Banana Banana Bread

Last Friday I noticed that I had 4 sad-looking bananas on my counter. They were too far gone for me to eat them in cereal, so I thought, YES, I have an excuse to make banana bread! So I looked online for a recipe, and found one pretty quickly that even used stuff I already had in my pantry! Score! This recipe is pretty fool-proof. I did add a teaspoon of vanilla and some chopped-up walnuts and pecans. This bread is so moist and flavorful. I had 2 slices (what?) and then cut the loaf in half to give to two neighbors. I can’t have food like this in my house- too dangerous. This will be my go-to recipe for banana bread from now on.

rating: 9

Banana Banana Bread

(from www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The other night Liam came up to me and asked for a cookie. We didn’t have any cookies, so I started looking through cookbooks for a quick cookie that I could make with ingredients I already had on hand. I mean, the kid wants cookies- why not make 3 dozen? So that’s what I did. I assumed in the recipe where it says “soda” it means “baking soda” and not Coke. Because that’s what I used. Also, I ran out of regular chocolate chips halfway through and had to use some white chocolate chips. These cookies were fast and they are GOOD. So good that I gave a bunch to a neighbor the next day and then the rest to Toby to take to work. What, Liam got his cookie (and I got my five). *note: those are 2 cookies in the pic.

rating: 9

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from the cookbook “Recipes From the Heart of the Smokies”

1 cup shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp hot water
2 cups 3-minute brand oats
1 cup chopped nuts
2 cups (12 ounce bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips

In large bowl cream shortening and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add flour, cocoa, salt and soda, mix well until blended. Add hot water, oats, nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons one inch apart onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 350 degrees oven for 10-12 minutes.

Strawberries & Balsamic Vinegar

I’ve made this recipe many times and I ALWAYS forget to take a pic. So I made it again last night and….forgot again. So this pic is from blatantgizmo. My strawberries pretty much looked like this . The balsamic just kind of jazzes up your berries. It takes them up a notch. Try it!

Strawberries & Balsamic Vinegar
(from the June 2009 issue of Shape magazine)

strawberries
balsamic vinegar
sugar

Slice the fruit, place it in a shallow pan, and sprinkle it with sugar. Let it sit at room temperature or in the fridge for 30 minutes. Mix 2 tsp high-quality wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar per cup of fruit. The result: a sweeter, riper flavor with just a little zing.

Grandma Mollie’s Oatmeal Raisin-Chocolate Chip Cookies

First of all, I don’t have a Grandma Mollie. But boy, these cookies are good! And easy! This recipes makes alot of cookies, so I kept some, gave some to Toby to take to work, and then gave some to a neighbor. They are dangerous to have around, that’s for sure. They’ve got a little bit of everything in them! And they are not too sweet. Really good.

rating: 9

Grandma Mollie’s Oatmeal Raisin-Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from the Sept. 2009 issue of Country Living magazine)

makes 4 dozen cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk (I used Silk lite plain soy milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, plus raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Stir in milk. Drop dough in heaping tablespoonfuls, about 1-inch apart, on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and slightly crunchy, about 15 minutes.

Mary Lou’s Blueberry Cobbler

I really only make dessert for a special occasion. I can’t just have sweets sitting around in my house, I would eat the entire thing! My friend Lisa just visited me (with her two great kids), and I decided to make a dessert (I also made this: http://peppertree.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/tortellini-florentine-soup/). I couldn’t decide between the Blueberry Buckle that I’ve been dying to try (from A Mighty Appetite blog), or this one. I decided on this one, since it sounded so easy and only had 5 ingredients! I have three words for you: Oh. My. Gosh. This is FABULOUS! I just knew that it wouldn’t turn out because it’s just so darn simple! And it really is just as simple as it sounds. This made enough for 7 small bowlfuls. Next time I will double the recipe. What, I can’t have leftovers?! This cobbler is just the perfect amount of sweet fruit with flaky crunchy cake goodness. Of course I topped it off with some vanilla ice cream. Oh, and I used Silk lite vanilla soy milk for the milk. This got thumbs up from everyone.

rating: 10 (seriously!)

Oh, I got this from a Daily Candy email.

A DailyCandy mom from rural Virginia knows how to make two things: sweet iced tea and fruit cobbler. With a recipe for the latter that’s as simple and drop-to-your-knees delicious as this, that’s all she needs to know. Best eat it up before your resolutions kick in.

Mary Lou’s Blueberry Cobbler
Serves six

Ingredients
1 c. sugar (up to ¼ c. more if you’re feeling especially sweet)
1 c. self-rising flour
1 c. milk
1 stick butter (melted)
1 c. blueberries (you can also use sliced peaches)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine dry ingredients.

3. Mix in milk and butter.

4. Gently stir in blueberries.

5. Bake for one hour (or until center is set) in a greased glass dish.

6. Top with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.

7. Prepare for a major sugar high.

Peach & Raspberry Parfait

We went on a week-long cruise to Bermuda recently (this explains why I haven’t been posting lately!), and when we got back home, we vowed to start eating better. ;D Eating at an endless buffet 3-plus times a day really takes a toll on you! So I decided to buy alot of fruit at the grocery store, and thought we could enjoy said fruit in a dessert (hey, it’s LITE vanilla ice cream!). This took no time to make, and it was so tasty! There was alot of fruit left over, so the next morning, I had some in my cereal, and Liam had some over his mini-waffles. Good stuff!

rating: 8

Peach & Raspberry Parfait
(from the July 2009 issue of Real Simple magazine)

2 peaches, cut into 2.5″ pieces
1/5 cups raspberries
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 pint vanilla ice cream

1. In a large bowl, combine the peaches, raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice and let sit, tossing once, for 20 minutes.
2. Scoop the ice cream into bowls or glasses and top with the fruit mixture.

Country Pumpkin Muffins

I am taking a little break this week, but I wanted to share one new recipe with you. I made IHOP’s pumpkin pancakes over the weekend (from a cookbook full of famous restaurant recipes that my mom gave me), and I had almost a whole can of pumpkin left over. That pancake recipes only calls for 3 TBSP of pumpkin! Anywho, so I found this recipe, and it was a good choice. First of all, I had exactly enough pumpkin for it. Second, it’s GOOD! I did omit the raisins because of Toby’s weird “no raisins” rule.  These were so easy- you just mix the wet ingredients together, then mix the dry ingredients together, then mix them ALL together, then add the nuts. This recipe gave me 24 muffins. In the comment section after the recipe, you can see what other people did to *tweak* this recipe, like subbing half brown sugar for white, etc. Try these! And see you next Monday!

rating: 8.5

http://tinyurl.com/ba96fh

Monkey Bread

This is what I make for breakfast every Christmas morning (I say every- for the last two!). It’s so easy, and it’s nice to serve with other stuff, or just have it on a plate and people can pinch off a piece every time they walk by. There’s no set amount of sugar or cinnamon to use- you just use whatever tastes good to you. It takes about 30 minutes to cook, so this can be cooking while you are opening gifts and then voila! Also, I add a sprinkling of chopped nuts to mine (walnuts I think). I think this theoretically makes it Gorilla Bread.

rating: 9

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,174,130183-253199,00.html

Oatmeal Kiss Cookies

These are the third kind of cookies that I made to give away to neighbors and clients, and they are my favorite! I am secretly happy that this recipe makes so many! I had a little tub of them leftover and I’ve been munching on them for days! They are so good! I think what makes them so good is the combination of nuts, oats, and that little bit of chocolate kiss you get in every bite. This will be the first cookie recipe I will go to whenever cookies need to be made!

rating: 9.5

Oatmeal Kiss Cookies
(from the magazine “Best Holiday Recipes- 2008″ by Taste of Home)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening (I used vegetable shortening)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped nuts
72 milk chocolate kisses

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and nuts. Roll into 1″ balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
2. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks.

makes about 6 dozen.

Frosted Peanut-Butter Cookies

This is an easy way to “dress up” a basic cookie mix. I bought a bag of dry peanut-butter cookie mix from Target. You are dressing them up by adding this yummy frosting on top. I chose to decorate them with both almonds and pecan halves. This is so easy and makes the cookies look like you spent alot of time on them (but you didn’t!).

rating: 8.5

Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies
(from the magazine”Best Holiday Recipes- 2008″ from Taste of Home)

1 package (17.5 ounces) peanut butter cookie mix
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup hot water
1 tsp vanilla extract
sliced almonds or pecan halves

1. In a large bowl, prepare cookie dough according to package directions. Shape into 1″ balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
2. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.
3. For frosting, in a bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, water and vanilla. Spread over cookies; top with nuts.

makes about 2 dozen