Sunday, May 25, 2014

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Chocolate Bread

 I love banana bread...banana bread with chocolate chips ... even better!  The only problem is at my house we rarely have leftover bananas.  When we do, I can't wait to try one of the many banana recipes I have pinned on Pinterest. 

 The chocolate chips, cinnamon and bananas in this recipe make for a delicious combination of flavors.  The next time you have leftover bananas, I encourage you to give this one a try.



 Cinnamon Swirl Banana Chocolate Bread
Recipe courtesy of Wives With Knives
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1-1/2 cups)
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • dash of salt
  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9" X 5" loaf pan. I buttered my pan and lined it with parchment paper. The paper sticks to the butter. This is a very tender bread and the paper helps getting it out of the pan.
  2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together. Sprinkle baking soda and salt on top of the banana mixture, then gently stir in the flour. Add chocolate chips and mix until just blended. Be careful not to over mix.
  3. In a small dish mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
  4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top. If desired, place banana slices along the edge of the loaf pan.
  5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. If you are using a different loaf pan size be careful to watch it carefully so it isn't over baked.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups

It's been way too long since I cooked for a toddler.  I can't remember what I made for dinner when my now almost 35 year old son Justin was small.  Tim's grandson, Paxton,  stays with us at least one night a week.  He loves all things noodles and chicken.  Determined to find some new toddler friendly main dishes, I turned to what else? Pinterest and created a board,  Foods for Paxton. 

Paxon, like all kids, loves cupcakes. These Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups is a fun main dish that looks like a cupcake, yet contains the veggies kids need.  Tim and I like them, too and they made great leftovers for our lunches!



Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups
Recipe courtesy of Call Me Mrs. Rapp

Yields 8-16 pot pie cups (depending on if you split the biscuits in half)


Ingredients:
*8-count biscuits (I used Homestyle)
*1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
*1 (10 1/2 ounce) can  cream of chicken soup
*2/3 cup shredded  cheddar cheese
*1 1/2 c. frozen veggies, thawed (I used mixed vegetables)
*1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
*1 teaspoon of minced onion
*1/4 teaspoon black pepper
*1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   

*Separate biscuits and place each biscuit in a cup of a lightly greased 12-hole muffin pan, pressing dough up sides to edge of cup.

*In a medium bowl, combine chicken, chicken soup, veggies, cheddar cheese, parsley flakes, and black pepper. Mix well to combine.

*Evenly spoon chicken mixture into prepared biscuit cups.

*Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

*Remove from oven. Place muffin pan on a wire rack and let set for 2-3 minutes. Serve at once.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Gooey Brown Butter Toffee Bars - SRC

What time is it?  It's Secret Recipe time!  I love reveal day, it's so fun to see who had my blog and what recipe they chose.  Interested in participating, you can find the details here!

This month I was assigned Smells Like Brownies!  Melissa is a stay at home mom of a toddler.  A self proclaimed picky eater who has a deliciously unique cooking style.  Although the title of her blog is Smells Like Brownies, there aren't as many dessert recipes as you might think. 

Since her title was all about brownies, who could resist?  I certainly could not and chose a brownie recipe.  I love all things brown butter and add gooey, now that's an extra love!

If you haven't browned butter before, here's some quick instructions.  The key is butter goes from nice nutty brown to burned really quickly, don't walk away.  I followed the recipe exactly, with one exception, I used all light brown sugar.

These brownies will be going to work with Tim tomorrow.  As the saying goes, you can't eat just one.  The combination of the nuttiness of the brown butter and the sweetness of the toffee chips makes a delicious chewy, gooey brownie!

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Banana Zucchini Crumble Cake

  As we approach CSA basket time, I am trying to clean up everything I froze last summer.  We had lots of zucchini, which we all know makes great bread.  I wanted something just a little different than traditional zucchini bread.  With a couple of overripe bananas on the counter, I wondered about zucchini and banana bread.  With a search, I found this recipe.  Since frozen zucchini is pretty wet, I was concerned about this bread baking evenly.  Why not make a cake instead of a bread?  I am so glad I did, this was a moist and delicious cake. 


 
 
 Banana Zucchini Crumble Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup grated zucchini
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 square pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, zucchini, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana/zucchini mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles a coarse crumble. Sprinkle topping over bread.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick come out clean. Allow cake to cool before serving!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes - SRC

 What does the second Monday of the month mean in the blogging world?  It's the day the members of Secret Recipe Club's group B reveal their assigned blogger.   This month, I was introduced to Jen of Jen's Journey.  Jen's been blogging since 2007, WOW!  She's a mom of two teenagers and is married to her high school sweetheart.  Be sure to take a minute and check out the variety of recipes on her blog.

I don't post breakfast recipes very often.  Jen's recipe for Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes caught my eye and made for a delicious Sunday morning breakfast.  I decided to use instant banana bread oatmeal.  This gave the already yummy pancakes a hint of banana.  Who doesn't love strawberries and bananas. 



Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes
 Recipe Courtesy of Jen's Journey
Ingredients
  • 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup old-fashioned oats (I used instant banana bread oatmeal)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups nonfat buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • ¼ cup honey, divided  (I used agave)
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup of strawberries sliced in half 
Instructions
  1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
  2. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, 2 tablespoons honey and egg in a medium bowl.
  3. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.
  4. Heat a nonstick griddle or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Pour about ¼ cup batter for each pancake onto hot skillet; sprinkle with 4 to 6 strawberry halves.
  5. Cook 3 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles; turn and cook other side. Repeat with remaining batter and berries.
  6. Top with any remaining berries, and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons honey.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Robert William Johnson 4/15/19 - 4/8/14


 


My father, Robert (Bob) William Johnson died Tuesday April 8, 2014 in Gretna, Nebraska, one week shy of his 95th birthday.  Born in Kansas City, Kansas on April 15, 1919 to Swedish immigrant parents, Bob was the only one of their four children to be born in the United States. He graduated from Rosedale High School in 1937 before enlisting in the Air Force on December 1, 1939. 

On December 7, 1941, Bob survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  He continued his service in the Pacific theater throughout the duration of the Second World War before being honorably discharged on October 16, 1945. 

 Bob worked for various companies around Kansas City including Midwest Research Institute and King Radio, where he retired after 20 years. 

 Bob remained active into his nineties and enjoyed birdwatching, crossword puzzles and building vintage model boats. Bob will be remembered for his smiles and his songs. 
 
Dad, you will be missed!!!

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Tie Dye Cake

A couple of weeks ago, Tim's boss was turning 50 and he inquired about my cake decorating "skills".  Although I did take a series of cake baking classes a few years ago, lack of time prevents me from cake decorating as much as I would like.  I agreed, under one condition, I could find a fairly easy cake to bake.

Turning 50, meant she was born in the 60's.  What was popular in the 60's?  How about tie dye?  There's lots of examples of tie dye cakes on line.  After reading about a few of them, I said I can do this??!!!

I decided to make a three layer cake, two 8" and one 9" layer.  In hindsight, I wish I had done three 8" layers.  It was really hard to get the frosting smooth on the ledge between the 8 and the 9" layer.  In addition I made one 8" layer as a test.  I wanted to cut into one and see how it looked.



 The process is fairly easy but be sure to allow plenty of time.   Start by preparing a white cake mix according to the directions.  (I used two cake mixes).  Divide them into 6 bowls, and make each bowl a different rainbow color. Line the bottom of two 9 inch cake pans with wax paper, and grease the side.  Layer your cake batter in circles.  The first directions I looked at suggested using a spoon, which is what I did on my test cake.  It worked okay but for the additional layers, I decided to use a measuring cup with a spout.  A little more work but a lot easier to pour into circles.  Use about 3/4 of the bowl for your bottom color, then use a little less of each color as you continue. Layer your second cake pan in the opposite order. 

 Bake according to the directions on the box.  Allow the cake to cool and frost with your favorite buttercream frosting.  My frosting didn't look as smooth as I would have liked and the more I tried to smooth it the worse it looked.  Then I remembered a technique I learned when I took cake decorating classes.  Once your frosting has developed a bit of a crust,  use a piece of parchment and use your fingertips to smooth the frosting along the parchment.  Works great!!!


Using food coloring gel in 6 colors, starting on the outside, make circles with the gel.  Using a small, flat paintbrush, starting at the center, brush towards the outside of the cake.  You'll need to clean your brush often, or use multiple brushes.  Continue until you don't really see any more gel patches on your cake.   Slice and enjoy!!!