Square Pan Banana Bread

I've got a lot of recipes on here for banana bread, but recently discovered the Magnolia banana bread in their magazine/cookbook.  All of my recipes call for white sugar but this one calls for brown sugar and it makes a nice difference.  Miller isn't always crazy for banana bread but he liked it this way.  Her suggestion for baking in a square bake was also a welcomed suggestion.  We may never look back...

Square Pan Banana Bread

1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
3-5 ripe bananas, mashed
1 ¾ c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a square 8x8 baking pan.  In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended.  Add mashed bananas, mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture and mix until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Sprinkle desired amount of sugar all over the top.  (Makes a crunch layer.)

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan 5-10 minutes.  Eat warm or cool and store.  Keeps at room temperature for 2 days.  (But has it ever lasted that long?)

*Can add in pecans, chocolate chips or both.

Garlic Chicken Thighs with Green Onions and Lime

Recently I did one of those searches where I could find a recipe based on ingredients I had on hand to use them up.  Miller enjoyed this so much; I thought I better put it here to save it.

Garlic Chicken Thighs with Green Onions and Lime

1 ½ lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 bunch green onions
1 head garlic, unpeeled and halved crosswise
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
juice of one lime
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 c. water

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or large, high-sided skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken, skin-side down and cook until chicken is crisped and the fat has begun to render, 8 to 10 minutes.  Flip chicken, skin side up and cook until golden brown 4 to 6 minutes.  Remove chicken to a plate.  Thinly slice 2 green onions and set aside.  Add both halves garlic, cut side down into the rendered fat in Dutch oven.  Add remaining, whole green onions to pot and toss to coat in fat.  Cook until lightly blistered and brown.  Add grated garlic and stir a minute, being careful not to burn.  Add lime juice, soy sauce and water, scraping all the bits off the bottom of pot.  Add chicken back to pot and be sure to coat both sides with liquid mixture.  Bring to a simmer and partly cover.  Cook until chicken is completely cooked and sauce has reduced by ½.  Discard garlic halves and sprinkle chopped green onions over chicken before serving.

Brisket and Black Bean Chili

I cut this recipe from Southern Living recently and Jason really enjoyed it.  Brisket isn't a cheap cut of meat, so I think these same flavors could be developed with stew meat.  I asked the butcher to cut just the right size I needed instead of buying way more meat than I needed.

Brisket and Black Bean Chili

3 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 lb. beef brisket, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 (16 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1 (orange, red or yellow) bell pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 1 ½  c. beef broth

Combine first 5 ingredients and toss brisket cubes in mixture until coated.  In Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp. oil and brown half of the brisket cubes until browned on all sides.  Remove to a plate.  Repeat with remaining oil and brisket cubes.  Remove to a plate.  Pour half a cup of beef broth in and scrape the bottom of the pot clean.  Add onions and pepper and cook until tender.  Add minced garlic and stir until fragrant.  Add beans, tomatoes, remaining broth and brisket into pot.  Simmer on low about 4 hours until brisket is tender.

This chili tasted even better the second day.

Cracker Toffee

This has been such a quick and easy food gift that I've made the past two Easters.  It can easily be made with chocolate and any other toppings you want to celebrate all the holidays.

Cracker Toffee

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 - 2 stacks of saltine crackers

1 (16 oz.) pkg. white almond bark

desired toppings (sprinkles, nuts, etc.)

Preheat oven to 325.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Place in a single layer the saltine crackers.  In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar.  Boil for about 3-5 minutes until completely combined, stirring constantly.  Pour all over the cracker layer and spread out as needed.  Bake at 325 for 8 minutes.  While baking, melt almond bark according to package directions.  Once baking time is up, spread almond bark all over the top of the crackers.  Sprinkle with sprinkles.  Allow to cool completely.  Break into pieces and package up for teachers, friends and family. 

Oreo Cake with Oreo Buttercream

This was Miller's cake request this year and it was delicious!  If you have an oreo lover in your house, this is the cake for you.

Oreo Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
1 ⅓ c. water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. sour cream
2 eggs
10 oreos, crushed

Preheat oven to 325.  In a mixer, combine cake mix, flour, sugar and salt.  Add water, vegetable oil, vanilla and sour cream.  Mix well.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add crushed cookies and blend well.  Evenly distribute batter into cake pans prepared with Baker's Joy.  Bake for 16-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes then move to a wire rack to fully cool.  Top with oreo buttercream.

Oreo Buttercream

15 oreos, processed to a fine powder
1 ½ c. butter, room temperature
4 ½ c. powdered sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
pinch of salt

Mix butter and powdered sugar until combined.  Add vanilla and heavy cream and mix well until good consistency.  Add pinch of salt and oreos and blend well.  Spread over cooled cake.

Alabama Firecrackers

This is something that I've been making for the past year and just realized I've not shared it here when I was looking for the recipe just now.  These crackers are like magic, because the oil doesn't leave the crackers soggy.  Don't know the science behind it, but these are so addictive.  Perfect little snack for any tailgate or a dressed up cracker for soups.

Alabama Firecrackers

6 sleeves saltine crackers (not off-brand)
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 3/4 c. canola oil
2 tsp. dill
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Remove crackers from sleeves and line up like dominos in an air-tight container with a lid.  In a small bowl, combine oil and seasonings, stirring well.  Pour mixture evenly over crackers.  Put lid on and immediately invert container upside down.  Every half hour continue flipping right side up and upside down.  Shake ever so slightly, if necessary.  Once all the oil is absorbed, the crackers are ready to eat.  Approximately two hours.  

**I renamed these Alabama firecrackers because I saw the same recipe referred to by Southern Living as Alabama instead of Texas.  What can I say...I'm an Alabama home-r.

Favorite Graham Cracker Crust

1 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/3 c. brown sugar (or 1/3 c. white sugar for less sweet)

Combine crumbs, butter and sugar.  Stir well until combined.  Spray pie plate and press crumbs into pie shell.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

*The original recipe didn't call for spraying pie plate and my crust stuck pretty bad, so I'm going to try spraying next time to keep it from sticking.