Best Ever Banana Bread

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 6 bananas)

4 eggs, well beaten

2 ½ cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 ½ cups frozen blueberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add bananas and eggs and beat until well mixed. Mix dry ingredients and blend with banana mixture, but do not over mix. Fold in blueberries (or chocolate chips). Pour into 2 loaf pans that have been buttered and floured or a bundt pan. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour; test for doneness (toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean) and cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Freezes beautifully.

Beth’s modifications: Instead of 1 tsp. nutmeg, I usually add ½ tsp. nutmeg and ½ tsp. cinnamon. Also, I’ve never made it with blueberries, but I always add a bag of mini-chocolate chips instead! (If you don't have the mini chips, try mixing regular chocolate chips with about 1/4 cup flour before adding to the batter. That way the chips will not sink directly to the bottom of the pan when baking.)

Hamburger buns, sub rolls, heck even cinammon rolls

prepare: 1/4 cup warm water, 1 1/2 tbsp active yeast, a pinch of sugar....let it foam

in a microwave safe bowl, add 1 1/2 cup milk, 1 cube margarine or butter (1/2 if you want)and microwave till the butter is melting/melted. Set aside.

In a blender, or just a bowl, add 2 eggs 2-3 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp salt. Mix this with the milk, and blend (super soft fluffy rolls) or just whip together, best you can.

In a large bowl, or mixing bowl, add the yeast mixture, 4-5 cups of flour, and then the liquid ingredients. Mix well, and when able to handle, knead (you made have to add flour). Knead until velvety and smooth, not worrying if it is slightly sticky - the wetter the better with bread. Form into a ball, and place into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

Punch down and:

roll out, add butter and cinammon sugar, and make cinammon rolls
roll out, cut out circles (with the mouth of a mug, brush with milk and add sesame seeds (hamburger buns)
form into balls and make rolls, or form into balls, roll them into small strips and make hotdog/subway rolls.

Let rise again till double and then bake at about 375 for 20 minutes, until they smell done. Try to use a lighter colored pan to eliminate burnt bottoms. CKs also has rolls of cheap parchment paper, so you can prepare all the rolls on the sheets and just transfer them when the pan is ready. Hope this works.

oh, if you want them wheat or whole grain just substitute 2 cups or wheat/whole grain flour for some of the white flour. 100% wheat will be disappointing, and if you look it up in the scientific journals there isn't that much better about it anyway (for more on that story just ask Sara Weir)

Ren's Amish White Bread!

I am finally posting this. Sorry it has taken so long for those of you that wanted me to post it a while back. Here it is!!

Ren's Amish White Bread

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 40 Min
Ready in: 2 Hrs & 30 Min
Yields 2-9x5 inch loaves




Ingredients:
- 2 Cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 Degrees C)
- 2/3 cup of white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 6 cups bread flour

Directions:
In a large bowl dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof, until yeast resembles a creamy foam. Mix salt & oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes and then divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 min, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 min.

This recipe is from allrecipes.

I hope you like this as much as we do. Ren also likes to make rolls with it! (If you make rolls, it yields about 18)

Ziti Parmesan

12 oz pasta (ziti, or penne)
16 oz cottage cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper
pinch of oregano
pinch of basil
1 can of spaghetti sauce
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

cook the pasta to al dente. mix the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, red pepper, oregano, and basil together. add the pasta and mix till pasta is covered.
put half the mixture in a baking dish. cover with half the spagetti sauce and then half the mozzarella. repeat the layers.
Bake at 350 (or 180 here) for 30-40 min.

We usually serve this with garlic bread or breadsticks with balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make us think we are at the Macaroni Grill! (yeah, right huh!)

Mexican Cornbread

1 C sour cream

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

2 eggs

2 T sugar

1/2 C butter

14 oz. creamed corn

1 can diced jalapenos chilies (opt.)

Melt butter in a 9x9 pan, move butter around to coat the bottom of pan. Mix all other ingredients together. Pour into melted margarine. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes until the top cracks and sides are golden brown.