I Love The Smell of Baking Bread!

Has the Holiday baking begun at your house yet?  We are going out of town on Tuesday, so I have begun to bake some of the items we will be taking with us.  The first thing in the oven today is my favorite Extreme Banana Nut Bread.  It is absolutely the best I have ever had and everyone asks for the recipe.  You can find it in one of my earlier blogs.  I am going to attempt to make another one using Stevia rather than sugar, as my daughter is trying to give up sugar.  I am not sure how it will work, but it's worth a try!  I will let you know how it turns out and then share the recipe if it does work.

The next thing on my list is a Cranberry Orange Nut Bread.  These breads are so nice for a snack, or toasted and buttered at breakfast with a cup of hot coffee!  Oh My! 

My diet is still progressing and I was down a couple more pounds this morning.  Am sticking to the 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno with great success. I have lost over fifty pounds and am thrilled not only with how I am looking, but how I am feeling!

Made a trip to the grocery store this morning to pick up a few things for the trip.  I grabbed the andouille sausage and the tiny golden potatoes I like to use for the Low Country Boil, because you can't always find them when you want them.

Harbor Walk at Destin has a FREE (donations go to Habitat For Humanity, and I just love this idea) Thanksgiving Dinner which we will probably attend on Thursday if the weather is nice.  It is neat to feel good about giving something back and not just pigging out!  I also bought some extra canned goods this morning while I was at Kroger to donate to the local food bank.  The hungry are out there people!  I hate that in this country where there is not only so much plenty, there is also so much waste.  If each of us who have been blessed with a decent job would just give a tiny bit back in some way, I can't even imagine how much improvement it would cause.

It doesn't even have to be money or food that you give back people.  What about volunteering to SERVE at one of the places serving dinner to the less fortunate this year?  One year I took all my children to a local church where they helped serve food, fill drinks and even wash dishes as part of our Thanksgiving celebration.  I was a single mother at the time, and I didn't have any extra money I could give, but I did have time...I'll bet you do too!

While you are enjoying your Turkey (or Low Country Boil in our case) don't forget the most important part of this Holiday....THANKS.  Thanks for health, thanks for job, thanks for love shared with family, thanks for Freedom to believe and worship as you wish...and so much more.  May God Bless All Of You in the coming months and years.

RECIPE OF THE DAY
          French Toast

(This is a breakfast every kid enjoys!)

4 eggs
1 cup 2% milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
12 slices whole wheat bread

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Dip the bread in the egg mixture and cook on a greased hot griddle (or frying pan) for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

If you like you can sprinkle with additional sugar or cinnamon.

You can also make this using Truvia rather than honey if you are trying to cut down on sugar.

Serve with butter and warm Maple syrup....kids may like jelly on this!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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....