Monday 2 March 2009

Banana Bread

My darling daughter has this current obsession with Banana Bread, both making it and eating it. Since it was a lazy weekend in our house, as most of them appear to be of late, I indulged her request to make some.

This is a pretty straight forward recipe, that we have done a few times now and I can't even remember who it was originally from. It has never given us any problems, so we just keep on making it. My daughter likes it as long as there are no raisins or seeds (aka Nuts) in it, and lots of chocolate ;).


Banana Bread:


Banana bread

- 4 very ripe bananas
- 1 Cup sugar
- 8 Tbsp of butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips (or more if your heart's desire)

Preheat oven to 350F.

With a potato masher, mash up bananas and sugar, until liquidy and free of lumps. Add melted butter and eggs, and combine well.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and poor in the wet.

Combine well, but be cautious not to over stir.

Fold in chocolate chips (or if preferred seeds of choice).

Pour batter into a parchment lined loaf tin and bake approximately 60-70 minutes.

Let stand a room temperature for approximately 15 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

Wednesday 21 January 2009

Menu Planning

Some weeks I am really, super, organized with my menu planning. I will sit down the night before my trip to the grocery store, with a cup of tea of course, at my little kitchen nook. I will slowly pull down the books one-by-one and drool over each and every page, while I meticulously pick our the ones I want to try.

Then there are weeks like today. It is 15 minutes before I am supposed to leave work, pick up my munchkin, and head to the store; and I am scrambling to put something together as fast as possible! It is a time when I pull out favorite staples out, and scan my blog for something that was simple, and I loved by have not have a chance to try again...creating new staples :). Of course I still try to find something new and exciting to try, just not a time when I let the creative juices flow.

Thursday: Spaghetti & meat sauce (This is perfect too because half the sauce can go into the freeze in preparation for when baby is here!)
Friday: Tofu in black bean sauce
Saturday: Chorizo & Pea Rissotto
Sunday: Thai style potato & leek soup (Won't Hubby be happy, soup for the second time in a week! Again though good to freeze!))
Monday: Leftovers/freezer stuff :)

Have a good week!

Tuesday 13 January 2009

Menu Planning

Helloooooo, anyone out there still????

Guess if I gave you something to read every once and awhile it would be helpful eh? Truth be told there hasn't been much going on still in our house :(. We cooked Christmas dinner once again, and I honestly think that was the only meal that I cooked for all of December. It took so much out of me with the menu planning, and preparations, and then left overs and clean up, I was just drained! The other few months I am blaming on Hubby. If he didn't work such strange hours at times, and was home for supper, there would be more incentive to cook.

BUT, I am turning over a new leaf right now! At least my budget is. If I menu plan I cook, and if I cook we don't eat out, and if we don't eat out my bank account will thank me and I can get that fancy diaper bag I want. Not that I have ulterior motives or anything.

Tuesday: Deli something or other
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: Tofu Parma
Friday: Free for all night
Saturday: Soup
Sunday: Orange & Olive Chicken
Monday: Left overs

Wish me luck!