Cooking With Kendra: Old-Fashioned Banana Bread Loaf

 Old-Fashioned Homemade Banana Loaf (with Chocolate Chips, Pecans, and Maple Extract)

During our road trip to Pennsylvania and back, we bought bananas a few times. The last batch ripened quickly, but fortunately, we made it home just in time to bake some Banana Bread. Banana Bread is a simple and speedy recipe—no proofing or fermenting required—just a few basic pantry staples and a couple of overripe bananas.

Here's what you need:

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup soft butter, margarine, or shortening

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon maple extract

• 3 tablespoons milk of your choice (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

• 1 cup mashed overripe bananas (about 2 bananas)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Mix the sugar, butter, eggs, and maple extract together thoroughly.

Stir in the mashed bananas and milk.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then stir well.

Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Pour the batter into a well-greased 9x5x3" loaf pan. Let it stand for 20 minutes before baking.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm, room temp, or cold. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Substitutions can be made for the chocolate chips and nuts, such as using walnuts or peanut butter chips. For the extract, you can substitute vanilla for the maple extract. Use vegan eggs, egg replacement, more bananas or applesauce (1/3 - 1/2 cup) to veganize the recipe. YMMV on the cooking time and density with changes made.

#KendrasKreationsTexas #ThePickleLady #Foodie #Eat #CookingwithKendra #CookingWithKK #CampingKendra #Baking #BananaLoaf #BananaBread #BakingSeason #Chocolate #Pecan #OldFashioned #FamilyRecipes #Family #Heritage #Foodie #ShopSmallFortWorth #Food #MadeFromScratch #WholeFoods #Realfood #Delicious #Love #Instagood #Beautiful 

Beautyberry: Jelly AND Mosquito Spray Recipe

My husband has a sweet customer on his route that let us pick all of her beautyberries in exchange for some Beautyberry Jelly. From root to tip, the Beautyberry can be used for many different purposes. I like to make the berries into a jelly and use the leaves in a mosquito repellent. The raw berries taste very medicinal, but once cooked, the jelly tastes like a cross between Wild Grape Jelly and Cranberry Jelly. I'll be making the jelly soon.

Beautyberry Mosquito Repellent

Ingredients:
1 C torn up or crushed Beautyberry leaves
4 oz rubbing alcohol (I use 91%)
Mason Jar
Small size spray bottle

1. Put leaves into a mason jar
2. Cover the leaves with the rubbing alcohol and let stand for a couple of days in a cool, dark location
3. Strain the mixture, discard the leaves
4. Pour into a mini personal sprayer

Notes: This can cause skin reactions for some people. It can also stain skin and clothing. do a test spot before heavily applying. This recipe can be doubled.

Vegetarian Stuffed Anaheim Peppers

(photo from wikipedia)

*1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
*1 jalapeno (seeded and roughly chopped)
*2 small onions (one chopped and one cut into fourths)
*2 garlic cloves
*1 regular size can of beans (pinto, black, navy, whatever you have) rinsed and drained
*1/4 cup cornmeal
*1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, whatever you have) (use vegan cheese to make it vegan)
*1/2 teaspoon paprika
*6 large anaheim peppers (the big bright green ones), cut in half and seeded
*S & P

Preheat oven to 425.
In a blender or food processor combine the tomatoes (and its liquid), jalapeno, the onions that were cut into fourths, the garlic, salt and pepper. Blend, blend and blend - get it souper saucy. Pour sauce into a 9x13 pan (I used a glass dish). Set that aside for now.
In a medium bowl combine the beans, cornmeal, half of the cheese, your chopped onions, 3/4c water, paprika, salt and pepper. Wait about 5 minutes for the cornmeal to absorb the water.
Now...there are two ways of doing this. The first way it to place the peppers in your sauce mix then stuff or stuff then place in the sauce mixture - up to you. I put my peppers in the suace then stuffed them using a spoon. Easy enough either way. Once you have stuffed your pepper and they are in a sauce bath use the rest of your cheese as a topping. Sprinkle sprinkle.
Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 15 minutes. DING.
I really wished I would have had some sour cream to top this with..but I didn't - it was still amazing!!

This was originally a Martha Stewart recipe - but I changed it up a bit and made it my own - you can do the same thing.

Just BEET It

I've heard that our taste buds change every seven years. I found a beet receipe that I thought I would try....to see if my taste buds had changed since I was a kid. It was labeled "The Best Beet Recipe". Perfect, right?! I, of course, changed it up a little and posted below is what I came up with. By the way, this is my first time ever to cook beets. It is a pretty easy recipe. 

 ***KK's Pretty Good Beets - If You Like That Kind Of Thing*** 

* 3 beets, boiled in plenty of water for 1 hour with three bay leaves and 1/4 t kosher salt - then peeled (discard the bay leaves and water when the hour is up) 

* one medium yellow onion 

* juice from one orange 

* one minced clove of garlic 

* 1/4 c honey/agave 

* 1/2 T grated fresh ginger 

* 1/4 t fresh thyme 

* 2 T EVOO 

*S & P to taste 

 Heat the EVOO in your pan on med-high heat. Cut each beet in half. Lay the flat side down and slice into half moon discs. Then cut each moon disc in half - length wise. (Kinda like steak fries). Slice your onion in half moon slices also (halved onion rings). Add your onion and garlic to heated oil in pan. Cook for about 4 minutes. Add the beets. Add orange juice, thyme, ginger and honey/agave. Simmer on med to med-low for about 10 minutes. Taste. Add S & P - how much you like. I added just a pinch of kosher salt and a few turns from the pepper mill. 

 My taste buds haven't changed much since I was a kid. I thought this dish was pretty good for a beet recipe. I guess I just don't care for beets. I will eat what I cooked so it doesn't go to waste. Whatever I don't finish will go to the compost though. I know my husband will not eat this - just because it is beets. If you try it let us know! We want to know your thoughts. My husband just walked in my office. "Um, I know I usually taste everything you make. I'm not tasting that." Haha!! We've been together over 15 years. I know him all to well. =)

Garlic Balsamic Salad Dressing

1 clove minced garlic 

1 T Balsamic vinegar 

3 T EVOO 

S & P to taste

Combine all ingredients. It is that easy. I love the 'bite' from garlic, some don't. You can leave out the garlic if you wish. I love this dressing on baby salad greens, 'tender greens' or arugula. This dressing would also be great on cous cous. 

*Garlic is apart of the Allium family which also includes onions and chives. Garlic can help lower blood pressure, prevent blood clotting and can be used as a decongestant. For best results - eat raw. 

*To help get rid of garlic breath chew some fresh parsley.