Turkey lasagna with caramelized onions

      My friend Tanushree had just got done with a major presentation and it was a good reason to celebrate. She is one of my best cooking buddies but sadly we do not get chance to spend time in kitchen together very often.. Made good use of one such rare evenings with all smiles !! Lasagna was the first Italian dish (leaving pizza aside) I have ever tried.  This dish was an experiment since I have forgotten how I made it a year ago. Thanks to our blog that the recipe is getting noted down this time ..for you and me :)
The Turkey lasagna with caramelized onions turned out to be delicious and all of us ate way more than we could / we should.

Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time : 30 mins
Ingredients:

• Lasagna sheets (~ 10 sheets)
• Ground turkey (1lb); Can be substituted with chicken or more veggies like cauliflower, mushroom to make veg lasagna.
• Olive oil / butter (2 tbsp)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (2-3 cups);
• Onion (1 medium sized sliced)
• Garlic (4 cloves chopped well)
• Red and yellow peppers ( 2-3 medium sized, sliced);
• Tomatoes (1 -2 chopped)
• Cilantro (3-4 tbsp chopped )
• Italian seasoning (2tbsp); 
• Ground black pepper (2 tsp)
• Ground thyme (1 tsp)
• Hot sauce and ketchup (to taste and optional; I like HOT food )
• Salt (to taste)
• Cilantro leaves for garnishing
• Caramelized onion rings for garnishing.

Method :

Turkey filling

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
• Bring water to boil in a large container (so that lasagne sheets fit intact) and add sheets. Boil for 10-15 minutes with intermittent stirring. Drain hot water and rinse with cold water to prevent sheets from getting sticky. Set aside.
• Turkey Filling: 
• In a small pan, heat 1 tsp olive oil, and add onion rings and allow them to cook in low heat until caramelized. After few minutes add garlic. Fry well for ~ 5 mins.
• Add chopped peppers now and cook for another 5-10 mins. 
• Add  tomato and turkey/ chicken and mix well.
• Add spices (italian seasoning, thyme and black pepper) and stir everything well.
• Cook covered  in medium flame for ~ 20 mins. Allow the filling to cool slightly before layering.

Layering the lasagna

• Layering:  
• Layer a  9 inches by 12 inches pan with 1/ 3rd of lasagna sheets. 
• Add layer of cooked turkey on it (about half ). 
• Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese and add hot sauce and ketchup on it. 
• Repeat layers one more time, ending with lasagna noodles on top.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for 30 mins. 
• Caramelize onion rings separately in 1 tsp olive oil.
• Garnish with caramelized onion rings, cilantro and Italian seasoning.

Serving Merlot from Whole foods with this dinner was an excellent idea !!
Recipe might seem a little complicated (blame my novice writing style) but it's not...It is surely time consuming so can be saved for special nights, or done ahead of time. :)  Give it a shot.

Buon apetito!!

Ajanta from Amherst


PS : Sorry that I did not take a final pic of it !! 

Malabari Paratha or Porota

Every time someone's parents are visiting, the rest of us literally beeline to eat 'homemade' food. Recently, we were invited by our friends for some authentic 'homemade' food from Kerala. I landed a couple of hours early to learn how to make Malabari Porota from my friend's father-in-law (FIL). I brought one 'handvo' as offering for my 'guruji'. I will save the handvo recipe for another post.

It was an interesting afternoon. My friend's FIL speaks only Malayalam, and a few words of English. I do not speak Malayalam at all. All afternoon, we communicated through my friend as the translator, or using sign language. He asked me how I made the handvo, and I showed him by pulling out the ingredients from their pantry, their fridge and sometimes even Google images. He clearly laid out the ingredients necessary for the porota for me, and then asked me to write the recipe. He patiently posed for each picture that I wanted to click while he made the porotas. In the end, he made me try a couple of porotas, and even gave me 'homework'- to practice making them at home and make some in front of him before they leave for India in two months!

I guess love for food transcends language and cultural barriers!

Serves: 6-8 persons
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
11/2 cup water
Salt to taste.
Oil for rolling and frying

Method:

• In a large bowl, place three cups of all purpose flour. Dissolve salt to the 11/2 cup of water. Now knead the dough carefully for a long time till the dough is semi-soft, not sticky at all. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.



Dough balls

• Divide the dough into dough balls about the size of a tennis ball. Each dough ball would make two porotas. Baste some oil on them, cover with damp cloth and let them rest for atleast 30 minutes.

• Grease the countertop with oil. Apply some oil in your palms. Take one dough ball and flatten it with the heel of your palm till it is about a 6-7 inch disc, of even thickness.
• Place right fingers under the disc facing the top and the left fingers on the top left side of the dough disc, facing the counter. Flip your hands around while holding the dough so that the right hand fingers are now facing the bottom/ counter and the left hand fingers are facing the top. Repeat. Dough will gradually stretch and become thinner. Dont worry if you make any holes. It will all be covered up in the end.



Divide the stretched dough with the back of a spoon

• Once it is thin and almost transparent, divide it into two equal parts with the back of a spoon or a knife. Holding the two ends of one piece, stretch slightly till it folds into a long rope/ ribbon. Roll from one end, into a rosette and tuck the other end under it. Repeat for the remaining dough. Cover the rosettes with damp cloth and let it rest for another 30 minutes. I tried to capture the entire rolling process over here.

Little dough rossettes

• Grease the heel of your palm with oil. Take one dough rossette and gently pat it into a disc, about 6-7 inches in diameter. 
• Heat a griddle and cook the porota on both sides till it is golden brown in color.
• Place the cooked and still hot porota on the countertop and slap to crush it between your hands, so that it becomes fluffy and flakey. Be very careful, as the porota is very very hot. I did it only after the porota was slightly cooler. Its easier to see the crushing in the video here.
• Serve with a curry of your choice. 

Bon Appetit!

Hetal from Houston

Chocolate Cupcake with Mocha Frosting

Cupcakes are always safer to bake as we can control the portion size and it takes lesser time. So last week for a friends get together, I decided to bake very simple chocolate ones. Never doubt the power of chocolate :P  Wanted it to look a little fancy and hence decided to use mocha frosting;  I love mocha :D and this recipe has been tried and tasted by a friend so I gave it a shot.

Packed tight and ready to go  :)

Prep Time: 30 mins
Baking Time: 30 mins
Serves: I never comment on that ;) it made 12 cupcakes though!

Ingredients :

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs ( room temperature) 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

Whipping cream - 1/2 cup

Instant coffee powder - 1/4 tsp

Milk chocolate - 0.5-1 oz / 5-6 cubes ; this depends on your love for chocolate

Method:

Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep 12-cup standard muffin pan with paper liners.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. 
• With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.
• Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• While cupcakes are in oven, prepare the frosting.

Frosting:

• Melt the chocolate in a microwave at low power.
• Add coffee powder and blend well to make sure there are no lumps. Let it cool.
• Whip the cream with electric mixer till it forms stiff peaks and add the chocolate mixture to it. 

Tip from friend:  If you don't want to add chocolate, you can mix the coffee with a few teaspoons of whipping cream or milk and then add it to the whipped cream.

Cool cupcakes in pan for 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then spread with frosting using a table knife or small offset spatula.
Decorate with grated chocolate, walnut / almonds or anything of your choice.

Enjoy baking! Bon Appetit ...

Ajanta from Walnut Creek, CA this time :)

Warm Mixed Berry Almond Cake

  My friends had baked this cake for me on my birthday and I knew it right away that I had to bake this to make someone else happy :) Who better than my adorable nephew I am visiting this rainy wintery like weekend at the end of May !!! And for us adults, what better than  a slice of warm cake and coffee on this awfully gloomy rainy day !

This is inspired by Martha Stewart's cherry almond cake but my friends had used mixed berries so I decided to stick to that.

Prep Time : 1 hr 15 mins
Serves : It's a cake ... how can we decide ?!? 1 or more ;)

Ingredients :

• 1 stick of butter ( warmed to room temperature) Recipe calls for more butter for pie plate but I use baking spray because it is easier.
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
• 12 ounces ( 1 bag) of frozen mixed berries ; thawed and dried .. but I had no time to dry it !
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds ( I used chopped and whole.. really should not matter )

Method:

•  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch pie plate and set aside.
•  In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
•  Using an electric mixer whisk together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in almond extract and then add the flour mixture on a low speed . Do not overblend.
• Transfer batter to prepared pie plate ; scatter berries and almonds on top. Bake for 50-55 mins or untill toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. 

A piece of berry cake with whipped cream..Yumm yumm

Serve warm with whipped cream / chocolate sauce or chocolate ganache !

Happy Baking & Stay warm !

Ajanta from Amherst ( Actually Medford this evening )

Paleo Lemon Pound Cake

       
     Before I start writing this blog, I would like to declare in public that I am NOT following  paleo diet ! I am too much of a foodie so far,  to do this :) But as saying goes 'never say never !' This was an experiment with a friend who is trying paleo and I was tempted to try something different after baking fatty sinful cakes for all these while.. Can't really deny the guilt trips most of us take after eating those yummy cakes...can we !?! Lemon is an all-time favorite and this one looked easily doable ! Turned out to be very tasty and exactly of the texture one would like pound cake to be ....here is the link for recipe we found but below is how we did it :) 
  
       We could not find all the ingredients we needed in the only grocery store we visited... Should not be hard to find if you at least try two stores may be ! We were lazy, but you are not  :P !!  So let's honestly call this a partial paleo cake :)

Prep Time : 20 minutes
Baking Time : 40-45 minutes
Serves : 5-10

      
Ingredients : 

Dry :

Almond flour - 2 cups                        
All-Purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Sea salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 heaping spoon

Wet :

Raw honey - 2/3 cup , warmed to a liquid state
Olive oil - 2/3 cup
Large eggs - 4
Full-fat coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract - 2 tbsp
Lemon zest - 1 tbsp ( I mixed orange zest as well )

Glaze :

Freshly squeezed lemon juice : from 2 lemons ( Please strain it ) 
Lemon zest - from 1 lemon
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Raw honey - 4 tbsp

Preparation :

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Prepare a 9x9 baking pan by coating the interior lightly with olive oil. 
3. Sift dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to combine.
4. Place oil and honey and mix  for 1-2 minutes using electric blender. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add coconut milk, vanilla, and lemon zest, and continue to process until well combined.
   
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a wooden mixing spoon to thoroughly combine ingredients, pressing out any lumps. Use blender if needed and we did need :).
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top was supposed to be lightly browned and mine came out dark brown.
7. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, run a butter knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, and then turn it out onto a cake plate and let cool completely.
8. While cake bakes, prepare the glaze by adding vanilla extract, lemon juice, zest, and honey to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Using the tines of a fork, perforate the top of the cake several times. Pour glaze over the cake, using a spatula to evenly distribute the glaze over the entire cake top. Let the cake rest for an hour to fully absorb the glaze. Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator.

 It was a good combo with our evening Chai that day ! Totally non-paleo :P 

Have fun baking :)

Ajanta from Amherst

Easter bunny bread

This Easter, I wanted to tackle the dreaded bread monster. Armed with my lovely new (and red!) stand mixer, I decided to make some hot cross buns. The store-bought hot cross buns are a tad bit sweet for my liking.

So, on Good Friday, I baked the first batch of hot cross buns. I followed the Joy of Baking Hot Cross Buns recipe to the t, and they turned out to be wonderful. Thanks to my good friend Amrita of Sweet n Savory for being the inspiration. :)

Encouraged, I took on the basic white bread recipe from the book that came with my lovely new (and red!) stand mixer. Yes, I love my stand mixer that much!!! I wanted to make it look somewhat like this Easter Bunny Bread, but using fresh dough instead of the frozen. Here it goes -

Ingredients:

Basic White Bread:
1/2 cup low fat milk (I used 1%)
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2 packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
5-6 cups al purpose flour

Bunny shape:
2 raisins
2 sliced almonds
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

1. In a small sauce pan, place heat milk, salt, sugar and butter in low heat until the butter melts. Let it cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Let it 'activate' till foamy (about 10 minutes).
2. In the mixer bowl, add the milk mixture and about 4-41/2 cups flour. Using the dough hook, mix it while adding the yeast mixture. Add the remaining flour and mix till the dough starts to come together in a ball. Knead till the dough is smooth. 
3. Divide the dough into two equal parts and shape into loaves.

Now for the fun part - I almost relived my childhood days, playing with 'Play Doh' or ' Plasticine' as we called it then. 

• Prepare a baking sheet - grease and line with parchment paper.
• Cut a fourth off of one loaf and gently shape into a drop or pear shape to form the bunny's head. Flatten remaining portion into an oval shape and place on the sheet. Place head above body. I used a pair of kitchen shears to make cuts on each side of head for bunny's whiskers.
• Divide the remaining loaf into four equal portions. I did that using a greased knife. For ears, shape two portions into 14-16 inches long ropes. Now, fold ropes in half and arrange them as the bunny's ears with open ends touching head. Gently tuck the open ends under the bunny's head, for a more clean look. I had to adjust the shape of the ears to fit my sheet tray.
• Cut the third portion of dough into two and flatten them into ovals for paws. Cut two slits on the edge of each oval for bunny's tiny toes. Position on each side of the bunny's body. Now it should start to resemble a bunny.
• Divide the fourth portion of dough into three balls.  Use two for front paws. Place paws on each side of body. You could make slits for its toes here as well. Cut the third ball into three, and shape them into two smaller (about 1 inch) balls for the cheeks and one 1/2-in. ball for nose. Place cheeks and nose on face. Add raisins for eyes and almonds for teeth.

Bunny bread as it sat on the counter to rise.

• Cover and let rise in a warm place, about 30-45 minutes. I sprayed the cling film with oil so that it does not stick into the bunny as it rises. 
• Once it is doubled, brush dough with egg. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Fresh out of the oven

• Place bread on a serving tray. Cut a 3-1/2-in. circle in center of body. Hollow out bread, leaving a 1/2-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Place a 1-cup shallow bowl in the hole and fill with dip. I used some lettuce leaves to cover the bowl before placing the dip. Serve with vegetables, cheese and crackers of your choice.

It was a huge crowd pleaser, and no one wanted to take the first bite off the cute Easter Bunny!! It made for a wonderful Easter spread centerpiece :)

Bon Appetit!
Hetal from Houston

Orange pound cake with chocolate chips

Orange pound cake with chocolate chips

My Dad was a Boy Scout, and is very proud of his Boy Scout experiences. He never misses an opportunity to use the 'reef knot' or the 'clove hitch' in his day-to-day life. Once he made 'potato curry' in one of his camping trips, and apparently won the best cook title - we have heard this story a zillion times. Only recently did I find out that my Baa had measured all the spices and salt for him, and all he did was boil the potatoes and dump the spices!! So much for being the 'best cook' in the camp. 
His box of scout woggles, scarves and badges is definitely one of his prized possessions :) He spent one full afternoon explaining to his 6 and 8yr old daughters why the Scouts and Guides logo was the Fluer de Lis. I dont remember the story but was surely thrilled to learn a French word! :) It was a big deal for an 8yr old! :) 

Last week, I made an Orange Pound cake with chocolate chips for his birthday in my Fluer De Lis bundt pan. :) I was looking for the perfect recipe for my newest bundt pan, and my most reliable recipe source a.k.a Ajanta came to my rescue. It is a Barefoot Contessa recipe that turned out just perfect! I think the zest and the freshly squeezed orange juice add to the depth of flavour. Here it goes -

Serves: 10-12 persons
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 45 minutes -1 hour


Ingredients:

For the cake
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 organic extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup grated orange zest (I zested about 4 large oranges)
2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (From the oranges already zested- I find it easier to zest an orange before the juice is squeezed out)
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups good semisweet chocolate chunks ( I used chocolate chips, instead)

Orange syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Ganache
8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan very well.
2. In a large bowl, whip the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then fold in the orange zest.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients - 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. 
4. In a small bowl, toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons flour and fold them to the batter. Tossing the chocolate chips in flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom.
5. Pour into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the orange syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely. Tip: It is important to remove the cake from the pan at the specified time. Letting it cool in the pan may result in a tasty disaster :(
7. For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cake. I didn't make the ganache, but it would surely make the cake more decadent! :)

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Jhat-pat Lapsi

Jhat-pat Lapsi

Lapsi is probably my favorite traditionally Gujarati dish. It is almost like a 'halva' made of broken wheat. Typically made on auspicious days, such as New Year or during festivals, Lapsi is an integral part of the 'Nived' spread. My mom always makes Lapsi for our New Year lunch. We eat Lapsi with a simple potato curry. I know, I know, it sounds weird - but it is a delicious combination. My sister and I eat Lapsi by the bowl! Mom often had to whip up a big bowl for us when we returned from school. This is her 'jhat-pat' Lapsi recipe. Her it goes.

Serves: 2-3 persons
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 8-10 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup suji/ semolina
3-4 tbsp melted ghee
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup gur/ jaggery
1/4 cup sugar

Method

• In a medium bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, semolina and 3 tbsp ghee well, till it resembles a 'crumble'. Set it aside.

Whole wheat- Semolina 'crumble'

• In a thick bottomed pan or a non-stick pan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add sugar and jaggery. Continue to simmer on low heat till the jaggery is completely dissolved.

Simmering jaggery-sugar syrup

• Sprinkle the wheat flour-semolina crumble gently into the simmering jaggery-sugar syrup. Cover and let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes on low heat. Do not stir. It is done when a wooden spoon or spatula comes out clean. The consistency should be like a halva or upma.

Crumble sprinkled into jaggery syrup

• Add 1 tbsp melted ghee and serve hot - as a main course Gujarati meal with curried potatoes or as a simple dessert.

Delicious Lapsi

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Hearty tomato & root vegetable soup

Lake Agnes Tea House

We just came back from a wonderful vacation amidst blue lakes and snow capped Rockies. Almost everyone we spoke with was either an avid hiker, biker or a cross-country backpacker. After our hike up to Lake Agnes, we ate at the famous Lake Agnes Tea House. It is little log cabin in the hanging valley on the shore of the turquoise Lake Agnes. They serve over a hundred types of tea, soup, sandwiches, freshly baked bread etc. Their tomato vegetable soup with barley was fabulous. Served with home-made multigrain bread, I loved it so much that I was willing to hike up the next day just to eat that soup! :D

Today, I tried to recreate that soup with my own twist. I did not have barley at hand, so I left it out. Here it goes.

Serves: 2-3 persons
Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients
2-3 small carrots
2 small beetroots
2 tomatoes
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 cloves
1-2 cinnamon pieces (about 1")
Salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
Water

Method

1. In a medium sauce-pan, bring 1 1/2- 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the peeled and diced carrots and beetroots and cover. Continue to cook on low heat till the beetroots are fork tender. Alternatively, you could roast the vegetables at 400F for 20-30 minutes for a smokier taste. Add the two tomatoes into the sauce pan and cook for another five minutes or so, till the skin peels off. Remove from heat. You may choose to peel the tomato skin off, once the tomatoes cool a bit.
2. Once slightly cooled, blend the root vegetables and tomatoes in a blender. Add salt and pepper. 
3. In the same saucepan, heat 1 tsp butter. Add cumin seeds, clove and cinnamon. Once the cumin seeds sizzle, pour the root vegetable and tomato mixture back in. Add 1-2 cups of water, and bring it to a boil. Add brown sugar if desired.



Hearty tomato-root vegetable soup

4. Serve hot with bread of your choice. I ate it with fresh French Baguette :) 

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread or Muffins

Banana Nut muffins

One of my friends has been experiencing an insatiable craving for bananas. She was telling me about it over the phone, and almost immediately I wanted to bake her some banana bread. My cousin sent me this old recipe from the Southern Living magazine long time ago - it was the perfect opportunity to put it to test. 

The recipe makes 2 loaves of banana bread or 24 muffins. I made 24 mini muffins and 12 muffins. Here it goes.



Preparation time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes for muffins; 1 hour for loaves.
Cool time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 pack (8oz.) cream cheese, low fat, room temperature
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (The original recipe called for 3 cups all purpose flour)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup walnuts, cashews etc. (The original recipe called for pecans)

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare the loaf pans or muffin tins. I used paper liners for both the muffins and mini muffins.
• In a large bowl, blend softened butter and cream cheese until well mixed. Add sugar and beat with an electric beater till light and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs one at a time and whip till incorporated. 
• Add the flour and blend till completely incorporated. It will be a thick batter. 
• Now add the baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract.
• Fold in mashed banana and 2/3 cup nuts. Pour into muffin tins or loaf pans. 
• Sprinkle remaining nuts on the batter.
• Bake muffins for 25 minutes or until done. The loaf takes about 1 hour. Cool completely on wire racks. 

Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston