Wheat banana bread with Streusel-Nut Topping

Okay, so last week you may remember that I posted a banana bread recipe, and I mentioned that next time I wanted to try it with a crunch topping? Weirdly enough a few days later I was looking through my BHG magazine and there was a recipe for banana bread with a streusel topping...it was a must try....and it was a definately yummy recipe. I have been wanting to try banana bread with wheat flour and it turned out really good with this recipe, enjoy!!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups mashed banana (4-5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine (I used 1/4 a cup of butter which is a 1/2 cube butter and 1/4 cup applesauce instead)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts ( I ommited the walnuts in the bread and left it for the topping)
1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9x5x3-inch or two 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle Streusel Topping over batter.

3. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9x5x3-inch pan or 40 to 45 minutes for 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-inch pans or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

4. Makes 1 loaf

5. Streusel-Nut Topping: In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Zuchinni Chocolate Chip Bread

I LOVE trying new bread recipes. My neighbors brought me some huge Zuchinni's from their garden the other night, and the only thing I like to do with Zuchinni is make bread!! I grate it up and freeze them in ziplock's and then I can get quite a few batches of bread throughout the year. This recipe is so yummy because it has orange zest in it, and gives it an awesome flavor!!


Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest


Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Note: I didn't mix the pecans in with the bread, I did a nutless loaf for my kids and then I just sprinkled some pecans on top of the adult loaf.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool.

Recipe taken from Food Network-Paula Deen

CranApple Crunch Muffins

I made these for breakfast this morning, and the kids loved them. I served it with Cran-Raspberry Juice, and it's a perfect combination.




CranApple Crunch Muffins

Ingredients
Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

TOPPING
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons Martha White® All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons old fashioned or quick-cooking oats

MUFFINS
1 (7 oz.) package Martha White® Whole Grain Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup milk

Preparation Directions
1. HEAT oven to 425°F. Lightly spray 6 medium muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. Combine topping ingredients in small bowl until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
2. COMBINE muffin mix, cranberries and walnuts in medium bowl. Add milk; stir just until moistened. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake 14 to 17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool slightly. Serve warm or cool.

Prep Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Serving size: 6 muffins

Recipe taken from Martha White muffin mix

No Fail Bread/Cinnamon Chip Bread/Cinnamon Rolls

Tuesday night we taught the girls how to make this for our YW's activity. This recipe was given to me by my friend Sharisse. This recipe can make 3 different recipes, and I will include all of them. If you are local and like Great Harvest bread, you have to try this recipe, it's a lot like theirs.






1st Recipe (The no Fail French Bread)



2 1/2 cups WARM water

2 Tbsp. yeast

3 Tbsp. sugar (add a little more for cinnamon rolls)

1 Tbsp. salt

1/3 cup oil

6 cups flour (if you want you can divide this into 5 cups white+1 cup wheat)



Add ingredients in order and mix well. Let stand for 10 min's and mix again. Do this 5 times. Form dough into 2 big loaves, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon chip bread, or 4 small circle loaves (and these are still pretty big). We took these around to our bishopric members, and they make cute gifts!!!



****When I make this bread at home, I am going to frost it with Cream Cheese frosting, yum!



****To make this into the cinnamon chip bread, just add 1/2 a bag of cinnamon chips with the last mixing. You can find cinnamon chips at the grocery store next to chocolate chips, or you can go to Kitchen Kneads or any specialty store and buy them.



****For the cinnamon rolls (after you follow the above items, except for adding the cinnamon chips)....

-Roll into rectangle

-Melt some butter and pour on top of dough

-ADD LOTS of cinnamon and sugar

-Add Dark Brown Sugar

-roll up lenthwise

-cut into cinnamon rolls

-let rise 20-30 min's

Bake 12-15 mins', and then frost with your favorite frosting recipe.

Strawberry Shortcake waffles

These are the killer waffles that we ate on Easter morning....it put's Bisquick to shame!!!



2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups Gold Medal Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. shortening

Heat waffle iron. Beat eggs; beat in remaining ingredients with beater until smooth.

Pour batter into waffle iron and cook until golden brown.

For the strawberry shortcake, we just cut up strawberries and pour sugar over the top and let them sit all night in a tupperware bowl. Then stir really well the next morning, top off the waffles with the strawberries and light cool whip. Enjoy!

Bisquick Coffee Cake

If you have never had this before, this is a must try. Although the name sounds like coffee is included as an ingredient, it's not. This is one of Chris's favorite breakfasts recipes. He woke up this morning and was craving this, so he made a big pan, it was so yummy-especially when it comes right out of the oven. This would be a great recipe if you have company staying at your house-or for the holidays. You can double the batch and put it in a 13x9 pan and it will feed a lot of people. Enjoy!



2 cups Bisquick (don't use non name brand pancake and waffle mixes...it doesn't work....stick with Bisquick, we have learned this the hard way!)
2 Tbsp. sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 egg

Topping:
1/3 cup Bisquick
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. firm butter

Mix topping and set aside. Mix other ingredients and pour into greased 9" round cake pan (we use an 8"square or double the recipe and put it in a 9x13 pan-either works). Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Insert toothpick to make sure the center is cooked.

Makes 10 servings.

Banana Bread

I have been downing Banana bread everyday like it's going out of style. My mother in law keeps whipping up batches of banana bread and sending a loaf home with me every week. This last week she didn't cook a batch so I thought I would try my Better Homes and Garden "light" recipe for banana bread.....ummmm...lesson learned, some things should not be messed with. So here is my mother in laws recipe for her banana bread......so good!!!

5 large bananas (2 1/2 cups)
4 well beaten eggs
1 cup shortening
4 cups flour, sifted
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Beat bananas to a liquid in blender or food processor. Add eggs. Cream together shortening and sugar and add banana mixture. Sift together flour, soda, and salt and pour into banana mixture. Pour into 2 well greased loaf pans. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until done.
Makes 2 loaves.


I have found that in my oven 250 degrees doesn't cut it, I do it at 350 for 6o minutes, and then check it with a toothpick, if I need to bake an additional 5-10 min's and check again.

Cinnamon Pull Apart Rolls

This is a fun recipe my mom would make growing up, I had never made them for my family, so I thought I would whip up a batch this weekend. So easy!!!!



What you need:
18 Rhodes Dinner Rolls
1/2 cube butter
cinnamon and sugar

Frosting:
You can use your favorite frosting recipe, here is the ingredients for the one I use with these rolls.

Powdered sugar
1/2 cube butter
water
1 cap full of Maple flavoring (tastes like caramel).

To make:
Spray a muffin tin with non stick spray.

Defrost your rolls in the microwave just enough that you can take a pizza cutter and cut each roll into 2 pieces. If you over defrost, they will have a weird texture.

Melt your butter, set aside. Mix together cinnamon and sugar (I don't measure, just throw it together)

Dip one side of the roll into butter and then cinnamon and sugar and place in muffin tin. You will put 3 (1/2 rolls) into each muffin tin, making a total of 12 pull aparts.

Cover and let rise 3-5 hours (depending on how warm your house is).
Bake 15-20 minutes.
Immediately take out of oven and place on a cookie sheet. Immediately Frost

Instructions for Frosting:
The frosting needs to be really thin, because you are going to put it on as soon as the rolls come out of the oven. Melt 1/2 cube butter, mix in some powdered sugar, a little water, and mapleine. Keep adding powdered sugar and water until the consistency is just runny enough to run off a spoon. Drizze over hot rolls.

Strawberry Scones

Chris and I wanted to wake up Saturday morning and surprise Isabella with an extra sweet Valentines breakfast. I thought I would try these.



RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 cup hulled and finely diced fresh strawberries
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar, plus a little for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
A lemon, for zest
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon light cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, using a few spots of butter or cooking oil to stick it in place. Set the baking sheet aside.

2. Place the diced strawberries on several sheets of paper towel to absorb their juice. Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Zest half of the lemon into the ingredients, taking care to remove just the outermost skin and not the white pith.

3. Cut in the butter with two butter knives or a pastry blender until the flour-coated pieces are the size of peas. Add the strawberries, tossing them gently with a fork to coat them.

4. Make a well in the mixture. Blend the 1/2 cup of light cream and the vanilla extract in a measuring cup and pour them into the well. Using as few strokes as possible, gently stir the dough until it forms a ball. Let the dough sit for 1 minute.

5. Clean and flour your hands and dust your work surface with flour. Place the dough on the floured surface and knead it gently three or four times. Transfer it to the large baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle. Using a lightly oiled pizza cutter or a serrated knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges, as you would a pizza. Use a small spatula or pie server to carefully separate the pieces, leaving at least an inch between them.

6. Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining tablespoon of light cream, then sprinkle the surfaces with sugar. Bake the scones until the outsides are crusty and starting to brown, about 18 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment and the scones onto a wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes before serving.

In the picture they took their fingers and pressed down on the top of each pizza slice, making it resemble the top of a heart.

Taken from Familyfun.com

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I don't know what it is about fall that makes me want to throw away my diet and bake something with lots of flour, sugar and shortening? I made these into mini muffins, using a mini muffin tin, which made 24 mini muffins (and I still had dough left over), or you can put these in regular muffins tins.

3 Lg. or 4 small ripe banans mashed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
Chocolate Chips (I used jumbo milk chocolate chips)

Cream together first 3 ingredients, don't overmix
Beat egg in
Gradually add last ingredients.
Bake 350 15-20 min's or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean

Conference Sticky Buns