Grandma's Banana Bread

Growing up, I always remember my grandmother baking. She made some amazing desserts, especially the homemade authentic Italian ones! But now that she's older, she has difficulty baking and spending too much time in the kitchen. She's been saving her ripe bananas in the freezer for me, knowing that when I make banana bread, I'll use her bananas and share some bread too!

Although this isn't her recipe, it is one she approves of. (At least, she eats the entire loaf that I bake for her, which I assume means that she likes it!) We like it too, since it doesn't usually last long in our house!

I like to double the recipe: I bake a large chocolate chip loaf for us and share the 3 smaller ones with my family!

Banana Bread - Makes 1 large loaf (9x5x3") or 3 small loaves (5 3/4x3 1/4")
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large ones)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I like to use 1/2 cup nonsweetened applesauce and 1/4 cup oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
nonstick cooking spray
optional: chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
-Whisk together mashed bananas, sugar, eggs and oil in mixer until smooth, about 1 minute.
-Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until combined (1 minute). Scrape sides or bowl and mix once more (10 seconds).
-Spray pans with nonstick cooking spray, then lightly coat with flour (to absorb any globs in the corners). Pour batter into pans and smooth tops.
-Bake 60-70 minutes for large pan, or 40-50 for small pans. Bake until the tester/toothpick come clean out of the center.
-Cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Use a knife to remove bread from sides of pan, then let the bread cool directly on the wire rack.

Now grab yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!

Fat Crust Pizza

So, I've made some great dishes lately and need to share them with you!

This past week I made my homemade fat crust pizza! Bubbly dough with a garlic crust, chunky tomato and herb sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese, bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, and of course pepperoni! (This is seriously the best homemade pizza ever!)

Here's the recipe for the crust (from Six Sisters' Stuff). 

Pizza Recipe:

(Makes 1 large, thick pizza, or 2 smaller pizzas)

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons fast rising yeast

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Seasonings as desired (garlic, oregano, basil, marjoram, etc)

Toppings: onions, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, olives, etc...

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  

-In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt.  Gradually add water and oil to mixture.  Blend at low speed until moistened, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.  

-On a lightly floured surface, knead until dough is smooth and elastic.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.  

-Press out dough onto 1 (or 2) pizza pans.  I like to roll the ends to make nice thick crust, as if it were a bread stick. Poke the dough randomly with a fork.  Let rise again in a warm place for 10-15 minutes.  

-Brush crusts lightly with oil and bake them for 5 minutes.  

-Remove from oven and top as desired.  Brush crusts with olive oil and seasoning (I like to make a paste of olive oil with garlic salt to imitate breadstick crusts). Bake for 4-5 more minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

I also decided to experiment with my own pizza sauce. I just threw a few ingredients together based on some previous recipes and remembering my mother's homemade spaghetti sauce recipe!

Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe:

(Makes sauce for 1 or 2 pizzas)

Ingredients:

1 (10.34 oz) can of diced tomatoes with juice

1 (8 oz) can of tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
    (OR 3/4 teaspoon oregano, 3/4 teaspoon basil, 1/4 teaspoon thyme)

2-4 cloves of fresh garlic

   

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan. Allow to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. 

OR combine all ingredients in your vitamix at variable speed 7 for 30-60 seconds. 

Note: You can always double this recipe and freeze half for next time! Also, we use this to dip our crust/bread sticks in!