As you can tell - Lee and I (I being Sarah) are in the cooking/baking mood as of late. :-D
Not a unique recipe, but a great standby. I always feel so resourceful when I make banana bread since I am using something up that would otherwise have to be tossed.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired
Directions
1. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.
2. Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pans.
3. Bake 8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaf about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.
NOTE: If you are at all like me you never have buttermilk on hand. No fear! Substitutes for buttermilk are as follows: mix 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup, or substitute 1/2 cup plain yogurt, or 1/2 cup sour cream. I used a little less then the 1/2 cup sour cream and added a little milk.
Twist on a favorite
For Sunday lunch, I (Leeann) created a variation on my Mom's Veggie Medley.
After cutting each in half lengthwise, I carved out the innards of two huge zucchinis (from Eastern Market of course) and prepared the mix as usual, throwing in real bacon bits and substituting jack cheese for cream cheese. I filled the zucchini shells with the mix and topped it all off with a generous splash of parmesan cheese. Put it in the oven at 375 for about half an hour, and voila – stuffed squash.
My only critique on this approach was that excess water from the tomatoes/corn made the mixture a little runny. Next time I will try seeding the tomatoes and perhaps upping the cheese quotient to address this problem.
Easy Beef Stroganoff
Simple yet yummy. Obviously it is yummy – we wouldn’t put unyummy recipes on here. :-D
Ingredients
1 (12 oz) package egg noodles
6 oz fresh mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
Several Chopped garlic cloves
¼ cup butter
2 pounds beef (either ground or in strips)
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1) In a large skillet, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat until soft; remove from pan.
2) Using the same pan, melt remaining butter. Cook beef in melted butter until browned. Mix in flour. Stir in beef broth, and cook until slightly thickened. Add mushroom and onion mixture; stir in sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until sauce is hot, but not boiling.
3) While sauce is being made boil water and cook the noodles.
Ingredients
1 (12 oz) package egg noodles
6 oz fresh mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
Several Chopped garlic cloves
¼ cup butter
2 pounds beef (either ground or in strips)
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1) In a large skillet, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat until soft; remove from pan.
2) Using the same pan, melt remaining butter. Cook beef in melted butter until browned. Mix in flour. Stir in beef broth, and cook until slightly thickened. Add mushroom and onion mixture; stir in sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until sauce is hot, but not boiling.
3) While sauce is being made boil water and cook the noodles.
Mexican Style Ground Beef
Don’t know what to do with the ground beef in the freezer? Don’t have a lot of time for dinner preparation? Want something that tastes yummy and is filling? Then this recipe is for you!
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 ½ cup salsa
2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or till it looks yummy)
1 tomato, chopped
Tortillas
Directions
In a large nonstick skillet, cook and stir ground beef until browned. Drain off excess fat.
Stir in salsa. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in green pepper and onions, and continue simmering until veggies are crisp/tender. Stir in sour cream. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, and cover pan until the cheese melts. Sprinkle chopped tomatoes on the top, and serve in warmed tortillas.
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 ½ cup salsa
2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or till it looks yummy)
1 tomato, chopped
Tortillas
Directions
In a large nonstick skillet, cook and stir ground beef until browned. Drain off excess fat.
Stir in salsa. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in green pepper and onions, and continue simmering until veggies are crisp/tender. Stir in sour cream. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, and cover pan until the cheese melts. Sprinkle chopped tomatoes on the top, and serve in warmed tortillas.
Creamy Alfredo Sauce
A quick easy recipe that can either be used with or without meat. No question on that it is yummy - how can it NOT be with butter, garlic, and cheese all mixed together!
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.
NOTE: I used garlic cloves instead of garlic powder. I also put in more parmesan cheese (probably a cup and a little more).
"Healthy" Option: OK, so nothing really about this recipe is healthy (i.e. butter, cheese, more cheese), but I have found that you can use fat free cream cheese without any taste or consistency difference. It will take it longer to melt, but otherwise no one is the wiser. :-D
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.
NOTE: I used garlic cloves instead of garlic powder. I also put in more parmesan cheese (probably a cup and a little more).
"Healthy" Option: OK, so nothing really about this recipe is healthy (i.e. butter, cheese, more cheese), but I have found that you can use fat free cream cheese without any taste or consistency difference. It will take it longer to melt, but otherwise no one is the wiser. :-D
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