So...whats for dinner?

Rreally good cookie recipe for overripe bananas

BANANARAMA 2 BITE COOKIES  

1 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter  (I used part almond butter because I had it  but both work)

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup mashed bananas (2 large overripe bananas=1cup)

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 lrg egg or egg substitute

Combine above ingredients in lrg bowl at med speed

Combine:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4  cup  oatmeal flakes (or a little more)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt (I use sea salt)

Add dry ingredients to wet & mix at low speed

Mix in:

2 1/2 cups or so of chocolate chips, walnuts, peanuts, raisins, craisins, pecans, dried fruit.....any combination of whatever you have. 

Drop fat tsps of dough onto foil lined cookie sheet.  (The cookies remove easily & no trays to wash.)

Bake 350'     12-13 minutes, until lightly browned around edges.

Cool for 2 minutes & transfer to cooling rack....if you leave them any longer they tend to stick.

I am a slap/dash cook, but everything seems to turn out okay... doubled the recipe(because I had 4 ripe bananas ) & made 12 dozen...freeze well.

I take little bags of these "2 BITES" to my CCS drivers, therapists, neighbours...they love them.

"LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT"

Enjoy

Lacy12....I have a really good recipe for Pesto...you could use a lot of that basil.

Have made it twice in the last few weeks & it disappears....funny thing is my miniature Pomeranian, Sassy, absolutely loves it.

Michelle,



Glad all the testing went well and you are able to get started! Hoping this trial is the one!!



Hope you enjoy your stay in Old Orchard Beach. We went to York Harbor for a few days last year and it was so pretty!! Totally different than the southern beaches we usually go to and the lobster.........mmmmmmmmm!!



Bedo,



You cracked me up on the 'grilled fresh brats' comment..... lol. Holy smokes on the tomato plants!!! I overdid it this year, too!!



This recipe is super easy (especially if you have an immersion blender but, regular one works too), really tasty and uses a lot of tomatoes and it doesn't matter what kind. I have made it with a mix, with just romas and even just grape tomatoes..... Comes out good no matter which you use...



http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roasted-tomato-soup-recipe/index.html



Susan,



Thanks for the idea on the slow roasted tomatoes!! Hadn't thought of that but am going to give it a try before the tomatoes take over my whole house...lol!!



Debbie,



Sorry to hear about the hives! Stress most definitely can do that to you. I went through that a few years back. They never did figure out what was causing them. Guess that's more common than not... No known cause....



You must have freaked when you realized your Shout mistake!!! Bet you 'shouted' a few things, too!



My laundry disaster was when my kids were little. Made the fatal mistake of not checking pockets. My son had a whole pocket of crayons. They made it through the washer without falliing out where I would have noticed, but in the dryer they turned into an ooooey, gooeey mess!!!! All over everything including the dryer itself!! Needless to say I have checked pockets religiously since!!!



Isabelle,



Thanks for the cookie recipe! I buy bananas frequently because my kids both like them but, I always seem to have one or two that get over-ripe before we get to them. I usually peel them, wrap them individually in saran wrap and add them to a bag in the freezer. That way I can use them later in banana bread, smoothies, etc. I think the next use is going to be in those cookies!!!

Lacey,



Just made pesto yesterday and froze it. I usually make it when I do a lot of pinching of the basil to keep it from going to seed rather than throwing it out....



I make it without adding the cheese and freeze it, first in ice cube trays and then transferred to a freezer bag. Then, when I need some, I just grab a couple of cubes, let them thaw and add roughly an equal amount of the parmesan cheese right before I use it.



Sooooo good and with what pesto costs in the store really worth it!!

apple

Here is a suggestion:   when it is too hot for the oven I use the slow cooker & put it out on the deck.  Ribs, roasts, chicken, chops almost anything will work.  Toss in veggies & dinner is cooked when you get home.    Very little effort & very little clean up.

Google "slow cooker" recipes or I could help you out...use mine all the time.

Isabelle the SLAPDASH COOK! 

I guess I'm the ultimate bell peeper.. :-)  Out in mom's back yard is an old ship's bell that I keep looking at.  Someday I'd like to bring home as it evokes a lot of fond memories.

The bell was at the house where I grew up.  In the quiet desert, it could be heard for at least 1/2 a mile...It probably could be heard farther, but until I was old enough for a watch, I didn't test it!  Anyway, when it was time for dinner, mom or dad would go out and ring the bell.

I managed to bring together "bell peeper" and "what's for dinner". :-)

Sharon was going to get rid of a couple of "dead" bananas.  She's trying to lose her chemo weight, so she may hate me, but that cookie recipe showed up just at the right time.  Usually I make banana bread..but the cookies sound better today.

Dinner last night was the rest of the tilapia and the bell PEPPERS and then we went to the Friday night football game between Ironwood and Independence High Schools.  Chrissy was all over the place excited as it was her first football game where she was a high school student.  "Our" Ironwood team won, so Chrissy was happy.  

I can't say how much she makes me smile.....  But, I'm guessing everyone else says the same thing...  :-)

Off to the chores.  Got to finish up a wall (mostly painting now), fix a power window, sweep and mop..... and get Chrissy to mow the lawn..... 

Eric

Apple - Not so healthy recipe but I like it and so does DH. Lite Sausage Primavera (from Hillshire Farm website)  Brown 1 lb smoked sausage in large skillet with little bit of olive oil; recipes says 3 TBS but doubt I use that much.  Add 1 pkg Pepperidge Farm frozen sliced peppers/onions exact name escapes me (for mex. food).  Recipe says to use fresh peppers (1 red or green julienned) but the colored ones are sooo expensive and 1 just does not seem like enough. I only tolerate the taste of the green ones much preferring the orange/red ones.  I do add in at least 1 big fresh onion sliced. Can't have too much onion for me!  Stir fry until vegies crisp tender and sausage browned.  (Crisp tender is relative with the frozen vegies)  As it begins to cook down addd 1 tsp dried basil leaves, 2 small yellow squash, 2 small zucchini both sliced thin (says julienned but I take the easy way), 2 tsp instant chicken broth, 1 clove garlic minced.  All this is to taste, I'm like Isabelle, I'm a slap-dash cook too. Finish until squash crisp tender. In the meantime boil 1/2 lb thin spaghetti broken in half.  I stir cooked spaghetti in but I think original recipe wanted to put over spaghetti like sauce.  Smells heavenly cooking.

Now a request.  I have a pork loin roast thawing for tomorrow (tiny only 2 lbs) though I do have a twin (buy one, get one free last week).  Have onions, no potatoes.   Need crockpot recipe.  Well stocked seasonings.  Plenty of frozen vegies for sides just no fresh as I don't cook except on weekends and then not every weekend. Could run to store after church tomorrow but would rather not.  Any suggestions???  I have a great rub recipe but like Apple I don't want to turn oven on.  Laurie aren't you the one making pulled pork?  What do you do with it?

luv, for pulled pork I dry rub day before and chill overnight.  I cook it for 15 to 20 people but method would adapt to crock pot as I cook it tightly covered with foil, low and slow with a little liquid (apple juice) to keep it moist and add flavor.  I would just put the pork in the pot with about a 1/2 inch of juice and cook it till it falls apart.

lacy12

I am with you on the clutter....we always have reading material, my crochet, something homey around and because we live in a condo,(no basement or garage) the deck ends up being my DH workshop.  He loves to do carpenter work so we have a fold up table saw & a cabinet full of tools sitting out there.

But, I like you, serve a good meal & there is always lots of wine.   To me that is more  important than worrying about a bit of dust or  clutter.

BTW made a batch of corn relish last week....have a great recipe for that one too...most of the work is in the chopping but relatively easy.

How do you like your Ipad?  I have a Nook tablet but thinking about either an Apple or Asus (which has excellant reviews).

Debbie, I started using walnuts because I had them & pine nuts (no better) are so expensive.

My DH is away on  a 4 day boat trip up the Trent Canal system..home tomorrow....long enough but Sassy and I are sleeping a lot.   Those rads are a stinker  but 11 more to go.

Isabelle, The Slapdash Cook

that's sweet moonflower.  I sometimes wish my hubby would go out of town.  Actually he's off and running all the time, constantly working.

Home from San Francisco. We had a fantastic time! Ate at some fabulous restaurants. My BIL worked in San Francisco for a consulting job for bout six months and recommended a place in China town. We went, and it really was a dive! Tables were so close together, but people were lined up waiting outside in the cold to get in. The food was excellent! It should be on diners, dives and drive ins. This older man who was lone sat next to us, and we were talking to him. He was from someplace in Africa, but has lived all over the place because he s some kind of diplomat. Said he has been in San Francisco or about 12 years and really likes it because it's the most tolerant city he has ever lived in. He asked how we heard about the place, and then told s how he did. It was quite funny, he met someone in Beijing who told him about it. Then he was fishing in Colorado and a guy he was fishing with told him about it. And here he s, the one who lives in San Francisco. He was obviously a regular, the waitress knew him and asked him what he wanted. He just described what he felt like and they made it for him. Then he told us this funny story about the restaurant used to be only half the size and there was another Chinese restaurant next store which the owner bought and then expanded. When the two restaurants were next to each other, he said people would be lined up outside waiting for a table in the rain, but the restaurant next door would be empty! So it was finally sold to the place we ate at (Nan King). We asked him for a seafood recommendation on Fisherman's Wharf, and he recommended Scomas. They don't take reservations, so we went early. Everyone loved it, me, my DH and my DD. They had this fantastic price fixe menu for $40 (a great price for San Francisco!). We all had something different and shared everything. We had lobster bisque which was absolutely to die for, lobster salad, crab cake and water cress salad fr appetizers. Then we had ahi tuna over mashed potatoes with a tomato bruschetta on top and broccoli, halibut also over mashed potatoes and white beans and organic rainbow chard. And I ordered tbone lamb steak in the seafood restaurant. It was over polenta with sautéed spinach. It was all absolutely delicious. For dessert we had a brownie with walnuts and caramel sauce and coffee ice cream, strawberry cheesecake with a raspberry sauce, and tiramisu. We had a great glass of viogniere wine and coffee with dessert. And even with tax and tip, the whole bill was $175 for the three of us. I think I will be dreaming about that meal for a long time. And the Chinese we had at Nan King was the best Chinese I've ever had. I will post more later about some of the other wine and food we had and things we did. It was the best vacation ever!



Hope everyone is doing okay. I missed checking in here, but no wifi in our hotel room. It will take a while to go back and catch up with everyone, but I am looking forward to it! Hugs and love to all. Kay

Hi LoveToCook.  I haven't been to SF since the mid 70s.  We (family and I) were going to go there this summer...but got sidetracked....  Next year. 

One of the places I'd like to go visit is the National Seashore at Pt. Reyes.  There is a ship to shore radio station--from the days of morse code--still in operation there and I'd like to see it some day.  I still hold the a radiotelegraph operator certificate from the Federal Communications Commission, so I could operate (or maintain) the station.  It would be a fun few hours.

Dinner was the pork chops I had thawed.  I took Apple's idea and tried miso.

I dipped thin pork chops in flour, then in an egg, milk, pepper and miso (2 eggs, a little bit of milk (probably an ounce), a bit of black pepper and 1 tablespoon of miso) mixture and finally breaded the chops in bread crumbs.  I baked it for 10 minutes on a side at 400F degrees.  The chops and some steamed vegetables made for a 30 minute meal.....

I think I got all the typos out of the text...JessieCat is reaching up and batting at my hands as I type.....

Eric

Wow, all the food sounds so Yummy. I am so jealous.

Eric......,and I might have done something like that when making my pie today without the gram/ounce calculator!

Yikes, just realized that I just passed my cancerversary... Not sure how I feel about that....