Yes we have no banana's today...

I've never really understood that phrase in the song, and I'm too sick to sing. I took this shot to show my family that the bananas have to be very ripe for banana cake/bread/muffins. It seems my husband thinks these are "bad" and garburates them, and then I go out and buy ones off the reduce shelf so I can have them for baking. My son won't eat a banana but he'll gobble down this cake. I got the recipe from a co-worker many years ago and it always works. Have a Mellow Yellow Monday

Karen Scarpone’s Banana Bread

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1tsp. baking soda dissolved in 4 tsp. boiling water

3 bananas mashed

2cups sifted flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Pinch salt

1 cup nuts (*walnuts or anything you have hanging around)

1 tsp vanilla

• I often substitute chocolate chips for the nuts, just in case I have a nut allergy person around.

Cream together, butter, sugar and eggs.

Dissolve soda in water, mix with mashed bananas

Sift and mix together dry ingredients. Add alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add nuts/chocolate chips and vanilla.

I bake this in a bundt pan, but you can certainly make it a loaf or cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees in a greased pan. Enjoy.

Nurses do Nibblers

It's been my experience that any nurse I know makes awesome "nibblers" so I've decided to dedicate my "nibbles" section of my cookbook to the nurses in my life that have so generously shared their delicious nibbler recipes with me so that I may share them with my family.

It was my mom's 90th birthday this weekend, and although I forgot my camera, I'm sure my niece will send along some lovely shots. Anyway, I made these very tasty Buffalo Chicken Dip nibblers. I first tasted this when my friend Janice (the nurse) made it for us on Boxing Day, she got this from her charge nurse, see what I mean about nurses doing nibblers.

Ingredients
1 pkg. (8oz./250gr.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. blue cheese salad dressing
1/c. any flavor Frank's Red Hot Sauce
2oz. crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
2 cans Premium White chunk chicken breast in water, drained
Assorted fresh vegtables and crackers for dipping.

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350F

Stir the cream cheese in a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with a fork or whisk until it's smooth. Stir in the dressing, hot sauce and blue cheese. Stir in chicken. Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir before serving. Serve with the vegetable and crackers.

Janice served these with pita triangles instead of vegetables, and crackers. She also used a cooked chicken breast shredded, instead of the canned chicken.

This is what I did, I have this thing for large groups dipping their hands into one bowl, sorry, just nuts. I mixed the chicken with the hot sauce and let it sit while my cream cheese softened, I then beat cream cheese and all the other ingredients,and then added the hot sauce chicken into it at last. I then spread it on a wrap, rolled it up and heated them through about 15 min. on a cookie sheet. When they were hot I sliced them up for a pop in your mouth treat. I had put some cucumber sticks and carrot sticks on the platter, so we didn't have "HOT LIPS". they were great and no real "dipping germs" When I make them next time I will use real chicken, I liked it better than the canned stuff. P.S. cook the breast of chicken of course.

Hat tip Nurse Alana and Nurse Jan

Broccoli Casserole

O.K. I'm going to skip along from my cookie plates. I had a reluctant eater in my early stages of motherhood. It was as though he was born in an Italian household, only pasta after the age of 2. Prior to that he ate very well, I was going through birthday cards and on the back of his 1st Birthday I had written what he liked to eat.(collecting evidence) Leek and Mushroom soup was on the menu of the day. He loved it. Now I'm sure I'd have to pay him to eat a bowl of mushroom soup. Both my guys will still eat Chicken soup (homemade)but not interested in much else. Anyway I was told this Christmas that I was slacking off, because he hadn't had his broccoli lately. Apparently "I love broccoli casserole". (News to me) anyway maybe someone you love will love it too. It's been pretty much a staple at any family dinners and I'm kinda of sick of making it so I didn't, but here it is.

Broccoli Casserole
2 pkg. broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
2 eggs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. onion shredded *
Salt & pepper to taste
1 can sliced mushrooms drained
Ritz crackers crumbled

Steam broccoli, leaving it crisp and in bite size pieces.
Combine eggs, soup, mayo, cheese (reserving 1/2c.) onion if using, and sliced mushrooms if using. Toss with broccoli, spread in large oven proof dish, sprinkle with additional cheese and top with crumbled crackers. Bake at 350 degree about 35-45 min. or until the mixture resembles a quiche. Serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Oven mates, Raspberry Squares

these are the squares I make along with the Magic Bars, oven mates I call them. I start with Madelaine and then almond cookies and then squares, no oven turning off and then just a big clean up at the end. these are the must haves on my tray and then if I have anymore time or energy I'll continue tomorrow.


Raspberry Squares

1/2 c. butter
1 tbsp. sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Mix together & press into a 9 in square pan

Top with jam of your choice, the recipe calls for 1/2 c. raspberry jam, but I've done anything I like, strawberry, blueberry or even sliced apples with sugar and cinnamon.

Topping

Butter size of walnut
1/2 brown sugar
1 egg
1/4c. chopped walnuts
1/2c coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix together, spread on the top of the jam. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min. When cooled cut into squares. Freezes well.

What's on your cookie tray continued

I'm still eating my way around the cooking tray. I've posted these recipes in the order I make them. I try preheat my oven only once. So I start with the Madeline's, then on to the Almond Cookies and now to the squares. I make the Magic Cookie Bars, and Raspberry Squares to go into the oven at the same time. (Energy efficient) You do need to own two 9x9 square pans.


Magic Cookie Bars

½ cup butter
1 ½ cups graham wafer crumbs
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened condensed Milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ¼ flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven 350 degrees
In a 9 x 9 square pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle crumbs over butter: mix together and press into pan.
Pour Eagle Brand evenly over crumbs. Sprinkle with chips, then coconut and nuts: press down firmly. Bake 25 30 min. or until lightly browned. Cool well before cutting. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Cut into bars.

What's on your cookie tray #3

Almond Cookies

4c. (or more) of ground almonds
2 cups sugar
4 eggs (medium size)*
½ of a 43ml. bottle of almond extract

2 additonal eggs for dipping, and 1 cup coarse sugar to roll cookies in.
Combine 4c. almonds with sugar and eggs (the size of the eggs determines if you need a more almonds) and almond extract. COOL the mixture for about 1 hour in fridge.

Grease cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I use a melon baller one of those yellow Tupperware ones so all my cookies are the same size, and therefore bake evenly.
Scoop batter into rounds, roll in your hands to make them lovely and round. Make all your balls and place them on a plate, then * take and additional egg white in a small bowl and beat it with a fork. In another small bowl put about ¼ cup of coarse sugar. (The sugar gets quite wet after awhile so use small portions at a time for rolling your cookies).
Each cookie is rolled in egg white and sugar, place about 2 inches apart from each other, bake for about 15 min. Be careful not to burn, with all that sugar and egg white it does happen. Let cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. I usually have to wash my cookie sheet between batches of cookies.

What's on your cookie tray #2

These are a must have if you've made the Almond Madeline you must have the chocolate as well. I always thought they would look great for a piano recital, so piano key like. I tried dipping these in white chocolate this year just for the heck of it, but other than they were delicious, they were a little messy looking, so I had to eat them. I think I would have had to make sure they were completely cold, not just cool before dipping. I used 3 squares of white chocolate and 1 tbsp melted shortening for my dipping solution.I melted these two combined over a double boilers, it does get hot. I thought they looked messy because some of the dark crumbs got into my white chocolate and ... but they were good. Enjoy.


Chocolate Madeline Cookies

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1cup butter (melted)
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
¼ tsp. salt
Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 400degrees

Grease Madeline pans. In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until thick and the colour of lemon. Gradually add cool melted butter. Measure flour, cocoa and salt in another bowl. Fold into egg mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pans, bake for 6-9 min.. Cool slightly and remove from pan. Sprinkle plate and cookies with confectioners sugar (these are very sticky).