Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

*This is without the frosting

This is a sweet treat and a great way to use up your old bananas! GO Bananas!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 Cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 Cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas


1. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 10 X15 inch jellyroll pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt: stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into a prepared pan.

3. Bake for 20 -25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting with the cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
3 1/2 cups of powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese, then one cup at a time add the powder sugar (don't loose count) and then add vanilla.

Sourdough

I went to an Enrichment activity that has changed the way I make breads, pancakes, and waffles! The man there has a starter that is 25 years old!! He has worked all my life on making great breads with this starter! Well, he shared it all with us, which gives it an amazing taste. Get a starter from someone or you can make your own.

STARTER

Here is a helpful site that will get the "dough" rolling for your starter.
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm

BREAD

1 cup starter
5 1/2-6 cups flour
1 Tbs dry yeast
1 1/2 cups of water
3 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast in bowl. Heat water, sugar, butter and salt until butter melts and add to dry mix. Add starter and beat on low for 30 seconds scraping bowl then beat on high for 3 minutes. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour with baking soda and add to yeast mixture. Stir in remaining flour until dough is firm. Shape into a ball and place in greased bowl turning once cover with wrap or clean towel. Let double (45 minutes). Punch down and divide in half. Let sit 10 minutes and form each into a ball. Place on grease baking sheet, score crisscross with sharp knife. Cover. Let rise until double (30 minutes). Bake in oven at 375* for 30 minutes. Cool on wire racks (important because you don't want the extra moisture on the bottom).

This is the only bread that my girls will eat the crust with! We just love it, but don't make it too much or else it won't be so good when we have it. Store in bag or air tight container. Freeze one if can't eat both fast enough. Goes moldy in one week. This is what the final product should look like.

PANCAKES

Night Before
2 cups flour (wheat, white or both)
1 Cup warm water
1 cup milk
1/2 starter
Mix all together with wooden or rubber spoon, cover and let stand on counter top (not fridge)

In the Morning
2 Beaten eggs
Stir into batter then,
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. baking soda
Mix together and fold into batter while griddle heats

For Waffles

Add 2 tbs veg oil to batter before adding sugar mixture.

CARE OF STARTER
1. Starter is water and flour only
2. Never use metal for mixing
3. Sweeten the pot every 2 weeks (save 1 tbs of starter and add equal amounts of flour and water)

*Thanks to Marty Townsend!!

Rachael's Fresh Salsa

This is one of my all time favorite recipes! Everything is too taste. So follow this recipe and add more things as you desire. I love the lime and garlic taste and go heavy on it. It is fresh so it doesn't keep more then 3 days, but I promise it should be gone in the first 2 days!

6-8 Roma Tomatoes
1 bundle of green onions <-- not white, makes the favor too strong
1 Jalapeno pepper
1-2 cloves of garlic
1/4 C fresh chopped cilantro <--- Cilantro is so cheap at the store (like $.50) and I usually use half the bunch
1-2 limes
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp of white sugar
salt and pepper

First on the side of your cutting board press or mince your garlic glove (start with one and add as needed) then sprinkle a 1/8 tsp of salt over the garlic and press together to make a paste almost. Let sit while chopping everything else. Finely chop tomatoes, onions, pepper (I only use half and without the sides to keep in mild, start mild and can always add more, but hard to take out) , and cilantro. Combine chopped ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Now add your garlic paste mixture. Cut your lime in half and squeeze juice over the bowl of tomatoes. I use the whole lime, because I am a lime fanatic! Start with half and add more to taste (have corn chips handy). Add vinegar and mix all together. Add salt and pepper and few dashes here and there. TASTE and add more of what you like. Then rename salsa to _____'s Salsa (place your name or funny adjective in blank). Because when you made the salsa it is YOUR creation. Every batch is different!

*If you like it more smooth and less chunky put it through your processor or blender

What's for Dinner?

Once a week I will feature one of our dinner meals. Usually nothing fancy, but it might inspire others to try something new!



We tried a recipe from our friends blog Stromboli (http://rockinldschefs.blogspot.com/) and one of our favorite salads, Spinach and strawberry with creamy poppy seed dressing.


Stromboli is great variation of pizza and you can roll up in toppings that you are craving or have in the house. Check out Ashlie's blog to get all the directions on making it.

Spinach salad is great because my girls eat both the spinach and the strawberry and I throw in usually just a little bit of onions (whatever I have in the house, but green onion is the best).

Coconut Joys

This is such a easy yummy, quick treat! I got it from an enrichment activity years ago and make it for others all the time. It is a sweet gluten free treat!


2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 C Butter, soften, not melted
3 Cups coconut

1/2-2/3 Cup of semi sweet chocolate chips melted.

Mix first 3 ingredients well with the back of a spoon. Then use your hands as needed to make it stick all together and blend well.

Roll mixture into balls about the size of nickel. The smaller the more you make and tastier they are. Place on wax paper on cookie sheets.

Then melt chocolate in a glass container for 30 seconds, stir, 30 more seconds, stir, then 30 more (as needed). Pour chocolate into a plastic Ziploc baggie. Be careful to get chocolate only on one side, then cut a small tip off the corner of the clean side of the bag. Drizzle chocolate any way you like. I like to make swirls or stripes, smiley faces, hearts, letters, anything you want, really go crazy.

Then carefully (they can roll) place all into the fridge uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until

harden. Either eat and enjoy or place into a seal container and place back in fridge for storage.

Brown Sugar Muffins

This recipe came from my room mate, Jacce. We had 6 girls in one apartment and would bake almost every day. These were some of our favorites and have now become one of my family favorites. They are so great because you don't really need jam or honey, just butter them in the inside. Real butter is best to use to get the most yummiest taste from it. Enjoy!

1/2 C Butter (room temp)
1 egg
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 C Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C brown sugar <--- Sounds like a lot, but is what makes it so great!

Mix all dry ingredients and set a side. I take out my stick of butter and place in mixing bowl and microwave for 10 seconds. Then I add the egg and slightly beat it with fork but not to mix it with the butter yet. Then I add all the other wet items (milk, vanilla) and then add the mixed dry ingredients. Then I beat with a mixer until all mixed (no worries there will be
butter lumps).

Spoon them into greased muffin pan about 3/4 full. If you don't like them that full only do 2/3 full and then put some into a mini muffin pan. Lastly bake at 375* for 12-18 minutes. Golden edges and clean toothpick (don't under cook, so be sure to check with toothpick or knife). Cool for 2 minutes then enjoy!

Butter Rolls

This is one of my families favorite roll recipe. I love it because I will get it ready Sunday morning, delay my machine a little bit, then it is ready to be shaped when I get home from Church. Enjoy!
This is the Bread Machine Version Below are the non-bread machine version.

All ingredients at room temperature (70* F-80*F), except Milk

2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 Cups flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 C water
1 egg
3/4 C Milk
1/4 butter

1) Measure all ingredients into bread machine pan in order. I However, try to keep the yeast dry by making a well to put the wet ingredients. Then I let it delay for 30 minutes (even though it says it doesn't, only because I usually don't get everything at room temp and this allows it to get warm).
2) Select Dough Setting
3) Press start/stop button
4) When displays 0:00 press stop and remove dough.
5) Shape Dough as desired.
I lightly flour my surface and then divide the dough into 2 balls. I roll it out in a circle, spread melted butter on top. Then use my pizza cutter and make triangles (like a pizza) but smaller. Then I take the wide side of the triangle and start rolling in and tuck the flap to the dough and place seam side down on a greased cooking sheet (don't use a dark sheet or use parchment paper on sheet to help the bottoms not get too brown). Then I place a non fluffy towel over them for about 30 -40 minutes to rise more. Makes about 2 cookie sheets worth.
6) Bake a 350* F for 10-15 minutes (until lightly golden).
7) Take out of oven and brush melted butter over tops.
* Real butter is best for the flavor of these rolls, but margarine will work.

Non Bread Machine Version

1) Measure into a bowl instead (see above for directions on how to get the yeast dry) and let set for 30 minutes before you mix it together with a spoon.
2) After all mixed in place in a greased glass bowl and put saran wrap over it. Let rise until doubled or about 40 minutes.
3) Punch it down and let rest for 10 minutes then divide into 2 Balls
4) See steps 5-7 above for the rest of the directions