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.

An old favorite…

 

I’ve been a Cooking Light subscriber for years – since 1998, if I remember right.  This recipe was printed in their Jan/Feb 2001 issue and was one I tried almost right away and continued to use on homemade pizza (the Chicago-Style Pizza) for a number of years.  Then I put the magazine on a bookshelf, forgot about it, moved it to the farm, and just now found it again.  The page is still marked and it’s been on my shelf for over 10 years!  Time to take it off the shelf.

Atsa Spicy  Pizza Sausage

Yield: 5 cups

 

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. ground pork

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

2 Tbl. grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbl. fennel seeds

1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, crushed

DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble.  Drain.

Note:  The sausage can be frozen in zip-top plastic bags for up to 3 months.

Santa Lucia’s Braided Bread

 

Link to the recipe at the Family Fun site is here.  My only change was to add 1/4 tsp. of pure orange extract to the glaze because I thought it wasn’t flavored enough with just orange juice. 

I’d also like to try decreasing the recipe so that it fits in my bread machine.  This does make a huge amount of dough, so half the recipe would be enough for one meal or snack-time for our family.  I suppose if I’d have known ahead of time or actually read through the recipe last week, I could have made two rings and frozen one for later.  This time, we are just enjoying the leftover.

While I’d considered making the bread last week, I wasn’t prepared and it’s just been so hectic.  So, this was a little last minute… didn’t start on the dough until after lunch (I’m just too needed in the school-room until at least lunch/dinner).  It wasn’t baked until about 4pm and I frosted it before it was cooled because I’m just soooo impatient – and it smelled incredibly wonderful.

So, to celebrate the Feast of St. Lucy, we ate this wonderful bread and listened to her story – all because there happened to be a reminder to ‘read a story about the saint for today’ in Zeke’s syllabus.  No dressing up, no candles, no waking up early, just thankful to be reminded of our beautiful faith and trying to live it out in the smallness of our day.

Never Fail Pie Crust …

for real … it’s never failed me.  Even when I’ve used whole wheat pastry flour or substituted coconut oil for the shortening.  The coconut oil, by the way, is delicious!

Never Fail Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 heaping Tbls. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup lard, Crisco, butter or coconut oil
• 1 egg yolk
• Milk

 

Directions:

Mix together with a fork the flour, sugar, salt and shortening.  Slightly beat the egg yolk and add enough milk for 2/3 cups liquid.  Mix together the 2 mixtures.  Makes four 1-crust pies or 2 double crust pies.

*If you use coconut oil, you may need to add an additional 1/3 cup flour for the correct texture & ‘roll-ability’.

**I have frozen the dough with good results.  Divide the dough into four portions.  For the portions you will freeze,  put each in a ziploc baggie.  Then, place them in another baggie – essentially double bag them.  Thaw fully in the refrigerator before using the dough.  The outside of the dough ball may be slightly colored upon thawing, but the color won’t be noticeable after baking.

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