recipe 18: BEST BANANA BREAD (Breads, kid friendly)

SOURCE:  I got this recipe in College, from my roommate Diane. I always had good intentions of eating healthy. I did not gain the freshman 15 (I gained the freshman 14 1/2).  I would go to the grocery store and purchase fruits and vegetables and MOSTLY do a good job. Except bananas. I just cant eat them if they are not slathered in Peanut butter, or baked into some sort of muffin or pie (of the cream variety).   Well my Roommate had a solution to our rotting banana problem. She gave me her recipe for Banana Bread and it was gangbusters from then on!  So moist, and such good flavor. Not too sweet, not too bready. Just right.

In fact we used to make banana bread and the other rommates would come home and smell it and start ransacking the apartment looking for it.  One time my other roommate Jackie and I made some banana bread and hid it in our room so no one could find it.  We acted like we had no idea who made it and we couldnt smell anything...maybe a neighboring apartment??  Mean, I know. But we would sneak off to our room with the butter and a knife and partake in a little private party that we swore each other to secrecy. The Banana Bread Club.

So here is THE recipe for Banana Bread.

THE RECIPE:

5 large brown super ripe bananas (they should almost be transparent when you open them up)

4 eggs

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

In a blender or with a stick blender, beat and blend banans until liquid-y. Add eggs.

In a separate bowl cream together the shortening and sugar.

To this add your dry ingredients (flous, soda and salt)

add the banana and egg mixture and beat well.

Add any walnuts if desired.

Pour into well greased loaf pans.

Bake at 250 for 90 minutes, or until cooked through.

recipe 6: FRUIT AND BROWNIE DESSERT (dessert/Just for fun)

SOURCE:  I first had this recipe right before I got married.  Charles and I were at my parents house in North Carolina, visiting them for the Memorial Day Weekend. My  mom had made these for a cookout, and they were so good I asked her to make them for my bridal shower. As we fought to lick the pan clean I realized this was one for THE BINDER.  I pormptly went home and I made them again for a party a week later.
I pull these out every now and again, and I always forget just how good they really are.  Yes i didnt have time to purchase this stock photo, so now you know.

DISCLAIMER: My mom had originally gotten this recipe out of a "healthy" magazine, and the directions called for fat -free cool whip and skim milk, and to make the brownies with applesauce instead of oil.  Sure, it was good, but after tweaking it and putting everything the way it SHOULD be (this is FO, who needs fat free??) these are GREAT.  A small list of why I love these:
1. SUPER EASY.  On a scale of 1 to 5, these are like a 2 1/2 on the difficulty factor.
2. SUPER TASTY- I mean it is brownies. Doesnt get much tastier than that
3. SOMEWHAT HEALTHY- It has fruit on it...so it is kind of like diet food, right?? (no, no it's not)


BROWNIE AND FRUIT DESSERT

1 box of your favorite brownie mix.  Prepare according to directions. bake in a 9x13 pan.
 After baking, cool.

In a bowl combine:
1 box instant vanilla pudding (small box, not the huge family size box)
1/2 the milk the pudding box says on the directions. (if the box says 2, just put in 1. Pretty simple huh?)
8oz tub cool whip, thawed.


Mix this together well.  Spread evenly over the top of the cooled brownies.

Now on top of this add slices of  strawberries and bananas.
refrigerate about an hour before serving.
REFRIGERATE ANY LEFTOVERS