What do you do with icky bananas? Banana Bread Bites!

It never fails that I buy some really nice bananas. I put these really nice bananas in C#1 and C#2's lunches and then they don't eat them. Have you ever seen a banana that has been left in a lunch pail all day long and sitting on an ice pack?

Um... Yeah.

The really icky one made it's way to the garbage. It had some questionable slits on the skin and looked hazardous to our health.

Anyway, I had to figure out what to do with these hideous things and try not to bake on a 90+ degree day. What to do? What to do?!?!? Then I thought what about a something muffin-ey and use the donut holes maker (one of my first blogs was about this maker thingy. http://beckysbiscuits.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-guess-i-will-start-with-cooking-but.html )

Look at all the pretty things you can make!! FYI - Mine never look that good. 

I grabbed my trusty Mr. Food's Favorite Cookies --> looked in the index and found "Banana Bread Bites" on page 48.

• 1 cup sugar I added about 1/4 cup more for a sweeter donut.
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup ripe mashed bananas (about 3)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR MORE!
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts I didn't add these, since the fam has an aversion to walnuts.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. I preheated the donut maker (see very old blog about that.)

2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat thoroughly. Beat in the mashed bananas and vanilla until well combined. Gradually blend in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in the walnuts.

3. Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until light golden. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. I used a medium sized cookie scoop to fill the donut holes in the maker.  It took about 8-9 minutes for them to cook through.  Which means I had to babysit it. *sigh*

I then made the frosting that would taste good on sh*t (see the "Last Weekend's Baking Extravaganza" May 24, 2013 blog for that recipe. http://beckysbiscuits.blogspot.com/2013/05/last-weekends-baking-extravaganza.html )  I wasn't very smart about frosting them, so they look a teense bit messy.  I will have to work on that...

But, my OH MY! They are downright delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And they were very simple!  Ya gotta love that.  I will definitely be making these, again!!!

Till next time...

Last weekend's baking extravaganza!

I volunteered to help with S#4's graduation party. I agreed to make one item.  Then I get a syrupy sweet message from S#4 requesting two more things. That would be a total of three things for her graduation par-tay
---> the entire dessert menu.

It truthfully was no big deal.  I felt slightly flattered to be given the "job" of making all the desserts for the party.

That said, this is what I made. Plus, some banana muffins, because I had a few bananas that needed some special TLC.

Fudgy Brownies, PB Blossoms, NY Style Cheesecake, and Banana Muffins

C#2 made the cheesecake and helped out a lot with the pb blossoms.  She is turning out to be quite the "chef."

Don't ya love all the hair apparel to keep the hair out of the food. She is also hard at work with the cheesecake crust.

Mr. Food's New York Style Cheesecake

PB Blossoms

Mr. Food's Fudgy Brownies

and...

Banana Muffins with caramel frosting.  This was the "healthy" dessert.

I have been told that the frosting on the muffins would taste good on sh#t!  It is really that good. It is also really easy to make and use, since it hardens up really fast -- necessitating that you re-heat it to make it work right.  There was some leftover which I scraped out of the pan and enjoyed licking off of the spoon.

The recipe for this lovely frosting came out of The Cake Mix Doctor" by Anne Byrn, on page 430.

"Quick Caramel Frosting"

8 TB (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar  --> I used ALL light brown sugar

1/4 cup whole milk --> I used heavy cream, because I had no whole milk.

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract --> MORE!

1. Place the butter and brown sugars in a medium size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 2 minutes.  Add the milk, stir and bring the mixture back to a boil, then remove pan  from the heat. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until the frosting is smooth.

2. Use immediately (while still warm) to frost the cake of your choice or the frosting will harden. If it does harden while you are frosting the cake, simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until the frosting softens up.

Makes 3 cups.

Everything was a hit. With only a few leftovers. Which is definitely a good thing.  You have to keep the temptation to a minimum.

Till next time...

A Quick Rant Blog

I have a whole queue of blogs that are waiting to be written. But, alas, I would actually have to take the time to write them. Sooooooooooooo, you get my short and sweet rant blog.

You remember when I was whining about the decrease in size and the same price of items in a recent blog?! Well check this out:

At first you think, "Oh YAY! 'BONUS 2 MORE SCOOPS'!"  But, if you aren't paying attention you should realize they already downsized this item from a 1/2 gallon to 1.5 quarts. And you are supposed to get excited about 2 more scoops?!?!  Sheesh!  They must think we're stupid. Of course, I did buy it, because it was the cheapest.  But, I am definitely paying attention and am not fooled by their shyster ways.  Just another way for them to charge more and pretend that they're not.

Till next time...

Rodeo in the Snow!! In May...

I was heading to my bestie's house and got a message that said, "Bring trekking shoes..." Well hmmmm... Does that mean hiking boots or shit kickers?! I don't currently own any hiking boots and the shit kickers were front and center. So, I tossed them into the car.

After a couple cups of much needed coffee and breakfast we headed out in search of a heifer and a potential newborn calf.

We trudged through a mucky mess all over the woods and on our way back up the hill we found the heifer andddddddd her baby.

Then it was determined that it might be better if the calf was up closer to the barn -- especially since it was supposed to be so cold tonight ---> A cool 26 degrees. And yes, it's the middle of May.  Brrrr...

After fetching the wheelbarrow (and my camera) we meandered back down to the calf.  It then became obvious that the mama cow needed some coaxing to follow her baby back up the hill.  My bestie dished out the grain, which seemed to interest the mama ----> and every other cow in the pasture/woods.

We started back up the hill and after some more coaxing this is what we accomplished --->

A whole line of cows...

And a donkey.

We were moving at a pretty decent clip, through the rough terrain when the horse felt the need to literally "butt" in to check out the calf and try to lead the way.

The calf got a little bit wiggly near the end.  I had to hold it down without causing too much resistance for the wheelbarrow driver.  We made it to the hay feeder and gently plopped the calf in a pile of hay.

I then helped my bestie feed the rest of the herd and crew.

Then it was snowing.

Of course, you can't really tell it was snowing in this picture. But, it was downright cold for this May day.

I was very glad that I chose to wear the shit kickers (and not the snow boots or sneakers), because it was definitely a shit kicker activity.

So there you have it "Rodeo in the Snow."

Till next time...

Pickle Relish

Today I realized that I had time to whip up some tuna macaroni salad.  However, when I went on a search for pickle relish, there was none to be found. I was deeply disappointed, since I usually have extras of everything on hand.  I went to the internet and found a very easy relish recipe. But, again, I didn't have the right pickles. But, I was able to get an idea of what to do.  I did find a new jar of bread and butter pickles, and decided that, that would do.

1 cup diced pickle (you choose your flavor)

2-3 TB yellow mustard

1 TB pickle brine

Put all three items in a food processor and process away! I used the Pampered Chef manual processor and it worked deliciously!

It turned out perfectly and I proceeded to add it to my tuna macaroni salad mix.

Of course, it looks really strange on top of the other salad ingredients, but, I forgot to take a picture before.  The salad was very good. And almost everyone liked it. But, that is the usual MO in this humble abode.

That's it for today. Till next time...