Banana Bread

When I was a little kid, we lived in Hawaii. In our backyard was a banana tree. My Mom said any time we saw a banana on the tree we wanted it. We did not want to eat it when it was ripe. Today I still prefer my bananas with a little green on them. When they are all yellow, bananas seem slimy to me. My children enjoy their bananas the same way I do. 

If we still have any bananas that are ripe, I will either cut them up and freeze them. They make a great addition to smoothies. I will also make banana bread for gifts.

Banana Bread
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 2 loaf pans.
3. Cream sugar with the butter until well blended.
4. Mix in the eggs and blend well.
5. Add the bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
6. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt until just moistened.
7. Bake the loaves for one hour on the lowest position rack in the oven.
8. Check with a tooth pick and it should come out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf.
9. Allow the loaves to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans. 
10. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
11. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days or 10 days in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook.

Did You already know..............
-A cluster of bananas are called a hand.
-Banana beer is available for purchase.
-Americans on average purchase 28 pounds of bananas a year.
-A pound of bananas are roughly 3 medium bananas.

Chicken and Rice Soup

My husband hasn't been feeling the best lately. I asked him if he wanted me to make him some soup. His request was Chicken and Rice. I have made this recipe several times before for him. My husband loves rice. He prefers rice over noodles so this is his favorite chicken soup.

Chicken and Rice Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped 
3 carrots, shredded
2 celery stalks with tops, chopped
2 cups of rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp flour
2 quarts of chicken stock
1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded
3 cups of water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper


Directions:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large pot.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 4 minutes.
3. Add the garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add one cup of rice and stir for 1 minute so the rice toast.
5. Clear a corner of the pot with no vegetables. 
6. Add 1 Tbsp oil and add the flour to a corner of the pot. 
7. Stir the flour and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the chicken stock and water. Cook for 5 minutes.  Stir.
9. Add the other cup of rice and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
10. Add the cooked chicken and season to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Recipe created by Jen of Sweet Morris.

Did you already know........
-The flu vaccine lasts at least a year.
-Over 200 viruses can cause the common cold.
-Many studies have shown hicken soup and other hot liquids will make a person with a cold feel better.

PPQ: Creme Brulee

I received The Pastry Queen Cookbook last month. The neat thing about finally having the cookbook is I can now participate in the Project Pastry Queen. Each week a member will pick a recipe from the cookbook for us to try.

This weeks pick is Espresso Creme Brulee. Since I already have crazy children, I decided to try the rather sweet variation and top it with bananas instead. My husband helped me make this recipe. This is an awesome recipe. If you are looking for a special dessert, this is the one to try!

Creme Brulee
1/4 cup whole milk
2 3/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
7 large egg yolks
2/3 cups plus 1/2 cups sugar
1 banana, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Lightly spray 6 six ounce ramekins with cooking spray.
3.  Heat the milk with the cream in a pot over medium-high heat.
4. While the milk is heating, scrap the vanilla bean pod in half and scrap the inside of the pod with a knife. Add the vanilla pod and scraped beans into the heating milk.
5. Bring the milk to a boil and remove immediate from the heat.
6. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until well combined.
7. While whisking continuously, slowly add a little of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture at a time. 
8. After blending thoroughly, pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any vanilla pod and any overcooked egg. 
9. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and fill the dish with hot water until it reaches 3/4 up the outside of the ramekins.
10. Fill the ramekins half way with the custard.
11. Carefully, place the dish into the oven without allowing any of the water bath to touch the custard.
12. Bake the ramekins for 1 hour. The custard should just set and jiggle when shaken but not browning or bubbling.
13. Allow the custard to cool for 30 minutes. 
14. Top each custard with a single layer of thinly sliced banana.
15. Top each custard with a thin even layer of sugar. 
16. With a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar or broil the custard in the oven 4 inches from the flame until sugar is caramelized and lightly browned.
17. Serve immediately. 

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen Cookbook.  

Did you already know.................
-Creme brulee is a custard topped with a hard caramel.
-Creme brulee means burnt custard in French.
-The recipe can be found in a 1691 French cookbook by Francois Massialot.

Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

We finally have snow here. It has been one strange year. I am not complaining since I prefer the warm weather. Since it is so cold, I dress with lots of layers. I also dress my younger children in layers. 

 The other day my youngest daughter was walking outside and she didn't have her hat. My husband told her that she needs her hat while he is outside without his jacket. I don't even think we were outside but for five minutes but she still needed her hat. My oldest daughter follows my husbands lead and unless I remind her she will try not to wear a jacket.

I saw this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and I asked my husband if I should make them. He said yes then he wasn't feeling good and never got to try them. My oldest daughter devoured them. She isn't even a spicy girl. The recipe does call for Panko bread crumbs. I guess I was in a hurry since I didn't intentionally forget them. I really liked them. Next time, I am going to leave the bread crumbs off. My sister follows a gluten free diet so she could even try this recipe.

Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms


12 large mushrooms, cleaned
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 oz. cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
2 oz. cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp salt and pepper


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small skillet, saute the bacon until crisp.
3. Take the stems out of the mushrooms and place the mushroom caps onto a cookie sheet.
4. Chop the mushrooms stems.
5. Saute the stems, pepper, onion, and garlic with the bacon. Cook for 5 minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool slightly. 
7. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and cheddar together.
8. Add the cooked bacon with vegetables to the cheese mixture. Mix well.
9. Top the center of each mushroom cap with the cheese mixture. 
10. Bake for 20 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.
11. Let the mushrooms rest for 5 minutes to cool.

Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen.

Did you already know.............
-On average, January is the coldest month in Maine and July is the warmest.  
-The average temperature in Portland, Maine in January is 31 degrees and in July is 79 degrees.
-In 2009, Maine record low was -50 degrees.
-In 1911, Maine record high was 105 degrees.

Empanadas

We recently were lucky to go to a Patriots Game. It was a lot of fun. Everyone was nice and no one acted to crazy including myself. My first NFL game and I forgot to bring my camera so I have no photos to share just the ticket stub.

 Well, this weekend my favorite team will be playing the Patriots. Of course, we are going to have company to watch the game. I like both teams so it will be a great game even if my team doesn't win.

For supper, I made empanadas for the first time. I had to create my own filling. My family will not eat raisins or olives. My youngest daughter wanted cheese so it could be more like a hot pocket maybe next time. I served the empanadas with sour cream and salsa. The meal was still very good and I made them in the shape of a football.

Empanadas
Dough:
41/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
2 eggs
2/3 cup to 1 cup ice water
1 1/2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar

1. In a food processor, combine the flour and salt.
2. Add the butter and pulse for between 20-30 times or until the mixture looks like coarse meal.
3. Add the eggs and vinegar. Pulse 10 times.
4. Slowly add the water and pulse until the dough comes together. 
5. Knead the dough one or two times to bring the dough together.
6. Cut in half and flatten. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 6 hours.

Recipe adapted from: Smitten Kitchen.

Filling:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 jalapenos, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 Tbsp of hot sauce or more for spicier
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Saute the onion and jalapenos for 5 minutes.
3. Add the ground beef and brown.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and combine.

To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the dough into ten pieces.
3. Roll out each piece into a circle.
4. Add about 3 spoonful of the filling into the middle of the dough.
5. Fold over the dough and seal the two pieces together.
6. Brush with egg wash.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Does it look like a foot or more like a yam?

Did you already know..............
-Empanadas are like turnovers filled with meat, vegetables, or fruit.
-Empanadas are popular in Latin America, South America, and Southern Europe.
-Empanadas name is derived from the Spanish word"empanar" which means to wrap or coat in bread.
-They can be baked or fried.