Half Assed Kitchen

Sour cream chocolate chip banana bread

We've done a couple versions of banana bread here on Half Assed Kitchen, most slightly adapting others' recipes. We liked 'em. But we didn't love them like we knew we should. Until the sour cream chocolate chip banana bread. This, folks, is the moistest, yummiest banana bread-that-almost-tastes-like-cake ever.

Rating: 3/4 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it (makes two loaves)

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter or margarine

3 eggs

4 ripe bananas (the more ripe the better)

1/2 cup sour cream or sour cream substitute

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons baking soda

2-3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray two loaf pans with canola oil.

Cream together sugar and eggs using beaters or stand mixer. Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and bananas and mix until well combined.

Add dry ingredients (flours, salt, and baking soda). Mix thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into pans.

Bake for 1 hour (or so, start checking at 50 minutes for doneness by inserting toothpick into center of banana bread loaves).

Serve warm.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Edamame dip

Here's another recipe for the Pretty Darn Healthy And Also Extremely Delicious file. We got this from Epicurious and made a few, tiny tweaks. It's like guacamole, but with legs. And protein-packed. Give this one a shot served with sweet potato chips. Yum!

Rating: 1/4 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

2 cups shelled edamame (from the frozen food section of your grocery store)

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 clove garlic (optional)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoons black pepper

3 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Tablespoons water (or slightly more)

Cook edamame in a bowl filled with water and placed in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain. Add edamame and all other ingredients into food processor or blender.

Process until mostly smooth. You may need to add more liquid if the dip is too thick.

Serve warm with sweet potato chips.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Happy Valentine's Day! Free Chocolate!

Hop over to Half Assed Kitchen Reviews and Giveaways for a chance to win decadent GuyLian chocolate. Mmm.

Kale chips

We know every blogger and his brother has written about kale chips. They're easy, tasty, and very good for you. But none of the posts we've read have warned of the grave kale-over-baking danger. Which is really quite serious. It leads to nasty, bitter chips of horror that may as well be sheets of ash lying on your tongue for how tasty they are.

We're telling you...make these. Do. But don't cook them for more than 10 minutes before you check. And check often afterward--every two or three minutes. You want to catch them just after they've turned crisp, but before they've burned. And it can happen quickly.

Rating: 1/4 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 bunch kale (any variety will do), stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash kale and dry thoroughly. A salad spinner works great for this. Do not skimp on the spins. If drying with towels, try hard to soak up all the water.

In a large bowl, toss kale with olive oil and salt. Spread in a single layer across two cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes. Check to see if leaves are crisp. If so, remove immediately. If not, continue to bake, checking every 2 to 3 minutes.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.