I heart banana bread, but mini me has not quite developed a big enough taste for it to make it very often, thus I eat the loaf myself. Never a good thing. Instead we turn to banana chip cookies...
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup smooshed banana
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon soda
1 cup chocolate chips
chopped nuts, if your heart desires.
Mix in order given, with a wooden spoon. (I'm anti mixers, unless of course I'm making angel food cake...) Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. These cookies stay moist and as good as the first day for several days after. A mix of peanut butter chips and chocolate chips would probably be very tasty too. One batch makes about 2 1/2 dozen, depending on how big you make them.
***
Feeling a little uninspired tonight, as I've been fighting my sinuses all week. I'm just wore out and I have no good explanation, as work has been less than demanding...much less than demanding. Mini me was even able to talk me into a Hot-n-Ready tonight!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Beef - It's What's for Dinner!
I grew up on a farm and ranch, and we raised beef cattle. I'm a complete beef snob. We always had the best, and we ate it ALL the time. I dislike buying beef now. I always feel so disappointed. So much so that I cook with ground turkey more than I do with ground beef. I rarely buy what is supposed to be a good cut of steak, because I feel a little taken advantage of after I fork over $20...only to find more disappointment.
I do buy round steak or sirloin steak fairly frequently. It's much cheaper than a ribeye or strip, and I find just as much satisfaction when cooked right. Tonight was a just right night!
I started with maybe a 1/4 - 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar in a shallow dish. I added a pinch of brown sugar (maybe a tablespoon worth), another pinch of dried thyme (teaspoon or so), a half a lemon worth of juice, and 3 or 4 cloves of garlic chopped as finely as I could. Add a little salt and some fresh ground pepper and the steak and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Broil the steak - maybe 4-5 minutes per side. Don't overcook it! You want it to be medium to medium rare to preserve some tenderness and flavor. I spooned some of the marinade over the steak as I turned it.
The result was fresh goodness! Pick two of your favorite easy side dishes and feel like you're indulging at the steakhouse without breaking the bank!
I do buy round steak or sirloin steak fairly frequently. It's much cheaper than a ribeye or strip, and I find just as much satisfaction when cooked right. Tonight was a just right night!
I started with maybe a 1/4 - 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar in a shallow dish. I added a pinch of brown sugar (maybe a tablespoon worth), another pinch of dried thyme (teaspoon or so), a half a lemon worth of juice, and 3 or 4 cloves of garlic chopped as finely as I could. Add a little salt and some fresh ground pepper and the steak and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Broil the steak - maybe 4-5 minutes per side. Don't overcook it! You want it to be medium to medium rare to preserve some tenderness and flavor. I spooned some of the marinade over the steak as I turned it.
The result was fresh goodness! Pick two of your favorite easy side dishes and feel like you're indulging at the steakhouse without breaking the bank!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Dealing With Fruit Cravings in a Snow Storm
In an attempt to re-create the new Dunkin' Donuts Waffle Breakfast Sandwich this weekend, I decided that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted fruit topping on my waffles. I was looking at some random odds and ends of frozen fruit and came across this idea...
Mix 2 cups frozen berries, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch. Microwave for about 2 minutes. Mix it up and cook another 2 minutes, or until mixture looks like fruit topping.
Fresh fruit is hard to find sometimes...not so much hard to find, but hard to find GOOD fresh fruit, particularly in the depths of winter. Frozen fruit can be spendy, but if you buy when it's on sale, you can find a lot of uses for it - namely the fruit topping, and also smoothies.
Second use for the fruit topping was also discovered tonight. I buy big cartons of plain yogurt to keep around for random cooking purposes. It's also usually cheaper than the smaller single serve varieties, and mini-me eats through yogurt like there's no tomorrow. We like to put about half a cup of plain yogurt, a couple spoonfuls of honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon together. It makes good fruit dip, or you can mix in some of that fruit topping for a much improved version of the single serve fruit yogurts. Smiley faces made with the fruit topping score extra yummy points.
Third use for fruit topping would be to just grab a spoon and eat it. It seems like it would also be good on toast, though maybe slightly too runny?
Mix 2 cups frozen berries, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch. Microwave for about 2 minutes. Mix it up and cook another 2 minutes, or until mixture looks like fruit topping.
Fresh fruit is hard to find sometimes...not so much hard to find, but hard to find GOOD fresh fruit, particularly in the depths of winter. Frozen fruit can be spendy, but if you buy when it's on sale, you can find a lot of uses for it - namely the fruit topping, and also smoothies.
Second use for the fruit topping was also discovered tonight. I buy big cartons of plain yogurt to keep around for random cooking purposes. It's also usually cheaper than the smaller single serve varieties, and mini-me eats through yogurt like there's no tomorrow. We like to put about half a cup of plain yogurt, a couple spoonfuls of honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon together. It makes good fruit dip, or you can mix in some of that fruit topping for a much improved version of the single serve fruit yogurts. Smiley faces made with the fruit topping score extra yummy points.
Third use for fruit topping would be to just grab a spoon and eat it. It seems like it would also be good on toast, though maybe slightly too runny?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
