Banana Bread Heaven

This is THE best banana bread recipe I have ever made! It is so moist and delicious. This loaf was completely gone in 3 hours!I think the people in my house are purposely not eating the bananas so I have to make more bread with them.

Ingredients:


1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter softened
3 mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup milk
1/4 sour cream
2 large egg whites
2 cups flour (i used 1/2 white, 1/2 wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt


Streusel Topping (optional):
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbs butter


Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and butter in a bowl and beat at medium speed until well blended. Add banana milk, sour cream, and egg whites; beat well and set aside.


Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in separate bowl and mix well. Slowly add dry ingredients to creamed mixture beating until blended. If making streusel; mix all ingredients with a fork until crumbly. 


Spoon batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Sprinkle optional streusel mixture evenly over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1hour and 10 minutes. 

Stir Fry 1

This is a totally customizable recipe add or subtract any veggies or meat you like. And it's super quick to make in less than 20 minutes you can have this meal ready.

Habachi Sauce Ingredients:


1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 sugar
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger
1 tbsp corn starch or flour


In small bowl, mix all ingredients together. I marinated my Dry-fry tofu in this mixture for 30 minutes prior to cooking. (do not marinate meat)


Stir Fry Ingredients:


1 bunch broccoli chopped
2 carrots grated
1 pkg baby corn
1 pkg extra-firm tofu, dry-fried (see recipe HERE) or 1lb meat of your choice cooked.


Directions:


In large wok or fry pan heat 1/2 cup water over med-high heat. Add broccoli, cover and steam for 5 minutes. Add baby corn and steam for another 2-3 minutes. Add carrots and steam another 2-3 minutes. Add marinated tofu including all habachi sauce to vegetable mixture (if using meat, add cooked meat and habachi sauce). Continue to cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until sauce has thickened and veggies are tender crisp. Serve over your favorite rice.

Dry-Fry Tofu

My first attempt at cooking (and eating) tofu went surprisingly well! I told the kids it was chicken and they ate the whole meal. This recipe is how to prepare the tofu for use in recipes. If you do not do this first it will come out soggy.


Tofu Dry-fry


Ingredients:


1 16 ounce brick of extra-firm tofu for every four people.


Directions:


Drain the tofu and cut it so that your pieces are a half an inch thick. For most recipes, you will want to then cut it into triangles, but some recipes call for strips. I used strips for my stir fry. Put the tofu pieces between two absorbent cloth napkins or woven dish towels (NOT terry cloth) and gently press, enough to get a lot of water out but not hard enough to squish it. 


Use a Teflon or well-seasoned cast-iron pan at medium heat on an electric range, low to medium-low on a gas range. Slow cooking is the key to keeping the tofu from sticking to the Teflon and insures that the water has time to evaporate out before the outside is browned. Do NOT use oil. Place your tofu in the pan leaving room around pieces. You may need to fry a few batches to give it enough room. 


As the tofu cooks, use a spatula to frequently press down on each piece. You will see the water seeping out and sizzling in the pan. Once the bottom sides are very firm and golden in color, flip the tofu pieces and fry the other side, again frequently pressing each piece with a spatula. When they are golden and firm on both sides, they are done.

Voila....finished product. 

This is now ready for any recipe. I used it in the tofu stir fry recipe HERE.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

A tasty way to eat sweet potatoes without adding butter and sugar. Baking them brings out their natural sweetness, the kids love them and I like that they're not fried!


Ingredients:


3 large sweet potatoes
2-3 tbs olive oil
kosher salt


Directions:


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4 x 1/2 inch strips. Place onto un-greased baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat. Bake for approx 40 minutes flipping potatoes every 10 minutes until golden brown and tender.

Glazed Walnuts

I like to add a bag of these to gift baskets. They are really yummy I make extra because everyone eats them while I'm cooking them!


Ingredients:


1 egg white
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 pound walnuts halves


Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl beat egg white until foamy. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and vanilla. Add nuts and stir to coat. Spread evenly onto prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until well toasted and golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies

• 
• 
  
• Cookie Ingredients:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoon (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Filling Ingredients:
• 10 tablespoon (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups Marshmallow Fluff
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Red and green food coloring

Directions:

1. 1. Make cookies: Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until just combined.
2. 2. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a log about 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic; chill for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day (or freeze for up to 1 month).
3. 3. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (36 slices per log); place on baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are dry on top, about 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack; cool. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. 4. Make filling: Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until combined. Stir in Fluff and peppermint extract. Beat on high until light, about 3 minutes. Divide filling between 2 bowls, add red or green food coloring to each bowl; stir until evenly dyed. Sandwich 2 cookies with a teaspoon of filling. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Serves: 4
Time: 53 minutes

Ingredients: 

2 large sweet potatoes
2 oz Neufchatel cheese, cubed
2 tbs low fat milk
1 tbs brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup pecans

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Place cut-side down in foiled lined baking pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until tender. Scoop out center of potatoes into bowl leaving 1/4in thick edge. Add cheese, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon to potatoes and mash until blended. Spoon potato mixture into shells and top with pecans. Bake 8 minutes or until potatoes are heated through and nuts are toasted.