Going Bananas!

While I was shopping in the produce section this morning, I noticed a grocery basket full of overripe bananas. Oh wow, I thought to myself...marked down, over ripe bananas = Banana Nut Bread!

Now, I am not talking just any Banana Nut Bread. You may even think you don't like banana nut bread. Well, you really haven't had any until you have some of this decadent, moist, caramelized miracle.

Soooooo, it took me about 3 seconds to decide to scoop up a bunch of those bananas. You see, I have found that peeled, diced and frozen, these bananas will keep for quite some time, and make banana nut bread extraordinaire at the drop of a hat.

Every time I have someone try this, they want MORE! It is hard to let it cool long enough before it is disappearing. I found this recipe while surfing for banana recipes one year after a party where I served Bananas Foster (another really fabulous sweet thing), and I had a bunch of bananas left over. I cut them up and put them in the freezer and used them a month later to make this wonderful bread.

I promise you this recipe is worth the time....and, it is easy!

BEST BANANA NUT BREAD EVER

2 Cups White Sugar (or 1 1/2 white and 1/2 cup brown)
1 Cup (2 sticks) Butter
4 Eggs, beaten
2 Cups mashed (I put em in the blender) overripe bananas
1 Cup chopped Nuts - I have used walnuts and pecans, pick your favorite!
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda


1. PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Grease a large Bundt Pan (using the
wrappers from the butter you will use in the recipe.
2. Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add bananas, eggs and walnuts stirring
until well blended.
3. Sift together, flour, salt and baking soda.
4. Dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until blended.
5. Pour into Bundt Pan
6. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a knife inserted into the crown of the bread
comes out clean.
7. Cook in pan for 5-8 minutes, and turn out onto rack.

If your family is like mine, half the bread will be gone before it is even cool!
I don't know how it happens, but the bread has a carmelized texture on the outside and is ever so moist. Great for Holiday Gift Giving! Enjoy....

Til next time...Okaloosa Girl signing off....

Breakfast and Bread Pudding

Got up at Five AM this morning to fix breakfast for 36 of my dear neighbors. I have lived in this community since 2002 and used to cook breakfast once a month for the neighborhood. It is a great time to get together and visit over a good meal, and who doesn't love breakfast?

The menu consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, biscuits and sausage gravy, cinnamon rolls, blueberry streusel coffee cake, cantalope and coffee and orange juice. I got up at five because as you can see it is quite a lot of food to prepare. My sweet daughter, Melanie, came down from Forsyth to give me a hand this morning, as I haven't fixed breakfast for so many in several months. All the neighbors told me how excited they were to be having it.

I am a person who enjoys making other people smile, and believe me, as they wolfed down their sausage 'n biscuits this morning, they were smiling. It is nice to see them greeting each other with smiles and hugs. Some hadn't actually seen each other for months. Needless to say, breakfast was a roaring success, and we will be having our next one on September 10th.

One thing that sometimes causes me problems are the leftovers. It is hard to tell from one month to another what things will be consumed in large quantities and which ones will be left over. This morning I had a LOT of leftover biscuits. Yummy but leftover.

After packing everything up and taking it home, I remembered seeing a recipe on the cooking channel for bread pudding using biscuits. My hubby LOVES bread pudding, sooooo as I am writing this blog the bread pudding is in the oven. YUMMO!

Hubby will be Happy when he gets home tonight. Thought I might share this simple recipe with you...it is not only husband friendly, but kid friendly too!

APPLE BUTTER BREAD PUDDING

6 cups broken up biscuits ( I used Pillsbury )
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup apple butter
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup raisins
2 TBSP Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 quart baking dish.
Break up biscuits into large bowl. In another bowl thoroughly mix eggs, sugar, milk, cinnamon and apple butter until it is about the consistency of cake batter.
Fold into broken biscuits and add raisins, mixing until all biscuit crumbles are moistened.

Pour into 2 quart baking dish and bake for 60 - 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream. It's also good cold! Enjoy!