bananas

Quick Dessert Quesadillas

March 8, 2016

It’s a big week!

A lot is going on. It’s awesome. It’s crazy. It’s wonderful. It’s horrible. I love it. I hate it. I’m tired. I’m energized. When was the last time I washed my hair? Let’s not think about that. ugh

And yesterday was a really big day!

The Purchase and Sale agreement for our house was signed!!!!! And the house is officially sold next Wednesday. Hip Hip Hooray!

And all our tons of crap was picked up to make it’s journey down the east coast. And when I say TONS, I mean it. It’s not like “literally, guys, omg we have tons of stuff!!” We really do. They weighed it, and we were charged for it.

I think it’s all my pyrex. yep… ha!

Plus, at this point it’s T-minus 5 days until The Hubs and the pups are in FL!!!!

I’m giddy with excitement. I’m excited for Autumn to have her world complete again too. The move without Price was hard for me, but extra super-duper tough for her. But it was just a month in the grand scheme of things so we all sucked it up and made it work.

But life had to keep on chugging, so I just kept on going to work, enjoying the warm weather, and eating all the strawberries I laid my eyes on.

It’s strawberry season here in Florida so we’re all up to our kneecaps in strawberries. No exaggeration. Okay, maybe a little. But I wouldn’t mind if that was a real thing.

But I’ve been eating strawberries like crazy and one of the things I whipped up were these Quick Dessert Quesadillas. I had mine with strawberries and my Dad requested his with bananas. I should have made one with both. And then extra Nutella. Just because.

You’re just 3 ingredients away from a great dessert!

Quick Dessert Quesadillas

Makes 4 quesadillas

Ingredients

strawberries or bananas
8 fajita sized tortillas
Nutella

Process

Dice the strawberries and thinly slice the bananas.
Toast fajita sized tortillas over an open flame with
Spread a thin layer of Nutella on one side of each of the tortillas. Press some fruit into the Nutella on one of the tortillas. Sandwich with another tortilla with the Nutella side down. Cut into 4 wedges. Repeat with remaining tortillas and then enjoy!

Classic Banana Bread

June 3, 2014

This is my favorite banana bread.

Hands down FAVORITE.

Plus it’s simple to make. So simple that I made this one handed. Yep, one handed.

The morning I was making this Autumn wanted to be held but also play with her toys on her mat so about every other minute she would yell from her mat at the top of her lungs and then I’d pick her up, she would stop and be happy to watch me make the banana bread. But then she would yell at the top of her lungs to be put back down. And then, after about a minute of playing around the yelling would begin again…

So with her in my left arm I made this pretty much one handed. Thankfully I was at the point of cracking eggs when she was on the mat since I’m not great at doing that 1 handed.

Let’s get back to the banana bread.

It’s perfectly predictable. You know, banana-y and bread-y. It’s just that it has the best texture and flavor.

I love the chunks of banana that are mixed into the creamy light batter. I often put chopped pecans in but I didn’t this time because I wanted to use the bread later on for french toast and I didn’t want the pecans in that. But I highly encourage you to put pecans in because they add such great flavor and texture.

Classic Banana Bread

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour, but all-purpose works as well
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped (optional)

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan by lightly greasing the surfaces.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Put 2 bananas and the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together for 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream.
Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Mix in the dry ingredients until about 50% incorporated.
Add in the 2 remaining bananas and chopped pecans. Mix together until the bananas are broken up but still in large chunks and the dry ingredients are more incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.
Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve.

Adapted from Food Network

Banana Cream Pie

April 11, 2014

I am just itching to go on vacation.

At the very least planning one would cool my wanderlust urges. I just love adventures and times to relax in a new setting. I love to discover new places and try new things.

Price and I are looking into cruises for next January as a way to celebrate my 30th. I think a week in the Caribbean is just the best idea to break up the cold winter up here. Plus I think turning 30 while sipping a daiquiri as I soak up the sun is they best way to spend a milestone birthday

As well, I’m waiting for Jet Blue to release more dates next year so that Emily and I can have a girl’s weekend. I can’t wait to check out Seattle and have her show me all around. Everything she has been telling me about the PNW sounds awesome. I think it will be such a fantastic time. yay!

Anyway, let’s check out this awesome pie for Pieday Friday!

This banana cream pie should be illegal.

It’s that good. Really really good.

The flavor is so good. The silky smooth pudding filling is a great companion to the fresh bananas.

Price came back from work and I basically shoved a spoonful of the pudding into his mouth the moment he walked in. I don’t think he minded though. Well, maybe it was a tease because he had to wait for it to set up. ha!

I suggest that you make the pie well in advance of serving it. You can let it chill for an hour but I think that the longer the better. Then you garnish it right before serving so the bananas don’t brown. And I think that some whipped cream is great for a garnish as well. yum!!

What pies should I make next? I’m taking suggestions!!

Banana Cream Pie

Makes a 9″ Pie

Ingredients

1 9″ deep-dish pie crust
3/4 Cup sugar
1/3 Cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cup milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 Tablespoons
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 bananas

Process

Bake the pie crust according to the packaged instructions/recipe. Let completely cool.
Slice 4 of the bananas into 1/4″ thick rounds. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually pour the milk in while stirring gently. While continuously whisking, cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner.
Mix a small quantity (about 1/3 cup) of the hot pudding mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. While continuously whisking, cook for 2 more minutes.
Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.
Place the banana slices in the cooled baked pastry shell and then top with pudding mixture.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Chill for 1 hour before slicing. Garnish with the remaining banana prior to serving.

Sourced from All Recipes

Banana Pudding

February 18, 2014

So I was doing a really good job of doing weekly posts for my Sprint Cup Snacks series last year, but then tragedy struck!!! My damn desktop crapped out on me. And where were my photos that I needed to edit and slap into my drafted posts? Oh, on the damn desktop! So bam! My posting schedule hit a speed-bump, so I had to face the I would just have to redo some recipes I already made. And of course instead of attacking them quickly I fell behind on my posts, and then got busy, and then had a baby… well you get the point!

And since Daytona is next Sunday (yay!!!!!) I just knew I had to get into gear (see what I did there?) and finally get around to posting the last few recipes that I had passed up last year.

I’m kicking things off with this delightful Banana Pudding that I made for the Coke 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway way back in October. I had to pick something super southern to honor this race. And Banana Pudding was the perfect pick!

I had made this and brought it into work and one of the guys there was saying how great it was. Well, that was nice of him. What I didn’t know was that he was from the South. He continued on saying how he grew up eating Banana Pudding and how this reminded him of his childhood and how good this Banana Pudding was. Well… score!!! yay!!!

And I think we all need more pudding in our lives. Just because.

And I think we can justify having this as there is fruit involved. Totally healthy. And it does has reduced fat vanilla wafers, which really just does a better job of holding up the wafer texture better than the regular vanilla wafers, but still… ha!

Banana Pudding

Makes 12-16 servings

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1 (14-oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups sliced ripe bananas, about 5-6 bananas
1 box of reduced-fat vanilla wafers
2 cups of whipping cream

Process

In a medium saucepan, combine the flour and salt. Place on your stove-top over medium heat.
Gradually stir in the milk, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks, and cook, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes or until thickened.
Remove the custard mixture from the heat and then add in the vanilla extract.
In a 5 quart trifle dish, out 1/3 of the pudding on the bottom of the trifle dish, then 1/3 of the vanilla wafers, then 1/3 of the banana slices, and lastly 1/3 of the whipped cream. Be sure to place some of the pudding, banana slices, vanilla wafers, and whipped cream along the side so everyone sees the yummy layers. Repeat the process 2 more times topping off with whipped cream.

If you are serving these individually, then just serve in 1 cup dishes or in pint ball jars. Layer the ingredients in the process stated above to create a dessert with 6 layers.

Adapted From: My Recipes

Banana Bundt Cake- SRC

April 29, 2013

Another Monday. Another exhaustive start to the week.

Pricer and I kicked some garden butt this weekend. He worked in back attacking weeds and digging out the million rocks and chunks of broken concrete in the ground there. (Major thanks to the contractors, who instead of having the chunks of the driveway they dug into hauled away, just threw all of it into the garden. THANKS d-bags.) I worked in front digging up part of the lawn to plant some flowers and some seeds for 5 varieties of flowers, including moon flowers and canterbury bells. Plus some container work transplanting some little trees into bigger pots and prepping for some summer veggies and herbs.

Man, I wish I had a slice of this bad boy for breakfast today. It would totally jump start my week!

Moist banana cake topped with a dreamy cream cheese frosting. It would totally work for dessert or breakfast. Right?!?!

I just made this cake last week but I’ve already planned on making it again soon. I bought more bananas for them to chill out and get nice and soft so they can be whipped up into this stunning cake.

This month’s Secret Recipe Club recipe is from K&K Test Kitchen. Mother and daughter duo, Kim and Kelesy, started the blog in 2010 as a creative outlet to be able to document and share cooking adventures with family and friends. Since they they have made some fantastic recipes that had me really interested when i was browsing their blog.

It’s funny tho. As I scrolled through the recipe index I saw their Banana Bundt Cake and immediatly knew that tthe recipe that I would make. Still I browsed aorund and saw some great recipes that I wrote down just to give a try one day. Like this Sun-dried Tomato, Corn, and Bacon Pasta sounds awesome. And I think I’ll have to make this Strawberry Peach Sangria one day for Thirsty Thursday.

Stop by K&K Test Kitchen to check out this Banana Bundt Cake recipe along with many other scrumptious recipes!

Banana Bundt Cake

Makes 8-12 servings

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 package vanilla instant pudding
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup greek yogurt

Process

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a large Bundt Pan by generously buttering and then lightly dusting the sides with flour.
Whisk the flours, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt together.
Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients, all the greek yogurt, and then the rest of the flour mixture.
Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to de-bubble the batter and smooth the top.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes, if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent.
Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding on the rack to cool to room temp.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Process

Beat cream cheese and the powdered sugar until smooth.
Add the milk and vanilla extract, beat again until it is thoroughly mixed and spreadable. Add more cream if you want a thinner icing.
Spread onto the cooled cake.

Adapted from: K & K Test Kitchen

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Thirsty Thursday: Blueberry Banana Blast Smoothie

April 11, 2013

A few years back when Price and I moved from our apartment in Brookline to another apartment in Newton we brought my mom some plants to babysit that we had kept in our little yard. I didn’t just want to chuck everything since we no longer had a yard. So we loaded up the car of our huge pots and hauled them down there. Well, now that we are getting our yard here set up I’m planning on taking some of the plants back. Specifically my blueberry plant. Well, that was until I called my mom and brought it up and got the bad news that her landscaper’s helper must have ripped it out of the pot thinking it was dead. SERIOUSLY?!?! Yeah sure, it’s winter so it looks dead with bare sticks but come on it was a little bush!!

No, blueberry plants are not expensive. I can get a new one for like $10 but we had taken care of it for years so that is the biggest bummer. Especially, since they don’t just fruit quickly. So I’ll deal and it will be my excuse to get more, as well as drown my silly sorrows in some blueberries. 🙂

This blueberry banana smoothie is a winner with fresh blueberries, blueberry Greek yogurt, and banana. It’s the perfect start to your day or for a refreshing afternoon snack.

Blueberry Banana Blast Smoothie

Makes 2 smoothies

Ingredients

6 ounces of fresh or frozen blueberries, I prefer fresh
1 banana
1 cup blueberry yogurt, such a Chobani
1 cup milk

Process

Combine all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Hummingbird Cupcakes

October 5, 2010

I previously wrote about Price’s birthday and how great a day it was. Well, the one thing that was missing was a birthday cake. I had originally planned on leaving early that day so I could make the cake before dinner, but that did not work out. Then, I intending to make it after dinner since I’m used to baking pretty late, but we drank quite a bit so that was scraped and we just went down the road for a little piece of cake. No worries, it all worked out but I still owed Pricer a cake. So the birthday cake became a First-Day-Of-Work cupakes. (I realized I left my can pans in CT in August for my dad’s Bday)

Back to Price… I told him to pick out a cake for me to make. So he picked out a few of my cookbooks and went to work. He picked a Hummingbird Cake from The Baking Bible: From the Oven to the Table. We had never heard of this cake before. I wanted to know why it is called a Hummingbird Cake, so I did a little research. My research yielded that the reason behind the name is unknown. It is suggested that is has to do with how sweet the cake is, being that hummingbirds eat nectar. The cake has Southern origins, but word spread about this cake when it was featured in Southern Living in the late 70’s.

The cupcakes were easy to make and produced a great result. The cupcakes were rich a moist- from the oil in the cake. While I like {cup}cakes with butter in them I appreciate baking with oil since I don’t have to wait for the butter to come to room temperature. And without having to cream butter and sugar together I didn’t need to use a mixer for the cake portion. The pineapple also made for a moist cake. However, the banana flavor was much more dominate than the pineapple flavor. I admit that just mashed up bananas and figured ‘close enough’… this just goes to show that measuring is really important! The frosting is a basic cream cheese frosting and it tied the whole thing together.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes

Cake

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sunflower oil

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup pecans, finely chopped, plus extra for decorating

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)

3 oz/85 grams canned crushed pineapple (drained weight)

4 tablesppons pineapple juice from can

Frosting

6 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

4 tablesppons unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or line 2 12 cup cupcake pans.

Sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda in a large bowl, set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the wet ingredients together. Incorportate the wet ingredients and chopped pecans into the dry ingredients. Mix throughly with a wooden spoon.

Divide the batter into the cupcake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean

While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting by combining the soft cream cheese and butter. Add the sifted sugar and vanilla extract, and mix until smooth.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost with the cream cheese frosting. Top all with chopped pecans.