Banana Bread

I was recently over at my sister Paula's house for dinner with my family and she was baking banana bread and gave us one to take home - it was delicious! I can't even remember the last time I made banana bread. I know it's so simple to make but it's just one of those things I never made. If I used bananas for anything it was muffins. This morning I had some bananas that were overly ripe and looked perfect for baking, so I got the recipe that she used and made it while my toddlers were still eating breakfast so they could watch. Paula said she loves this recipe because it's easy and simple and you can make it plain like she did and eat it with cream cheese, or add nuts or chocolate chips or whatever you like to it. She added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the recipe which I thought tasted good, so I included it below.

I love recipes that you can just mix with a spoon - quick to make and easy to cleanup. I baked this in my small Breville oven and thought that the outside looked a bit overdone, but the inside was perfect. Next time I will bake it in my regular oven and see how it comes out.

If you like banana bread or just need to use up some ripe bananas, give this simple recipe a try! My kids and my husband really enjoyed it so I'm sure I will be making it a lot.

Banana Bread

Recipe Courtesy Williams-Sonoma

 

Use very ripe bananas to make this easy banana bread. This is a great recipe to make with kids!

 

 

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

3 medium very ripe bananas, peeled

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

 

 

Preheat an oven to 350°. Grease an 8½”x4½” metal loaf pan with butter or Crisco.

In a bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, smash the bananas with a fork. Add the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla and beat with the wooden spoon until well blended.

Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir just until blended.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with the wooden spoon. Put the pan in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 45 minutes.

Using oven mitts, remove the pan from the oven, set it on a wire cooling rack and let cool for 20 minutes.

Gently run a table knife along the inside edge of the pan to loosen the bread from the sides.

Using oven mitts, turn the pan on its side and slip the loaf out onto the wire rack. Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes before serving.

 

Makes 1 loaf.

Best Ever Beef Bourguignon

Last year I posted a recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon that I've made a few times and is delicious. I've been wanting to make this recipe in my dutch oven instead of in the slow cooker, so I looked back at the original recipe website and found a recipe for Best Ever Beef Bourguignon on the same website. This was exactly what I was looking for. It's very similar to the slow cooker version with a few changes, and I made a few changes myself.

I made this with 3 pounds of beef chunks from Giant. They were fine but ones I bought previously from Costco have tasted the best, so from now on I will try to get them there instead. I cut the beef chunks into much smaller bite-sized pieces. I left out the bacon because the last time I made this in my slow cooker, there was a heavy smokey flavor and I don't like when food tastes smokey. I love bacon but I actually thought it tasted much better this time around without the bacon! I also left the onions out. I added 24 ounces of baby potatoes and cut them in quarters which helped give them more flavor. I used 16 ounces of mushrooms instead of 8 ounces because I love mushrooms! I used an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce and left out the tomato paste. OK, I guess I made more than a few changes, but wanted to remember for next time what I did. I thought this tasted really good but would maybe use more carrots and less or no potatoes next time.

This recipe was so good and I love how easily you can adapt it to your liking. I also enjoyed making it in my dutch oven (I used my 6.75-qt. Le Creuset oval dutch oven which was the perfect size) and thought it tasted better than the times I made it in the slow cooker. I started this around 3:30pm and took my time cutting everything up and it was ready around 6:30pm. It made 4-5 servings.

Best Ever Beef Bourguignon

Recipe Adapted from The Recipe Critic Blog

 

Beef Bourguignon is a French classic made with melt in your mouth beef, mushrooms, carrots, and red wine and is cooked to perfection in the most delicious rich sauce.  A hearty and comforting meal that you will make again and again!

3½ Tablespoons olive oil

6 slices bacon (optional)

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

2 carrots, sliced

10-12 small pearl onions OR 1 small white onion diced (optional)

8 or 16 ounces mushrooms, sliced

2 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)

2 cups beef stock

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup tomato sauce

¼ cup flour

2 cloves mashed garlic

½ teaspoon thyme

Bay leaf

 

 

Preheat the oven to 350° if making in the oven; otherwise, it can be made on the stove.

 

In a large dutch oven over medium high heat add the olive oil and bacon pieces. Cook until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon.

 

Salt and pepper the beef and add it to the pot and sear on each side for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the dutch oven.

 

Add the carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms and sauté 2-3 minutes until tender. Remove and set aside.

 

Add the red wine to the skillet, scraping down the sides and allow to deglaze. Add the beef stock, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and whisk in the flour.

 

Add the beef and the vegetables and bacon back to the pot and stir. Add garlic, thyme and bay leaf.

 

If making in the oven, put a lid on the pot and let it simmer in the oven for 1½ to 2 hours until the beef is tender.

 

If making on the stovetop, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low and simmer. Cover and let cook 1½ to 2 hours or until beef is tender.

 

Note: You can also add in the sautéed mushrooms 10 minutes before serving.