A Little Sunday Morning Baking

This morning I decided to use up some bananas that were getting a little too ripe for eating so I made up a few loaves of Banana bread and I thought I would share the recipe with you. It's very moist and yummy and a big hit at our house....especially when it is still warm and you spread a little butter on it.

Banana Bread

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)

2 eggs

2-1/4 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking Powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp.salt

1 cup chopped pecans

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add bananas and eggs; mix well. Add combined dry ingredients; mix just until moistened. Stir in walnuts.

POUR into greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pan.

BAKE 1 hour 10 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing to serve. Store any leftover bread in refrigerator.

A Bountiful Table

Ever have one of mornings when you just want to cook? This morning was one of those days. Autumn has finally arrived and the air is crisp and clean. I was inspired. I love to cook in the cooler months. Cold weather comfort foods are so much more fun to prepare than summer foods in my opinion. Here is what I accomplished this morning.

3 jars of homemade strawberry preserves
1 loaf of white bread
1 loaf of whole wheat flax seed bread
8 jars of homemade plain yogurt
24 cinnamon rolls
1 cheese pizza for lunch
2 loaves of European whole grain breads

Sunday Morning Jam

Abby truly is a little domestic goddess in-training. This morning our Kitchen is a flurry of activity. Breads rising, chicken roasting, yogurt brewing and to top it off we also decided to make some fresh strawberry jam. The kids have now decided that "mommy jam" is so much better than the stuff you buy at the store so we are now adding that to the list of things that we make ourselves. We are making so many efforts to cut back on waste and not buying things that we can do at home with the kids. The kids love it and so do I.

Sunday's Dessert

I have no idea where this craving came from, and I know that I am not pg. But I wanted Cherry Pie! So this afternoon I decided to make one for tonight's dessert. The house smells so yummy and the kids are so excited about trying it. To be honest this is the first Cherry Pie I have ever made so I hope it tastes good. I am not normally a pie-kinda-person but for some very odd reason it sounded really good to me. We don't normally have desserts after dinner but maybe I should start a new tradition of making a special dessert for us to enjoy after our Sunday dinner. Tonight we are having grilled chicken breasts with a delicious homemade Spinach Alfredo Florentine. Sounds de-lish doesn't it? It's a new recipe and I hope the kids like it but if they want Pie they have to at least try it!

Insomnia Jam

What to do at 4am when you can't sleep? Make homemade Strawberry jam, of course. This insomnia of mine is really starting to drive me nuts. Night after night, I am wide awake at some crazy hour and just can't get back to sleep! So frustrating. This morning was no exception. I was up and wanted to be productive so I decided to make some fresh Strawberry preserves. Crazy, I know, but it sounded good at the time. From there I made a batch of yogurt, then onto a few loaves of banana bread, 2 loaves of regular bread, and finally a delicious Sunday morning coffee cake which is in the oven as I sit here typing away. The scent of cinnamon is filling the house and I am sure I will have four small children asking for cake very soon.

Yum

Just for fun I decided to surprise the kids this morning with some of my homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. After years and years of trying to find the perfect recipe and lots of trial and error I have finally perfected my recipe. Henry was my helper this morning and happily sat up on the counter and watched me add ingredient after ingredient and watch the paddle on my ever faithful Kitchen Aid spin around and turn it into dough. He was completely fascinated! Even though he is a man of very few words, "cookie" is one word he can say! After I scooped each spoonful onto the baking sheet I put them in the oven to bake. Henry camped out right in front of the oven and watched them. I have to say the smell of cookies baking is intoxicating. One by one the other kids, who were happily upstairs playing, caught the aroma and came rushing down the stairs with wide eyes and open hands. Abby devoured her cookie and then looked up with her face covered in chocolate and said "You Rock Mommy!". Isn't it amazing how something as simple as a cookie can make your day.

Tonight's Dinner - Oriental Chicken Salad

With the weather being so hot these days, tonight I decided to make a yummy salad with grilled chicken. We have been having these a lot lately and depending on our mood we change the ingredients to highlight the flavors of a certain cuisine. Tonight was Asian with Mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, cucumber, dried cranberries, chow mein noodles and lots of grilled chicken. This is always a huge hit with everyone. We also make a delicious Mexican salad and a really good Italian salad. The kids love to help, and Oliver and Elliott are especially interested in learning how to cook. I am teaching them the basics right now and tonight Oliver did a large percentage of preparing this salad. He really loves learning about different flavors and cooking techniques. Who knows he may be the next Emeril.

Mmmm...Freshly Baked Bread

There is nothing quite like the smell, and taste of freshly baked bread. I started baking all of our bread a few years ago. I was tired of the high cost and poor quality of the breads that were available in the stores so I did research, bought some basic supplies and started experimenting. I have perfected the basic white and whole wheat loaf and also developed a few new recipes along the way for some family favorites. Currently I am trying my hand at learning to make Artisan breads. However, I still have a way to go before I am really good at it.