Banana Bread

An old family recipe.

Printable Recipe

Makes 1 loaf

1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 medium bananas, mashed
2 tbsp sour milk (add 1/2 tsp cider vinegar to the milk)
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, combine the flour, soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternately with the bananas and sour milk. Pour batter in a greased loaf pan. Bake 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Iced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These are so good, with or without the icing. They are buttery and chewy - make them crisp by baking them just a little longer. I love them with raisins, but you can add dried cherries instead, if you prefer.

Printable Recipe
 
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup raisins 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat in just until combined. Stir in the oatmeal and raisins by hand.

Drop dough in rounded tablespoons about 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until browned around the edges. Let cookies stand on the cookie sheet for 1 minute before removing to cool on a wire rack.

If desired, drizzle with this glaze. It will dry to a hard, shiny finish.

Glaze
1 cup pwd sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp warm water

Stir together until well blended.

Oven (Apple) Pancake

Printable Recipe

These are so good! They will puff up during baking, but then deflate once out of the oven. In fact, the pancake for this photo really puffed up a lot, but as my daughter was taking the photos, it quickly deflated. Nevertheless, it was still delicious! They sort of taste like a sweet popover. Serve them with melted butter and maple syrup, and bacon on the side. You can omit the apples, if desired. This recipe makes 2 pancakes, but you can easily increase the ingredients to make more. I have changed the amounts used, to make a thicker pancake. Changes are in red. The changes make 2 pancakes.


4 eggs  (6 eggs)
3/4 cup milk   (1 cup plus 2 tbsp) 
3/4 cup flour   (1 cup plus 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp salt   (3/4 tsp)

1/4 cup butter   (6 tbsp)
2 medium tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced   (I don't measure the apple slices - I just put in ... whatever)

1/4 cup sugar   (6 tbsp)
1/4 tsp cinnamon   (1 tsp)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place 2 round 9" cake pans in the oven and heat up. Beat the eggs, flour, milk and salt in a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, for one minute. Remove the pans from the oven and place 2 tbsp of the butter in each pan. Rotate the pans until the butter is completely melted and coats the pans completely.

Divide the apple slices between the pans, arranging them in the bottom. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and divide between the two pans, sprinkling evenly over the batter.

Bake, uncovered, 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Monkey Bread

This is very good. If you don't like the caramel in "regular" Monkey Bread, then this recipe is for you.

adapted from a Kraft Foods recipe

Printable Recipe

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 cans (7.5 - oz each) Pillsbury refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, divided ( I use the kind where there are 4 canisters bundled together, and have blue wrappers)
1/2 cup plus 2 - 3 tbsp butter, melted

Grease a 9 x 13" pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large, shallow bowl. Cut each biscuit into eighths and roll around in the sugar/cinnamon mixture until completely coated. Drop the biscuits into the cake pan. When you've used 2 of the cans, drizzle half of the butter over the biscuit pieces. Repeat layer with the other 2 cans of biscuits and then drizzle with the remaining butter. Bake 350 degrees for about 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Drizzle with a Basic Buttercream Frosting or a Cream Cheese Frosting while still warm.

If desired, use maple flavoring in place of vanilla extract if using the buttercream frosting.

Note
While I used a bundt pan this time, to make these, I do prefer using a 9x13" pan. That way, more of the biscuit pieces get "toasted", because there is more surface area. With a bundt pan, the majority of the pieces are softer. I prefer them more toasted than that. (You know what I mean? I'm having difficulty explaining it. :] )

Strawberry Cupcakes

You know the old adage, if at first you don't succeed, try again? Well follow that, and you might just be glad that you did! I found this recipe on Annie's Eats blog. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that strawberries are in season, and the cupcakes look so darn good on Annie's blog. So I made them and they smelled great while baking, but it wasn't until after I got them out of the oven that I realized I didn't add enough flour! (I had been distracted when I was measuring it out.) Don't you just hate when that happens? What a waste of time and ingredients!

At first I wasn't sure I should, but then I decided to try making them again. Boy, am I glad I did! I followed the recipe for the frosting, but decided I wanted more of a traditional white icing. I mixed it together, adding the vanilla extract as is called for, maybe a little less because as I was adding it, I remembered I had some strawberry extract. So I added some of that too, and also added a drop or two of red food coloring. The result was delicious! Original source of the recipe for the cupcakes and frosting can be found here.
 
Printable Recipe

I got 24 cupcakes out of this.

For the cupcakes
2  1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1  1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped strawberries

For the frosting
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1  1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
 
Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl and set aside.  With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time until combined.  Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Fold in chopped strawberries.  Fill cupcake wells 3/4 full with batter.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting, puree strawberries in food processor.  Strain through a mesh sieve to remove seeds, and set aside.  Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Add lemon juice, vanilla and strawberry puree. (You will have to push this through your sieve, if it is too fine.) Frost the cupcakes.

As I said, I wanted a different frosting, so I just made a white icing and added strawberry extract along with a drop or two of red food coloring. I didn't follow a recipe - I just threw it all together. I'll give the approximations of what I used, but I'm sure either you have your own recipe, or you can find one online. You could certainly do without the vanilla extract if you wish and just use the strawberry extract, but even with it, the flavors worked well together.

Vanilla Powdered Sugar Icing
1/4 cup butter, melted
2-3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk, or more as needed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 1 tsp strawberry extract

Beat together the butter and sugar. Add the milk and extract, beat until smooth. Add additional milk, if needed.

And if you happen to have any leftover frosting, make these: (Brings back memories of when I was little, my mother would do this.)

Fried Rice

This is my sister's recipe and has long ago, become a family favorite! Fried rice is pretty versatile, so you can add just about anything.

Step 1 ...

Step 2 ...

Step 3 ...  
(sorry the picture made this look so red - it's really not that red)

Printable Recipe

Step 1
4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 green onions, sliced - use the greens, too
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 - 2 tbsp minced, peeled gingerroot

Step 2
3 bags of Uncle Ben's Boil-in-a-Bag Rice, cooked - see my note below

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 pkgs Sun-Bird Fried Rice seasoning packet - you'll find this in the Asian section of your grocery store

Step 3
3 eggs, scrambled in a bit of butter - without milk or water added
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup snap peas, cut in half  - I don't use these. I add some frozen corn, instead
1/2 cup shredded carrots
plus any additional vegetables you would like to use

Scramble the eggs in a bit of butter (do not add any milk or water), remove from pan and set aside. I just do this in the wok, then wipe it out before proceeding with the recipe. Heat the oil in the wok, and quickly saute the green onions, garlic and gingerroot. Stir constantly, so it does not overbrown. Add the rice, soy sauce and seasoning packets. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add the scrambled eggs and the vegetables. Stir together well, and if needed, put a cover on the wok, to cook the vegetables through. You will still want to stir it frequently, so the rice does not brown too much on the bottom.

I serve this with some cooked chicken strips (Tyson Grilled Chicken Strips) with additional soy sauce as needed. This is also good with a little bit of Szechuan Spicy Stir-Fry Sauce. Note that it is very spicy, and a little bit goes a long way!

Note
The key to a good fried rice, is using cold rice. For ease and convenience, I use Uncle Ben's Boil-in-a Bag rice that I make the night before. According to the box, each bag is about 2 cups worth of rice. If you make regular rice, be sure to rinse it well after cooking, to remove as much starch as possible.

Fruit Crumble

This recipe comes from my sister. It only requires a few ingredients and is so good!

Printable Recipe

1 (20-oz) can pie filling, any flavor
1 (9-oz) box Jiffy cake mix, yellow or white
1/3 cup butter, melted

1 tbsp sugar

Pour pie filling into a buttered 9" cake pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over the pie filling. Drizzle melted butter over the cake mix. Sprinkle sugar over the butter. Bake 350 degrees, for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Lasagna I

I know that everyone probably has their own favorite lasagna recipe, so I'm a little hesitant to add this post. I decided to after all, since every recipe I've ever seen on the Internet or in any cookbook, includes cottage or ricotta cheese and mine doesn't. So maybe this one will appeal to you if like me, you don't like cottage or ricotta cheese in your lasagna, either. This is the recipe that my mother always made, so it's been in my family for years.

Print

2 pounds hamburger
1 (28-oz) can Italian tomatoes*, cut up
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
dried oregano leaves, to taste
dried basil leaves, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
8-oz block Mozzarella cheese, sliced
approximately half of a 6-oz container of grated Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions

Brown the hamburger in a skillet and drain the grease. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Add the oregano and basil to taste. I never measure the seasonings, I just sprinkle them in. Cover skillet and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, Meanwhile, cook the lasagna noodles.

In a greased 9 x 13" pan, spread a little of the meat sauce in the bottom on the pan. Layer on 3 of the noodles, and top with one-third of the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Spread with more of the meat sauce, then repeat layers in order given. There will be three layers of noodles. On top of the third layer of noodles, I spread more of the meat sauce, and sprinkle more of the Parmesan cheese on top of all.

Bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese has melted. Serve with french bread and a nice green salad.

Note: Do use Italian tomatoes, as opposed to the regular canned tomatoes. I don't know if the Italian tomatoes are juicier or what it is, but it does seem to make a difference.

Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Printable Recipe

The other peanut butter cookie recipes I have on this blog, are of a softer variety. These cookies are nice and thick and crisp, and are reminiscent of what you might find in a bakery.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugars for 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat for 1-2 minutes. Beat in peanut butter until well blended. Stir in the flour, cornstarch, soda and salt just until combined.

Roll into balls, using about 1 1/2 tbsp of dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, 2 1/2 - 3" apart. Dip a fork in sugar, and flatten cookies in a criss-cross fashion. Dip fork in sugar after each press.

Bake 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.

Makes 3 dozen

Oven BBQ Ribs with Honey-Roasted Potatoes

Printable Recipe

These are very good. They are pretty spicy, so cut down on the amounts of the seasonings if you don't like things hot. Let them sit in the refrigerator with the rub on for up to 2 hours or longer, and it will tenderize the meat. I used country-style pork ribs this time, because that is what was on sale this past week. I think I prefer the spareribs, but the country-style are still very good. I put the rub on the ribs and placed them inside a plastic zip-lock bag. I refrigerated them for a good 4 hours. The rub seems to tenderize the meat, especially when using spareribs. Certainly, these can be done on a grill.

Ribs
6 lbs pork spareribs

Rub
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp brown sugar

BBQ Sauce
I use "Famous Dave's Sweet & Zesty BBQ Sauce" and I thin it out by adding some water. You can use whatever you prefer.

Pull the transparent sheet off of the back of the ribs, using paper towels to grab a hold of it. Mix together the Rub ingredients and rub all over the ribs, front and back. Place inside a large plastic ziplock bag and refrigerate for 2 hours. Place ribs in a shallow roasting pan or large rimmed cookie sheet(s) and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, drain any accumulated grease and then baste with the bbq sauce. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and return ribs to oven and bake for another 1 hour, 15 minutes basting occasionally with bbq sauce.


Honey-Roasted Potatoes

Printable Recipe

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com They are a great side dish. When the potatoes are tender, I like to turn on the broiler for a few minutes, to lightly brown them, but it's not necessary.

1 lb new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered (Since some new potatoes can be rather large, I cut them into smallish chunks)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper, to taste (I use Kosher salt)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with PAM. Place potatoes in a single layer. Combine the butter, honey, dry mustard and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the potatoes and toss to coat. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until tender. Stir half-way through baking time.

Gingersnap Strips

Printable Recipe

These are cookies that I've been making since I was 10 years old. I've increased the spices, so they are nice and spicy, now. They are a fun variation of regular Ginger cookies. They are nice and chewy. 

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 rounded tsp cinnamon
1 rounded tsp ginger
1/2 rounded tsp ground cloves

Cream the shortening and sugar. Add the egg and molasses, beating well. In another bowl, combine the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Gradually beat flour mixture into the creamed mixture.

Turn dough onto a large piece of waxed paper. Pat into a square. Divide the dough into 6 parts.
The dough may seem a little dry, but that is ok. It will come together just fine. I take each part and knead it on another sheet of waxed paper, until it is well mixed. Then roll it into a 12" long log. Place 3 of the logs onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Using your fingertips, wet the top of each log with water and then sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes. Do not overbake, unless you like really crispy cookies. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let cookies cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies diagonally into 1" strips.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, drizzle with glaze. Store in an airtight container.

Glaze
1 cup pwd sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
2 tbsp warm water

Combine the above and mix until smooth. This glaze will dry to a shiny hard finish.

Luscious Lemon Cake

 

Printable Recipe

I usually make this every Easter. It is delicious. You might think that a yellow cake mix and lemon jello is an odd combination, but it works. The frosting is truly wonderful and really, is what makes the cake. You could easily use a white cake mix, or if you want it extra lemony use a lemon cake mix. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries, or crush them with a little bit of added sugar mixed in. Whatever cake mix you decide to use, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Cake
1 (18.25-oz) Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 (3-oz) pkg lemon jello
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Glaze
1 cup pwd sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice (use real lemon juice - it does make a difference)

Frosting
1 (7.2-oz) Betty Crocker Homestyle Fluffy White frosting mix (see below)
1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream
1 tsp pure lemon extract
a few drops yellow food coloring, if desired

To Make the Cake: Combine the cake mix, jello mix, eggs, oil, water and lemon extract. Mix and bake according to package directions. I bake this in a 9 x 13" cake pan, but you can certainly bake a layer cake.

For the Glaze: Combine the pwd sugar and lemon juice. While cake is still hot, poke holes in it, all over with a fork. Pour the glaze mixture over the hot cake. Cool on a wire rack.

To Make the Frosting: Combine the frosting mix, whipping cream and lemon extract in a large bowl. Cover and chill for at least one hour. Whip up the frosting with an electric mixer on high, until thick and soft peaks form. This will only take a few minutes. Frost cake. Store the cake in the refrigerator.

Notes: The addition of the glaze does not make the cake too sweet. It makes it very moist. If you choose not to use the frosting portion, you might want to double the glaze ingredients. But if you can help it, don't skip the frosting!


For those of you who haven't heard of this frosting mix, this is what the box looks like. Not every grocery store carries it, but it is a fairly common product, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding it. It's found in the baking aisle.