Banana Bread

Bananas are a cheap form of nutrition and my little boy just loves them. I wanted to make him a treat that wasn't totally horrible for him and had some nutritional value. This fit the bill too because it does not have any nuts in the recipe. It was his dessert tonight and he loved it!!

Banana Bread:

Courtesy of Food Network

1 cup granulated sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9x5x3 loaf pan. (I sprayed with cooking spray)

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Italian Herb Bread

I was in the mood for some homemade bread, so I searched Allrecipes to find something good. I found this recipe. It baked up really well and the taste is subtle, not overpowering at all. I had it with homemade fettucini and tomato sauce. The recipe calls for kneading the dough by hand, but I let my bread maker do the hard work. I let it rise in an oiled bowl and did bake it in the oven as written. Enjoy!!

Italian Herb Bread I: (The recipe is for two loaves. I halved everything to only make one.)

1 (0.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp. white sugar

1/4 cup olive oil (I used canola oil)

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. dried basil

1 Tbsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (I used parmesan)

6 cups bread flour

Mix yeast, warm water and sugar together in a large bowl. Set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy.

Stir olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, cheese and 3 cups flour into the yeast mixture. Gradually mix in the next three cups of flour. Dough will be stiff.

Knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and rubbery. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn to cover the surface of the dough with oil. Cover with a damp linen dish towel. Allow to rise for one hour, or until the dough had doubled in size.

Punch dough down to release all the air. Shape into two loaves. Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet, or into two greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Removed loaves from pan(s) and let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes before slicing.