022: banana bread with streusel topping

so my roommate bought bananas for her sick boyfriend, but somehow none of us ended up eating them.  so what better to do with a bunch of overripe bananas than make banana bread??  so that is exactly what i did :o)  prep time was about 20 minutes, and bake time is around an hour.

equipment:
measuring cups and spoons
3 mixing bowls (1 larger, 2 medium)
loaf pans (i used 3 of the little guys, but you could use one standard sized one, too)


ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3 overripe bananas, smashed
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. softened margarine (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1 T. sugar
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. softened butter


steps:
1.) preheat oven to 350F.  grease your loaf pan(s)

2.) mix flour, baking soda, and baking soda in the largest of the mixing bowls.

3.) in one of the smaller mixing bowls, smash your bananas.  i used a potato smasher, but you could easily use even just a fork

4.) in your third bowl, cream together your margarine and brown sugar.  add the eggs and beat them in.  add this mixture to the smashed bananas and mix well.  add vanilla to this mix.

5.) add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until moistened.

6.) pour evenly into the loaf pans.

7.) mix together the streusel topping, by creaming together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and sugar with the butter.  sprinkle over the top of the loaves.

8.) bake at 350F for about an hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.  let cool before eating.


time: 20 minuets prep, 60 minutes bake
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦1/2◊◊ (3.5 out of 5 stars)
suggestions for variation:  i am not a big fan of crunchy surprises in my breads, but if you want to add crushed walnuts or something, i'm sure that would be an ok addition.


enjoy :o)
-kl

016: chili cheddar jalapeño bread

goodness, it's been a long time! my apologies about that! this semester has been craaaazy busy, and i just haven't had any time to make anything new in the kitchen. thus, this recipe is an amendment of another one, the jalapeño cheddar bread from last spring. this time i added chilies to the mix, and i like this outcome MUCH better than before. so i highly recommend this one!

equipment:
medium and large mixing bowls
measuring cups and spoons
3 small loaf pans or one standard loaf pan


ingredients:
2 and 1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 and 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. cheddar cheese, then some for sprinkling over the top
1/2 c. cubed red onion
1 diced jalapeño
1/4 c. diced red pepper
1 small can green chilies, drained
2 T. parsley
1 t. cilantro
1 t. crushed red pepper
1/2 t. black pepper
2 T. olive oil
2 T. shortening
2 T. sugar
2 cloves minced garlic
2 beaten eggs
3/4 c. plain yogurt
3/4 c. milk


steps:
1.) preheat oven to 350 degrees. fold together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cheese, onion, jalapeño, red pepper, green chilies, and herbs (if you've never worked with hot peppers like chilies and jalapeños before, check out my tips for handling them).

2.) in separate bowl, whisk together oil, shortening, and sugar until smooth. add garlic, eggs, yogurt, and milk. blend until combined well.

3.) add wet ingredients to dry and pour into greased loaf pans.

4.) sprinkle a handful of cheddar over the top of the loaf(ves).

5.) bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.


time: 30 minuets prep, 45 minutes bake
difficulty: 2.5 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5 stars)

enjoy!
-kl

012: blueberry lemon bread with glaze

here's another bread recipe that was just a fun mix of flavors. yum! prep time was about half an hour and bake time is an hour.




equipment:
medium and large mixing bowl
standing mixer (though you can probably use a hand mixer or do it by hand)
measuring cups and spoons
cheese grater


ingredients:
3/4 c. softened butter (or margarine)
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. lemon juice (i found that it is better to actually squeeze the lemon for at least half of the juice rather than something like realemon for the whole thing. i don't know why this makes a difference, but for some reason it seemed to...)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. lemon zest
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 and 1/2 c. dried blueberries (you can probably use frozen as well, but be sure that they are frozen when you fold them into the dough--don't let them thaw!)


steps:
1.) preheat the oven to 350 degrees. in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a standing mixer until it is fluffy.

2.) add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each one.

3.) add lemon juice, sour cream, zest, and vanilla until blended.

4.) in a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. add this to the wet ingredients a bit at a time until just mixed. fold in blueberries.

5.) put in greased loaf pan(s) and bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.


glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1-2 T. lemon juice


mix together these two until it has the consistency of melted wax. poke holes in the top of the bread, and when loaf(ves) is/are cool, spoon the glaze over the top.


time: 30 mins prep time, 60 mins bake time
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 stars out of 5)


enjoy!
-kl

008: jalepeño cheddar bread

yay more bread! prep time is about half an hour, and bake time is 45 minutes.




equipment:
medium and large mixing bowls
measuring cups and spoons
3 small loaf pans


ingredients:
2 and 1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 and 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. cheddar cheese
1/2 c. cubed red onion
2 T. parsley
3/4 t. cilantro
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1/2 t. black pepper
1/3 c. chopped jalepeñons (2)
2 T. olive oil
2 T. shortening
2 T. sugar
2 cloves minced garlic
2 beaten eggs
3/4 c. plain yogurt
3/4 c. milk


steps:
1.) preheat oven to 350 degrees. fold together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, onion, herbs and jalepeños (if you've never worked with jalepeños before, check out my tips for handling them).

2.) in separate bowl, whisk together oil, shortening, and sugar until smooth. add garlic, eggs, yogurt, and milk. blend until combined well.

3.) add wet ingredients to dry and pour into greased loaf pans.

4.) bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.


time: 30 minuets prep, 45 minutes bake
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦◊ (4 out of 5 stars)

enjoy!
-kl

002: asiago sun dried tomato bread

it was bread night in the apartment, and this is another fast easy one. prep time was about 30 minutes, and bake time is 45 minutes.




equipment:
large and medium mixing bowl
measuring cups and spoons
spatula
cheese grater or vegetable peeler
3 mini loaf pans (5 1/2" x 3 1/2")


ingredients:
2 and 1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 and 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. provelone/asiago cheese (i used a kraft blend of 5 italian cheeses, but for more flavor, i would go with a sharper cheddar cheese, at least partly)
1/2 c. minced red pepper (or onion? different flavor)
2 T. parsley
3/4 t. rosemary
3/4 t. black pepper
1/3 c. drained sun dried tomatoes packed in oil (SAVE 2 T. of oil!)
2 T. saved oil from tomatoes
2 T. vegetable shortening at room temp
2 T. sugar
2 t. minced garlic
2 beaten eggs
3/4 c. plain yogurt
3/4 c. milk (i used skim)


steps:
1.) preheat oven to 350 dgrees.

2.) stir dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda) together in large bowl. add cheese, red pepper, herbs (parsley, rosemary, black pepper) and tomatoes. *NOTE: for best results, dice the tomatoes into at least quarters, if not smaller, before adding them.* toss mixture well.

3.) in separate medium bowl, whisk together saved oil, shortening and sugar until smooth. add garlic, eggs, yogurt and milk. blend until well combined.

4.) add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.

5.) pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 45-50 mins at 350.

6.) let cool for 10 mins and transfer to cooling rack.


time: 1.25 hours
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦◊ (4 out of 5)
suggestions for variations: use a sharper cheese than asiago/provelone (such as cheddar, or at least partly cheddar). use chopped onion instead of red pepper (or half and half). add a small can of green chilies for more zing (or use instead of red pepper).


enjoy!
-kl

001: cranberry orange bread with glaze

this is a fun, fast bread recipe that does not require the hassle of yeast, kneading, and waiting for rising time. it is also delicious! prep time took me about 30 minutes, and baking time is one hour.


equipment:
measuring cups and spoons
standing mixer (though you could honestly probably do it hand mixed as well) with wire whip
large and medium mixing bowl
spatula
3 mini loaf pans (5 1/2" x 3 1/2")


ingredients:
3/4 c. softened (unsalted) butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. orange juice (i used pulp free, but i'm sure it does not matter)
1/2 c. sour cream (i used lean)
1 T. orange zest
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1/2 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 and 1/2 c. dried cranberries (craisins)


steps:
1.) preheat oven to 330 degrees (yes, i know it's a weird number, but it works).

2.) cream butter and sugar in standing mixer about 3 minutes or until pale and fluffy.

3.) add eggs, one at a time, making sure they are well mixed before proceeding.

4.) add orange juice, sour cream, orange zest, and vanilla extract until well blended.

5.) in a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). add to wet ingredients.

6.) fold in dried cranberries. *NOTE: i personally am not a "nut in my bread" kind of gal. if you are, however, i would recommend using 1 c. craisins, and 1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts.*

7.) pour into greased loaf pans. bake for 55-60 mins at 330, or until toothpick comes out clean. let cool for 10 minutes, and transfer to cooling rack


glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 T. orange juice

add orange juice (or orange liqueur?) to powdered sugar 1 t. at time until mix has the consistency of melted wax. poke holes in top of loaves, and spoon glaze over top.


total time: 1.5 hours
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5)

enjoy!
-kl