Butterscotch Banana Bread - SRC

I have two exciting things to share today!  First it's Secret Recipe Club reveal day, seems like it's been forever.  Second,  I am now a member of Secret Recipe Club Group C!  I've been in Secret Recipe Club since  May 2011 and have always been a member of Group B.  When our leader said she was looking for a few volunteers to change groups, I volunteered.  I loved my fellow bloggers in Group B but change is always good!!  If you're not familiar with Secret Recipe Club, you can find out all about it here!  SRC is so much fun, one of my favorite things about blogging.  

This month I was assigned, Steak N Potatoes Kinda Gurl.  Desiree describes herself as " indecisive, messy, a night owl, emotional, guarded at times, an introvert, shy, impatient, stubborn, sarcastic, and pessimistic at times, yet loyal, detailed, empathic, silly, intelligent, hard working, friendly, humble, mature yet a kid at heart, open-minded, and thoughtful. " Sounds like qualities for a great friend.  She writes poetry and has some great recipes on her blog.  Check it out!!


The recipe that really caught my eye was her Butterscotch Banana Bread.  I love banana bread!  No matter the flavor, it's a delicious treat with morning coffee.  Have you ever made French Toast out of leftover bread (if there is any)?  Delicious!!!


When I began gathering ingredients, I realized I did not have any butter.  I substituted 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Also, her recipe called for melting the butterscotch chips, I chose to stir them in instead!!

I love the addition of butterscotch to this moist and delicious banana bread.  If you're looking for a new version of banana bread, give this one a try!!!

Butterscotch Banana Bread

*Makes 1 loaf

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and cook 3 minutes, whisking frequently until butter foams and turns golden brown. Whisk in mashed banana and cook for 2 minutes, stirring until creamy.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter-banana mixture and brown sugar until combined. Then whisk in the eggs and vanilla until combined.

Sift the dry flour mixture into the wet banana mixture, folding in and combining until well mixed, like a batter.

Pour batter into greased pan. Swirl the melted butterscotch into the batter using a knife or any other appropriate utensil. Bake 40 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the loaf. Cool completely before slicing.

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Ham & Cheese Mini Breakfast Pies

If you're looking for an easy, delicious breakfast recipe for your family, give this one a try.  You could easily change up the ingredients to be meatless or add additional vegetables.  These mini piesrefrigerate or freeze well, making for a quick morning breakfast!  Pop them in the toaster oven or microwave and go! 

Ham & Cheese Mini Breakfast Pies
 

15 ounce box refrigerated pie crust

1 1/2 cups ham, diced

8 eggs

1/4 cup 2% milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Use a 4" round bowl or cup (I use a coffee mug) to measure 12 circles on the pie crust (6 circles on each crust), and cut them out with a sharp knife. Press the circles into the muffin pan, and prick the dough on the bottom of the cups with a fork. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and set aside. Add about 2 tablespoons of the diced ham to each muffin cup. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the cups until almost full. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of each cup and bake pies for about 30 minutes or until the eggs are set and the crust is golden. Let pies cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes and serve warm.

8 Minute Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

Nothing better than a warm cinnamon roll (or two or three or four) straight from the oven.  I love homemade cinnamon rolls but they are a lot of work or at least more work than I am usually up for on a weekend.  When I saw this easy recipe, I decided to give it a try.  You should do the same, these are delicious and easy!!

 

8 Minute Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

Makes 16 mini cinnamon rolls
Ingredients:
1-8oz tube crescent roll dough
2 Tablespoons butter
cinnamon
brown sugar
For the maple icing:
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon skim milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to crescent roll dough package directions. Layout half the dough (4 triangles) and pinch all the seams together. Flip over and pinch the seams on the back side together too.
2. Using a rolling pin, smooth the seams and roll the dough into a square about 1/4″ thick. Brush with half the butter, and sprinkle with as much cinnamon and brown sugar as you want. Roll into a log and cut into 8 pieces.
3. Place mini cinnamon rolls into a non-stick sprayed mini muffin tin. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other half of the crescent roll dough. Bake according to package directions.
4. Meanwhile whisk together maple syrup and milk in a bowl. Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.

Perfection!

Tim and I just returned from an eight day Caribbean cruise.  We enjoy cruising!  With cruising we can visit multiple locations and only pack and unpack once! On this year's cruise, we enjoyed 3 relaxing days at sea, two of which were perfect deck weather.  The third day, not so much, no breeze and HOT!  We visited St. Barts, St. Croix, San Juan and the cruise line's island of Labadee.  We met Rick and Nancy, a wonderful couple from Canada.  We enjoyed touring and dining with them most of the week.  We plan to keep in touch and hopefully travel to visit them in Canada sometime in the future. 

On our sea day in St. Barts we did something we never do when traveling outside the US .... we rented a car.  St. Barts is very expensive, taxis are costly.  We decided to make the most of our day and take the plunge and rent a car.  With Tim as the driver and Rick as the navigator, we set out to explore the island.  We'd read about the beaches and were trying, with a not so great map, to find Marigot beach.  We never did but we did find Petite de Cul de Sac beach.  Amazing, untouched beauty. 

We're back refreshed and ready to head back to the grind tomorrow, looking forward to when will do this again next year!

Pear Cranberry Crisp

  My son Justin and his girlfriend Lily sent us a beautiful box of goodies for the holidays.  One of the boxes contained the most beautiful pears.  Desserts are one of my favorite ways to use pears.  They're flavor is so delicious and not too sweet.  Combined with cranberries this was a tasty holiday dessert.

 

 

Pear Cranberry Crisp

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 8 ripe pears (about 2 1/4 pounds), cored and sliced
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• Slightly rounded 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• Crème fraîche or whipped cream to serve

Procedures

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 375°. Toss the cranberries, pears, vanilla, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar together in a bowl with 1/4 cup water.
2. 2
   In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle in the butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and all the flour is incorporated. Do not allow the mixture to come together into a ball.
3. 3
   Spread the fruit in a 9x13 baking dish (or in eight 8-ounce ramekins). Use your fingers to sprinkle the crumb topping over the fruit, breaking up any large crumbs (crumbs larger than 1 inch will not cook through). Bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is browned, about 40 minutes. The juices should bubble thickly; otherwise the fruit will be soggy. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with crème fraîche or whipped cream.

Butter Dips

I love biscuits or all things bread.  I'm always disappointed when I go out to dinner and they don't serve bread before dinner.  That said, I'm sorry I tried this recipe.  I think I pinned it about a year ago and just tried it for Christmas dinner.  These are delicious and so easy.  No rolling, no cutting, just whip up the dough and press it into a baking pan with melted butter in the bottom.  Perfect for Sunday dinner or breakfast!

Butter Dips

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2/3 - 1 cup buttermilk or milk (I used skim milk)

Heat the oven to 450°F.   Cut the butter into pieces and place them in a 8-inch square microwave safe baking dish. Put the dish in the microwave and melt the butter.  You can also put the baking dish in the oven to melt the butter as it pre-heats.  (The dish in the microwave is just faster.)

While the butter is melting, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup buttermilk; continue to add more buttermilk until a loose dough forms. (I used about 2-3 Tbsp more than the 2/3 cup)

Remove baking dish from the microwave/oven and press biscuit dough in the pan over the melted butter  (It helps to put a little flour on top of the dough or your fingers). Using a knife, cut the biscuits into 12 squares. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.