Bourbon Banana Bread with Bourbon Glazed Pecans

Here I go again with another banana bread recipe, but really, bourbon and pecans? How could I pass that up? I have to give the idea for this one to my son the chef. His idea, my recipe. Just to be clear...

This doesn't have an overwhelming bourbon taste. It's just enough to make you notice. The glazed pecans were an afterthought, but they really add a touch of class to this humble loaf.  Give it a try the next time you have some bananas that have ripened past the stage you want to eat them. Here's what you'll need:

    • 3-4 (400g) very ripe bananas
    • 1/2 stick (57g) butter at room temperature
    • 4 oz (106g) cream cheese at room temperature
    • 1/4 C (72g) unsweetened applesauce
    • 1/2 C (96g) dark brown sugar
    • 1/4 C (51g) granulated sugar
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 1 1/2 C (210g) flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • pinch of allspice
    • pinch of ground gloves
    • 1 C (130g) coarsely chopped pecans
    • 2 oz bourbon

    Topping

  • 1/2 C (65g) coarsely chopped pecans
  • 2 TBL (28g) butter
  • 2 TBL brown sugar
  • 1 TBL bourbon
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. 

Mixi the butter, cream cheese, applesauce, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a mixer until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla and mix.

 

In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, mixing until well incorporated. I want to take a minute to tell you about my love of fresh nutmeg. I buy the whole nuts then grate them using my grater that's made for just this purpose. I don't love having a lot of specialized gadgets, but this one is an exception. The taste is so much better that it's worth it.

  

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer until just combined.

Add the bananas and mix again. Stir in the pecans and pour into a loaf pan.

 

For the topping, melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the brown sugar and spices, cooking until the sugar dissolves. Away from the flame, add the bourbon and stir. return to the heat and cook for a couple of minutes to cook off the alcohol. Add the pecans and toss to coat and cook another minute. 

 

Pour the pecans over the batter in the loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until center is cooked (or slightly gooey if you're like me!)

 

Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Slice and devour. 

Enjoy! 

Lynn

Quick Quiche

This is an easy breezy recipe that I've been making for 30 years. Can that be right?!? Have I really been cooking for that long?  The answer is yes. 30+ is more accurate. This quiche recipe was given to me by a friend of my mom's and it is one of the first recipes that made me feel like I might actually be able to learn to cook. Before that, it was pretty much Ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese from a box, spaghetti sauce from a jar, you get the picture. This is a quick go to meal that I usually pair with a salad. Use the ingredients as a guide, but feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand. It is good with any combination of meat, cheese, and veggies that you have. If you want to make the crust from scratch, be my guest, but the whole point of this meal for me is the fast preparation, so I use store bought pie crust. It's one of those things that I always keep in my freezer. Here's what you'll need:

  • 1 unbaked pie shell
  • ½ lb. ground beef, cooked
  • ½ C mayonnaise
  • ½ C milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 TBL cornstarch
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 C grated cheddar cheese
  • 1 C grated swiss cheese
  • ½ C green onion, chopped

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. 

Next, roll out your pie crust slightly. I have found that if I don't roll it out before I use it, it tends to shrink. Place the crust in a pie pan and crimp the edges. Be fancy or simple, it will taste good either way. 

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, corn starch, and mayonnaise. Sprinkle in the chives and stir. You'll notice that I used dried chives because I didn't have any fresh on hand.  

For this quiche, I decided to add a chopped Serrano pepper. 

Now, stir in the shredded cheeses. 

Stir in the cooked hamburger. 

Pour the mixture into your pie crust. This is when I noticed that I was using my extra deep pie dish... Oh well. It will taste just as good. Your pie pan will look a little fuller if you use a standard size. 

Bake for 35-45 minutes until firm in the center and brown around the edges. 

Let it sit about 10 minutes before you slice it. When I serve this for dinner with a salad, it serves 4 hungry people. It's great leftover too! 

Enjoy! 

Lynn

Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna Rollups

We are meat eaters around here. Ninety-nine percent of our dinners include some form of chicken, fish, pork, or beef. Every once in a while though, I want something that doesn't have meat. The problem is that while a plate of vegetables can be delicious, I find that within an hour or so I feel like I need to eat again. I need protein. I've been thinking about making some lasagna roll ups, but ironically, I felt like they were TOO meaty for dinner. I don't like to feel stuffed after I eat, especially at night. But, they do have lots of cheese in them, so I decided to give them a try. I looked at about a dozen different recipes before I came up with my version. I lightened up the cheese and added spinach and artichokes. Pretty good I think. So did the family. Here's what you'll need:

  • 10 uncooked lasagna noodles
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1  24 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 C ricotta cheese
  • 3 oz cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 C marinated artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
  • 1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 C basil pesto
  • 1/4 C shredded parmesan cheese

Cook the lasagna noodles to al dente according to package directions. 

When they’re ready, remove them from the water and lay them out on a piece of parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Do not rinse the cooked noodles.

In a sauce pan, sauté the onion in a little olive oil until caramelized.

Add in 2/3 of the garlic and stir cooking for a couple of minutes until the garlic is cooked. Add the red pepper flakes.

Add the sugar, tomato sauce and 1/2 of the pesto and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta and cream cheese until smooth. Add the egg and mix.

Add the pesto and stir to combine.

Now stir in the parmesan.

Next add the spinach and mix well. Make sure to squeeze the spinach as dry as you can before you add it into the mixture.

Now add the chopped artichokes and the rest of the garlic and stir. Season with salt and pepper. 

Spread a thin layer of the tomato sauce on the bottom of your casserole pan.

 Take 1 cooked noodle and add 1/3 C of the cheese mixture to the middle.

Spread the mixture evenly across the noodle in a thin layer.

Starting at one end, roll the noodle gently over the mixture to the other end.

Place the rolled noodle, seam side down, in the casserole on top of the tomato sauce.

Repeat with the remaining noodles and cheese mixture. After all the noodles are rolled, pour the tomato sauce over the top.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy! 

Lynn