Banana Nut Bread

Banana Nut Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened (room temp)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups pureed bananas (approx 4 medium)

2 cups all-purpose or bread flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter, gradually add sugar beating well.  

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  

Add pureed bananas, mixing until smooth.

In another bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt; add to 

creamed mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are 

moistened.  Fold in chopped nuts.

Pour batter into your choice of one large greased bread pan or

two small greased bread pans.  Bake at 375 degrees for the first 

15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 40 more minutes, or until a wooden pick or knife inserted in center comes 

out clean.  Cool in pan(s) for 10 minutes; then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks (if you can wait that long!)

~

Of course, I dusted it with confectioner's sugar

after it was completely cooled!  Magic Dust!

Note:  I doubled the above recipe to make the bundt size cake!  

Found this recipe on Country Consultant's Facebook Page!

Miscellany Monday Ramblings

Meet the Work Horse in my kitchen!

My Viking is NOT a show-off stove!  

Meaning it's not spotless.

It works harder than I do 

(hmmmm, well, it's not a competition!)

It gets used every single day ... sometimes all day.

(Wait, Hunting Season is the occasional exception 

or being out-of-town, or when mama takes the day off).

Often there are cooking marathons going on!

And, Canning Days really put it to the test!

I spent yesterday and this morning 

showing the Viking a little ♥!

It got scrubbed, and polished.  

Spit-shined, as my grandmother used to say!

That chore led to polishing its stainless neighbors.

Now, she's ready for my next cooking project!!

Sourdough Bread!

Baking cupcakes with Keller-Bug

Vats of spaghetti sauce!!

Canning Projects!

Homemade Pizzas!!

What's your kitchen work-horse?

Your go-to gadget?

Link up with Carissa @ Lowercase Letters

 and join the ramble!!

Decadence!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and what speaks louder than words?  Chocolate!!!  I'm sharing a new brownie recipe I found at The Garden of Eating Blog!  I know it's a little late in the day, but I had to wait for the taste test before posting!  I'll just say "I'm done with box brownie mixes"!!!  Bake a pan of these for your sweetie!!  I'll probably make these again and use a heart cookie cutter to make shapes I can drizzle with chocolate ganache for my dh♥ (to go along with the handmade Valentine's card I made him during craft night with my granbaby girl!)!!  ♥

{imagine a luscious, gooey, chocolaty brownie

 - because my camera card is still not loading}

Cupboard Brownies

(Makes a 9"x13" pan)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees (f) and grease the baking pan or use  parchment paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the flour, cocoa, eggs, salt and vanilla and mix well to combine.

3. Pour the batter out into the prepared baking pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick or fork comes out clean. 

Let's Eat!

COWBOY CANDY  

(pickled jalapenos/Makes 2 pints.)

1 lb fresh jalapenos

2/3 cup cider vinegar

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons mustard seed

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Slice jalapenos. (wear gloves!!)

Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boil. 

Reduce for 5 minutes to a simmer. 

Add jalapenos and simmer for 5 minutes more. 

Load sterilized jars with jalapenos first 

and add liquid filling the jars leaving a 1/4 headspace. 

Process in a water bath for 15 minutes. 

  

Or! Don't process and put in the fridge!  

They won't last long!

The Duke would be proud!


I found this recipe at SB Canning/Canning Homemade
Follow SB Canning on Facebook !!
My new Fave!!!

Link up with
Flip Flops and Pearls
and share your recipe
starting January 27th!!

Recycle! Reduce! Re-use!

Recycle!  Reduce!  Re-use! 
I'm Talkin' FOOD here!!

Did y'all watch The Big Waste on the Food Network Sunday evening?  OMG!  I'll never look at a food blemish the same way again!  I try not to throw food out.  I try to use it before it spoils.  Or, at least freeze it for later use if I'm not gonna use it right away.   I also compost peelings from vegs and fruit, eggshells, coffee and tea grounds and their filters, shredded newspaper, etc.  Black Gold is the result!

Being from the "use everything" school, I've learned a lot about using as much of the item as possible before tossing it.  For example, canning apples:  after peeling (or not!) place the peelings, cores and seeds into a separate pot to cook for awhile = natural pectin for thickening  jellies, pie fillings, etc.  Chicken carcass or beef bones?  Slow cook with water = stock!   Cold Coffee?  Iced Coffee!  Any leftover vegs, pasta or meat - toss into a freezer bag or container and make soup!  Leftover or stale bread = freeze it until there is enough for bread pudding!  And more recently, I was making garlic potatoes (any leftovers will become potato soup for our next chilly evening!).  I usually use a potato peeler so there is as little waste as possible.  This time I peeled with a paring knife, leaving some of the potato intact with the skin.  I then micro-steamed them tender and deep fried them.  Amazing potato skins! 

And!  Who doesn't love roasted garlic?  I love fresh garlic, but I took a shortcut and bought a large jar of garlic cloves to a larger amount of roasted garlic.  Normally, you would just cut off the top portion of the whole garlic exposing the cloves, drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast in foil til tender.  I just dumped the entire quart of already peeled cloves onto foil and drizzled them with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt (tightly enclosed in foil) and roasted them for an hour at 300 degrees.  Amazing results!  Tender, smooth, yummy!  I mashed a dozen with a fork and incorporated them into the mashed potatoes!  Da Bomb!  Just store in fridge or freezer til ready to use!  Add to hummus!!  Mix with buttah and spread on bread!  Add to ANYTHING!!!

On another note, I'm starting another round of juicing tomorrow.  My husband returned home with loads of produce for me!  Gotta get all this scrubbed and bagged today!  I'm shooting for a week at a time.  I may go a full 30 days again.  We'll see!

Tune in tomorrow for Semi-Wordless Wednesday!  Who knows what the topic will be?!!!