Banana Bread

A few weeks ago, I was at Sam's Club browsing the fruit area when I saw a bunch of overripe bananas.  "Those poor bananas," I thought, "Who's going to ever buy those, especially when they are near the perfectly yellow ones?"  Yes, I know it's kinda sad that I think that about over ripe fruit...but nevertheless, I did.  The whole bunch of about 3lbs of bananas was only $1.98!  A total bargain, right?  But what does one do with overripe bananas?  Make banana bread, of course!  And so, the bananas somehow made their way into my cart.

I've made this recipe many times over the past few years and it has become my "go-to" banana bread recipe.  Not only is it simple, I bet you have all the ingredients in your pantry, but it's delicious!  When making this bread, I sometimes use whole wheat flour and sometimes just regular flour, or you can mix and match.  Also, I add spices to my bread, per the modifcations below and it turns out great everytime.  I always get compliments from people saying how moist and flavorful this bread is; plus, numerous requests for the recipe.  So, here you go, my friends.  Make this soon and enjoy it as a snack with coffee or as my personal fave - warmed up with some butter on top for breakfast.  Mmmm!

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Quality control.

Banana Banana Bread by Food.com
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

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

Directions

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

Homemade Salsa

Hello!  I’m back.  I took a break.  Because I felt like.  Alright, let’s move on.

Chips and salsa are a favorite for Jeremy and me.  We like it as an appetizer, apart of a meal or as a snack.  But why should we always have to resort to store bought salsa?  Though there are many delicious varieties of store bought kind (ex. Trader Joe’s Pineapple Salsa), there is something about homemade salsa that is so good.  Maybe it’s the fact that you can make it as spicy or chunky as you want.  Or maybe it’s because it’s so easy.  My vote is for all of the above!

This recipe is from Jeremy’s sister and brother-in-law and it’s fabulous!  It’s a mix of canned and fresh items, which make it so delicious and as I’ve mentioned…easy!  Plus, I frequently cut the recipe in halve and it still turns out great.  It’s one of those recipes that you can’t mess up.  So, go ahead and make the Carne Asada Burritos that I’ve talked about and this salsa.  Throw in some tortilla chips and you’ll have a wonderful, fiesta.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Just add chips!

Delicious Salsa

Printable Copy

Ingredients

• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 large can diced tomatoes (dice a little more)
• 1 large bunch of cilantro (chopped)
• 3/4 of a large white onion (chopped)
• 2 raw jalapeno peppers (chopped)
• 1 Anaheim chili (fire roasted on stove, until black, then chopped)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Season with garlic salt and black pepper, to taste.
3. Refrigerate left overs.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Before I started this cooking/recipe blog, I used to occasional post recipes on my “other” blog.  This is a repost from that blog, but when I made this bread the other night I realized that it wasn’t on this blog!  This recipe is delicious and a must for fall baking, so I felt it necessary to to share.

Ever since the first day of Fall last week, a lot of the foodie blogs that I read have been posting pumpkin recipes.  I LOVE pumpkin!  So, I was inspired to jump on the pumpkin bandwagon and bake something scrumptious. 

This afternoon I baked this incredible Pumpkin-Gingerbread Loaf.  I've always loved regular pumpkin bread (thanks to my mom at Christmas time) and this bread adds the ginger element, which just makes it outstanding.  It's moist and comforting with the pumpkin flavor and then it's got a slight ginger kick.  YUM!  I could easily eat half a loaf or 3-4 muffins...it is THAT good.

 

 

I found the recipe a few years ago on Recipezaar.  Since I'm always trying to make recipes a bit healthier, I cut back on the sugar by 1/2 a cup, used whole wheat flour and subbed half egg whites for the eggs.  It's not much of a "healthy" modification, but I figured even a little bit could make it more figure friendly.  The recipe makes 2 big loafs (9-inch pans).  I like to make 1 loaf and 12 muffins, so that I can have somewhat of portion control. :)  It also freezes really well.  If you decide to do muffins, they'll take about 22 minutes to bake.  Seriously, you have to make this bread...it is AMAZING and a wonderful Fall treat!

 

  

Ingredients.

12 muffins, minus 1 due to Quality Assurance. :)

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf by Recipezaar

Printer-Friendly Version

• 1 cup margarine/butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 teaspoons ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Cream together margarine, sugar, and eggs.

2. Combine all dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture alternately with water and pumpkin.

3. Beat well.

4. Pour into 3 well greased loaf pans.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minute or until toothpick comes out clean.

Applesauce

One food that makes me think of fall is apples.  I love apples!  Gala apples are my favorite.  They are sweet and crisp, and I buy them in 10lb bags from Sam’s Club.  Since I was away from home for a few weeks, I didn’t have a chance to eat many apples and I was worried they weren’t going to survive much longer.  So, I needed an easy recipe to use up my apples…and that is were this delicious recipe comes into play!

I Googled “applesauce” and this was the first recipe that came up.  I honestly had no idea that applesauce was so easy to make!  I cut up some apples, added some sugar and spice and ta-da, 20 minutes later, I had applesauce.  Who knew!?  The Gala apples are wonderful to use in this recipe because of their natural sweetness and I subbed brown sugar for white.  I took a taste-test bite after I mashed up the apples and boy-oh-boy, warm homemade applesauce is mighty delicious!  Jeremy even said, “Ya know, this is better than the store bought, jar kind.”  That it is, Jeremy.  That it is.

Enjoy!

My beautiful Gala apples.

 

Delicious!

Homemade Applesauce

Printer-friendly Version

Ingredients

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped (I didn’t peel mine and it was still good!)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Honey-Ginger Crunch Mix

I love snacks.  They are a great way to make your tummy stop rumbling in between meals.  Are you looking for a new snack?  Well, I suggest that you make this sweet Chex mix, because it is delicious!  I came across this recipe about a year ago when I had extra Chex to spare, after making the regular Chex mix.  It’s a nice change from the traditional savory Chex mix and it’s got some of my favorite ingredients in it. 

This mix contains nuts, pretzels, coconut, Craisins and honey.  Yum!  Plus, it’s got ground ginger in it.  I don’t know about you, but I love ginger.  It’s such a great flavor and it’s a bit unexpected in this mix.  Of course, I made a few modifications to the recipe, based on what I had in the pantry.  I used cashews and peanuts instead of almonds, and I added chopped, dried apricots with the Craisins.  Mmmm, I love this mix.  If you’re ever looking for a new type of Chex mix, head on over the the Chex website because there are a bunch of delicious varieties to try.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Cooling.

Ready to eat!

Honey-Ginger Crunch Mix

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger or cardamom
• 6 cups Rice Chex® cereal
• 2 cups bite-size pretzel twists
• 1 cup unblanched whole almonds
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup dried cranberries or pineapple

Directions

1. Heat oven to 250°F. Spray large roasting pan with cooking spray.
2. In 1-quart saucepan, heat brown sugar, butter, honey and ginger to boiling. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Into roasting pan, measure cereal, pretzels, almonds and coconut. Stir in brown sugar mixture until evenly coated.
3. Bake 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool, about 15 minutes. Place in serving bowl; stir in cranberries. Store in airtight container.

Puppy Chow

In light of our fabulous news about getting a puppy (please see my other blog for details), and the fact that I still have Chex cereal to use up, I decided to make Chex Muddy Buddies, otherwise known as Puppy Chow.  Does anyone else called it Puppy Chow?  Jerm looked at my like I had a second head when I asked him if he wanted me to make him some Puppy Chow...but that's what I've always called it.

This is a very simple and easy recipe, and it's one of my favorite sweet treats.  I do not make it very often because when I do I just want to eat it, but it's great every once in a while and excellent for get-together's.  The recipe is from the box/website of Chex cereal.  By the way, if you have some free time, check out the Chex website because they have a TON of great Chex mix recipes.  There is one with coconut and ginger that Jerm and I love.  Yummy!  So, next time you want a sweet chocolately snack, try this Puppy Chow.  Oh, and check out the substitution tip from the website....I'm definitely going to try that the next time I make this.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Choc/PB/butter.

All mixed, pre powdered sugar.

 

Post powdered sugar and cooling. 

Chex Muddy Buddies a.k.a. Puppy Chow

Ingredients

• 9 cups Corn Chex®, Rice Chex®, Wheat Chex® or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth.
3. Stir in vanilla.
4. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resalable food-storage plastic bag.
5. Add powdered sugar.
6. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Substitution:  Peanut butter and chocolate are a favorite flavor combo, but peanut butter lovers can substitute peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips to intensify that flavor.