I was shocked to discover I hadn't added this family favorite to the blog yet. Everyone has a favorite banana bread recipe, and this one is mine. We eat a lot of bananas, but every now and then...they brown a little past the point of wanting to eat. Those bananas make the BEST banana bread. If I don't have 7 of these beauties, I peel what I do have and put them in a ziploc freezer bag and mark the outside with the number of bananas I put in and freeze them. Then I add to the freezer bag until I have a total of 7 bananas.Next, I defrost them, and yippee, my family (and friends and co-workers) gets banana bread.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
3 cups ripe bananas (about 7 medium), mashed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
Pre-heat oven to 325*F. Grease two 9"x5" loaf pans (I prefer using stoneware loaf pans for this recipe, it makes the crust slightly crisp.)
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, bananas and vanilla extract. Beat at medium speed until thick.
Add the flour mixture and walnuts, then blend at low speed JUST UNTIL COMBINED. Do not over-mix.
Pour into prepared pans. Bake on center rack of oven for 60-70 minutes. A toothpick inserted in center should come out clean, and bread should pull away from the sides of the pan when done.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn pans on sides to cool to room temperature, before removing and slicing.
Makes 2 loaves or (30) 1/2" slices [15 slices per loaf]
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Strawberry Banana Refrigerator Oatmeal
I shared this post from The Yummy Life on my Facebook page a couple of days ago. I'd seen the idea before and had even "pinned" it to one of my Boards on Pinterest. The Yummy Life says they based their recipe versions on the original post they saw pinned by Christie at Pepper Lynn on Pinterest" and said you can get a couple of her recipes from that link including: strawberry/banana. I tried. The link wouldn't work for me...and so, I improvised. Here is my version.
1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats (you may also use instant if that's all you have)
1/3 cup skim milk (or again, whatever type you have)
1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (I had non-fat, so that's what I used)
1-1/2 cups Chia seeds (or this fabulous chia flax seed blend I found)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 of a medium banana (or to taste), diced
4-5 small strawberries, diced (I used my egg slicer, because kitchen gadgets are fun)
I followed the instructions on The Yummy Life and found a set of 3 Ball freezer jars in the half pint size. This is perfect for the current size of my family, since my son is home from college for the summer. Now, as long as my family agrees to bring home their reusable freezer jars, I'll refill them with a yummy, healthy, grab-and-go breakfast/morning snack/post-workout meal. If you don't have these cool freezer jars, any 8 oz. container will work...half pint sized glass jelly jars are perfect for this also...but, then what would I use to can my jams? (sorry, I digress)
I put the ingredients listed above into each of the three jars (above ingredients are for one jar only). The Yummy Life recommends shaking the ingredients together, but I'm more of a stirring kind of gal...(except for my martinis...those must be shaken, not stirred). Anyhow, I digress..again....that's it. Mix it up and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Now all you have to do is remember to grab it on your way out the door in the morning with a spoon. (Well, that and remember to bring the container back home if you want more for the next day).
In the picture, you can see the wonderful blend of chia seeds and ground flax seed I found at my local grocery store (Albertson's). I was shocked, I didn't have to go get it at the local health food store, but at least I know they have Chia seeds there too.
Why did I use 1/3 of a banana? Well, it was because I was making three jars and 1/3 times 3 jars equals one whole banana. Who likes leftover bananas? Yuck. And I was still full from dinner and didn't want to eat the leftover half if I used a half in each of my three jars.
So basically, I added the diced banana and then filled up the rest of my jar space with diced strawberries...which worked out to 4-5 small strawberries.
I hope you enjoy this strawberry banana version. I don't know if I'll ever find the one by Christie at Pepper Lynn. I even bing-searched for it. Maybe it is the severe weather causing the website to be down? Whatever the issue, be sure to try the other recipes at The Yummy Life and I will post any more of mine I come up with that are "tried and true."
Annette
1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats (you may also use instant if that's all you have)
1/3 cup skim milk (or again, whatever type you have)
1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (I had non-fat, so that's what I used)
1-1/2 cups Chia seeds (or this fabulous chia flax seed blend I found)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 of a medium banana (or to taste), diced
4-5 small strawberries, diced (I used my egg slicer, because kitchen gadgets are fun)
I followed the instructions on The Yummy Life and found a set of 3 Ball freezer jars in the half pint size. This is perfect for the current size of my family, since my son is home from college for the summer. Now, as long as my family agrees to bring home their reusable freezer jars, I'll refill them with a yummy, healthy, grab-and-go breakfast/morning snack/post-workout meal. If you don't have these cool freezer jars, any 8 oz. container will work...half pint sized glass jelly jars are perfect for this also...but, then what would I use to can my jams? (sorry, I digress)
I put the ingredients listed above into each of the three jars (above ingredients are for one jar only). The Yummy Life recommends shaking the ingredients together, but I'm more of a stirring kind of gal...(except for my martinis...those must be shaken, not stirred). Anyhow, I digress..again....that's it. Mix it up and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Now all you have to do is remember to grab it on your way out the door in the morning with a spoon. (Well, that and remember to bring the container back home if you want more for the next day).
In the picture, you can see the wonderful blend of chia seeds and ground flax seed I found at my local grocery store (Albertson's). I was shocked, I didn't have to go get it at the local health food store, but at least I know they have Chia seeds there too.
Why did I use 1/3 of a banana? Well, it was because I was making three jars and 1/3 times 3 jars equals one whole banana. Who likes leftover bananas? Yuck. And I was still full from dinner and didn't want to eat the leftover half if I used a half in each of my three jars.
So basically, I added the diced banana and then filled up the rest of my jar space with diced strawberries...which worked out to 4-5 small strawberries.
I hope you enjoy this strawberry banana version. I don't know if I'll ever find the one by Christie at Pepper Lynn. I even bing-searched for it. Maybe it is the severe weather causing the website to be down? Whatever the issue, be sure to try the other recipes at The Yummy Life and I will post any more of mine I come up with that are "tried and true."
Annette
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