Banana Luncheon Bread

I've tried a lot of banana bread recipes, but I really think this one is the very best. Maybe that is just because this the recipe we used growing up, but I still think it is delicious.

1 C. Sugar
1 C. Ripe Bananas (2 medium)
1/2 C. Butter or Margarine
2 Eggs
1 1/2 C. Flour
1 teas. Baking Powder
1/2 teas. Baking Soda
1/2 teas. Salt
1/2 C. Chopped Nuts (optional)

  Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour bottom of loaf pan. Blend first four ingredients; beat two minutes at medium speed. Add dry ingredients. Beat two more minutes at medium speed. Stir in nuts.   Pour into prepared pan; bake 50 to 60 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan ten minutes. Remove from pan. Makes one loaf. 

The One True Sugar Cookie

February... Valentine's day! Yea... a couple of years ago I was in a student ward, and right before Valentine's day, Sister Hatch (the wife to one of the bishopric members) had a Valentine making and cookie decorating activity at her house... but her cookies were AMAZING... maybe it was the cream or maybe the almond extract... but they are great... hope you guys enjoy them too!!

The One True Sugar Cookie

1 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup cream, sour cream or buttermilk (I have used yogurt here instead also!)
3 Tbsp. corn starch
3 cups flour (add 2 Tbsp. extra flour for rainy humid weather)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg, vanilla, almond extract, salt and baking powder--mix till well combined with mixer on low.  Add half the cream and then the corn starch, followed by half the flour.  Add remaining cream and flour--mixing till just incorporated.  Divide dough int 2 flattened balls, cover in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Later that day.....

Roll out chilled dough to desired thickness on generously floured surface.  Loosen dough from counter by sliding a spatula under dough before cutting shapes.  (trick for easy release)  Cut into shapes, dust off excess flour and bake on greased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cookies should be set but not browned.  Cool on pan 5 minutes then move to a cooling rack.

Frosting            

       

1/3 cup butter, softened not melted
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
pinch of salt

Cream butter slowly with powdered sugar.  Add milk and continue beating. Add vanilla, almond extract and salt.  You can add extra milk to make frosting a spreadable consistency. 

Icing

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
pinch of salt (...unless, again, that you are me)
4 cups powdered sugar

Heat butter in saucepan and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and add milk, vanilla, extract and salt.  Whisk in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth.  (Whisk food coloring in after powdered sugar if adding).  Keep icing slightly warm while you frost cookies for best glisten.  You can return pan to heat and whisk for 10 to 20 seconds. 

Leftover Roast Beef

Sweet and Sour Leftover Roast Beef

I varied this recipe to meet my own taste and to reduce the volume as I was making it for only one person.  I did substitute a large carrot for the green pepper as I am not fond of green peppers.

1 C. diced roast beef or pork

1 onion, sliced lengthwise

1 clove garlic, crushed (I used about 3)

Oil

½ C. water

½ Tbs cornstarch

½ Tbs vinegar

1 Tbs soy sauce (I used Aloha brand)

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 green pepper (I substituted one large carrot, julienned)

1 tsp Accent (I did not add this)

Additionally, I would add mushrooms, maybe water chestnuts, maybe ginger, or any of a myriad of other possibilities.

Heat frying pan (recipe calls for a heavy frying pan; I used a 12” non-stick frying pan.)

Add oil, meat, garlic, and onion cook until onions caramelize

Mix water and cornstarch, add to pan

Add remaining ingredients

Cook for 20 minutes

Serve with rice (used noodles)

Sweet Potato and Spinach Soup

I really liked this soup. It has a completely different flavor than most things I eat because of the peanut butter, soy sauce and ginger. I adapted this recipe from Robin Robertson's "Quick Fix Vegan." 

2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large sweet potato, diced
1 TBS grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (14-oz.) can diced tomatoes
2 TB. soy sauce
1/3 cup peanut butter
4 cups vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Heat the oil (or broth) in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sweet potato. Cover and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or to taste. Add the tomatoes and soy sauce.

In a small bowl, combine, the peanut butter with 1 cup of the broth, stirring until smooth. Stir the peanut butter mixture into the soup, then add the remaining broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes,

Stir in the nondairy milk and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with the chopped peanuts.

Tropical Quinoa and Black Beans

The original recipe for this comes from Robin Robertson's "Quick-Fix Vegan" cookbook, but I addapted it to make it stretch a little farther. Over all, it was really quite good, though I would consider adding a little more of each of the spice than is listed. Still, it is a really good go-to salad, and I am sure it would be great for potlucks.
1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander1/8 teaspoon cayenne2 can sblack beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn
Salt and black pepper
2 mangos, peeled, pitted and chopped 
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)

Cook the quinoa in a saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat the oil or water in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the ginger, garlic, sugar, thyme, cumin, allspice, coriander, and cayenne and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Add the beans and reserved quinoa and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in the mango, lime juice, and cilantro and cook for a few minutes to heat through. Serve hot (or just warm) with lime wedges, if using.

Pumpkin Bars

I know its the "wrong" time of year for anything pumpkin, but my roommate asked for these for her birthday last week, so I figured I would post the recipe. They're pretty simple to make, but they are also delicious! The original recipe is from Paula Dean.

Bars:

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

15-ounce can pumpkin

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Lemon Ginger Yellow Split Pea Soup

I don't think I have ever had split pea soup and really liked it. Not that I think they are bad, they just weren't really good. Except this one. Seriously. I genuinely love this soup. Most of my meals have started to taste pretty similar lately, but this one is completely different. So good. And healthy. Yep. It's a keeper. I adapted it from The Tastespace.

1 tsp whole coriander seed, crushed, or 1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tbsp coconut oil (could use any cooking oil)
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
2-inch-long ginger root, peeled and grated (about 2 tbsp)
2 cups yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
6-8 cups water/vegetable stock
1 tsp bouillon (I was using water so this helped add a little depth)
2 tsp rosemary
2 bay leaf
1 tsp lemon zest
3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

Toast coriander for about 1 minute over medium-high heat, until fragrant. Add oil. When hot, add carrots, garlic, onion and ginger. Reduce heat to medium and saute until vegetables are softened (about 5 minutes.) Add water, split peas, rosemary, bay leaves and bouillon. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about an hour to two hours until peas are falling apart (my soup took about 90 minutes for the peas to cook.) Remove from heat and remove bay leaves. Stir in lemon zest and juice. Serve.

Also, here is a picture of the blanket I made for Emily. Mom asked me to post it here, so here it is: