Banana Bread

I love to make these in the mini tins and freeze for future use. They make a perfect addition to any picnic, camping trip, or quick snack. Warm and spread with butter or cream cheese for a delightful addition to morning coffee. Add chocolate or butterscotch chips to the mix, top with a dollop of whip cream and you’ve got a quick dessert. So many things you can do with one basic recipe. Experiment! 

• 1 cup unbleached white flour
  
• 1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup shortening
• ²⁄3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 or 4 very ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 cups optional ingredients mixed or not: 1 cup chopped nuts , 1 cup raisins or craisins, 1 cup dates, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips . Use your imagination.

In small bowl sift together first six ingredients. In large bowl cream shortening with sugar. Add bananas. When mashed with shortening mix, add eggs one at a time, then milk. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix by hand just until combined. Add optional ingredients and mix only until well distributed. Pour batter into well greased loaf pan or divide batter between 4 , well greased, mini loaf tins filling each about 1/2 way. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for about 1 hour (45 minutes if using mini pans). Check with toothpick inserted in center. If it comes out clean they are done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Dump from pan and cool on rack. Serve warm or freeze. Once completely cool wrap in freezer wrap. It will keep up to 6 months in the freezer.

Sloppy Joes

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 lb. Ground Chuck
• 1/2 med onion (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic(minced)
• 3/4 cup ketchup 
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Add butter to skillet over med. high heat. Add ground chuck and cook until brown. Drain off fat. Add onions and garlic a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper, cook until they begin to soften. Add ketchup, brown sugar, chilli powder, dry mustard, Worcestershire and water. Turn heat to simmer. Cook 15 minutes more.

This is my version of a quick and easy go to recipe for sloppy joe's. When the hubby is not around I will also add 1/2 red or green pepper, diced.

Wild Mushroom Pie

• prepared crust for double crust pie  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 2 lb  mixture of shitake, oyster, chantarelle, and/or portabello, cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup dry wine (such as pinot nior)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (115 ml) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and/or thyme) **Remember rosemary is very potant so use only a small amount of this.
• 1/3 cup (50 grams) fresh shredded parmesan cheese

Heat the butter in a wide, shallow pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add wine and the sliced mushrooms. Cook until browned, stirring frequently. The mushrooms may crowd the pan, but they will shrink as they cook. Season with salt and pepper.

While the mushrooms are cooking, roll out one disk of the pie dough into a rough 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish.

In bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, and flour. Add the mushroom mixture, herbs, and cheese and stir to combine. Dump mixture into the bottom pie crust.

Roll out the second dough disk and transfer it to the top of the pie. Pinch the two crusts together and tuck into the dish to seal. Cut slits into the crust as vents. Brush pie with egg wash.

Bake at 350 degrees F on the bottom rack of your oven until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 60-75 minutes. For best results, let pie cool to room temperature before serving to let the filling thicken properly. (I let it sit about 30 minutes which worked just fine)

If you desire you can store prebaked pie in the refrigerator then reheat pie at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes when ready to serve.

**The origional recipe can be found here which includes this parmasan pie crust. I have included them on my page as seperate entries as I love this crust with many savory pies. Plain pie crust works with the mushroom pie as well.

Parmesan Pie Crust

• 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1/3 cup (50 grams) parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) buttermilk, cold
• 1-2 tablespoons vodka or water, cold

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the cubed butter and toss to coat. Dump the mixture out onto a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll the butter into thin sheets, combining it with the flour. Use a bench scraper to scrape the rolling pin and to bring the mixture back into a pile as necessary. Continue until all of the butter is incorporated into the flour. Mixture will be very flaky. Return mixture to the bowl and add the parmesan cheese. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove from freezer and add the buttermilk. Use a spoon and then your hands to stir the mixture until it comes together into a ball. If mixture is too dry, add the water or vodka a tablespoon at a time. Divide the dough in two and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Origional Recipe found here: http://www.completelydelicious.com