Banana Bread

 

Sometimes it pays to try a new recipe.  I tend to think that all recipes are the same and get stuck in a rut…especially with banana bread, chocolate chips cookies, brownies, etc.  There are two recipes for banana bread generally followed in my kitchen.  This may be the new ONE.  For some reason, this has a better crisp to the crust and it’s lighter than either of my other recipes.  I’m always on the lookout for a 4-H project, and had asked Angelina to try this recipe last week.  She didn’t have time, and those brown bananas on the counter were just begging to be used in something.  Here’s a picture…and here’s the recipe.  Try it for yourself!

 

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

½ c Coconut Oil – melted

1 c Sugar

1 c Mashed Bananas

2 Tbs Greek Yogurt – plain or vanilla bean

¼ c Milk

1 tsp Lemon Juice

2 c Flour

1 ½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream coconut oil and sugar together. Add eggs and beat. Add mashed bananas, milk, lemon juice and Greek Yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined. Pour into a prepared bread pan (coated with oil or non-stick spray). Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean.

At your repeated request!

Blueberry French Toast

Yield: 8-12 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

12-14 slices day old bread (I used a large loaf of French bread cut into 1” cubes)

2 (8oz.) pkgs. cream cheese 

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

 

DIRECTIONS:  Cut bread into 1” cubes.  Place half into greased 9x13-inch pan.  cut cream cheese into 1-inch cubes and place over bread cubes.  top with blueberries and remaining bread.  In large bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk and syrup.  Mix well and pour over bread.  Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 25-30 minutes more or until golden brown and center is set.

SAUCE

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbls. cornstarch

1 cup water

DIRECTIONS: In saucepan, combine sauce ingredients.  Bring to boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in 1 cup blueberries.  Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes until berries burst.  Put sauce into pour pitcher to serve over hot dish. 

 

**This dish reheats fabulously!  We ate it almost three days in a row and enjoyed every bite.  I didn’t think to take a picture, but it looks wonderful, too.

Strawberry Scones

 

First saw these on Regan’s, then had to link  and link to find them here!  I planned to freeze them for next week, but I snuck a taste before they cooled completely.  Utterly light and delightful! 

My only issue is that the batter doesn’t make enough to completely fill my mini scone pan.  I’ll find a way to adjust and add about a quarter more to the dough (there are plenty of strawberries to accommodate) and fill the remaining 4 scone forms.  Either that or I need to make them all smaller!

My notes and changes are italicized.

Strawberry Scones

Yields: 6 large scones or 12 mini scones

Ingredients:

1 cup diced strawberries (or other fruit)

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons butter, cubed

2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk*

Topping:

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. I used a mini scone pan.

If using larger fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle fruit with ½ tablespoon sugar; set aside. Be sure to dice the pieces small or they tend to fall out of the dough. They’ll still be plenty prominent in your finished scones.

Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter, using a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut in butter (you may want to use your dingers to be sure butter is evenly mixed into flour). Stir in fruit; then add cream/half-and-half/buttermilk all at once. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together. I chose to add the fruit last because I didn’t want it to break up when I was mixing the dough. I also chose to eliminate the kneading, as the dough was fully incorporated by mixing in the bowl.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don’t break up the berries and don’t overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky.

Press the dough into a circle ¾ inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into the dough. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving ½ inch of space between them.

Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5-10 minutes more or until the tops are beginning to brown and spring back when you push them (This took another 15-20 minutes in my oven, but keep a careful watch and check every 5 minutes – you do not want dry scones!). (The sprinkling of sugar over the top for the last few minutes of baking creates a simple, sparkly topping.) My scones were done after a total baking time of 25 minutes.

* I used slightly more (maybe 1 Tablespoon) than 2/3 cup to hold the batter together.

Amaretto French Toast

 

On our recent vacation with my side of the family, each of the ‘sibling’ families took turns in the kitchen.  My brothers Eric and Doug paired up for a couple breakfasts (Doug’s wife wasn’t able to make the trip - something about being 8 mos. along in her third pregnancy and 12 hours away from her doctor in December/January in Montana where snowstorms are frequent – we missed you, Laura!). 

My brother Eric in the foreground and Doug in the background.

 

Mmmmm … helpers or samplers??

 

Anyway, these two brothers served this AMAZING dish one morning and received rave reviews all around.  Absolutely YUMMY!  Five stars, I’m telling you!!

I made the recipe today just to relish it once more.  I made it with French bread;  my brothers used English Muffin bread.  Both are tasty.

Tip:  If you want more Amaretto flavor, slice the bread thinner.  I grill this on a griddle placed over the burners on my cooktop.  I’ve found that a lower heat works better and prevents burning (if the bread is soaked longer).

 

Amaretto French Toast

Makes about 6 servings or 18

Ingredients
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup half and half
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Amaretto
9 tablespoons butter or margarine
18 slices brioche or egg bread (English Muffin bread and French bread work nicely, too)

Directions
In a shallow dish, whisk together all ingredients. Place bread slices into dish. Let soak for a bit, flip and let other side soak.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. When melted, retrieve slices from egg mixture and add to skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining slices.

Harvest Apple Bake

In my quest to find recipes that use a LOT of eggs, I came across this breakfast dish that is prepared & refrigerated overnight.  I found the recipe online at Iowa Egg Council’s website … www.iowaegg.org … I found a few other recipes to try later on, too.

Harvest Apple Bake

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 1 loaf French bread
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbls. vanilla
• 1 Tbls. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 7 medium sized cooking apples (Granny Smith is one variety)
• 2 Tbls. butter

Directions:

Slice bread into 1 1/2 inch slices.  Place bread tightly together in a 9x13 inch greased pan.  In a bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, cream, and vanilla for about 30 seconds.  Pour half of egg mixture over bread.  Peel, core, and slice apples.  Place sliced apples on top of bread to cover and pour the rest of the egg mixture evenly over the apples.  Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Sprinkle evenly over the top of apples.  Dot with butter.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve warm with syrup and a dot of whipped cream.  YUM!

Quiche Supper

I’ve become a fan of quiche.  I wouldn’t have said that a year ago, because I hadn’t even made a quiche before Easter 2009.  However, it’s a great way to use up bits of meat, veggies, and cheese … and it’s quick!

Quick Quiche
Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1/2 & 1/2 or milk
• 1/2 cup vegetables, cooked
• 3/4 cup diced meat – ham, chicken, shrimp, etc.
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese – cheddar, swiss, colby, etc.  (swiss is my favorite)
• salt & pepper to taste
• Other extras: chopped green onion, chopped chives, chopped parsley, dash of nutmeg

Directions:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray or butter a 9” pie dish.  Beat the eggs and mix in the cream.  Add the vegetables, meat and cheese.  Mix thoroughly.  Add seasoning.  Pour mixture into the pie dish. 
 
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until just set in the center. **I needed to bake my quiche for 20 minutes longer.  Be prepared for that!**  Let set 10 minutes before serving.

Note:  I usually bake pies/quiche, and anything I ‘think’ might boil over, on a large pizza pan.  Save me from having to put up with a burnt smell until I have time to thoroughly clean the oven.

Buckwheat Pancake Mix #2

Buckwheat Pancake Mix #2
Yield: 7.5 cups

Ingredients:
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
7/8 cups powdered eggs*
3/4 cup dry buttermilk powder
1 1/2 Tbls. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk.  Store in an airtight container.  Can be kept in the pantry for about a month or in the refrigerator/freezer for 6 months. 

To Prepare:
1 cup buckwheat pancake mix #2
1/2 cup water
2 Tbls. melted butter

Stir the water and pancake mix together in a small bowl.  If batter is too thick, add a bit more water and stir again.  Drop approximately 1/4 cup onto hot skillet.  Makes 4 pancakes.  Double or triple as necessary.

*Can substitute 1/3 cup soy flour for the powdered eggs. 

Buckwheat Pancake Mix

As a child, I can remember enjoying a little pancake variety.  Sometimes, fruit such as banana slices or blueberries (my personal favorite) would be added.  Occasionally, my mom would purchase buckwheat pancake mix created by an in-state company.

For Lent, we are not going to buy any additional cold cereal  We’ll finish up what’s in the pantry and then necessarily be more creative.  Yes, it will take more time in the morning, but we always have breads (bagels, english muffins, homemade bread), fruit, oatmeal and eggs on hand.  Another goal is to teach the older kids how to make some easy breakfast dishes, including pancakes.

To cut down on pancake preparation time, I made up a double batch of buckwheat pancake mix.  There are many variations, but this is the recipe I created after examining the ingredients I had on hand.

Buckwheat Pancake Mix #1
Yield: Approximately 7.5  cups mix

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 1/2 Tbls. baking powder
1 Tbls. salt
1/2 cup sugar

Storage:
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with a whisk.  Transfer the mixture to a resealable container.  Store in pantry for about 1 month, or in the refrigerator/freezer for 6 months.


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Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup Buckwheat Pancake Mix
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 Tbls. melted butter

Directions:
Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl.  If batter seems to thick, add more milk and stir again.  Drop by 1/4 cup-fuls onto a hot skillet.  Makes approximately 4 pancakes.  Double or triple the recipe as necessary.

Sour Cream Sourdough Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake Ingredients:
1/2 cup King Arthur sourdough starter (I'm sure any sourdough starter will work)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and sourdough starter. Beat until smooth, then stir in sour cream.
2. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Mix until blended.
3. Grease and flour a tube pan or bundt pan (I used cooking spray with flour).
4. Spread half the batter in the pan. Spread the filling over the top, then top with remaining batter.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

This is one of the lightest coffee cakes I have ever made. I'm going to try it out in a 13"x9" pan with the filling sprinkled over the top. If it works, I'll make it for our upcoming homeschool book sale's breakfast menu.

I've always wondered, do coffee cakes count for breakfast or dessert ... maybe it just depends upon when you eat it!

Sourdough Starter

At Easter, my sister brought a catalog from the King Arthur Flour Company. All of us women-folk perused the magazine which boasted of wonderful baking mixes and helpful kitchen utensils. We all ordered a few things that we needed or wanted to try and bundled our orders to receive free shipping. I ordered more of those handy bag clips ... mine had all disappeared in the past few weeks (or maybe they were all being used) ... and a crock and starter for sourdough.

The starter arrived separately, because the plastic shipping jar was damaged in the first shipment. The company quickly replaced the starter and it arrived at my home last Friday. I was amazed at the small amount - not even a tablespoon! The first step was to add 2 tablespoons lukewarm water to loosen it from the plastic shipping jar. Then I was instructed to go through a series of steps where I mixed in water and flour. Twice I discarded half of the mixture and then added more water and flour. I felt like I was throwing out a lot of flour.

The starter is 'resting' right now. I'm at the point where I either need to use or refrigerate the starter. Since I kept both portions this time, I'm going to refrigerate half in the crock and use the other half for waffles tomorrow morning. The waffle recipe asks that you start a 'sponge' overnight, so I'll need to plan ahead to make waffles.

This is the crock, which will be used to store my starter in the refrigerator. Isn't it cute?

Sourdough is wonderful when used for grilled cheese sandwiches. I just hope my sourdough bread is tasty! I have a feeling sourdough has a learning curve, but it also seems forgiving (at least according to the directions that were included).

*The sourdough waffles turned out yummy this morning. Everyone who ate, really liked the flavor. A couple of my kids had already eaten -VERY early risers - so I had plenty of leftovers for tomorrow morning. I'm also going to freeze about a dozen of the 4"x4" squares. I haven't done that before, and am hoping the toaster can revive them to taste almost like freshly made waffles.

Hash Brown and Ham Quiche

This is one of the dishes I served at our Saturday morning Brunch. It disappeared so fast ... I only tasted a few scrappings from the bottom of the pie plate. The scraps were tasty enough to entice me to prepare it again today! Who says quiche is only for the breakfast hours....

With our large group, I made one and one half of this recipe and it fit in my large ceramic pie plate (about 10-11") However, be forewarned that it will take about 25 minutes extra to bake it completely (and, if you bake it longer, make sure to cover the top with foil for the last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning).

Hash Brown and Ham Quiche

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

4 cups hash browns, shredded, frozen

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

3 Tbls. butter, divided

1 medium onion, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

2 tsp. all purpose flour

1 cup diced pre-cooked ham

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese - colby jack, cheddar, mexican blend, whatever you have on hand (I forgot to spread this over the top for our brunch, but no one noticed!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Nicely browned hash browns.

2. In a large skillet, saute the hash browns, salt and pepper in 2 Tablespoons butter until lightly browned. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 inch pie plate. In the same skillet, saute the onion and green pepper in remaining butter. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the flour. Stir in the ham, eggs, and milk. Pour into the hash brown crust.

Sauted green pepper and onion, above. The Hash Brown and Ham Quiche ready to bake in the oven, below.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Egg in the Hole

This is a favorite breakfast from childhood and late night college gatherings. In childhood, we seasoned with salt and pepper. In college, we were a bit more adventurous with the spices and tried almost anything ... then dared the recipient of our concoction to 'eat it all'!! No one ever refused the meal ... but, I stick to the salt and pepper, nowadays.

Egg in the Hole

Yield: 1 serving, but easily multiplied

Ingredients:

1 slice bread

1 large egg

butter

Tear a hole large enough for the egg yolk in the center of the bread (eat the raw bread - no waste here). You can either butter the bread, or put the dab of butter in the pan to prevent sticking and help in toasting the bread. Place the bread in a hot skillet. The skillet should be large enough to hold the slice of bread.

Crack open the egg and drop in the hole in the center of the bread slice.

Fry until the botton of the egg is 'set'. Flip the egg and bread combination over and fry on the other side until your desired doneness is met.

I like to be able to dunk the toast, but some prefer the egg to be completely done.

Raspberry Syrup

I purchased bulk, frozen raspberries from a food coop quite some time ago. Many of you might have given them over to compost it was so long ago. But, even with freezer age, I cannot throw out the berries! Their taste might be slightly compromised (okay, when I first brought them home, they were amazingly sweet and delicious, so I am expecting a less than ideal syrup flavor), but I think I can salvage them for our use here at home. Sugar makes pretty much anything taste good, and Raspberry Syrup will be a treat on pancakes, waffles or French toast on an upcoming Lenten Sunday.

Raspberry Syrup

Yield: Approximately 6 cups

Ingredients
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch.
2. Stir in water.
3. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil.
4. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in the raspberries, cooking gently over low heat until the syrup reaches your desired thickness.

WOW, am I impressed! I cannot detect a hint of freezer age in the syrup. And, the color is beautiful.

I did not strain the raspberries for this recipe. Some people may find the syrup more pleasing if about 1/2 of the seeds are strained out and if the berries are crushed. I just did not want to take the extra time when I couldn't be sure of results with using old berries. In hindsight, I could have taken this extra step.

I've saved glass syrup jars that have been purchased or given as gifts over the years. I prefer glass over plastic, and therefore give up the safety feature of a squeeze bottle! Since I don't have a funnel large enough to allow the berries to pass through, I made a foil funnel to transfer the syrup into jars.

Homemade Yogurt

Graham's favorite breakfast and snack is yogurt. He could eat his way through a 32 oz. (2 Lb.) container in one day, if I let him. Needless to say, I've bought a lot of yogurt and have probably supplied close to a quarter of the used containers for our church's kitchen!

I've felt a little guilty, though ... I own a Yogourmet electric yogurt maker and haven't made use of it. I tried about a year ago, and the batch never did set up. I was discouraged and resolved not to try again until I had done more research on yogurt recipes. Well, I went and tried it again ... so much for research! The result?? This time it set up beautifully. Just like yogurt I'd purchase at the store. I'm not sure what went wrong the first time, but I'm definitely fired up to try this again.

The best part is that Graham loved the homemade yogurt. He likes cinnamon sugar sprinkled over top if the yogurt is plain, so I don't even add flavoring or fruit. Furthermore, I can use homemade yogurt as starter for the next batch (as long as it has active culture) and save money.


Homemade Yogurt
Yield: 32 oz.

1 quart 2% milk*
5g Yogourmet-Bifidus-Acidophilus-Probiotic-Starter

1. Pour 1 quart of milk into a pot. Heat for one or two minutes at 82 degrees C or until the milk comes to a boil.

2. Allow the milk to cool to between 44-45 degrees C. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pan in cold water. Then pour the cooled milk into the batch jar (inner container).

3. Add lukewarm water to the lower level marker (this is the level for 1 quart - it amounts to about 8oz. of water) inside your Yogourmet maker. Plug in the appliance and make sure the red light comes on.

4. Pour 1/2 package of starter into a cup and gradually add five or six tablespoons of the cooled milk. Once the starter is completely dissolved, emply into the cooled milk in the batch jar and stir. Be careful on this step, as it is essential to mix well to ensure the starter and milk are blended evenly.

5. Cover the batch jar with its lid, slip into the yogurt maker and place the cover on the yogurt maker. Incubate for about 4 hours or until the desired consistency is reached. I incubated the yogurt for 5 1/2 hours.

6. To stop the incubation process, take the batch jar out of the yogurt maker and refrigerate it for about 8 hours. The yogurt is then ready to serve. It will keep for approx. 3 weeks if kept cold, but it is best within the first week.

*Different types of milk can be used. Whole milk produces thicker yogurt. If using skim milk, you can add up to 1 cup of milk powder for a firmer, but yet still soft yogurt. I did an internet search and found a wide variety of recipes using different types of milk.

If you don't own a Yogourmet, a thermos can be used.

Mini-Cooking Session

**Sadly, my camera is having a fit. I didn't realize the pictures were all lined and grainy until the day was done and I was importing them into the post. So, no pictures of the days work for viewing. Technology is both wonderful and frustrating!

The day started quite early . . . I woke up at 5:30a and couldn't get back to sleep. Rather than lay there thinking about sleep, I got up and started the mini-cooking session. I had planned to make seven different entrees, but quickly realized that I wouldn't have the energy to complete those and chose to scale back to five. The five I chose to prepare were Breakfast McBiscuits x12, Chicken Enchiladas x1, Chicken Rice Soup x2, Italian Sausage Soup x2 and Taco Soup x2.

6a - You can't start a Saturday morning without a little bit of laundry, so that's where I began! One load folded, one transferred to the dryer and one started in the washer. Now, on to transferring the meat, biscuits & produce out of storage and into the kitchen.

7a - The majority of ingredients for Italian Sausage Soup are in the crock pot and cooking. The Italian sausage is browned and reserved with the Mexican tomatoes to be added later.

8a - Biscuits are baked, 1st batch of bacon ready (some McBiscuits are prepared and eaten for breakfast!), hamburger for Taco Soup browned and the chicken breasts are in the process of being poached. I took a few minutes to wash dishes that I will need later.

8:30a - Taco Soup is simmering on the stove, the rice cooker is started, and the 2nd batch of bacon is in the oven.

9a - Taco Soup is cooling, Chicken Rice Soup is simmering, and the chicken is poached and diced.

9:30a - Preparation for the enchilada sauce is underway; and the enchiladas are rolled and arranged in a 13x9 pan. Bacon is done & placed on paper towels to cool.

10a - Chicken Enchiladas in the fridge to cool. Bacon stored in frig for later.

10:45a - Italian Sausage Soup ingredients are mixed together and left to cool on the stovetop. Washed up the dishes by hand or in the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen.

11:45a - Re-heated one pot of Italian Sausage Soup for Dinner! Everyone cleaned their bowls so they could have a Peanut Butter Cup Pie treat.

1p - Everything cleaned and put away, soups (save for the Italian Sausage Soup - which still needs to cool) are double bagged & put in the freezer. Time for a break - Chai Tea and check laundry.

2:30p - Italian Sausage Soup double bagged and into the freezer. I'm now ready to fry eggs and assemble Breakfast McBiscuits.

3:30p - The Mini-Cooking Session is done! The kitchen is back to it's normal state & ready for my oldest ds to prepare his Redwall Feast (He's already got a good start on it. Somewhere during all the above activities, he found time to prepare the October Ale and bake both the Hare's Haversack Crumble and Loamhedge Legacy Nutbread. He takes after me - make sure the sweets are prepared first!)