Banana Bars

Don't you just want to take a bite?

Delicious and easy.  A nice snack cake for school lunches.

Banana Bars

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream or buttermilk
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt


Grease an 10 x 15 pan x 1. Preheat oven to 350F.  In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt.  Set aside.

In a larger bowl beat the butter with the sugar. Add in eggs one at a time.  In a measuring cup combine all the wet ingredients, mashed banana, buttermilk, vanilla. Add half of the wet ingredients to the butter sugar mixture.  Add half of the dry.  Then the rest of the wet and last the dry. Just mix until incorporated. Pour into a 10 x 15 x 1. Smooth out the top.  Bake until golden around the edges- 20 to 215 minutes.

Sometimes you get lucky!  I had the great fortune of finding some long desired Adirondack chairs at a garage sale the other week.  It was the right price, the right quality, the right distance from my home (so I could get them home in my wee car).  They are the freaking BOMB!  I love them.  Looking forward to sitting out there with a margarita in hand.

I promptly put my old ones to the curb! And lucky again, a neighbor came and picked them up to rehab!  They are those ones that you put together - precut and ready. That was pretty awesome that she could use them.

I lost a few plants over the hard cold winter here.  My sage, my lavendar, a few bushes here and there. I replanted quite a few.

 My azaleas are looking all pretty.

I love this double wave petunias.  I have never been a real big fan of petunias but these I like.

Tater Puff Casserole

This casserole goes together quite effortlessly.  The hardest thing to do is to sauté the onions and celery.  Well, okay, maybe cleaning up is harder.  I told my 8 year old she could make this the next time.  That time though I think I will make my own condensed cream soup- though I think I will try the celery one. I will do that part for her.  Then she can throw everything together and make the casserole and feel all proud.

TATER PUFF CASSEROLE

1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken (you could make your own, click here for that recipe)
32 ounces tater puffs, somewhat thawed
3 stalks of celery, chopped finely
1 onion, chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons half and half
1 tablespoon oil or butter

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and 9 x 13 casserole dish. Sauté onions and celery in oil/butter until lightly golden.  Reserve a few of the tater puffs for the top of the casserole. Stir together the tater puffs, celery onion mix, garlic powder, pepper, Cream of Chicken and half and half. Place reserved tater puffs over the casserole and then sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes uncovered.

Rice Crusted Quiche

Are you as addicted as I am to Pinterest?  I just can't get enough of that site.  I really enjoy it in the morning when I am having a cope of coffee.  I guess it is like the equivalent to reading the morning paper.  Since I don't read the morning paper I guess it works for me.

The only thing I don't like about Pinterest is at times I can get sucked into the vortex as I like to call it.  Looking dreaming but not doing...  However there is a time and a place for that, right.  I mean you got to dream research and formulate a plan for the things you want to do.  If you don't they never get done, do they?  Well at least for me they don't.

So after drooling about gardens I did finally make some garden beds and have really been enjoying them.  This year I actually have some weeding done.  I have been very lax in past years.  It was just too hot.  This year we have a bit of a reprieve.  This past summer froze the Great Lakes  and I guess they were still pretty frozen mid April.  So a bit cooler weather this summer.  Since I don't like hot hot hot weather- like 90's this totally cool for me.  Maybe I will get some long needed yard work done instead of drooling over all the cool things on Pinterest.

Rice Crusted Quiche

crust

2 cups cooked rice
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

filling:

5 eggs
2 cups broccoli, cooked and chopped
4 ounces shredded cheddar or Swiss cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of Tabasco
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.  Grease a 9" inch pie plate.

Mix crust ingredients together and press into pie plate evenly over top and up the sides. Place in oven for 5 to 10 minutes.  It should be a little golden.

In same bowl that you mixed the rice in, combine eggs and milk, whisk for a minute.  Add in remainder of ingredients and stir with a spoon. Pour into rice crust and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, until the egg is nearly set in the center. Let cool about 10 minutes before cutting. 

Apricot Red Lentil Soup

Seriously. I had never heard of this before.  Apricots, in my red lentil soup?  Yuh huh.  Loved it. I have seen many recipes on line for this but none of them with the amount of apricots that I am going to tell you to use. Your choice- but it was fruity and homey at the same time.

Apparently this soup is Armenian.  I do know apricots are a large part of certain Middle Eastern cuisines.  So I understand its origins.  I have made stuffed grape leaves with apricots and that was totally delicious as well.

Armenian Red Lentil Soup with Apricots


2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 1/2 cups red lentils
5 cups chicken stock
3 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped or a 1/2 cup canned tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Saute onion, garlic and apricots in olive oil.  Add lentils and stock.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer about 30 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and season with cumin salt and pepper.  Simmer for ten minutes more.  Stir in lemon juice and blend 1/2 of soup in blender or use an immersion blender.

Tamale Cups

What is it about cute little cups of food or food on a stick?  Cute just makes it that much more tasty, doesnt it?

I love tamales.  I miss the lady in AZ who use to come to the office where I worked and sell us tamales for a dollar.  I would buy half a dozen when she would come in and stick five of them in the freezer.  They were a great dinner item for a single girl- delicious and inexpensive to boot.

These are a quick and miniature version of tamales.  You could stuff them however you want- pork, chicken, beef, beans.. whatever.
 

Tamale Cups

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups masa harina
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup vegetable oil

For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, small dice (about 1 cup)
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth with 1 tablespoon corn starch mixed in
salt and pepper to taste

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 3 ounces) OR
1 cup queso blanco
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
radishes

Mix the masa harina with broth and oil.  If you find it it too dry add more liquid. You want it to form when you press it with your fingers.  If it is not forming then add more liquid.  Make sure you cover the bowl with a damp towel to keep it from drying out too fast.

In a frying pan saute onions in oil until lightly golden.  Add in beef and brown.  Add in garlic and remaining ingredients. Cook until it comes to a boil and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly spray muffin tins with oil.  Press the masa harina mixture into the cups, evenly distributing the dough. Spoon filling into cup.  Place cheese over top.  Bake for about 20 minutes.

Garnish as desired.

Orange Creamsicle Macarons

When I was a kid I used to love to get creamsicles at the penny shop near our house.  I think I may have paid a quarter for them at the time.  They were so good- so orangey- so creamy- so delicious.  The Popsicles I buy these days are not the same.  Not quite the same creaminess as they once were.  Did you ever wonder if things really did change or you yourself had changed and your taste buds grew up?  My Dad, who loves them, will concur on this one.  They are  not the same.

These says since I usually would rather be in my sewing room sewing I tend not to make these as much as I once did. Macarons are fussy.  Very fussy.  If its too humid don't even bother to try and make these. I made one batch yesterday with my tried and true recipe and had a complete bomb.  Don't know exactly what happened.  I decided to try another recipe.  I found one and altered it just a bit.  A much better outcome.  I think this will be my new go to macaron recipe.

CREAMSICLE MACARONS

85 grams almond flour or finely ground almonds
150 grams powdered sugar
90 grams egg whites (from about 3 large eggs), room temperature
55 grams granulated sugar
pinch of cream of tartar

In a food processor, combine almond flour and powdered sugar; pulse for 20 to 30 seconds until evenly distributed. Sift at least once through a mesh sieve, discarding any larger particles.

Place egg whites in a clean metal mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until frothy, then slowly add superfine sugar, a little bit at a time with the mixer on medium speed, scraping down the side of the bowl periodically. When all the sugar has been added, increase speed to medium high and whip until meringue is firm and glossy and forms medium-stiff peaks.

Pour half of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and stir, folding and scraping a few times until no dry flour remains. Add the remaining flour and mix, folding about 15 to 20 times or just until the meringue and flour are incorporated and the batter falls off the spatula in thick ribbons. Lava like. Do not over mix.

Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip, twisting the end of the bag to prevent the batter from leaking. Pipe small circles onto a parchment or silicone-mat-lined baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch of space between them.

Preheat oven to 330F.  This I totally played with.  Some recipes say 300F and some say 350F and some even say 375F.  I had the best outcome with 330F.  It really depends on whether or not your oven runs hot.  Best to have a thermometer in your oven.

Creamsicle Buttercream

1 tablespoon orange zest
1 stick butter
1+ cup confectioners to start
1 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Beat all together until creamy and the consistency you want.  Add confectioners sugar to make it thicker.  More cream to be less thick.

Pickled Onions

My new friend, pickled onions.  These pickles add such tangy deliciousness to  salads and sandwiches.  They go great on burgers.  They add so much delicious to nearly anything they accompany.  Make some today and have them for when grilling season starts. You won't regret it.

Pickled Red Onion

If you substitute honey for sugar it will have a completely different taste. I much prefer the sugar.

1 large onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a quart jar mix together vinegar, sugar, olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Shake vigorously.  Add sliced purple onion.  Let sit at room temp for an hour.  Refrigerate overnight for best taste.  Will keep in fridge for quite some time.