Banana, Chocolate-Chip & Pistachio Muffins

Banana bread and chocolate chips are a great combination- and make a perfect quick breakfast, snack, or dessert when made in muffin form.  Adding Greek yogurt to the batter ups the protein, but also gives the muffins a great texture.  I usually don't add nuts to banana bread, but I decided to add some pistachios this time for a little crunch and salty flavor.  Keep this recipe in mind the next time you have ripe bananas on hand!

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup lightly crushed pistachios (optional)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. 

Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined- but don't over mix.. Fold in bananas and stir.  

Finally, add the chocolate chips and pistachios.  

Grease or spray your muffin pan, and fill each cup 3/4 of the way full.  If you have leftover batter, add a bit more to each muffin.  

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool on a rack and serve either warm or at room temp.  Store in an air-tight container.

Lemon Goat Cheese Balls

These little cheese balls are the perfect appetizer or party food.  And they are super easy to make, look fancy, and taste amazing!  I made these in less than 15 minutes, and it took even less time for our us and our two friends to wolf them down before dinner.  The creamy cheese with the tangy lemon and salty pistachio coating is close to perfect.  We had them alone with a drizzle of honey which I definitely recommend, but they would also go great paired with bread or crackers.  

Ingredients:

4 oz. low-fat cream cheese

4 oz creamy goat cheese

1 1/2 T lemon juice

1 t lemon zest (from about half a lemon)

2 T minced shallot

dash of salt

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

Directions:

In a food processor (or nut chopper) blend the pistachio nuts until they are coarsely ground.  Put the nuts into a shallow bowl or dish.  Mix remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl until well combined.

With your hands, form little balls out of the cheese mixture and roll them in the pistachio crumbs until they are covered on all sides.  Set them on a plate or platter.  Refrigerate until 30 minutes before you are ready to eat them, to let them come closer to room temperature before serving.  

Pear, Pistachio, & Goat Cheese Pizza

We love making homemade pizza.  You can make it so many different ways and you can really use whatever ingredients you have on hand.  Other than our Thanksgiving pizza, we usually stick with a tomato sauce base, different cheeses, and a variety of toppings like onion, bacon, or peppers.  Don't get me wrong- it's always delicious, just not necessarily outside the box.   As soon as I saw this pizza recipe featured on Savour the Senses, I had to try it.  It's totally unique from any pizza we've ever made, and the beautiful picture of sweet pear slices on the pizza won me over.  Paired with salty crunchy pistachios, tangy goat cheese, and creamy mozzarella, it is a definite winner.

Ingredients:

pizza dough (enough for one pizza)

2 T olive oil

2 t dried oregano

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 t salt

1 large shallot, sliced thinly

1/2 cup pistachios

5 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1 pear, thinly sliced

6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded or cut into small pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.   Stretch out your dough to fit on a round pizza stone (or do a square or rectangle on a baking sheet).  Drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle on the oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes.  This will allow the final product to have crispier crust.  (note- we didn't do this here, but wished we did!)  We used whole wheat crust which is why it is so dark in the photos.  

Next, evenly place the shallots on the crust, followed by the pistachios and goat cheese.

Finally, place the pear slices on top of the crust.  I tried to do a spiral design, which sort of worked out.  Then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top.  We used fresh mozzarella so we couldn't really shred it which is why we cut it into small pieces to try and spread it out as much as possible.  

Bake for 10-15 minutes longer, until the cheese is getting brown and bubbly on top.  Cut into slices and serve!  We sprinkled more crushed pistachios on top as a garnish.