Chocolate Banana Bread

I better get this posted because as you can see it has a Halloween background.  This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com.  I love chocolate covered bananas so I thought I would give this a try.  The combination is great.  I also added a half cup of chocolate chips, which is optional.  Here's a tip, it's good with vanilla ice cream.  It's kind of like eating an ice cream cake roll. 

Chocolate Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 large bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and eggs.  Mix in bananas and vanilla.  Add flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well.  Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes,  or until tester inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

Vegetable Beef Soup

Looks like a mild Halloween weather wise in Utah this year but not so in other parts of the country. Nothing is more comforting and warms the tummy as a homemade bowl of soup.  Not even going to mention the wonderful aroma this brings to your house as it simmers.  Easy to make and the left overs are even better.


Vegetable Beef Soup

2 lbs. bone in beef short ribs
4 carrots (diced)
2 leeks (whites only, chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
good handful fresh green beans (chopped)
good handful fresh spinach (chopped)
1 can stewed tomatoes (break up tomatoes)
2 small white potatoes (peeled and chopped)
handful fresh parsley (chopped)
1 box beef stock (32 oz.)

Season and brown short ribs in a little oil.  Add leeks, celery, and carrots and brown for about 10 minutes.  Add just two cups of the beef stock and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

De bone the short ribs and clean up meat from fat etc. and  cut into bite size pieces.  Add the last two cups beef broth with the green beans, spinach, stewed tomatoes and potatoes.  Simmer for another 30-45 minutes.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Are you sick of pumpkin yet?  Not me, I love all things pumpkin.  We have had a the most beautiful fall.  I just wish it could last longer.  The mountains are alive with reds and yellows.  They say when you have a wet spring that the fall leaves will have a brighter color.  Must be true because we had a very wet spring. 

This is a wonderful moist bundt cake, as most are.  It has a buttery pumpkin glaze that tops it off beautifully.  I chose to sprinkle chopped pecans on it as well as mini chocolate chips.  The choice is yours whether you want to put toppings on it or not.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake 

1 2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cups butter

3 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin (NOT the flavored pie mix)

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons cloves

1/4 teaspoons nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter with mixer and add in sugar and cream well.  Add the eggs one at a time until well blended.  Add the pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla and blend.  Whisk in to the flour the cinnamon, cloves nutmeg, baking soda and salt.  Add to wet mixture and blend.  Spray your bundt pan with pam.  Fill with batter and bake on 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Let cool for about 15 minutes and invert on a plate or cake stand.

Pumpkin Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons pumpkin

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter (soft, almost but not quite melted)

Whisk together in bowl until smooth.  Smear over bundt cake.

The Best Buttercream Frosting

This is my go to recipe that I have been using for years and it has never failed me.  I add a little bit of Crisco to the butter (yes I said Crisco) and also cream to make it smooth and light, yet holding up when you pipe it. The more you beat it, the better it is. This dissolves the powdered sugar.  Speaking of powdered sugar, I never use anything but C&H powdered sugar.  I could be a poster child for them.  I have tried many other brands and they are all to grainy for me.  I use this for piping cupcakes or frosting and under fondant for cakes. Give this a try in your next baking adventure.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup shortening (white, not butter flavored)

4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla (use good vanilla, not the cheap imitation kind. I use Blue Cattle Truck.)

1-2 tablespoons or more whole milk or cream to desired consistency. One tablespoon at a time. I usually use cream.

In a bowl of mixer cream butter and then add shortening to cream together until light and fluffy.  Add half of the powdered sugar and blend.  Add vanilla and the rest of the powdered sugar and mix well.  Add the milk OR cream and beat until light and creamy. 

Tip - For chocolate frosting you can whisk 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa to the powdered sugar.  This will make a milk chocolate frosting in looks and taste.

It's My Blogs First Birthday

SPICE CUPCAKES W/PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Where did the last year go.  I can't believe it was one year ago today that I entered my first post.  There were no words just a picture of Halloween cupcakes.  I've learned a lot and at the same time have so much to learn.  It's been a fun year and I hope you have tried some of my recipes.  These Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin  Cream Cheese Frosting definitely fit into the fall cupcake category.  Combining a little pumpkin to my cream cheese frosting recipe added a pleasant surprise to these cupcakes.

Spice Cupcakes

2 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 eggs (separate)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
pinch salt
1 cup low fat buttermilk or sour milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar and butter.  With the large mixer running, add the oil in a steady stream.  Add the EGG YOLKS, one at a time,  beating well after each addition.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in to a medium bowl.  Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk to the batter, mixing well.  In a separate bowl beat the EGG WHITES until sstiff peaks form, then FOLD them in to the cake batter. 

Bake about 18 minutes,  makes 2 dozen.  If you want to half the recipe, use three eggs.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 t. vanilla

Blend the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and blended together.  Gradually add in powdered sugar until creamy and smooth.  Mix in the pumpkin and vanilla.

Waldorf Salad

This is a wonderful salad or side dish for the fall season, healthy and yummy.  Seems like when I was a kid I remembered this salad and it was full of mayo and I really don't like that.  This is a lighter version with lemon yogurt.  I used the fat free version from Yoplait called lemon cream pie. A little tip on this is to make the sauce first and put it in a big bowl.  As you cut the apples you can put them in the sauce.  Take a spoon and turn them over so you will coat the apples with the sauce.  This way they will not turn brown.  I love this time of year because the stores in Utah have those gigantic red seedless grapes.  They always have them for fall and the holiday season.  That's what I used in my salad.

Waldorf Salad

For the dressing:
2 individual size containers reduced or fat free lemon yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
2 tablespoons honey

Put all ingredients for dressing in a large bowl and whisk to combine.   As you dice the apples add them to the dressing and coat them as not to turn brown.  Add all other ingredients below and blend together.

For the salad:
5 cups apples (washed and diced)
2 cups red seedless grapes (sliced in half)
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup Craisins
1 cup mini marshmallows
3/4 cup chopped pecans OR walnuts

This salad can be made ahead of time.  Store in the refrigerator.