Sweet Suppertime

heavy on the butter and sugar...

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

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Banana Bread
We go through a lot of bananas at our house.  Honestly most of them end up in a protein shake made by my 17 year old.  There are a lucky few who get dipped in peanut butter and downed as a healthy after school snack. And then there are bananas that escape the aforementioned and are thus set aside for a higher purpose; banana bread.  Depending on my mood, there are a few different recipes that I love to mix up with over-ripe bananas.  Today is a peanut butter theme.

When I start off a batch of banana bread I do it with three bananas that are very over-ripe.  The riper the better.  Because I want the bread to come out cleanly from the pan I like to take parchment paper and trace the bottom of the pan and leave one sheet in the bottom of the pan.  Then I spray the parchment and the sides of the pan with a cooking spray.  It’s a good idea to cut out lots of these at once.  I store them right in my pan.  It’s like an inbox for parchment paper!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

For this recipe I lightly folded peanut butter chips into the batter and then topped the filled pans (filled to within 1 inch of the top) with a mixture of peanut butter chips and 1 TB of brown sugar.  The pans shown above are 3 inches wide and 7 inches long from inside to inside.  My kids know that I like to leave one on the counter for them and take one to a friend, so although this would fit nicely in once larger pan for one loaf..I choose to turn it in to two.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread
And then they come out of the oven about an hour later looking like a million bucks and the kids are already telling me I really don’t need to give one away.  Yes…that is a smear of peanut butter on top!
Peanut Butter Banana Bread Sweet Suppertime
 
Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare your pans for baking.
 
Mash up 3 medium ripened bananas and set aside.  You should end up with 1 1/2 cup-ish.  Be close.  If you are more than a couple tablespoons off add a bit more sour cream in that section
 
In a bowl combine the following and set aside:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
 Give this a stir to mix the salt an soda around with the flour.
 
In a mixing bowl combine at medium speed (for about 30 seconds) the following:
 
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
 
Add:
2 eggs, one at a time
3 mashed bananas
 
Add:
 
The flour mixture that you have set aside, mixing just until moist.  Fold in:
 
1 cup peanut butter chips (I like to throw in white or chocolate chips sometimes)
 
Spoon equal amounts into your prepared pans and top with a sprinkling of additional chips and 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar.
 
Bake for about one hour, or until a test pick comes out fairly clean.  Cool for about 15 minutes before removing easily from the pans (since you have prepared them so well)
 
NOTE:  at about 40 minutes if I think the tops of my bread are browning too fast I will slip a piece of foil over the top to prevent too much browning.  And, as you can see from the photo I also like to dollop some peanut butter on top just to complete the banana/peanut butter flavor.
 
 
 
 
 

After School Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Sweet Suppertime Chocolate Chip Cookies
Danny is 17 and believes in chocolate chip cookies with all his heart.  It has come from years and years of being indoctrinated after school by a very specific chocolate chip cookie. He doesn’t know how easy it is to make, that’s my little secret.  But I do love making cookies for my kids.
I think before you can talk cookie–or in this case share a cookie recipe–you sort of have to set some fundamental cookie rules. It’s important for any reader to know that, while I like dark chocolate and have been known to bake with semi-sweet morsels now and then, I am definitely a milk chocolate kind of girl.  Additionally it is important to note that I am loyal to a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie. I have often tried a new recipe only to find out that it’s too “cake” like or “crispy”.  This cookie is soft and chewy, a bit salty and loaded with chocolate chips.  Sometimes I toss in white chocolate chips, sometimes peanut butter chips and if I feel domestic a dip them halfway in melted chocolate.  What I love most about this recipe is that it’s a small batch and I am in and out in under an hour which makes it the perfect cookie for an after school snack.  And because I whip these babies up in a bowl with a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease the clean up just seems simpler.
In this recipe I use shortening, it keeps the dough soft and if you take a look up here you won’t see vanilla.  What?! No vanilla? I forgot to add it one day and found that I really liked the flavor of the dough better without it so…no vanilla here.  If you love vanilla add a bit.
Cream the sugars and shortening together until it’s nice and creamy and then add the egg, stirring the dough until you can’t tell you added the egg, about 20 strokes.  Add the salt and baking soda followed by the flour.
Stir until the flour is incorporated and then add all those happy little chocolate chips!   These I just fold gently into the dough and then using a cookie scoop, put 12 balls of cookie dough on a cookie sheet or pizza stone.
After placing them on an ungreased, cool cookie sheet I like to push them down gently with my fingers and sprinkle just a bit of sea salt on top.
Pushing them down just seems to keep them from flattening out too much which gives them that crispy edge that I don’t care for. I also bake just a few the first round so that I can see if they need more flour to keep their shape.  Most of the time they don’t.
Sweet Suppertime Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes.  Cool on your cookie sheet for about two minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  They are fast, easy and delicious and they make my house smell like “home” when the kids come through the door.  These are the perfect after school chocolate chip cookie.

After School Chocolate Chip Cookies      Sweet Suppertime

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white super
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Cream shortening and sugars together.  Add egg and stir.  Add soda and salt evenly over the dough and stir until well incorporated.  Add flour and once the flour is absorbed into the dough fold in the chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls or use a cookie sheet to drop 12 balls of dough onto a cool, ungreased cookie sheet or stone.  Press the dough down lightly with your fingers and top with a few sprinkles of sea salt.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes or until edges are turning golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool for two minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Tuscan Zuppa

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Today was a unique day for me.  Today I helped with a family luncheon after the funeral of the father of a friend of mine.  It was a cold, blustery day and I was glad that the weather abated for just a few hours after the funeral for the interment.  The family gathered at our church after the burial and the good women of our neighborhood brought warm comforting soup and rolls to the church so that the family could sit together and celebrate the life of someone they loved.  It was a day that I spent thinking about life and the people that I love so much.  Center to that list is my own father who I am lucky enough to call “daddy”.  So today we whipped up one of our own favorite soups for supper and I found myself wishing I could share a bowl with my own father.  I’m doing the next best thing and posting the recipe for him.  It’s a bit spicy so adjust it to your own likes…and share it with someone you love.
Tuscan Zuppa  Sweet Suppertime
 
1 pound spicy Italian sausage (scrambled)
1 pound hamburger (scrambled)
4-5 stalks chopped celery
1 red bell pepper sliced or chopped
1 yellow bell pepper sliced or chopped
1 chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 small zucchinis chopped in bits the size of your thumb
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 large (about 30 oz) can stewed or diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can white beans ( you pick, I like great northern)
Enough water to cover all your happy, colorful ingredients
In a large pot combine meats and spices along with the chopped onion and chopped celery.  When the meats have browned nicely add the chopped garlic and bell peppers.  When the peppers look like they are wilting add the rest of the ingredients.  I personally like to add the zucchini in the last hour of the crock pot stage if you are using a crock pot…if you are using a stove top pot I like adding it in the last few minutes leaving a little crunch to the zucchini.  Simmer on the stove top for 30 minutes or all day on low in your crock pot.
 
 
 
 

Rustic No-Knead Bread

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Ingredients

o    3 1/2 Cups of all-purpose flour
o    1 1/2 to 2 tsp salt
o    1/4 tsp yeast
o    1 1/2 cups water
o    butter
o    sesame seeds
o    1 . In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Mix ingredients to distribute evenly. Add water. Stir until incorporated; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl and let rest for 12 hours. (when the surface of the dough is dotted with bubbles the dough is ready)
o    2 . Place dough on a well-floured work surface then gently press dough being careful not to pop any bubbles then sprinkle the dough with flour. fold dough.
o    3 . Coat a second large bowl with butter. Sprinkle sesame seeds in oiled bowl. Place the dough seam side down in the bowl. Cover and let rise until more than double in size, and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger. About 2 hours.
o    4 . After about 1 1/2 hours, place a 6-8 quart heavy, covered pot (such as cast iron Dutch oven, pyrex or stone) in the oven to preheat with the oven at 450 degrees. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove hot pot from oven. Turn dough over into hot pot. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for additional 5 1o 10 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. See variations of this recipe below:

 

Pumpernickel Variation
o    1/4 c cocoa
o    1/4 c dried onions
o    1 1/2 Table spoon ground caraway seeds
o    1 1/2 Table spoon whole caraway seeds
o    1/2 c rye flour
Add this to the original recipe with enough extra water to form a ball.
 
Cinnamon White Chocolate Variation
o    1/4 c cinnamon chips
o    1/4 c white chocolate chips
o    a handful of chopped nuts
o    Add this to the original recipe with enough extra water to form a ball.

Blackberry Lemon Squares

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 sweet suppertime, blackberry lemon squares

A few notes about this recipe. I like a thin crust on a lemon bar, so if you like a thicker one then go ahead and double the crust portion of the recipe.(I have been known to double the batch for the crust and refrigerate the other half so that I have a head start the next time I want to make this) Secondly I like it to have a very strong lemon flavor because I am not crazy about that many eggs in one place at the same time, so there is a lot of lemon zest in this recipe.

Many recipes for lemon bars tell you to put foil in the pan and “lift” it out when it is done. I haven’t had any problems lifting my bars out, if you do—use foil to create a cradle for your bars. Lastly, when I add the blackberry part of the filling (or raspberryJ) I like to drizzle it after the bars have been in the oven for about 10 minutes. The filling starts to set and when it does then the heavy blackberry filling doesn’t sink all the way to the bottom, oh… and I don’t strain out the seeds. Who cares if the seeds get to stay around for the main event? It all sounds more intricate than it is.

Give it a try, the payoff for this recipe is more than worth it. Every time I make this dessert someone will stop by the table and pick up one—then they head back with a small plate to pick up three more. Some recipes are just like that.