Tag Archives: recipes

Vera Cruz with Tilapia

Main Course, Seafood/ Fish, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

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During a conversation with my sister-in-law a while ago she told me about a wonderful fish dish she prepares for her family. I had never heard of Vera Cruz but it seemed interesting and simple to make. I guess I am behind the times because when I told a few of my friends about wanting to try out the dish for the blog they said they often make the dish.

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Since I did not want to be the only one left off of the Vera Cruz boat I thought I would come up with my version of the standard recipe. The only real difference between my version and the standard version my sister-in-law shared are the few additional seasonings I used. As always my crew likes a little heat so I added some to the sauce.

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I was pleasantly surprised at how the Vera Cruz with Tilapia turned out and even more surprised that my youngest son really liked it. Typically, my son likes fried fish versus what he would consider to be baked fish. Once his plate was cleaned from eating the Vera Cruz with Tilapia I could only smile then I let my sister-in-law know what a great recipe Vera Cruz with Tilapia turned out to be.

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Vera Cruz with Tilapia

Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets
1 small onion sliced
1 small green pepper sliced
2 scallions diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 jalapeno pepper diced (remove membrane and some seeds)
1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato puree or sauce
¼ cup capers
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Season fish with a little salt and black pepper. Set aside.

Melt butter along with olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add two pieces of fish and brown lightly on both sides. Place fish in a long casserole dish. Repeat with remaining fish and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium then add onion, scallions, green pepper and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and black pepper. Stir for 1 – 2 minutes until veggies soften a little and watch carefully so that garlic does not burn. Add roasted tomatoes and tomato puree/ sauce along with remaining seasonings. Simmer over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Pour mixture over fish and sprinkle with capers. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes until fish is fully cooked.

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Cranberry Orange Butter Cookies

Desserts, Fruits, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

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One day leading up to the holidays I got into a baking mood and decided to make variations of my basic butter cookie recipe. I developed two cookies that were pretty tasty and definitely blog worthy. The first cookie was a Cranberry Orange Butter Cookie with pecans. I really liked the mix of cranberry and orange which gave the cookie both a sweet and slightly tangy taste.  The second is an Amaretto Walnut Butter Cookie that I will post at a later date.  The Cranberry Orange Butter Cookie was my favorite.

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I have to say my usual taste testers were all over the map on this one. My youngest son exclaimed “yum” when he tried out the cookie. My hubby on the other hand said the cookie tasted too buttery. I explained to him that they were butter cookies so that would account for why they tasted buttery. But too buttery? That was a first for me. The second time he tried the Cranberry Orange Butter Cookies he thought they had a bite to them. This time I explained there were cranberries and orange zest in the cookies so the cookie would have a slight tangy flavor.

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Needless to say I gave up on him as my tester for this cookie. My other taste testers were equally as mixed with there opinions but for different reasons. In the end I decided to go with my gut to place the cookies on the blog. If you like the combination of cranberries and orange I think you will really like this recipe. Buttery, tangy and sweet. What a great way to wake up your taste buds.

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Cranberry Orange Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
1 lb butter (2 sticks room temperature)
1 egg yolk
1 ¾ cup flour sifted
1 cup powdered sugar + ¼ cup powdered sugar
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl cream together butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Stir in egg yolk orange zest and vanilla extract. Place cranberries in a sifter and then add flour. Sift flour into bowl with other ingredients. Stir to mix well then gently combine cranberries and pecans into the cookie dough.

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop balls of cookie dough onto the parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes until cookies are done (slightly browned on the bottom). Cookies will still look light in color. Cool then sift remaining powdered sugar over the cookies. Store in an airtight container.

 

 

 

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Beer Battered Fried Fish

Main Course, Seafood/ Fish, , , , , , ,

 

This post is dedicated to my dad who passed away in September.  Today is his birthday and I remember him fondly.  Happy Birthday Daddy! IMG_9622_1

Fried Fish was one thing I could count on my Mom fixing every week when I was growing up. Every Thursday we had fish for dinner. Most of the time it was fish my Mom and Dad (and sometimes me) had caught while going fishing on their days off. The day before a fishing trip my Dad and I would go digging for worms in the compost heap behind our house.

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I learned how to bait a hook but could not bring myself to take the fish off the hook if I caught one. The day my Dad got tired of taking the fish off the hook of my fishing pole was the day I stopped fishing. I guess he felt he was spending more time taking fish off my hook than enjoying fishing himself. I really could not blame him because I may have felt the same way if I had to do it for my kids.

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Now I just go to the fish market or grocery store to “catch” my fish. Besides, I prefer boneless fish so I can easily buy fish fillets and not worry about scaling, gutting and chopping off fish heads. Yuck!

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Cod is a great fish to use when making beer battered fried fish. The meat is thick, tender, sweet and holds up well while frying. Although my beer battered fried fish is not quite like my Mom’s Thursday fish fry, it is equally as delicious.

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Beer Battered Fried Fish

Ingredients:
2 – 3 cod fish fillets
1 12 oz bottle Amber Ale beer
6 oz peach beer (optional)
2 cups vegetable oil
¾ cup flour
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
½ tsp seasoned salt
½ tsp cayenne

In a large bowl mix flour, beer and salt. Set aside.

Add vegetable oil to a dutch oven or large frying pan. Heat oil over medium high heat until slightly smoking.

Cut cod into thick slices. Season fish with seasoned salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir batter then dip fish into batter and allow excess batter to drain off. Place fish into hot oil and let brown on each side. Approximately 5-7 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with home fries and a mixed salad.

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Apple Dumpling

Desserts, Fruits, , , , , , , ,

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Slowly but surely I am becoming more and more comfortable trying out my baking skills. Granted I am still a long way off from competing with my Mom who is the baking Queen of the universe. Once someone tries any of her baked goods they will come back again and again to ask Mom Mom if she will bake them a cake, pie, cookies or anything sweet.

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I am the tortoise in the baking race of life. I am slow but steadily gaining ground as I go along. Today I decided I would try to make an Apple Dumpling for dmariedining.com. Instead of making an apple pie I thought it would be nice to create an apple filled pastry that has all of the flavors of an apple pie. Plus, the process seemed simpler to me. I wanted an individual dessert rather than a large pie since my family does not eat a lot of dessert. Making an Apple Dumpling meant I could make two dumplings that we could all share and not worry about wasting a whole pie.

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I must admit I have only had an Apple Dumpling once or twice in my life. They were okay but the pastry was a little tough. For me, the crust is the best part of any pastry dessert. Since I am still honing my baking skills I either get my Mom to make me a batch of crust which freezes nicely or I buy a crust I know will be flaky.

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Apple Dumplings are a wonderful treat that is pretty simple to make with only a few ingredients. Hmmm… I think I will try making a peach dumpling when peach season comes around.

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Apple Dumpling

Ingredients:
2 granny smith apples peeled
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
½ tbsp nutmeg
4 tbsp butter melted
1 egg lightly beaten
1 box Pillsbury Pie Crusts (two per box)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice and core apple with an apple slicer (to maintain shape of apple). Wrap a strip of pastry dough around the apple to hold slices together. Melt butter in small sauce pan. Brush apple with butter then roll in sugar mixture or pat mixture around apple with your hands. Place apple in the center of the pastry. Spoon a little melted butter in the middle of the apple and fill center with more of the sugar mixture. Fold pastry tightly around apple and brush the pastry with egg wash. Poke the top and sides of the pastry with a fork for ventilation. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hr until golden brown and the apples appear to be soft..

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Spicy Meatball Stew

Main Course, Meat/ Poultry, Soups/ Salads / Stews, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

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I enjoy hearty stews in the winter but I also enjoy them in the warmer months just because I like stews. Since my family doesn’t eat beef too often I decided to create a stew that replaces a typical beef stew using spicy meatballs but still remained hearty.

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When you think meatballs you usually think of beef but meatballs can be made out of ground turkey, chicken or pork. In most recipes that call for a ground meat I use turkey. The one thing about ground turkey is that you must season it really well otherwise it will taste bland. Lately, I prefer baking my meatballs instead of frying them. This eliminates having the meatballs absorb a lot of excess fat. Plus, it is easier to control the heat so the meatballs don’t dry out too much while cooking.

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Spicy Meatball Stew was somewhat of a surprise for my family. I received a few strange glances when I placed a bowl full of stew on the table for dinner. They were use to seeing meatballs floating around in a nice tomato sauce not swimming with veggies and gravy. However, it did not take long for them to trust I had worked my cooking magic so they lunged into their bowls and came up saying “Hmmm… not bad”. The second and third bites had them totally convinced that Spicy Meatball Stew was fantastic and produced smiling faces. It is always nice when the family requests a second helping.

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Spicy Meatball Stew

Ingredients:

Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground spicy sausage
2 eggs beaten
½ cup panko bread crumbs
¼ cup half and half
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp parsley chopped
½ tsp Adobo
cooking spray

Stew
1 jar beef au jus
1 small bag baby carrots cut in half
1 small bag frozen peas
1 small onion diced
2 stalks celery dice
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 red potatoes cubed
1 cup beef broth
½ cup water
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl mix ground turkey, ground sausage, seasonings and worcestershire. Form meatballs and place on a rimmed baking sheeting sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. If not quite done, meatballs will finish cooking in the stew.

While the meatballs are cooking heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onions, celery, salt and pepper. Saute for 2 – 3 minutes to let veggies sweat. Add garlic and stir for 1 – 2 minutes. Be careful not to let garlic burn. If necessary, reduce heat. Add remaining ingredients except for peas. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add meatballs and peas. Cook for an additional 20 – 25 minutes. May be eaten alone or served over egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice.

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Shrimp Summer Rolls

Appetizers, Seafood/ Fish, Side Dish, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , ,

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My family and I love Asian cuisine and the spicier the better for my hubby and youngest son. I have limited experience making Asian style foods but thought I would try my hand at making Shrimp Summer Rolls. We often eat Vietnamese spring rolls whenever we go to the Cheesecake Factory and recently found handmade spring rolls at one of our local grocers that sells fresh sushi daily.

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I wasn’t sure what kind of wrap to use for the spring rolls but discovered Blue Dragon Rice Pancakes which are used for summer rolls. Turns out spring rolls are not too hard to make. Although the rice pancakes are delicate, they roll easily. Once I rolled a couple of spring rolls I really got the hang of it. The test of whether or not I had done a good job of making Shrimp Summer Rolls was in the taste. In my opinion and fortunately the opinion of my family they tasted as good as the fresh summer rolls we get at the local grocer.

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Since this was my first attempt at making Shrimp Summer Rolls I took that as a very nice compliment. My next goal is to make fresh Shrimp Summer Rolls as good as the Cheesecake Factory. Now that is saying something! In the meantime, I can at least say my Shrimp Summer Rolls are pretty tasty. Next time I think I will try frying the summer rolls. Stay tuned.

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Shrimp Summer Rolls

Ingredients:
1 lb large shrimp peeled and deveined
1 pkg Chinese noodles
1 pkg rice pancakes
1 pint snap peas
1 cup shredded carrots
2 heads butter lettuce
3 cups cold water
1 tbsp sriracha sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
juice from ½ lemon

Prepare Chinese noodles according to package. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a medium size non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add shrimp, sriracha sauce and lemon juice. Season with a little salt and pepper. Stir shrimp until they turn pink. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside in a small bowl. Add carrots, snap peas and a little more salt and pepper (add cayenne pepper if you really like heat) to the frying pan. Stir and let cook for 1 minute. Add oyster sauce and mix with veggies until they are well coated. Reduce to low heat and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Dampen a clean dish cloth. Add water to a large bowl. Place 1 rice pancake in the cold water until it softens and becomes pliable (about 10 – 15 seconds). Lay rice pancake on the dish cloth and add two pieces of butter lettuce to the pancake. Place a small amount of Chinese noodles in the center of the lettuce. Top with a little bit of the snap peas and carrots mixture then layer three shrimp on the veggies. Fold one end of the rice pancake towards the center over the shrimp then fold the sides towards the center as well. Gently roll up the pancake like a cigar. The pancake will seem delicate but should roll easily. Tuck in the sides as you roll the pancake if necessary. Chill for 30 minutes or serve immediately.

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Tex Mex Chicken Salad

Main Course, Meat/ Poultry, Soups/ Salads / Stews, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , ,

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Summer is slowly fading which means all the delicious backyard veggies, fresh corn and fresh herbs I grew will also fade away. Before fall settles in I thought I would come up with a dish that we could have year round but would remind me of our hot and lazy summer days. Tex Mex Chicken Salad became my summer reminder.

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Chicken salad was one of my favorite meals growing up. My mom made some of the best chicken salad around and always made little blueberry muffins to go with the salad. It took me a while but I mastered make my own wonderful version of chicken salad. Because chicken is so versatile it can be combined with a lot of different ingredients to make a fantastic salad.

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Tex Mex Chicken Salad combines black beans, corn (the reason I call it Tex Mex) and avocado along with fresh herbs. Lemon and lime juice help brighten the flavors. As always, my family likes heat so I add a little cayenne or chopped jalapeno peppers to spice up the salad.

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Even though summer will fade into fall it doesn’t mean we cannot continue to enjoy the great tastes of summer. Remember, all it takes is a little chicken, a few fresh veggies and memories of those hot, lazy days we enjoyed so much.

Tex Mex Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
4 cooked chicken thighs diced
3 ears fresh corn shucked
2 15oz cans black beans rinsed and drained
5 fresh basil leaves chopped
½ cup small cherry tomatoes
½ cup olive oil
1 ripe avocado diced
1 tbsp red onion diced small
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp cilantro
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne (optional)
juice from ½ lemon
juice from ½ lime

Dressing:
Place olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, cayenne, parsley and cilantro in a small bowl. Whisk together.

Salad:
In a large bowl add chicken, corn, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, salt, pepper, chili powder and basil. Pour dressing over salad and gently toss.

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Country Style Ribs with Sauerkraut

Main Course, Meat/ Poultry, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , ,

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Sauerkraut is one of those foods you really have to taste to determine if you like it or not. My son’s first reaction when he saw me cooking Country Style Ribs and Sauerkraut was to say “I don’t like sauerkraut”. Of course, I had never fixed sauerkraut for my family so my reply to him was “Just try a little then decide if you like it or not”. A few minutes after I let him try a spoonful to taste he exclaimed “I  like this!”.

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I think I can safely say almost everyone knows about country style ribs (nice thick pork ribs). But, what the heck is sauerkraut? Sauerkraut is pickled (fermented) cabbage. The word sauerkraut means “sour cabbage”. For many, it is an acquired taste and you may love it or hate it after you try sauerkraut.  I fall into the love it category. My mom made spare ribs and sauerkraut on many occasions and taught me her secret for taking the bitterness out of the sour cabbage. Brown sugar!

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Sauerkraut actually has quite a few health benefits. There are a number of diets that feature sauerkraut as the star to help reduce weight, lower cholesterol and fight against certain forms of cancer. The biggest benefit of sauerkraut is that it is inexpensive so it is light on the pocket book.

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If you have the time and the energy, you can easily make your own sauerkraut and store it in the frig or freeze it. Personally, I find it easier to buy it, freeze it and then pull it out whenever I want to make Country Style Ribs and Sauerkraut. Maybe in my next phase of life I will add making sauerkraut from scratch to my list of things to do. Until then…….

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Country Style Ribs and Sauerkraut

Ingredients:
1 pkg country style spare ribs
1 pkg sauerkraut
1 small onion sliced
1 cup water
¼ cup dark brown sugar
4 – 5 small red potatoes sliced thick
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
½ tsp onion powder
paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place sauerkraut in the bottom of a baking dish. Add water then season with a little salt and black pepper. Crumble brown sugar over the sauerkraut and dot with butter. Layer potatoes on one side of the baking dish.

Season country style ribs with salt, pepper and onion powder. Sprinkle with paprika. Lay ribs over sauerkraut. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour (baste ribs and potatoes after 30 minutes) then remove foil and continue baking for an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Bon Appetit!

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Meringue Clouds

Desserts, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

Check out my dessert at rantingchef.com Diced! Day of Eating Contest.  Vote for my Meringue Clouds recipe.  Voting ends on 10/9/15.IMG_9458_1

I was sitting on our porch the other day surrounded by the beauty of nature watching clouds go by. The clouds were big, white, fluffy and moving ever so slowly against the bluest sky I had seen in a while. Watching the clouds I started thinking about cotton candy, food in general then dessert.

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Dessert. What kind of dessert could I make that reminded me of clouds? Meringue came to mind but the problem was that I wasn’t a lover of meringue. Whenever my mom made her delicious lemon meringue pie I would scrap off the meringue then eat the lemon filling and crust. The two textures of meringue, both crusty and squishy, just did not feel right in my mouth. After searching for a meringue alternative to crusty and squishy I ran across a recipe that called for baking the meringue and it looked light like a macaroon.

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To make meringue the centerpiece of my dessert, I created mounds of sweetness that melted in your mouth. Then I added fresh raspberries, blackberries and blueberries that were slowly simmered until a simple syrup was rendered and the fruit was fragrant. Talk about heaven! Eating my Meringue Clouds reminded me of sitting on the porch watching the clouds go by surrounded by the sweetness of nature.

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Meringue Clouds

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp water
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp lemon zest
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint blueberries
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Place eggs whites in a bowl and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add ¾ cup sugar 1 tbsp at a time on high speed until stiff peaks are formed.

Drop a large spoonful of meringue on to parchment paper or place in a piping bag and pipe onto parchment paper to create mounds. Meringue will spread so do not make the mounds too big. Bake for 45 minutes then turn off the oven and DO NOT open the oven door for 1-2 hours.

While the meringue is baking, place berries, water, lemon juice, zest and ¼ cup of sugar into a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until berries begin to breakdown and a simple sugar is rendered.

Place a Meringue Cloud in the center of a bowl then drizzle the berries and juice around the Meringue Cloud.

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Banana Bread Bars

Desserts, Fruits, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

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The idea for Banana Bread Bars came to me when I was thinking of making more of my Fruit Nut Bars but I had two ripe bananas crying out for me to do something with them. I have only recently started using ripe bananas in various recipes. Before I started dmariedining.com I would just freeze overly ripe bananas for smoothies because I don’t like to eat mushy bananas. Fortunately for the bananas, I was in an aventerous mood and decided I could try making banana bread but in the shape of bars instead of a loaf.

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Making banana bread is not too different from making banana muffins but I found that the texture and flavor was slightly different. The Banana Bread Bars were firmer but still very moist. As always, my family and friends are my taste testers and truly honest judges of my cooking. If something does not quite meet their level of expectation or does not tickle their taste buds, they have no problem in letting me know without hurting my feelings. I also know I have not hit the mark if my son does not let me know how much he will miss my cooking when he goes to college or he does not brag to his friends that I can make dirt taste good. No, I have never tried to make dirt taste good but I figure that was a very high compliment coming from my youngest son.

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On the few occasions that we have unexpected company or I don’t feel like making a complicated dessert for a family gathering, I can make Banana Bread Bars in a little over an hour. That is my kind of cooking. The next time your bananas start turning brown don’t toss them or freeze them. Turn them into Banana Bread Bars. Pretty Quick and Pretty Easy.

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Banana Bread Bars

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
¾ cup sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Shift flour, baking soda and salt together into a small bowl and set aside.

Place bananas in a large bowl and mash. Mix in vanilla extract and eggs. Set aside.

Melt butter in a medium size sauce pan over medium high heat. Add sugars. Stir until sugars melt and are smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 8 – 10 minutes.

Add cooled sugar mixture to bananas. Slowly whisk flour with bananas and sugar until totally blended. Fold in walnuts. Pour mixture onto a rimmed baking pan lined with parchment paper. Spread out evenly in the pan. Chill in the frig for 15 minutes then bake for 40 – 45 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the center of the banana bread to see if center is cooked. If it comes out clean the banana bread is done. Let cool then cut into squares and store in an airtight container.

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