Hellish Kitchens Returns

I am a huge fan of banana bread. I have always loved the taste and texture of it. I especially enjoy the Starbucks version which has chocolate chips in it.

So I was especially excited when I found this yummy (and tres facile) recipe on allrecipes.com. Not only is is super easy and tasty (pair it with your favorite afternoon tea)...but it's also dairy-free, which isn't necessarily a problem in our house but comes in handy when we have over-ripe bananas and no eggs.

Hope you enjoy it, too!!

Banana Bread

Rated: Submitted By: Irene Evans Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Ready In: 55 Minutes Servings: 16

"This recipe's special because it uses no eggs or milk. I know that there are many people who are on milk-free diets, so this bread is perfect for them."

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup shortening 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup mashed ripe bananas

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Note: This recipe does NOT contain eggs or milk. In a large bowl, cream sugar and shortening for about 5 minutes (mixture does not get smooth). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas, beating after each addition (the batter will be thick). Spoon into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until bread tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 8/25/2012

Another From Hellish Kitchens...a.k.a. Mine

I have a reputation.

I love to buy fruit.

And while I can't eat most of it due to allergies, I love that my kids can get all the wonderful vitamins and minerals that fresh fruit offers.

Okay, so that's not a bad thing, right? Not something important enough to get a "reputation" from.

That's not the actual problem, though.

I love that the fruit is available for the kids to eat with their meals or for snacks.

But sometimes...I forget that we have it.

And when that happens, it dies, and we feel really wasteful if we have to throw it out.

Recently, I perused allrecipes.com for a good banana bread recipe. (Have I mentioned how much I love that site?) And voila! I give you the following recipe, great for when you don't have any eggs or milk in the house...or if you're on a dairy-free diet.

Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup shortening 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup mashed ripe bananas

DIRECTIONS:

Note: This recipe does NOT contain eggs or milk. In a large bowl, cream sugar and shortening for about 5 minutes (mixture does not get smooth). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas, beating after each addition (the batter will be thick). Spoon into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until bread tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

I've made it three times, and every time has been awesome!!

Seriously.

We've eaten the entire loaf in one meal.

I use margarine for the shortening and cook it for about 10 minutes longer (but that's my oven). Some of the reviewers offer some good suggestions. But I would just make it from the original recipe the first time and see what you think and where you might tweak it.

It's a great way to use up "old" bananas...and keep from getting a "reputation."

5. When Fights Happen...Make Cookies

When I first read out loud this post on "16 Lessons Learned in Marriage," my daughter encouraged me to elaborate on each one, especially since they really truly authentically are lessons I have indeed actually really learned in the years that I've been happily hitched to my hubby.

I thought about it, but then I decided that I'd have 16 more ready-made subjects to blog about later on down the road. Perfect, right? I thought you'd agree.

5. When fights happen...make cookies.

There have been times in our marriage when we've had a disagreement of sorts. Nothing serious. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a mild skirmish that ends...well, that ends in the proverbial "Mexican Standoff."

Early in our marriage, Stuart and I would have one of these moments. I would end up doing what we later dubbed as a "monologue," and he would go quiet...and then we'd both stay silent for hours. No kidding. And then -- wait for it...I'm not joking you -- he'd fall asleep.

I mean, what better way to end a feud than to close your eyes and start to snore?

Not much shows loving, caring, understanding, and willingness to work things out like the sound of "Zzzzs" reverberating from our easy chair.

Sigh.

Usually, I'd end up a bit more perturbed than before.

(Go figure.)

But then something would happen.

I'd get this incredible urge to go into the kitchen and clean it up. Do all the dishes. Scour the table and counters. And then...make cookies.

It's like the idea of sharing something soft, warm, and sweet would melt the frustrations mounting between us.

And it worked.

(Go figure.)  

Sometimes -- though I'm sure more rarely in other households -- we have little tiffs with our kids, as well. Little disagreements that blow out of proportion, causing us to second-guess any funds we're putting towards vacation plans and instead put that money into a houseboat fund that would allow us as parents to stay -- childless -- offshore just for a decade year month few days for the sake of our sanity.

Just sometimes, mind you.

So a funny thing happened this morning....a mere few hours after a slightly large row happened between said children and myself....

I found myself baking...banana bread.

I woke up remembering the frustrations I'd had at them last night and suddenly had the urge to make something warm, sweet, and yummy.

And it worked. A lot of laughter was heard around the table as we devoured the freshly baked goodness.

So remember, when you fight -- and you know you will at some point -- go bake something yummy. It'll be worth the effort. I promise!

Father's Day Fun in Photos

(How's that for alliteration??)

Since the daddy in our household enjoys meat with more meat and we gave him a charcoal grill for Father's Day two years ago, it goes without saying that his Father's Day meal is going to involve meat. And, as with this year's recipe, meat with more meat.

Stuart discovered a recipe for something called a "Bacon Explosion." (Google it...you'll find the recipe on the creator's site for free.)

And it was awesome!

Return to Hellish Kitchens

Those who know me well know that I'm not fond of cooking. I like to bake, but it has to be something yummy and easy.

Recently, while perusing http://www.allrecipes.com/ (I looooove that site!) for something breakfasty to make for my hubby's early-morning Bible study group, I came across this recipe for a "Clone of Cinnabon" cinnamon buns.

I read the ingredients and decided that it was definitely something I could do -- especially since it used my bread machine -- so it fit my simple criteria of being simple and yummy.

A-W-E-S-O-M-E is what we thought after we sampled the finished product. In fact, we loved them so much, I keep making them, and, of course, we keep eating them. *wink-grin*

So without further ado...

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 3 Hours
Servings: 12 (you can go here to change the serving size and ingredient proportions)

Ingredients:
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

New...from Hellish Kitchens...

An awesome new recipe brought to you by "Hellish Kitchens" a.k.a. mine.

Make some pizza dough...enough for one pie. If desired, brush garlic butter over dough and prebake it for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. (Or buy one ready-made.)

Spread grated sharp cheddar cheese over it and top with a box of Kraft mac-n-cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes at the same temp.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

I just have to say -- despite the heavy carbs/starchiness of this -- it tastes...

...A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

For a variation and better nutrition, next time I'm going to add some sort of meat to get some protein in there.

Tuesday Tips and Tricks

I'm sure I've posted these recipes before under "Hellish Kitchens." But if you're new to reading this blog, it might take you awhile to find them again...so I'll republish them now.

Enjoy!!

Breadmachine White Bread (2-pound loaf)
(Add the following to your loaf pan in the order given.)

1 1/2 cups of warm water
2 Tbsp. canola (or vegetable) oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour (I like Gold Medal brand "Better for Bread" flour)
2 1/2 tsp. yeast


Cake Mix Cookies
Oven temp: 350 F

1 box any flavor cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola (or vegetable) oil

Mix ingredients together. Add raisins or chocolate chips, if desired. Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets. Bake for 9 minutes for soft; 11 minutes for crisp. Cool and enjoy. Freeze any leftovers.

Hell-ish Kitchens Revisited Again

Well, once again it's time for another installment of (insert dramatic music here) Hell-ish Kitchens, the part of my blog where I share an amazingly stupid simple recipe with my loyal reader(s).

Actually, all silliness aside, I do have a wonderful "jumping-off" recipe to share with you.

I'm not a great "believer" in recipes (though somehow I have a gazillion cookbooks). Well, I do have some that I follow religiously since I know they taste delicious "as is," without any tweaks. But, for the most part, I like to invent my own or use a recipe as a "jumping-off" point. The simpler the better in my book.

With that in mind, I give you:

Amazingly-Simple-Yummy-Full-of-Veggies-Roasted-Chicken-Caesar-Salad (Catchy title, huh?)

1 bag of Caesar Salad mix/kit

1/2 lb. of boneless chicken breast

1 bag of frozen corn

1/4 cup Caesar dressing

Broil the chicken breast and cook the corn as per the package directions or your taste. Add to salad mix. Add 1/4 cup more of salad dressing. Toss to coat chicken and mix in corn.

Of course, you could make this any way you'd like, even adding in more veggies, easily getting your daily recommended allowance of 4 or 5 veggie servings. We liked the corn since it added a slightly sweet taste to the salad.

An easy cool "one-pot" dinner for a hot summer night.

Monday Morning Musings

New crazy-busy week.

New video. New thoughts. New video.

New countdown clock on my sidebar. (Counts down to the next episode of 24...though you have to add an hour for daylight savings time...)

Going now....

* * *

Emily has her PSSA tests -- the state's standardized tests -- today and tomorrow. She's nervous, but we told her she cannot fail. The tests show whether or not she's learning at her grade level so she can exceed her level, be right on the mark, or need help being brought up to her level.

There's so much noise about these tests in the news media that it's no wonder kids dread them. Heaven forbid we give them some kind of standards to achieve... Okay, okay...hopping down from my soapbox....

We know she'll do fine.

* * *

Good thing kids are more resilient than their parents sometimes....

Edward had his follow-up visit with our doctor this morning. The doctor explained that Edward looked much better on the outside than he sounded on the inside. Apparently, our little guy was much sicker than we realized.

The doctor drew a picture of what the x-ray of Edward's lungs looked like and told me that it was hard to tell if it was bronchitis or pneumonia. He gave us another prescription and told us to continue with the nebulizer.

Hopefully, "budboy" is on the mend.

* * *

5 THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT

• kids trading comic books
• a handwritten menu
• buffalo wings in barbecue sauce
• renting a house on an island
• catnip cat toys

* * *

We started a new tradition this season with our 24 viewing: wings.

It all started at our 24 premier party when we forgot to defrost the wings in time to make them...and ended up having them the following week. Mmmmmmm!

Now we realize they're so yummy and easy to make that we've continued making them each week of the season thus far. Why not? It beats chewing off our fingernails...

Stuart likes his with hot sauce, and I usually have mine with honey mustard.

Quick recipe:
Preheat oven to 450. Defrost chicken wing sections. Place on foil-lined pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Place with sauce in a covered bowl and toss. Serve hot with LOTS of napkins.

Hot Sauce:
2 Tbsp. melted butter
4 Tbsp. Texas Pete
3-4 dashes of another hotter sauce

Honey-Mustard Sauce:
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2-4 Tbsp. each of spicy brown mustard and honey

Hell-ish Kitchens Revisited

I haven't had a chance to post anything from my Hell-ish Kitchens series recently. But I came up with a fun one the other night when I was preparing dinner: Rainbow-Goldfish-Coated Chicken. Certainly made for a yummy and colorful dinner and was requested by Edward for his "birthday dinner" (more on that menu at the bottom)!

Ingredients:

1 cup Pepperidge Farm Rainbow Goldfish
4 or 5 pieces of chicken (I used thighs and drumsticks)
1 egg

Preparation:
Squash the rainbow goldfish in a Ziploc bag. Dip chicken pieces one at a time in the beaten egg and then place in the bag. Shake the bag until the chicken is coated. Place in greased glass casserole pan and bake (originally I fried the chicken in canola oil but decided that baking is much healthier and just as tasty) at 350 F for 30-40 minutes. Easy as pie...well, chicken.

* * *

Speaking of birthday dinner, though. Our 6-year-old (gotta get used to typing that) surprised us by requesting the following menu:

Rainbow-Goldfish-Coated Chicken

Oreida baby potato cakes

Brussels sprouts

asparagus

cauliflower

baby corn

Followed by cake and ice cream, of course.

Quite a feast, huh? We were all hugely a bit stuffed afterwards!

Fudging It

I was getting ready to post another very simple and WONDERFUL recipe from Hellish Kitchens that is perfect for this time of year....and then realized I'd already posted it here.

It's for "foolproof fudge," and it makes a great gift that says, "I slaved away in a burning-hot kitchen making this delicious delicacy for you because you're worth it!" (Only you know that it took about 10 minutes to prepare...and then another 2+ hours cooling in the fridge.)

I'm including a photo of this yummy treat to remind you that life is short...eat dessert FIRST!

Still, Still, Still...etc. More from Hell-ish Kitchens

(In case you're confused by the title of this entry, look here for a brief explanation. Therein afterwards without further adieu I use "Hellish Kitchens" in the entry's title for any recipe I post. Exciting, huh? Welcome to my world.)

Enjoy a recipe I discovered for too-too simple breakfast burritos:

Breakfast Burritos

A great protein breakfast for people on the run.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground sausage
1 dozen eggs
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup salsa
15 To 20 tortilla shells

Preparation:
Fry up sausage and drain. Scramble eggs with one cup of the cheddar cheese. Combine the sausage, eggs, other cup of cheese, and salsa in a large bowl and mix well. Place 1/4 cup egg mixture in center of tortilla and roll burrito style. Place on cookie sheet. When all have been rolled up put cookie sheet in the freezer to freeze. When frozen place in a zipper freezer bag. Warm in the microwave for a minute and a half at 80% power.

Recipe Detail:
Total Preparation Time : 15 to 30 minutes
Actual Cooking Time: less than 15 minutes
Number of Servings: 10 or more
Make Ahead

Gotta love easy recipes!! I substituted diced pre-cooked "lite" sausage links to save a bit of time and ease up on the number of calories/fat. Delicioso!

Still Still Still More from Hell-ish Kitchens

Thinking about all this running away from Jack Bauer got me feeling hungry, and somehow this little beauty of a recipe made its way into my computer inbox. I've not made it before but, judging by the ingredients, I'd say it sounds yummy!

Enjoy!



Chocolate Orange Blossom Delicacies

Estimated Times: Preparation - 20 min Cooking - 45 min - Yields - 40 bars

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups orange marmalade
1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels
1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions: PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan. COMBINE flour, sugar and walnuts in large bowl. Cut in butter and egg with pastry blender, or two knives, until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture into prepared pan. Spread marmalade evenly over crumb mixture in pan, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle white morsels and semi-sweet morsels evenly over the marmalade. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture evenly over the morsels. BAKE for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is light brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Still, Still More from Hell-ish Kitchens

The weather shifted back to more sultry summer temperatures today so I'm inside enjoying the air conditioning and thinking about making some yummy treats...

Thus, I present, without further adieu, another installment of "Hell-ish Kitchens Tres Simple Recipes:"

<--- A new sport -- Naked Nascar? (Edward, July 2002)

Foolproof Chocolate Fudge

Estimated Times: Preparation - 6 min Cooking - 5 min Cooling Time -

2 hrs refrigerating - Yields - 36

Ingredients:
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (preferably a good brand)
1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: LINE 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with foil. COMBINE morsels and sweetened condensed milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Warm over lowest possible heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in nuts and vanilla extract. SPREAD evenly into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces.

Et voila! Eat and enjoy! A tiny piece of "Heaven." And it really is foolproof!! Ask this fool!

Still More from Hell-ish Kitchens

Our first pickle cucumber of the season

Isn't that a huge pickle cucumber?? I think I may have left it on the vine too long. Still, it tasted very yummy in our salad last weekend, much to the chagrin of our two kids who thought it should be bronzed and displayed. Maybe that comes of watching all those VeggieTales shows. You kinda expect the vegetables to grow faces and chat with you.

Our garden is prolific in weeds this year. (I cannot seem to keep up with them.) But we also have an abundance of cherry tomatoes growing and a small crop of cukes coming. Hopefully, our peppers and watermelons will catch up before long.

That's all for the W. City Garden Report. Stay tuned now for another great (and tres simple) recipe from Hell-ish Kitchens...

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box any flavor cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Add chocolate chips, raisins, nuts...if desired. Spoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

I usually keep out what I think we might eat that day (storing the cookies in a ziploc bag), and then I freeze the rest. These cookies are NOT keepers. They don't store well and become stale very quickly.

ENJOY!

More from Hell-ish Kitchens

Sitting down to dinner tonight, Edward, 5, said the grilled chicken and macaroni salad looked good. I said I hoped it tasted good. "I hope it tastes good, too," he agreed. The honesty of a 5-year-old.

Another tasty recipe to share. This one came from cooks.com and fits my criteria of being yummy and tres simple:

Seasoned Pretzels

6 cups miniature pretzels (or broken sourdough pieces)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Original party dip mix (or any flavor dry dip mix)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt (I bypassed this since the pretzels are already salty, but...)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place pretzels in a large shallow baking pan (13 X 9 inch). In a small bowl, combine all other ingredients. Pour mixture over pretzels, stir well. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Pour onto waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

More another day!

From Hell-ish Kitchens -- a.k.a. Mine

Kinda of a "blah day" here in W. City. Very humid and warm, so I tried an awesome recipe for snickerdoodle cookies. Tres simple! (Which is great for someone with my cooking abilities. LOL!)

I'm posting it here:

Snickerdoodle Recipe

I have another very easy recipe for homemade fudge, but I'll save that for another blog.

Enjoy!

Hell's Kitchen

Watermelons from our garden last year
I find it particularly funny that there's a show called Hell's Kitchen...esp. since that could describe my kitchen. I've never watched it, but then I'm not into cooking.

I'm no chef. In fact, I wouldn't even call myself a cook. I can't stand cooking...though I greatly admire anyone who does like it. I'm more of a survival cook, i.e. I cook to feed us. I do enjoy experimenting though. I see recipes as a bit of a jumping-off point. I know flavors that I/we enjoy and like to mix them together to make yummy concoctions. Most of the time it works.

Here's a keeper (Serves 4):

4 hotdogs/sausages (depending on how healthy you want to be)
1/2 package of tri-colored spiral noodles
1/2 package of baby carrots (I really enjoy the petite baby carrots...as if baby carrots aren't small enough)
Any flavor salad dressing (we enjoy Italian or Honey Mustard)

Cook the noodles as per the package instructions and drain. Steam baby carrots in water in the microwave for about 5 minutes and drain. In a skillet, cut hotdogs/sausages in half length-wise and width-wise to get about 4 pieces per "dog." Fry until brown on each side. Put all the ingredients in the skillet and mix with about 3/4 to 1 cup of salad dressing. Let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, and enjoy!