Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

The first time I had this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread was at a breakfast where I used to work.  My friend Omi had baked it for us and I really loved it.  I love banana bread, but I had never had it with chocolate chips.  This is absolutely delicious.  The bananas with the chocolate chips taste really good together.

This is another way you can make banana bread when you have those ripe bananas sitting on your counter.  The recipe is really easy.  You can enjoy it for breakfast or just as a snack anytime of the day.

When you cut into the chocolate banana bread you can see the melted chocolate chips all over, the walnuts and little pieces of banana.   The bread is super moist, perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. 

The banana breads were in the oven for exactly 65 minutes. Make sure to check the banana bread before taking it out of the oven because temperatures vary depending on oven.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

2 eggs

3 ripe mashed bananas

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup mini-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.  Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Mix on medium speed all ingredients except the walnuts and chocolate chips.  Then stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a wooden stick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from  pan.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread

This is a savory Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread.  Cornbread in the South is usually made without sugar and flour. I wanted to make a cornbread that was savory, with hearty corn flavor and after looking through one of my favorite books, I found this recipe.  

I love eating cornbread right out of the oven with a little butter on top and a nice cup of coffee.  This is not a mix from a box, this is made from scratch and it's really yummy.  

Buttermilk Biscuits

Good Morning!!  The best thing about breakfast for me are the home made Buttermilk Biscuits.  There is a big difference on the biscuits you get at the supermarket and these.  

On the weekend my husband usually makes breakfast for us, specially on Sundays right after church.  I figure, let me make the biscuits and let him make the eggs and bacon.

This recipe is from the book I selected this week, Big Book of Home Cooking by Gooseberry Patch.  This recipe is super easy and the biscuits are delicious.  They are crunchy on the outside, but nice and soft in the inside.

Challah Bread

This is the 3rd time I have made Challah Bread.  Challah bread is a special braided Jewish bread eaten during Sabbath and  holidays.  This bread is really easy to make and I love the final result.  The braid makes this bread look stunning.  I almost don't want to cut it after it comes out of the oven.  But the bread is too delicious to not eat.

Challah bread is by far one of my favorite breads.  This bread is good with just butter, and if you have any leftover the next day, french toast is the way to go.  This bread looks a little intimidating, but it really isn't.  This recipe is one of those that once you do it for the first time..the 2nd time around is a piece of cake.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Bread is a healthier option to white bread.  This bread has a nutty taste, is moist and a little sweet.  Most people believe that making bread is difficult, but I don't think it is. The most difficult part about making bread is the waiting process.  Putting the ingredients together takes no time. The result of making your own bread is amazing. 

Ingredients:

1 to 1/4 cups of lukewarm water

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of honey

3 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

2 1/2 tsp of instant yeast or 1 packet active dry yeast disolved in 2 tbsp of  the water in the recipe

1/4 cup of nonfat dry milk

1 1/4  tsp of salt

1) In your mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, combine all of the ingredients and mix until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.  Replace the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook. Knead the bread for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth. Note: This dough should be soft, yet still firm enough to knead. Adjust its consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary.
**If you don't have a mixer, then you can do the same thing by hand.  Mix all of the ingredients with a wooden spoon in a bowl.  Once well combined flour the counter and knead by hand.  

2) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. 

3) Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8" log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or till the center has crowned about 1" above the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

4) Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, cover with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. 

5) Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. If desired, rub the crust with a stick of butter; this will yield a soft, flavorful crust. Cool completely before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.  Enjoy!!

Yields 1 loaf

Source: King Arthur Flour

Homemade Cornbread

I grew up eating cornbread.  Cornbread was one of my father's favorite things to eat with coffee.  Here is an easy recipe that you can make to go along your next meal.

 Ingredients:

1 cup of milk

1/4 cup of butter or margarine melted

1 large egg

1/2 can of cream of corn

1 1/4 cups yellow or white cornmeal

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tbsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

Muffin/Cupcake Pan

Heat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease each muffin pan cup with shortening, butter or cooking spray.  Fill cups about 3/4 full.
In a large bowl, beat milk, butter, cream of corn (cream of corn will make the cornbread really moist) and egg with the wire whisk. In a separate bowl add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Stir in these ingredients  into the milk mixture all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy).  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.  Put a little butter on top and enjoy!!

*You can also bake them in a round pan or a 8 inch square pan.  Make sure to grease the baking pan.