Banana Crumb Bread

I called Hubby at work to talk about a potential Christmas gift for our kids & heard his partner & captain yelling in the background, trying to talk to me over the phone. They're getting spoiled. I often bake treats and deliver a plate to the station, just to get them out of the house. The yelling was a request - for Banana Bread! So, of course I'm a sucker for requests so I hopped into the kitchen and went to work. Lucky for them I had some fairly ripe bananas on the counters waiting for me to turn them into something great!

Ingredients:


Bananas, walnuts (optional), milk, egg, margarine, baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour & sugar.

First step is to cream together the margarine & sugar.


Then add the egg & blend again.

Get your bananas all mashed up.


Add it to the mix & blend it well.


Now mix the flour, baking powder, soda & salt in a bowl. Add it to the batter.


Next stpe is to add in your milk & nuts. Do you have one of these? A food chopper? They are great. I love mine. They work for dicing up SO many things, from nuts to veggies to cooked bacon - anything you need a dice on. Depending on the number of hits you can get a finer dice. Also great for a frustrating day when you just need to hit something!! LOL


Spray your loaf pan with some PAM & pour in your batter.


Now, you can just pop it into the oven at this step, if that's your style. But... I'm an over achiever so we're taking it a little further! Grab a couple more ingredients - we're making a crumb topping! Flour, cinnamon, butter & brown sugar.


Mix your flour, sugar & cinnamon in a small bowl & mash in the butter. Keep going until it looks kinda like cornmeal. Coarse crumbs.


Throw it down over the top of your bread & it's ready to pop into the oven!


It bakes at 350 for an hour. Check on it about half way & then again about 3/4 through. Make sure the edges and/or crumb topping aren't burning. If they're looking more done then the est of the loaf just wrap some foil around the top edge of the pan. Be careful, though! It's a hot pan!!


...... and here she is! Sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifffff! Can you smell it!?


Want some!? You're gonna have to make it!!! HAHA!!

Banana Crumb Bread:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium/large ripe bananas)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp butter

In a large bowl cream together the butter & sugar. Add egg & mix well. Add bananas; mix. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda & salt. Add to the batter. Stir in milk & nuts. Pour into greased loaf pan.

In a small bowl mix brown sugar, flour & cinnamon. Using a fork, mash in the butter. Mix until it comes together like coarse crumbs - like cornmeal. Sprinkle on top of batter.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour, checking the top crust for burning periodically. If it's getting too dark tent it with foil. It's done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Every Halloween our ward (church congregation) has a Chili Cook-off & Trunk-or-Treat. I've been in charge of the chili cook-off portion of it for the past 4 years so I always make sure to drum up as much interest in it as possible - and what kind of organizer would I be if I didn't bring a pot to put in the running!!?? I only make 2 chilies... regular chili & this one: Buffalo Chicken Chili. I was amazed at the number of entries we had this year. There were 20 pots of chili & 6 pots of white chowders! Holy cow! It was a fun night full of adorable kids all dressed up in fun costumes & on candy-induced sugar highs! LOL

What you'll need:


Ground turkey (or chicken, if you want), carrots, celery, onion, garlic, olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, chipotle chili powder, bay leaf, chicken stock/broth, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, Frank's Red Hot sauce (sorry - just one of those 'brand snob' moments!)

First thing you need to do if dice up all your produce - the carrots, celery, onion & garlic. Make them small - like the size the of... hmmm.... (this is me trying to come up with a size comparison & not getting it!) Just bigger than a pea, I guess.


Put a pot on the stove & get it hot - medium-high. Put in about a tablespoon of olive oil - just turn the pan once, and add the butter. Once the butter is melted add the meat. Cook it 'til it's done, breaking it into small crumbles. You don't want big chunks of meat in this chili so go small!


Once the turkey is all cooked up (about 6-7 minutes) add in your veggies & spices. Give it a good stir & let it go for about 3-4 minutes.


Next you're gonna add all the liquids - the chicken broth, tomatoes & hot sauce. Depending on your heat tolerance you can go less on the hot sauce. I put 1/4 cup & the kids can't eat it. I can but after a few bite I start to feel the sweat beading up & my sinuses clearing! SO maybe if you're a light weight you should go for 2 Tbsp, instead of 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp).


Get it bubbling & then turn the heat down to low & let it simmer for about 30 minutes.


Smells SO good! Warm, savory chili, no beans, good veggies, white meat... and HEAT! Also, the Chipotle Chili Powder (I found mine made by the fancier line of McCormack spices) adds such a great, smokey flavor to this. Try it - you'll like it!

Buffalo Chicken Chili:

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2 pounds ground turkey or chicken
2 large carrots
3 celery stalks
1 yellow onion
5 big cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp chipotle chili powder
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
2 cups chicken broth/stock
1/4 cup Franks Red Hot sauce (or less if you want less heat)
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes

Put a pot over med-high heat & get it hot. Add oil & butter. Once butter has melted add meat. Crumble it in the pan until it's fully cooked - about 6 or 7 minutes. Add spices & produce. Let it cook another 3 or 4 minutes & add your liquids. Once it begins to bubble reduce heat & simmer for 30 minutes.

Great with crushed tortilla chips & blue cheese crumbles on top!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I love salads. And, surprisingly, I'm starting to get my young kids to love them, too! So far, I think their favorite is Caesar Salad, but my 7 year old was receptive to this one, too! Spinach is such a great super food & strawberries are packed with vitamin C, so this recipe is a great way to get all the good stuff into their bellies... oh, and gown ups love it, too!!

Here are our ingredients:


Spinach, strawberries, slivered almonds, olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, sugar, paprika & diced onion (I am a deceptive little one here - I pictured a fresh onion but then when it came down to prepping it all I tossed it back in the fridge & grabbed some diced dehydrated onion off the shelf instead! LOL Just didn't feel like having tears in my eyes for just a tablespoon of onion!)

First we'll make the dressing. Ideally, you'll mix this up about an hour before you're ready to serve it. You want to give the flavors a chance to combine really well.

I like to use a mason jar for this - just makes for easy mixing/storing but if you'd rather use a bowl that'll work just fine, too!


Add everything but the spinach, berries & nuts to the jar & then give it a good shake. For a while. Make sure to get everything thoroughly blended. (This is a fun job for the kids if you wanna get them involved!)


Now take this jar of sludge that you're probably thinking smells too strongly of Balsamic vinegar into the fridge (don't worry - the taste & smell do not match up in intensity!)

Next we'll prep that salad part of it. Wash up your spinach, hull & slice your berries & throw them into a bowl with the almonds over the top.


Mmmm.... so fresh, bright & happy!

When you're ready to serve, pour on some of the dressing. You won't need it all - I'd say maybe 2/3 at most.


Give it a toss & let it soak for about 10 minutes before dishing it up!


ENJOY!!! It's SoOoOoOoOo good!

Strawberry Spinach Salad:

1 10-oz bag of spinach
1 1-lb container of strawberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp minced onion

In a bowl or jar mix everything but the spinach, berries and almonds. Mix well & refrigerate for an hour.

Hull & slice your berries. In a large bowl mix spinach, berries and almonds. Pour dressing (not all of it!!) over salad & toss to coat. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Fully Loaded Cookies

I'm sorry... it's been FOREVER since I've posted real food! I need to get some meat back on this blog! It's been all sweets for the last several posts but I just can't help it! I've been in a baking mood - and today was no different. I had no intentions of making anything today but as the baby went down for his afternoon nap & the bigs all went out front to run amuck with the neighbor kids the bug hit me. I needed to bake. So I opened up my recipe file, looked through some of the dessert-type things & tried to decide what I'd make. But I didn't have the cream cheese for one thing or the blueberries for another or the lemon for another or the coconut for another, so instead I closed my computer & stood in front of the cupboards to see what I *did* have (and suppressed the little voice in the back of my head that kept telling me I should figure out what to make for dinner rather than making cookies!) I had half a bag of butterscotch chips, half a bag of white chips, half a bag of chocolate chips, some pecans left in the bottom of the bag, etc.... so I figured I'd throw it all together & see how it turned out! I done good. These are really good cookies! Who knew - everything but the kitchen sink!

Here are our ingredients:

Flour, brown sugar, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chips, diced pecans, oats, eggs, salt, baking soda, vanilla & margarine. I went with brown sugar in this one because it has just a little more moisture than white sugar & I figured with all the dry fixings in this cookie the dough could use a little help staying moist!

First we're gonna cream together the butter & sugar.


Then add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the vanilla.


Now mix the flour, salt & soda in a separate bowl & add it to the mixture.


Now add all the rest of the junk you found in the pantry!


Now, normally I would use my 1 Tbsp cookie scoop to measure out the cookies but today I was feeling a little frisky... I went for the 2 Tbsp scoop! I'm totally living on the edge. It's exhilarating. Simple joys. Do you have a cookie scoop? If you're answering NO then you have an assignment... GO GET ONE! Once you've used one you'll never go back to the 2-spoon method again! Seriously. Get one.


Now pop them into the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes - until they just start to change color. Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes & then cool them on a rack.

Mmmm..... Here they are!


Look inside...


SO. DARN. GOOD.

Fully Loaded Cookies:

2 sticks (1 cup) of margarine, softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups oats
1 cup white chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup diced pecans
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Cream the softened margarine & sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda. Add to creamed mixture. Add remaining ingredients & mix well.

Scoop 2-Tbsp scoops onto a cookie sheet & bake at 375 for about 10 minutes - until the color just starts to change. Cool on the pan for a few minutes & then cool completely on wire racks.

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Blueberry. French toast. Casserole. Three of the most tummy-pleasing words that can come out of a kitchen. Imagine putting them all together!! Mmmmm boy. Perfection. Ready for it? Thank you, Leigh, for this fantastic recipe!

Here are our ingredients:


French bread, milk, eggs, vanilla, white sugar, frozen blueberries, brown sugar, butter, flour, cinnamon.

First step is to chunk up your french bread. Make the cubes about 1 1/2" You don't want them too small or they'll just turn into a soupy mush, but you don't want them too big, either, because then they don't soak up all the goodness that is about to be poured on them. I usually slice the loaf into slices just over an inch wide. Then lay the slice down & cut it down the middle length wise. Then cut each strip into 3 cubes. .... but, of course, you can do whatever you want!


Take those cubes of bread & toss them into a pan that's been sprayed with PAM. The base recipe for this is meant for a 9x13 pan but we don't need that much & I'm not a big left-overs fan so i usually cut it down a bit to fit an 8x8. So, if you see that my pictures don't exactly match up with the summary recipe at the end, that's why!!

Now get a bowl & whisk the eggs, white sugar & vanilla together. Add the milk & mix it well.


Then pour it all down over the bread. & give it a good stir so that the mixture gets on everything.


There will likely be a lot of the liquid in the bottom of the pan. Don't worry! It'll all get absorbed into the bread as it sits. Your next step is to cover it & toss it into the fridge for a couple of hours. If you want this to be a morning meal you can do all this the night before & let it sit overnight.

When you're ready to cook it pull it out of the fridge & give it another good stir. Flip it all over on itself in the pan to make sure the liquid is distributed well. It'll be mushy & look pretty gross, but don't worry, the magic happens in the oven!

In a small bowl smoosh together the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon & flour. You can use a fork or a pastry blender... whatever floats your boat.

Before:


After - you want it to be a bunch of crumbles. Get the butter nicely incorporated.


Next step? Sprinkle a bunch of cinnamon over the pan of soggy bread.


Then sprinkle on the blueberries. LOTS of them!


And then add on the butter/sugar crumb mixture you just mashed up.


(totally unrelated side note but I was having a hard time keeping the baby from snatching my frozen blueberries as I was working on this! LOL I guess we found a new afternoon snack the little man will eat!)


Bake it in a 375 oven for 40-45 minutes.

I admit... I burned it a smidge. I'm sorry!


Serve it up with some good sausage & eggs, maybe some fresh fruit! All it needs is a drizzle of syrup!


EAT THIS SOON! It's great!

Blueberry French Toast Casserole:

1 1/2 - 2 loaves soft french bread, cubed (1 1/2" - 2" cubes)
3 eggs
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup flour
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon (plus a bunch for sprinkling)
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups frozen blueberries

Grease a 9x13 pan. Cube bread, throw in pan. Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk in a bowl. Add to bread; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight if you'd like to bake this for breakfast.

Topping: In a bowl mix flour, brown sugar & cinnamon; cut in the butter. Turn the bread in the pan again and sprinkle entire top with cinnamon. Scatter blueberries over the top then add topping. Bake for 40-45 minutes in a 375 oven. Serve warm with syrup.

Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Almonds

Nuts. They're full of all sorts of good nutrition. Protein, fiber, good fats, the alphabet vitamins... you know, all that healthy stuff. Are they still healthy if you smother them in sugar? I sure hope so because I love, love, love these almonds. The last weekend of every September there's a festival here called Candy Dance. It's full of crafters & other assorted vendors & a tiny little town of 225 people explodes to 30,000+ for the weekend!!! It's crazy. Well, one of the vendors I bought from several years ago was selling nuts. GOOD, sweet, crunchy pecans, almonds, cashews... they were wonderful. They were super expensive so I couldn't let myself buy too many so I came home & figured some out on my own! And they're *almost* as good as the ones I bought. And I only say almost because something about buying fresh roasted nuts in an open-air fair just makes things taste better, don't you think!!? Really, though, these are delish!

Here's your grocery list:


RAW almonds. You'll find these in the baking aisle, not in the snack aisle. You don't want ones that have already been roasted or salted or anything like that. Raw almonds. And then some brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, salt, egg white and vanilla.

First beat your egg white & then add in the vanilla. Whisk it until it gets nice & frothy, but stop before it starts to stiffen up.


Add in the almonds & toss them around until they're all wet with the mixture.


In another bowl mix together the sugars, salt & cinnamon.


Now pour it over the nuts & give it a thorough stir. You'll feel like it's too much topping but I promise you, it's not!


Now prep a baking sheet by covering it with foil & giving it a spray of PAM. I suppose you could be Earth friendly & skip the foil. But it saves me from having to wash the pan so foil wins! Laziness prevails.

Then pour the almonds onto the prepped pan & spread them out evenly. Pop them into an oven preheated to 250. They'll roast for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.


Once they're done, carefully lift the foil out of the pan & just set it on the counter top to cool. Once they're cool you can store them in an air-tight container on the counter! You might want to make a secret little stash because these will disappear fast & you will be so sad when you are ready to sink into the couch with your sweet treat as you watch The Biggest Loser, and all of these are gone! (Does anyone else ALWAYS seem to be snacking on junk as you watch that show!!?? LOL At least these are semi-healthy, right!?)

MMmmmmm.... SMELLS FANTASTIC!

Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Almonds:

1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250. Line a 10x15 pan with foil & spray it with cooking spray.

Lightly beat the egg white; add vanilla & beat until frothy but not stiff. Add nuts & stir until well coated. Mix the sugars, salt & cinnamon in a separate bowl; sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat & spread evenly on the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Allow to cool & store in an airtight container.