Banana Bars

This recipe is an oldie but goodie. I know you are probably thinking why not just make banana bread,which I love and my two older daughters might agree with you but my youngest, Scarlet and I think these bars are the sweetest and most fluffy banana tasting treat around.

I was going to the beach with a friend and I thought they are the perfect thing to take because they travel well and last a really long time and honestly, who doesn't love bananas, okay my ex husband doesn't, so all the more reason to make them especially after not being able to make them for so many years.


1/2 C unsalted butter
1 1/2  C sugar
2 eggs
2 C flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1C buttermilk
1 t vanilla
3 mashed ripe not rotten bananas
1/2 C nuts finely chopped (optional)

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Blend together flour, soda and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in the vanilla and bananas. Pour into a 15x10 jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 for 25 min.

While the cake is baking make the icing.

Icing
1/4 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C milk
1 t vanilla
11/4 C powdered sugar
Melt butter in a pot on med heat. Add sugar and boil 2 min. (Slow boil). Add milk and stir until boils again. Add vanilla off heat. Cool a bit and then beat in the powdered sugar with a whisk till smooth. Pour icing over a warm cake and spread quickly. Add chopped nuts and press in a bit if you like.
When the cake cools cut into squares.

Sugar Cookies

This is one of my oldest and most prized recipes. It is a simple recipe that can be doubled, tripled and yes I have even quadrupled it! I have made them for so many school functions, parties and special occasions.
My daughters were all together with me this Easter and these are the cookies we chose to make to mark the celebration. They have been made in all shapes and sizes and at some point in time for every holiday!

1/2 C unsalted butter softened
1 C sugar
1 large egg
1 t vanilla (I use Mexican vanilla)
Cream together in a mixing bowl with electric mixer
2-21/2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
Mix together and combine with the wet ingredients in the mixer
Form a disk out of the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for I hour. If you are doubling this recipe then form two disks.
Roll out on floured surface to about 1/4 inch and cut out shapes with cookie cutter and place on an ungreased cookie sheet leaving space for expansion. You can reshape the leftover dough into a ball and roll out again as many times as needed to shape more cookies.
Bake at 375 for about 8-10 min depending on the size of the cookie. The edges should be just ever so slightly brown. Remove cookies immediately from cookie sheet on a wooden surface and cover in icing with a knife while still warm.

Icing
The icing I make is not an exact science but I can give you an approximation.
1/2 stick softened unsalted butter
2-4 C powdered sugar
A couple of tablespoons of milk or more
1 t vanilla
Beat together until smooth and should be the consistency of cake frosting. If you add food coloring you may need to add more powdered sugar unless you are using dry coloring. You will have to play around with it. Have fun decorating!

The photo below are the sugar cookies iced but with fondant decorations on top. Just remember if using sprinkles put them on while the icing is still wet.

White Sandwich Bread

Okay, so I know I have said a million times that yeast and I are not friends, well, now I am happy to say we are bosom buddies. Samantha,my oldest daughter, finally revealed her secret for perfect bread, and that is patience, which I know nothing about. The rapid rise yeast will eventually do it's thing if you can be patient and not kill it by using water that is too warm. Always err on the side of cooler is better even if it takes a little longer to rise, but believe me, it will rise!

1 pkg. dry rapid rise yeast
1 t sugar
1 C warm water or room temperature
1 1/2 T sugar
1 t kosher salt
2 T vegetable oil
3 C gold medal all purpose flour
Melted butter for brushing on top

Dissolve yeast and 1t sugar in warm water. Stir well. Cover with dish towel and let it get bubbly, about 5-10 min.  Add 1 1/2 T sugar, salt and oil to the yeast mixture and stir. In a large mixing bowl add half the flour and then add in the yeast mixture and beat on low speed of mixer until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough, you might not use all the flour. I used a dough hook but you don't have to. If you use a dough hook you don't have to knead by hand as long.
Turn dough out on to a slightly floured surface and knead with the heel of your hand 8 min or until smooth and elastic. Place dough into a buttered bowl with the greased side up. Cover with a dish towel,  put in a warm place free from drafts and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. I put mine in the garage. I also live in south Texas where it is very warm but you want it about 85 degrees.
Punch down dough and turn out on a floured surface and let rest 15 min.
Roll dough into a 14x7 inch rectangle. Beginning at short end roll up dough firmly not leaving any air holes and pinch edges to seal. Tuck under the ends and place seam side down in a buttered 9x5x3 loaf pan, I used Pyrex. Cover and let rise until doubled about an hour.
Bake at 375 for 40-50 min until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Immediately remove from pan and brush the top with butter.

German Chocolate Cake

My youngest daughter, Scarlet, has turned 21 and so my job of raising children is finished and I feel fulfilled! That being said, I still have a cake to bake. She has chosen a German chocolate cake and it has been her favorite from adolescence on.
I also love this cake because of its delicate, moist crumb and mild chocolate flavor coupled with the boiled coconut and pecan frosting which makes it sublime.

1 package (4oz) Bakers German Sweet Chocolate
1/2  C boiling water
2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/2  t salt
1 C butter
2 C sugar
4 egg yolks
11/2 t vanilla
1C buttermilk
4 egg whites
Coconut filling and frosting

Melt chocolate in boiling water. Cool. Mix flour soda and salt. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating thoroughly after each. Blend in vanilla and chocolate. Alternately, add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into batter.
Pour into three 8 inch layer pans which are lined on the bottom with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 35 min. or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Run a knife around the sides and cool in pan for 15 min. Remove from pans  by inverting on racks carefully then pull off paper and cool on racks. Spread frosting between the layers and on the sides and top.

Coconut Pecan Filling

1 C heavy cream
1 C sugar
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
1/2 C butter
11/2 t vanilla
11/3 C flaked coconut (Bakers)
1 c chopped pecans
In a saucepan combine the first 5 ingredients and cook and stir over med. heat until mixture thickens about 12 min. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut and pecans. Let cool a bit till spreading consistency.

Banana Cream Pie

My daughter, Alexandra, and I were out by the  pool the other day and some neighbors and friends were out there with us. The guys decided to plan a barbecue for the following monday and invited us to come. I never like to go to something like that empty handed and one of the guys had been talking about this banana pie that he liked from a grocery store which made me think, I can do better than that, so I volunteered to make my own banana cream pie.

 Unfortunately, the barbecue was cancelled unbeknownst to me. Thank goodness Alexandra loves banana pudding and this was just a step above that I believe, although Samantha, my oldest, might beg to differ since her favorite part of banana pudding was the soggy cookies which this pie lacked. When she was a child, I would open the refrigerator to find that she had tunneled through the banana pudding eating out the cookies in the middle avoiding all the bananas. 

Alexandra and I managed to eat the whole pie on our own though, it was delicious!

Pie Crust

You can use anyone you like but this is mine...

2 C flour

1/2 t salt

2/3 C butter

2 t sugar

1 egg yolk

3-4 T cold water

Cut in the butter  and salt by rubbing it with your fingers until it becomes a coarse crumb. make a well in the center and add sugar egg yolk and 3 T water. Stir quickly and press together into ball with fingers. Add more water if needed. Knead lightly into ball. Chill 30 min.

Roll out half the dough because this is enough for a top and bottom of a pie. Line a pie pan and blind bake the crust then let cool.

Custard Pie Filling

4 T cornstarch

4 T water

2 t vanilla

dissolve the cornstarch in the liquid

2 1/2 C whipping cream

1/2 C sugar 

4 oz. butter unsalted

In a sauce pan bring the whipping cream, sugar and butter to boil over med. heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and bring back to boil then remove and cool slightly.

Topping

1 pint whipping cream whipped with 1/4 C powdered sugar

Assembly

3 large bananas sliced

Take your pie crust and line it with the sliced bananas. While the custard is still warm pour it over the bananas because it will make the custard take on the flavor of the bananas. Cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap and cool and then refrigerate. Add the whipped topping when cold.

Chicken Chowder

I thought I was going to make chicken chili and add that recipe to my blog but alas it tasted terrible. I had roasted a whole chicken for the chili and didn't use it all so I had left over chicken to do something with. I decided that on this unusual rainy day to make chicken chowder.

4 big carrots roughly chopped
2 celery stalks with leaves roughly chopped
1 lg onion roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves minced
3 C homemade chicken stock
2 C heavy cream
1 t  fresh thyme
1/2 t dried thyme
salt and pepper freshly ground
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
2 T butter
1/4 C flour
2 C cooked chicken (roasted tastes better)

Melt butter and olive oil in large pot. Add the chopped vegetables, garlic, salt, pepper and saute until tender. Add the flour and cook a few minutes to take out the raw flour taste then add the stock slowly whisking to prevent lumps. Add the thyme and more salt and pepper and simmer until vegetables are cooked to desired tenderness. Pour in the cream then add the cooked chicken and nutmeg then warm through. Check seasonings one more time... I like to add more pepper!

Mexican Chili

I substitute teach and I am off for the summer. Oddly enough, I had a very strong desire for chili and plenty of time to make it! The weather is a little warm for chili but I thought if it had a mexican twist it wouldn't seem out of season. I think mexican food tastes great year round! So I tweaked my chili recipe and this is what I came up with. My youngest daughter's boyfriend said it tasted like an orgasm of flavors in his mouth!

5 lbs. beef brisket cut up in 1 inch cubes fat trimmed
1/4 C oil
2 C chopped white onions
6 garlic cloves minced
2-3 T chili powder
2 T cumin
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 t garlic powder
2 t oregano
2 t coriander or dried cilantro
2 T salt
2 heaping T adobo
2 green bell peppers seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
6 cups chopped tomatoes with liquid
pepper
1/2 cup strong coffee
2 cans pinto beans (I used Bush's)
fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat oil in a flat bottomed pot until very hot but not smoking. Brown the brisket cubes in a single layer turning to brown all sides then remove to a plate. Repeat till all the cubes are browned. Then add the chopped onion, garlic and the seasonings with 1 T of salt and let saute over medium heat. Next add the bell peppers and then the tomatoes. Add the meat back in the pot. Now add the other 1T of salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat cover tightly and let simmer for 21/2 hours. Stir occasionally. Next add the coffee and adjust the seasonings to taste and let simmer for 1 more hour. Now add the beans and let warm through or get tender.

Toppings
crema (mexican sour cream)
sour cream
avocado
cilantro
tortilla chips
cheddar cheese