Making up for Lost Time - Quick Banana Bread

So I feel like I owe you folks a few more recipes. So I'm going through my recipe box to share a couple more favorites. This Banana bread recipe is perfect for when you have over-ripe bananas laying around. They can be completely black and the bread will still taste delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour (whole grain wheat flour works too - use 1-1/2 cups)
• 2-1/4 teaspoons double acting baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (softened - not melted-butter will work in a pinch)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind (optional)
• 1-2 beaten eggs (more eggs = fluffier more cake-like bread)
• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups banana pulp (use a fork to mush the banana into a measuring cup)
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional, but I like walnuts and pecans, and sometimes I use a full cup!)

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend next 3 ingredients until creamy. Beat in eggs and banana pulp. Add the sifted mixture in about 3 parts, beating until smooth after each addition. Fold in Nuts. Place the batter in a greased bread pan and bake for about an hour. You can also make 3-4 mini loaves, which cook in 35-45 minutes.

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Oh my goodness, has it really been nearly a month since my last recipe? Oh this just won't do! Here's tonight's dinner - Creamy Tomato Bisque. I love it served with a salad and French Bread, but if you need to serve more people, use it as a sauce on Pasta! I actually got this recipe from my friend Karol. She thought of it when we shared our dinner at Palermo, Elk Grove's best Italian Ristorante! I made a few adjustments, mostly due to not shopping in advance!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup chopped onions (chop them as small as possible! A pampered Chef food chopper works wonders!)
• 3/4 cup unsalted (I used salted) butter
• pinch dill seed
• dash dill weed
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (add an extra can of tomatoes if tripling recipe)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• pinch white pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (I used some fresh, some dried)
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup gorgonzola or parmesean cheese

Directions:
If you have a food processor - get it out. You'll need it to puree the soup. If you DON'T have a food processor, I advise chopping the onions to smithereens before cooking, and combining all other veggies and herbs in a blender before they go in the soup pot.

In a large pot, saute onions in 6 Tbsp. butter along with dill seed, dill weed, and herbs for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and chicken broth and heat.

Make a roux (thickening paste) by blending 4 Tbsp. butter and 4 Tbsp. flour, whisking constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes, without browning. Add roux to soup and whisk to blend. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add chopped parsley, honey, cream, half and half and cheese. Remove from heat and puree. Strain. (I just poured it through a wire strainer). Reheat to serve. Since this soup is thin, it is best served in a mug. Dip Fresh warm french bread in it if you like!

Katherine's Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Okay gang - I'm still not cooking much, but I wanted to pass along this recipe I got from Katherine. She sent some of these treats with me on my recent camping trip, and they are my new favorite food!

Oatmeal Fudge Bars
Crust and Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats (I used 1/2 cup quick, 1/2 cup old fashioned, you can also use entirely old fashioned)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp instant espresso or instant coffee (K hates coffee. So she used 2 tsp hot chocolate powder, so that's an option)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 egg

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees, make sure there's a middle rack.

Line 8" square baking pan with foil. Grease the sides and bottom.

Whisk oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in melted butter until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture for the topping.Sprinkle remaining oat mixture into prepared pan and press into an even layer covering the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until a light golden brown, about 8 minutes (I gave it 20 minutes).

Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour (oh heck no, I gave it 10 minutes, psh!)For the filling, whisk the flour, sugar, instant espresso/coffee (or hot chocolate powder), and salt together in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter together, stirring often, about 1-3 minutes (I think it took me 1 minute and 15 seconds, check it about every 30 seconds, you do NOT want to overheat chocolate). Let cool slightly (eh, a minute or so). Stir egg into melted chocolate. Stir in flour mixture until just combined.Spread chocolate filling evenly over the crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture (kinda press it into the chocolate so it really sticks). Bake bars until the topping starts to brown and the filling starts to pul away from the edges, about 25-30 minutes. (I think I gave it at least 40 minutes, but I kinda forgot to write it down at the time).Let bars cool in the pan, on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares of desired size, and serve (super yummy warm!)

Chicken Casserole from Kristen

So this may be what all the Nesties call Salsa Chicken, but I first tasted it at Kristen and Domenick's house, after painting with them for the afternoon. Hunger may be the best sauce, but I think this casserole is going to be a family favorite, even when we're not starved!

Kristen's Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 cloves garlic
• small onion, sliced
• bell pepper, sliced
• 1 jar salsa (approx. 12 oz.)
• 8-10 small corn tortillas
• corn (optional)
• 1 bag pre-grated Mexican cheese blend

Brown chicken chunks, and add garlic, onion and bell pepper. Let veggies heat about 3 minutes, add Salsa and corn, cook just long enough to heat through. Remove from heat.
Line bottom of a 9x13 with tortillas, tearing if necessary, to fit. Layer 1/3 chicken mixture, 1/3 cheese, and another layer of tortillas. repeat with remaining ingredients, making sure cheese is on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, and then allow to cool for 15 minutes on the counter before serving.

My Favorite Spinach salad

I was really hating salads for a while there, until I "discovered" baby spinach. It's got tons of vitamins, but doesn't taste as bitter as some of the other dark leaf lettuces. So when we eat salads these days, the lettuce is almost always baby spinach. Try my Favorite Spinach Salad, or just add your own toppings and post what combos you love!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag pre-washed baby spinach
• 1 crisp apple, cored & chopped (but I leave the skin on)
• 1/2 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts
• raspberry vinegarette

Directions:
This is pretty easy - it's a salad! Place the spinach on individual plates or bowls. Top with the apple, feta and walnuts. Add dressing sparingly.
My tip for the apples - use a peeler/corer/slicer without peeling, and then just cut the spiral apple in wedges for the right sized chunks. Toss with lemon juice if you're not serving right away, this will keep the apples from browning so quickly.

A quick dessert tip...

So in the interest of speed and simplicity, I made 70 second cake last night, but with a twist! First of all, I doubled the recipe, to 1 cup mix, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons oil and 4 tablespoons water. I made the batter and "baked" it while I was cooking dinner, using a ceramic cereal bowl. A double batch needs about 90 seconds. I then turned the cake out of the bowl and onto a plate, and stuck it in the fridge. I mixed up some german chocolate frosting with the recipe below, and put the mixing bowl of frosting in the fridge as well. When we were done eating, I grabbed the cake and frosting, spread the frosting on the cake and we had a lovely mini-german chocolate cake for 2. Okay, it's actually cake for 4, since I still have half the cake left, but it was a great size for dessert.

Here's the recipe for my German Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk (I may try sweetened, condensed milk next time, but my recipe said evaporated)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1-1/2 cups coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
In a small saucepan, beat yolks, and add milk and sugar. Blend well. Add butter, and heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Cook for about 12 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened. Add remaining ingredients and allow to cool. Spread on Chocolate cake. If you really want to be fancy, slice the cake into two layers, and spread frosting between them also! You'll have plenty of leftover frosting. Throw it in a ziplock in the fridge, and make cake again next week!

Smashing Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 large can of 100% pumpkin
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• dash salt and pepper
• 2 cans coconut milk

Directions:
In a large pot, melt buttter over medium high heat. Add onion, and cook until soft. Add broth, pumpkin, onions and spices, and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, and remove from heat. Stir in coconut milk. Test. If the coconut milk made the soup too cool, heat on low for 10-15 minutes, but do not boil!
I served this with a Spinach Salad and garlic bread, and it ended up being a really filling meal! I'll post my spinach salad recipe next.