together, even if you aren’t a big fan of baking. A loaf of banana bread also makes a great hostess gift if you’re visiting someone for a weekend. I included some dark chocolate in this recipe, but it can easily be omitted. Enjoy!

Healthy Almond Butter Banana Bread

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3 bananas, mashed (the more brown, the better)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup natural almond butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together bananas, eggs, almond milk, almond butter, honey, Greek yogurt, olive oil and vanilla. Stir until combined. Add banana mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined. Gently fold in dark chocolate.
4. Pour batter into a lightly greased loaf pan and bake on the middle oven rack for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in pan for 15 minutes before removing it from pan. Serve warm. Allow loaf to cool completely before storing.

[/directions]

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We’ve survived what seemed like a never-ending campaign season and we finally know who will be our next president. I’m not going to talk much about the election here because that’s what I do all day at work. But, I will say I am so happy to see how many people cast a ballot this year. Indiana broke its record for early voting and thousands more cast a ballot yesterday. Whether you’re happy with the results, that’s what it’s all about.

I survived on nothing but carbs yesterday, so I’m looking forward to getting back into my kitchen and cooking a healthy dinner tonight. Of all the meals I make, James requests tacos the most. That’s fine by me because they’re delicious and so easy to throw together, even on the most hectic of nights. But, I do find myself wanting to switch up my recipes since we have them so often. I typically cook up some ground turkey or throw together some pork carnitas, but I wanted something different this time around.

These chili lime chicken tacos were a big hit in our household. We didn’t have much in our fridge when it came to toppings, but it didn’t matter. The flavor of the chicken is so out-of-this-world that you can keep the toppings simple.

Next time I make these I plan on doubling the recipe so we have plenty of leftovers. The shredded chicken is so tasty in soups and salads and I was sad when the leftovers only lasted one day. I want to make a big batch of tortilla soup using this chicken next time!

Chili Lime Chicken Tacos

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup habanero jack or pepper jack cheese, shredded
• 1/4 light sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix together, then rub spices all over the chicken breasts.
3. Place chicken breasts on baking sheet and squeeze one or two slices of lime over each breast. Place lime slices on top of chicken breasts and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
4. Remove chicken from oven and let sit for five minutes. Once the chicken is done resting, use two forks to shred the meat.
5. Heat tortillas by placing them over the burner on a gas stove on low for about one minute on each side, until the tortillas are slightly charred. If you don’t have a gas burner, heat the tortillas in the microwave for ten seconds to soften.
6. Place a small amount of chicken in each tortilla and top with cheese and sour cream.

[/directions]

The post Chili Lime Chicken Tacos appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

We’ve officially entered my favorite season: porch season. Last night we cleaned off the table on our front porch and had our first outdoor meal of the year. Everything about it was wonderful — the brightly-colored scenery, the scent of freshly-cut grass, the taste of a homemade meal. The company wasn’t too bad, either.

I love outdoor meals because they make it easy to disconnect and soak up the moment. James and I get a chance to catch up about our days without being interrupted by text messages or e-mails. And there’s something about fresh, spring air that just makes my soul so happy.

Because the weather was so beautiful, I didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen throwing together dinner. I had some thinly-sliced pork chops thawing in the fridge and decided to use them to create a lightened-up version of pork piccata. James is a huge fan of schnitzel, so I knew he’d enjoy its Italian cousin. Dare I say he liked pork piccata even better than his beloved German version?

I served this pork alongside some pasta tossed in lemon olive oil, freshly-ground pepper and parmesan cheese. James and I kept looking at each other after every few bites and saying how delicious the meal turned out. This is definitely one I’ll be keeping my recipe arsenal for a long time to come.

If you don’t have pork on hand, you can easily replicate this recipe using chicken or veal. I hope it’s as big of a hit in your house as it was in mine!

Easy Pork Piccata

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 lb. thinly-sliced boneless pork chops (you can also use a meat tenderizer to turn thicker pork chops into cutlets for this recipe)
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. capers

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Set aside 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice. Using a brush, lightly coat both sides of each pork chop in the remaining lemon juice.
2. Combine breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge each pork chop in breadcrumb mixture until completely covered.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add pork chops and cook until browned — about three to four minutes on each side.
4. Once pork chops are done, remove them from the skillet and cover them with aluminum foil to keep warm.
5. With the skillet still over medium heat, slowly add wine to the to the pan, using a spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom. Add chicken broth, the remaining 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and capers. Simmer for about five minutes, until sauce is reduced by about half.
6. Remove aluminum foil from pork and drizzle it with the warm sauce. Serve immediately.

[/directions]

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