Banana Bread

Banana Bread

from Baking Illustrated

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan

1 ¼ cups walnuts, chopped coarse

¾ cup sugar

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 ½ cups)

¼ cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs, beaten lightly

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and walnuts together in a large bowl; set aside.
4. Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
5. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
6. The bread can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

This is my favorite banana bread recipe. Best I've ever tried. I like it with or without the nuts.

Thai noodles

This recipe is from my mom and is also posted on the Page Family Recipe Box blog. This is one that I miss a lot since my kids voted it out of the rotation. It is SO good.
Thai Noodles with Chicken and Broccoli

Sauce:
3 Tbls soy sauce
1 Tbls sesame seed oil
3 Tbls peanutbutter
1 Tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsp chili paste ( I am not sure what this is so I put 3/4tsp chili powder)
2 Tbls vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
Wisk above ingredients together and set aside.

8 oz spaghetti noodles
4 cups broccoli florets
2 carrots sliced diagonally
Boil the noodles in large pot of water for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and carrots cook an additional 3 mintues. Drain.

1 Tbls sesame seed oil
1 Tbls minced ginger root
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 lb chicken breast sliced in thin strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander (use as garnish)
Stir fry chicken garlic ginger until chicken is no longer pink. Add the above sauce to the chicken and simmer covered for 5-10 minutes. Toss with the noodles and vegetables. Garnish with the coriander.

trying something new

I have revamped my cooking habits over the last eight months, which is one reason I have been so absent here. We now eat on a weekly meal plan, for dinner at least, and it has helped in a lot of areas. Here is what we started out with:

Mondays- baked potatoes and broccoli

Tuesdays-grilled meat (usually chicken) and carrots and melon

Wednesdays-breakfast (usually pancakes and smoothie)

Thursdays-Thai noodles with broccoli

Fridays-soup and rolls

Saturdays-Mexican (usually tacos)

Sundays-Italian (usually pasta casserole or spaghetti)

I started doing this in June and it has now evolved to this:

Mondays-fish and vegetables (usually broccoli) and brown rice

Tuesdays-bbq pulled pork and carrots and mashed potatoes

Wednesdays-breakfast

Thursday-grilled burgers and corn on the cob and melon

Friday-tacos

Saturday-soup and rolls (our favorite is broccoli and cheese)

Sunday-Greek pasta and feta

We've done stir fry vegetables and rice, individual foil dinner with meat and vegetables, and a few other things that the kids fought me on week after week. Those things didn't stay in the rotation once I could think of something else healthy that I was willing to try. Some of our favorite ingredients lately are feta, laughing cow spreadable cheeses, and egg beaters. Feta is good on so many things I would never think of pairing it with. My kids love it!

Eating on a schedule like this has really simplified a lot of things for our family, like grocery shopping and planning, food storage, calorie counting (for me), and cooking time. I have loved it and recently expanded it to my other meals. I have a schedule for my breakfast and lunch and snacks that I try to stick to. It takes a lot of stress out of trying to help myself and my family eat more healthy meals.

I will be posting a few of the recipes I use a lot in this new eating plan. Most of them are very simple, but maybe they'll be helpful for you. They are all like around here, even by my six little ones. Well, the five that eat them, anyway.

Perfect Chocolate Cake

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9" baking pans.

2. Combine dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into pans.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely . Frost with "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate frosting.

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Melt butter. Stir in cocoa

2. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups.

Mini Pumpkin Tarts

Mini Pumpkin Tarts

3 packages (15 tarts each) prebaked frozen mini pastry shells

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin

2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or 3/4 tsp. cinnamon plus 1/8 tsp. nutmeg and 1/8 tsp. ginger)

1 (3.4 oz.) package cheesecake flavor instant pudding and pie filling

1. Remove shells from freezer and let thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine the pumpkin, whipped topping, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl, whisking until smooth. Add the pudding mix and whisk until smooth and thick.

3. Spoon about 1 Tbsp. of the filling into each of the shells (you can also pipe filling with a pastry bag). Then top the tarts with whipped topping and a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice.

cinnamon roll filling

Cinnamon Roll Filling

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

Pumpkin Cheesecake #2

Pumpkin Cheesecake

from Lion House Classics

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, rolled fine

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

3/4 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 cups plus 2 Tbsp. pumpkin

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 pint sour cream

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter or margarine. Press firmly onto bottom and sides of 9 or 10 inch springform pan. Whip cream cheese in mixer bowl; gradually add sugar, then eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Mix well; add to cream cheese mixture. Pour filling into crust. Bake at 300 degrees for 55 minutes. Whip sour cream; add sugar and vanilla. Spread on top of cheesecake and return to oven. Bake 10 more minutes. Cool before removing sides from springform pan. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Regrigerate until ready to serve.