Banana Bread

My kids love Banana Bread, always have, always will. It is one of their most requested things for me to make when they come home. They always want to take some home with them. This is a really easy recipe to make. You can make it in two large loaf pans, but I always use mini loaf pans and the recipe yields about 6-7 mini loaves.

BANANA BREAD FEINER
Elise Feiner

½ cup vegetable oil (Wesson®)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (6 or 12 ounce) bag miniature chocolate chips, depending on your preference
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Beat oil and sugar together with a hand mixer or KitchenAid stand mixer (or whatever brand you use), until well combined. Add eggs and mashed banana pulp and beat well. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add sifted dry ingredients, milk, and vanilla. Mix well and stir in chocolate chips, and nuts if desired. Pour into mini loaf pans or a large loaf pan which has been greased and floured. Bake at 350° for about 20 to 25 minutes for the mini loaves and 60 minutes for the large loaf. Cool well. Serves 6 normal people or one to two growing Feiner Boys! Use leftover slices for French Toast.

This is what you will need for the recipe:

½ cup vegetable oil (Wesson®)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (6 or 12 ounce) bag miniature chocolate chips, depending on your preference
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

As always, let's get the prep work out of the way...

Preheat the oven to 350° F.


Spray your loaf pans with PAM or other non stick spray



Your bananas should be fairly brown (this makes them sweet)


Peel the bananas


Mash the bananas with a fork

Sift together your dry ingredients
(I like to use a paper dish so I can easily
fold it to insert it into the stand mixer's bowl.)

Measure out your flour and put it in a paper plate
or whatever you want to use - add the baking soda


Baking powder

and salt

Mix until well blended - I use a spoon
After you mix it together, set it aside

Beat your eggs and set aside (I forgot to do this )

Put the oil and sugar together into a mixing bowl


Beat oil and sugar together with a hand mixer or
KitchenAid stand mixer (or whatever brand you use),
until well combined.

Add the eggs (I just added them and forgot to beat them -
Beat them slightly first)


and mashed banana pulp and beat well.




Add sifted dry ingredients,
(see how easy it is with the paper dish)



Beat well

until well blended


add the milk,


and vanilla (I always use Mexican Vanilla, there is a link
at the bottom of the blog to purchase it.)

Mix well

until all combined


and stir in chocolate chips, and nuts if desired.



Pour (I use a gravy ladle) into mini loaf pans
or a large loaf pan which has been greased.

Bake in the preheated 350° for about
20 to 25 minutes for the mini loaves and
60 minutes for the large loaf.

Test for doneness by either pressing
lightly with your finger
(cake should spring back)
or
inserting s cake tester
(I use a bamboo skewer- I always have a pack of these handy)
and making sure it comes out clean and dry



Let cool in the pans for a few minutes


Cool well on wire racks.


Serves 6 normal people or one to two growing Feiner Boys!
Use leftover slices for French Toast (but don't count on leftovers, :)
These freeze very well.

It's Not Your Momma's Cornbread!

One the heels of my defense of Paula Deen, comes a recipe that she would no doubt love.

Everyday when you open your e-mail you are inundated with e-mails asking you to join some group of another, or forward a particular e-mail to a group of friends. I am always getting asked to join recipe circles, which I love. The only problem is, that no one that I ever send them to ever forwards them, and then, I never receive any recipes (excluding the group at CookbooksEtcetera which is a self contained ring).

The one and only time that I belonged to a ring that actually worked was years ago, and this is a recipe that I received as part of that recipe ring. It came from a woman called Louise Blackburn and it is very delicious. It is called Onion Shortcake, but it is a variation of a cornbread recipe. It doesn't look beautiful, but it tastes great. The only thing I would do differently if I was doing it again, was cook it for another 5 minutes (but my oven is horrible), and let it sit before cutting it.

The other comment that I have is that the original recipe called for a box of Flako Cornbread Mix which is no longer being made. I substituted Jiffy Cornbread Mix, but I am not sure exactly how the two weights of the boxes measure up because the original recipe did not include the size of the box of Flako.

ONION SHORTCAKE
Louise Blackburn

1 large onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup butter
1 box Flako® Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg, beaten
⅓ cup milk
1 (1 pound) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese


Preheat oven to 425°. In a medium frying pan sauté the onions in butter. Combine the muffin mix, egg, milk, and creamed corn. Pour muffin mixture into a greased 9 x 9-inch square pan. In a bowl, combine sour cream, salt, onions, and ½ of the cheese. Spread the sour cream mixture on top of the muffin mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

This is what you will need for the recipe:


ONION SHORTCAKE
Louise Blackburn

1 large onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup butter
1 box Flako® Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg, beaten
⅓ cup milk
1 (1 pound) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425°


Spray and 8 x 8-inch Pyrex or whatever you are
going to use with PAM


Peel the onion


Leave the little nub on the bottom of the onion intact


Place the nub on the bottom of a cutting board or dish
Slice the onion in thin slices


Turn 90 degrees and cut into thin slices again


Cut off the bottom nub (about 1/2 - inch) of the onion


and the onion should come apart into thin slices
Set aside


Place the egg in a small dish


Beat the egg with a fork and set aside


Place the butter in a medium frying pan


add the onions, and sauté the onions in butter


Combine the muffin mix,
(I used an 8.5 ounce box of Jiffy)


egg,


milk,



and creamed corn in a mixing bowl
and mix well



Pour muffin mixture into prepared 9 x 9-inch square pan


Rinse the bowl you just used and put
the onions in it,


combine sour cream,


half of the cheddar cheese,



and salt


Mix well


Spread the sour cream mixture
on top of the muffin mixture


Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on the top


Bake for 30 minutes
Check and if it's getting too brown
cover with a piece of aluminum foil

Let sit about 15-20 minutes before cutting
(I was in a hurry and didn't and it ran a little, but
it tasted great!)

Serve warm


This was great with a steak dinner, but it would be good with a
side dish with almost anything...I bet it would be good with
Mexican Food too!