The One: Banana Bread

I love trying different recipes and am always on the hunt for new ones that I'd like to try, but Colin feels very strongly that I need to have some "standards" that I always use.  He has memories of his favorites that his mom always made as he was growing up and he wants Theo to have the same thing, which I totally get. I'd love for Theo to be able to say "I love my mom's ______" fill in the blank, and if I'm constantly changing it up and trying a new recipe every time I make anything, he won't be able to have that "my mom makes the best ______" feeling.  So, Colin says it's time to just call it on a few recipes and say these are "the ones".  So, after combining a few elements from the many versions I've tried over the years, here it is, The Official Alison Sanburg Banana Bread Recipe:

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  With a wooden spoon, mix most of the butter (leaving maybe 1/3 of it out)into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.  Add the flour last, mix.  Pour mixture into a greased 4x8 inch loaf pan.  Mix the cinnamon (I'm kind of cinnamon obsessed and often add more than a teaspoon to get a really cinnamon-y flavor in the bread) and brown sugar into the remaining melted butter, then drizzle the mixture over the top of the bread.  Bake for 1 hour.  Cool on a rack, then remove from the pan and slice to serve.  

Jalapeno Popper Quiche

We just had this for dinner tonight and Colin loved it so much that I wanted to make sure to post it before I forgot because this will definitely be one I'm making again! It's really easy (although all of the cooking time means it's not the world's quickest thing to throw together) and so delicious. The blog that I originally got the recipe from mentioned that this was served for breakfast, but I thought it worked equally well for dinner. Make this and you won't regret it!

1 9-inch pie shell, pre-baked (I'm sure homemade crust would be even better, but store bought worked just fine)
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 jalapeno, sliced

Preheat the oven to 350. Spread the cream cheese over the bottom of the pie crust and sprinkle with the diced jalapenos. Heat the milk and cream over medium heat until just before it boils, about 5 minutes, and transfer to a large bowl. Pour the eggs into the heated cream mixture, stirring constantly. Mix in the paprika and salt. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with the cheddar cheese, arrange the jalapeno slices on top and bake until the cheese has completely melted and turned golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Source: closetcooking.com

Banana and Chocolate Upside Down Cake

This recipe caught my eye for two reasons: 1. it simply sounded good and 2. I seem to always be looking for ways to use up a few ripe bananas before they have to be tossed. I made this for dessert one night, served with a little vanilla ice cream on the side and it was so good! And even better, there were enough bananas in it that I was able to convince myself that it was an appropriate breakfast food, too, and it was just as delicious the next morning (sans the vanilla ice cream since that would probably be a little bit harder to justify!).

For the topping:
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2-3 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas, about 2 bananas
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons low fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the topping, place the brown sugar and butter in an 8-inch square baking pan (I used a round pie pan and that worked out just fine). Set the pan over a burner set to medium-low heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter melts and the brown sugar is thoroughly moistened. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Arrange the banana slices over the bottom of the pan, overlapping them slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, banana puree, sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Stir until just combined, then gently fold in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the cake pan, being careful not to disturb the banana slices. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until the center is just set and firm to the touch, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the cake pan, and invert onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: pink-parsley.com

Breakfast Biscuit Sandwiches

Ok, there's really not an actual recipe here, but these were just too good not to share. Once again, it was so clear to me how much better homemade anything is. This was pretty much inspired by the classic McDonald's egg McMuffin, but it was a million times better and so easy! We just made some biscuits (ok, full disclosure, I used the store bought refrigerated biscuit dough, so I'm not sure this can even really qualify as "homemade"!), fried a couple eggs, cooked some bacon, put it all together and then popped them in the oven long enough for a slice of cheddar cheese to melt on top. Seriously couldn't be easier or more delicious!

Onion, Pepper, Spinach and Pancetta Frittata

I LOVE a good omelet for breakfast, but making my own omelets kinds of intimidates me for some reason (maybe I need to try that "As Seen On TV" special omelets-for-dummies pan?). Luckily, frittatas can pretty much do the job of an omelet without all that scary egg flipping required!

Onion, Pepper, Spinach and Pancetta Frittata

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced pancetta (regular old ham works too or you could omit it all together to go vegetarian)
1/2 cup sliced bell peppers (any color works, I prefer a mixture just for added color)
About 8 oz. of spinach
8 large eggs
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup crumbled feta


Move oven rack to position nearest to broiler and set oven to broil. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Saute onion until translucent and soft. Season with salt and pepper, and add pancetta, spinach and bell peppers. Cook for 4 minutes. Whisk together the eggs and half-and-half and pour mixture into skillet. Stir to arrange fillings evenly and cook until bottom is set. Sprinkle feta on top. Transfer skillet to oven; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until top is set. Cut into slices and serve. Makes 3 servings.

Source: Glamour magazine

"Fancy" Eggs and Hash Browns

I recently caught the end of a Barefoot Contessa episode where the dish was a breakfast that looked absolutely amazing! Since I only saw a few minutes of the episode, all I knew was that it involved scrambled eggs and goat cheese, but with the power of Google, that was all I needed to know! I found the recipes I was looking for and cooked this on a leisurely Saturday morning--what a delicious breakfast! If you are a fan of goat cheese (as we are in the Sanburg household), you will definitely love these eggs!

Slow Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese

6 Servings

16 extra large eggs
1 1/4 cup milk or half and half
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced

Whisk eggs in a bowl with milk, salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan. Add eggs and cook until desired doneness, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add goat cheese, chives and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir and allow the eggs to sit for 30 seconds, until the cheese begins to melt. Check for seasoning, then serve hot.

Country Hashed Browns

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 lb. boiling potatoes, peeled and 1/2 inch diced
1 1/2 cup chopped yellow onions (about 2 onions)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts
1/2 lb. smoked ham slices, 1/2 inch diced

Melt butter in a large saute pan. Add potatoes, onions, salt and pepper and cook over medium low heat for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally with a flat spatula until the potatoes are evenly browned and cooked through (allow the potatoes to first cook for 5 minutes before turning). Turn off heat and add parsley, scallions and ham.

Source: Ina Garten

Spinach and Cheese Strata

I love nothing more than brunch--you get to eat delicious breakfast food without getting up too early and there's often alcohol involved in the form of mimosas (my fave!) or bloody marys. Can't go wrong with brunch if you ask me!
This is definitely one of my absolute favorite breakfast/brunch items ever. It's perfect for a holiday brunch because you prep everything the night before and then just pop it in the oven in the morning. Not to mention, this is freaking delicious! I served this when we had both sets of moms and stepdads over and every single one of us went back for seconds--yummy!

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Dash of nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere
2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
9 large eggs
2 3/4 cups milk

Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions, saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue to cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the spinach, remove from heat and set aside. Butter the inside of a 2 1/2-3 quart baking dish. Layer the bottom of the dish with 1/3 of the bread cubes. Top with 1/3 of the spinach mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers twice more. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Whisk together until blended. Pour mixture evenly over bread, spinach and cheese layered in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered until puffed, golden brown and cooked through, 45-55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Source: annies-eats.com

Breakfast for my love

Ok, clearly I'm a little behind in my blogging since I made this for a Valentine's Day breakfast, but it was just too cute not to share! My darling, basketball fanatic husband got tickets to go to the NBA All Star game, which just so happened to take place on Valentine's day (and he wasn't taking me!), so we had to squeeze in all of our V-day celebrations early on in the day. I made this yummy brunch for us to enjoy and it was perfect for the occasion! I think I originally saw this in the Martha Stewart magazine, but you don't really need an exact recipe. All you really do is butter a slice of toast, cut out the center with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, place it in a hot skillet until one side is browned, flip it, crack an egg in the center and cook until the egg is done. Two helpful hints that I learned along the way are to leave the cookie cutter in the center of the bread while cooking (spray it lightly with some cooking spray first) so that the egg keeps its shape, and to toast the cut out part for dipping into the egg. Overall it was super easy and very appropo for the occasion!

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Ok, I made this for our post-Christmas brunch with my family, if that gives you any idea of how behind I am on my blogging! I'll be better, I promise! In any case, this bread was yummy and fairly easy to make. Since I'm not much of a baker, I'm always nervous when I am making a bread of any kind, so "tasty" is my number one qualification, with "easy" as a close second!

2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped cranberries (I used fresh ones since they were obviously readily available around Christmastime, but I think that dried cranberries would also work)
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the cranberries and walnuts to coat with the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together the orange juice, butter, egg and orange zest. Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until done (toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Easy Monkey Bread

When I told Colin I was making monkey bread, he went on and on about how good his mom's is and that I really should get her recipe. I'm sure Midge's recipe is great, but Colin did end up pretty satisfied with this version too. I thought it was delish, and it was super easy too, which definitely doesn't hurt!

4 small cans or 1 1/2 big cans of biscuits
1 stick of butter (yikes--that's an awful lot of butter!!)
brown sugar
white sugar
cinnamon

Quarter the biscuits. Melt the butter. Combine the sugars and cinnamon and add the mixture plus the melted butter to a large zip lock bag. Add the biscuit pieces to the bag and toss to coat, then pour into a well-greased bundt pan. Bake at whatever temperature the biscuit package says for about 10 minutes (it ended up taking me closer to 15 or 20 minutes for the biscuit pieces to all be fully cooked and get that yummy crispy outside).

Source: my friend Amanda Herron

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche

I had to cook this for probably 10-15 minutes longer than the recipe said, but it was so good--definitely worth the wait!

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (I used Light)
1/3 cup skim milk
3 eggs
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
Mushroom (the original recipe didn't call for mushrooms, but I love mushrooms and had some extra, so I just tossed all of those in)
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup grated parmesan
5 green onions, thinly sliced
1 9-inch prepared pie crust
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in milk and eggs. Mix in remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is set, about 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Source: Bon Appetit

Brunch with the Parents

We had both of our parents and Rosanne over for brunch today and everything was so good! It was a fun, relaxing way to start our Sunday and I think everyone definitely enjoyed themselves. Here's the menu:

Mimosas
OJ
Coffee
Muffins--Mom
Fruit Salad
Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Rolls
Tea Sandwiches--Midge
Breakfast Potatoes
Amish Breakfast Casserole

Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Rolls

I have seen a recipe that was similar to this, but I didn't write it down at the time, and then couldn't seem to find it anywhere when I wanted to make these, so I just kind of winged it. They turned out so good and I'll definitely make them again!

1 package light cream cheese
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 package reduced-fat crescent rolls
Sugar
Cinnamon

Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla and stir until smooth and well combined. Roll out crescent roll dough and press together perforations to seal. Carefully and evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough. Roll dough up lengthwise and cut into approximately ten pieces. Place rolls cut side up on baking sheet. Mix together cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the rolls. Bake at 375 for about 12-14 minutes.

Amish Breakfast Casserole

Bacon, cooked and crumbled (omitted this and subbed in red bell pepper, mushrooms and spinach)
1 onion, chopped
4 cups frozen hash browns, thawed (omitted these since I didn't get them thawed out in time--I was worried about how that might affect the recipe, but it was totally fine without them)
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

In a large skillet cook bacon(or veggies) and onion, then drain. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl. Add bacon and onion and mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes (my changes shortened the cooking time by about 5 minutes), then let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

This was soooo good! It got rave reviews from everyone and I'll definitely continue to make it with my modifications.

Source: allrecipes.com

Homemade Applesauce

Ok, I know I am seriously behind on my blog updating--this one is from way back when I got my wisdom teeth removed and I was living on pretty much just yogurt and oatmeal. I finally got sick of those boring options, so I decided to make myself some applesauce and it was so good! Colin was complaining that it was taking too long, but it was totally worth the wait and I'll never eat blah store bought applesauce again! The only thing I would change about this recipe is use a little less sugar next time--it was so sweet it was almost desert-ish.

Applesauce

4-5 apples peeled, cored and chopped into small cubes
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used probably double the cinnamon because I wanted it to be really cinnamon-y and delicious!)
1 teaspoon brown sugar

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cover and simmer for 20 mintues, or until tender. Mash with a fork and enjoy!

Emily's Cran-Apple Bake

I took this to my mom's holiday cookie exchange party and it was a huge hit! Thanks for the delicious recipe Em!

3 cups peeled, chopped apples (preferable Granny Smith)

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup four plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided use

1 cup sugar (this seemed like a lot of sugar and I think it would be just fine with a smaller amount)

3 packages cinnamon instant oatmeal

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the apples and cranberries with 2 tablespoons flour until coated. Add 1 cup sugar and mix well. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Mix the oatmeal, rest of the flour, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter together. Spoon topping over the fruit. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Birthday Banana Bread

Colin made a request for banana bread, so I figured that it would be the perfect breakfast to start the celebration of his 29th birthday!

One Pan Banana Bread

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

2 1/3 cup Bisquick

1 cup sugar

(I also added some pecans)

Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease the bottom of a loaf pan. Stir all ingredients in a bowl with a fork until moistened; beat vigorously for 1 minute. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes.

Colin usually likes his banana bread with plain old butter, but I also made some maple whipped cream to go with the bread and it was really tasty!

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon pure maple sugar

1 pinch nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and beat until soft peaks form.

Apple Pancake Disaster

So you would think it would be easy to make pancakes from a mix, but apparently not so much. These were still tasty even after they were mangled (and I must add that my lovely husband was in charge of the pancake flipping) and Colin was pretty impressed that I managed to just "whip up" some real whipped cream!

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

4 pieces of bread

1 bag of frozed blueberries, thawed

1/2 block of cream cheese

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Splash of milk

2 eggs

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Spray a baking 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a few pieces of bread, broken into bite sized pieces. Then, in a bowl, mix 1/2 block of cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a splash of milk. Drop this mixture by small spoonfuls over the bread. Then add the blueberries. In another bowl, mix together enough milk, eggs, a splash of vanilla and a little cinnamon and nutmeg to cover the bread. Pour over the bread and blueberries mixture. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.

*Can be mixed the night before and left in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning.