Banana Goop

My sister and her family lived with us for a time, and this was one of their kids' very favorites!

Frozen bananas*
Vanilla
Milk**
Optional - cocoa**

Blend together to the consistency of Wendy's Frosties and serve - LOVE IT!!

*When bananas start turning brown, just peel and throw in a zipper bag and freeze
**Or use chocolate milk, even left overs of the hot cocoa recipe, mmm! Delish!

Paula's Peach Pie

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 C sugar
4 1/2 oz whipped topping

Cream the cream cheese and add sugar and add topping. Add fresh peaches and put in crust and chill.

This was my college roommate's MOST delicious recipe!! Mmm!

Laura's Pumpkin Bread

From one of my library volunteers - Laura Hartline - for Christmas 2013; this bread was so good, so moist, that I had to have the recipe. Here's what she sent me:

1 cup pumpkin

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup water

1 2/3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Combine first 5 ingredients.  Mix well, add dry ingredients.   Grease loaf pan.  Bake for 50-60 min at 350.  This makes one large loaf.  

I use a large can of pumpkin and triple the batch to get 5 medium loaves.

NO PECTIN STRAWBERRY JAM

Combine in a saucepan, bring to a boil and boil TWO minutes.
4 c. crushed fruit
2 T. apple cider vinegar
Then add:
4 c. sugar
Stir and bring to a boil. Boil TEN minutes
Put into hot jars that have been prepared for canning. Fill to within ½ inch of the top. Put hot lids on clean jar surface. Screw on rings. Turn jars upside down for 15 minutes and then turn them right side up again. If a jar does not seal by morning, use it first.

I found this recipe on facebook, and I wanted to document it so I can try it someday when we have lots of strawberries again, like this last spring! Mmm! (Melissa Howlett's fb page.)

Cranberry Apple Muffins Recipe

My sister introduced these to me when our family visited them recently. I'm including it here, because I couldn't risk losing this recipe - it was SO good, and I had a bit of trouble finding it on the internet. Here's the recipe link where I finally found it. I included the byline from Esther Bowers, because she was the name of the original recipe creator, according to my sister's recipe. 

We did make it with 2/3 parts whole wheat flour and only 1 cup sugar to lighten it up a bit. We could have tried applesauce instead of oil, but we haven't yet. Oh, and I wouldn't make this without using fresh/frozen cranberries - they are the best part!



It's sometimes difficult to get our daughter to eat healthy foods, but she gobbles up these fruit-filled muffins. Although these are a "must" around the holidays, I keep cranberries in the freezer so I can whip up a batch any time of year. —Esther Bowers, Westland, Michigan

• Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min.
• Yield: 18 Servings

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Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded peeled apples
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

• In a bowl, combine apples and sugar; let stand for 10 minutes. Add cranberries, carrots, nuts, eggs and oil; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, coriander if desired and salt; stir into apple mixture just until moistened. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
• Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts1 serving (1 each) equals 241 calories, 11 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 282 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

Banana Bread Bars:

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.  For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas andvanilla extract.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute.  Stir in walnuts.

2.  Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

4.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.  Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm). 

Yield: 2 dozen large bars

Find original recipe & pictures here: Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting - mmm!

Apple Crisp 1

(My husband prefers crisps to every other kind of pie!) 

4 cups sliced apples
2/3 -  3/4 C packed brown sugar (for low/no sugar, use brown sugar substitute)
1/2 C flour
1/2 - 1 C oats
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 C butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a square 8x8x2 inch pan arrange apple slices.  Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over apples.  Bake until topping is golden brown and the apples are tender, about 30 minutes. 

(Microwave for about 12 minutes, or until apples are tender.)

For variety, use other fruits, apricots, peaches, pinneaple...

Serves 6.

Strawberry Breakfast Parfait

aka Swiss Breakfast Parfait

Original recipe*:
1 cup oats (quick or old fashioned) uncooked
2 8-oz cartons nonfat or lowfat vanilla yogurt
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
2 tbsp sliced almonds
2 cups sliced strawberries**

In medium bowl, combine oats, yogurt, pineapple and almonds; mix well.  Cover; refrigerate overnight or up to a week.  To serve, layer oat mixture and strawberries in 4 parfait glasses.  Garnish with additional sliced strawberries, if desired.  Serve chilled.  Serves 4.

**Or, substitute 2 cups frozen strawberries,thawed, sliced.

*Original recipe from Quaker Oat's 2nd Annual "It's the Right Thing to Do Recipe Contest," by winner, Ann Dwyer from Ft. Collins, CO.

Of course that recipe would never do for a family our size!  Plus ours is a bit more diabetic friendly.  Here's ours:

4 cups oatmeal
1 32-oz carton vanilla yogurt (Mt. Home brand is sweetened with fructose)
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
As many sliced strawberries as we can get.

(We add nuts when we serve it - can't wait for kids to grow up enough to want to add them to mix!)

Same preparation.  I make it the night before we eat it.

We always serve this in see-through glasses, even if we have to use the plastic "paper cup" ones, that and use the long handled spoons. Great spring tradition; we had them for Easter 2009 breakfast.

Serves 7 (in our family)

Printable version here.