Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone!

Thank you Jesus for dying for us.

Old Fashioned Banana Cake

It feels good to sit down and actually post to my blog. It's been a long time. The past two months have been quite adventurous. I have been very busy with my new job which has picked up considerably since Christmas. I work on line as a mental health consultant so the work really has no boundaries. I can work 7 days a week, which I often do. But it is part time and shutting off the computer is always an option!

I also had a breast cancer scare, which thank God, turned out to be nothing. But as anyone who had been through it knows, the time between hearing the test results and knowing everything is ok can seem like a millenium. Right after I found out all was ok, I got sick with a cold virus that involved 4 weeks of constant coughing. After a round of anti biotics and much rest, I'm finally on the mend. Throw in stomach flu for the kids and the usual running around, and my poor blog was at the bottom of my to do list!

Well, if I've learned anything in the past few months it is to appreciate my health and the health of my family above all else. Until you lose it, you don't realize how precious it is.

Before all of this happened, I did have time to make a new recipe. I checked out Barefoot Contessa's cookbook "How Easy is That?" from the library and found this wonderful and easy recipe. Since I'm always looking for new ways to use up ripe bananas this really fit the bill. The cake was moist with a nice mixture of citrus and banana flavor and the cream cheese icing (yum!) adds a flavorful balance.

Old-Fashioned Banana Cake

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I used regular)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Walnut halves, for decorating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 2-inch round cake pan.

Mix bananas, granulated sugar and brown sugar in bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Add oil, eggs, sour cream. vanilla and orange zest. Mix until smooth.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in chopped walnuts. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, turn out onto cooling rack and cool completely.

Spread frosting thickly on top of cake and decorate with walnut halves. Slice and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar.

Mix cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment on low speed until just combined. Don't whip. Add sugar and mix until smooth.

“On a traffic light green means go and yellow means yield, but on a banana it's just the opposite. Green means hold on, yellow means go ahead, and red means where the hell did you get that banana at...”

-Mitch Hedberg

Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

I've always been a little hesitant to try making cream pies because I'm afraid to burn them. I have a great recipe for a chocolate cream pie, but it's all cold ingredients so there is no boiling involved. So when my husband requested his favorite coconut cream pie for his birthday, my first thought was I wonder which restaurants sell coconut cream pies? But since I couldn't find one that didn't charge an arm and a leg, I decided to jump in with both feet and make one. I couldn't have been more surprised at how easy this recipe was. I even used the microwave as one reviewer suggested and it worked like a charm. And to top it off, the pie was delicious. Coconut cream pie was never a favorite of mine but after tasting this pie, I've changed my mind!

Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

1 1/2cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (you can substitute coconut extract)
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

In a medium saucepan, combine half-and-half, eggs, sugar, corn starch and salt. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly (or put into microwave for 7 minutes stirring as needed) . Remove from heat (or microwave), and stir in 3/4 cup of the coconut and the vanilla extract. Pour into pie shell and chill 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.

Top with whipped topping, and with remaining 1/4 cup of coconut.

Note: To toast coconut, spread it in an ungreased pan and bake in a 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.


Adapted from All Recipes.com


"What? Ridden on a horse?
Yes
You're using coconuts!
What?
You've got two empty halves of coconuts and you're banging them together!
So?"
-Monty Python

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Every year at Christmas I try a new recipe just because I like the variety and to keep things interesting for the kids. If I don't do this, I would make the same recipes every year. My only criteria for the new recipe is that it is easy. I'm in way over my head during the holidays and making some new recipe with 20 steps isn't for me. This year, this recipe fit the bill. It was fun to make and it was delicious. Very few ingredients and it tasted like I worked all day. Now that it's after Christmas, I'm still thinking about this fudge. I'll be making it again very soon. Those left over candy canes will get used up too!


White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

3 bags white chocolate chips
3 containers, 16 ounce Vanilla Frosting
1-½ teaspoon Peppermint Extract
12 drops Red Food Coloring
6 Candy Canes, Crushed

Line a jelly roll pan with wax paper or parchment paper. Leave some to hang over the sides to use as a handle. Set aside.

Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring often. If you use the microwave, heat for 30 seconds at a time and stir. While the melted chocolate is still warm, quickly stir in the frosting before chocolate starts to set up. Add peppermint extract and mix well.

Evenly spread the mixture into the prepared pan, then drop food coloring over the top of the fudge. Swirl it with a knife to create a marbled effect. Add crushed candy canes and press lightly to adhere them.

Cool for 1 hour in the fridge.

Remove from the pan using the wax paper or parchment paper. Cut into squares.



"Every man dies. Not every man really lives."
-William Wallace

Happy New Year!

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."

-Hal Borland


"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas."

-Author Unknown

So with those thoughts in mind, eat and be merry! Happy New Year to everyone!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Peppermint Patties

I have been terribly neglectful about writing on my blog. Every time I went to post, there was another interuption. Such are the holidays! As I am making my way through baking this year, I noticed that no matter what else I make, these Peppermint Patties always top the list of favorites with everyone. I almost always end up baking a batch at the beginning of my baking run and one at the end because all the orginial ones are gone by then. So I thought it might be worth reposting the recipe for anyone who missed them the first time around. These are very easy too make and the only time consuming part is dipping them in chocolate. Other than that, you can whip these up in no time and they are impressive enough to take to parties or just enjoy with guests. I bet they don't last long in your house either!

Peppermint Patties

2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. softened butter
2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. cream
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/3 cup)
1 tbsp. vegetable shortening

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. In a medium bowl, blend together sugar, butter, extracts, and cream on low speed. After blended, increase mixer speed to medium high and beat an additional 2 minutes or until mixture is creamy.

Using about a teaspoon size, roll candy into small balls and place on wax paper. Using your thumb, press top of ball down but do not flatten all the way. When completed, place cookie sheet into refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes (I have found that freezing them makes it very easy and much neater when you dip them in the chocolate).

Meanwhile, melt chocolate and shortening in microwave (on 50% power) or over a double boiler until melted.

Using dipping tools or two forks, dip the candy into the chocolate one at a time. Remove excess chocolate by scraping bottom of candy on the side of the bowl. Place back on cookie sheet and refridgerate to harden chocolate. Store patties in the refrigerator.

Make about 36. Recipe is easily doubled.

"There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries."-W.J. Cameron