Caramel Apple Banana Bread

I’ve been out of the loop for a couple weeks, between work and everything going on at home things have been crazy.  A couple weekends ago I had the ever growing issue of the over-ripened bananas.  This was also around when we went apple picking and let’s just say I’m still working through that bag of apples.  I tried looking up recipes for and apple banana bread, but I couldn’t really find any.  So I just went with a traditional banana bread and tweaked it. Adapted from Martha’s Banana Bread.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 3)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 apple peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce for drizzling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in apples, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.  Drizzle with warm caramel sauce and serve.

Easy Alfredo Sauce

A couple weeks ago we went out to dinner at a local place and they had Chicken Alfredo as a special.  This is Dave’s favorite dish, however the dish we received was no alfredo, is was basically buttered noodles. Yuck.  A few days later Dave asked me to make Chicken Alfredo for dinner.  It’s so easy to make, and although not a very healthy dish very delicious.  This is my go to recipe when I make it and can be found over at Allrecipes.

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic

2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

3 tbsp. dried parsley flakes

Instructions

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.

 

 

Traditional Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers is something my Mom used to make when I was younger.  Every once and a while, I get the craving and decide to make them.  THey are really easy to make and although I couldn’t get Daniella to eat the pepper itself, she did enjoy the filling.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

4 green peppers with the tops sliced off and seeds removed

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 medium onion, diced

1 tbsp. oregano

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup shredded cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

First you are going to want to boil the pepper is water for 5-10 minutes till they get a little soft. Then brown you ground beef and drain the excess fat.  Add in the diced onion and cook till the onions are soft. Add in your tomatoes, rice and spices.  Put you pepper, standing up in a casserole dish and add a little cheese inside, then fill the rest of the way with your filling. Cook for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove add a little cheese to the tops and put back in the oven for 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

So I made pasta salad for my daughter’s birthday party, which is usually something that my mother in law handles, so I don’t worry about it.  This is my go to recipe when I do have to make it.  Let’s just say everyone loves it, and I think I am now on permanent pasta salad duty.  This recipe is adapted from this one over on Allrecipes.

Ingredients

1 (12 ounce) package uncooked rotini pasta

10 slices bacon

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons dry ranch salad dressing mix

1/2 cup sour cream

1 pint grape tomatoes halved

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain and chop.
3. In a large bowl, mix mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, . Stir in sour cream until smooth. Place rotini, bacon, tomatoes and cheese in bowl and toss to coat with dressing. Cover and chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

 

Rainbow Dash Cake

I have been majorly slacking on getting posts done about my daughter’s birthday, which by the way was in the beginning of September.  I figured I would take a minute to share with you the cake that Jen and I made for her.  I found a tutorial on how to make this by Cakes by ChoppA.  He has some pretty awesome tutorials, you should definitely go check it out.