Banana cake with chocolate frosting

I had this idea to make a "half" cake for Julia's half birthday.  The problem was that it didn't turn out picture-perfect.  The cake was also just barely cooked through and the frosting didn't whip up very well (I need to let the butter soften to room temperature next time.)  So all in all, I'll just make bread or muffins out of ripe bananas....

Banana cake
1/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar or 3/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup banana (3 mashed, ripe bananas)
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
2 cups wheat flour {I used 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup pastry wheat}
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix together oil, sugar, egg and vanilla.  {Stir mashed bananas with baking soda}; add other ingredients into batter.  Pour into a greased 9-inch round pan or 9x13 cake pan.  Wait five minutes before putting in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Chocolate frosting

1 stick butter
3 cups powder sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together until desired consistency. {I halved this recipe.}

Recipe sources:

• Merrill Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland.  "Banana Cake". Set for Life.  Salt Lake City, UT: Sunset Publishers, 1995. 249.

• Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Can: chocolate frosting

Chili nachos

Last week I assembled leftovers for my lunch.  I melted some shredded cheese on top of corn tortillas chips (nothing fancy, just 30 seconds in the microwave), and topped them with sliced olives, sour cream and leftover chili.  I could have added salsa, too, but I forgot.  It was actually a pretty filling lunch.

Enchilada "Lasagna"

This isn't a new idea, I have made this before.  I only had two tortillas, leftover from enchiladas, so I layered a baking dish (9x13) like a lasagna by using traditional enchilada ingredients:

1. Enchilada sauce:
In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 T oil and 1 T flour.  When it's mixed and bubbly, add 2-3 T chili powder.  To that roux, add 3/4 cup tomato sauce and whisk.  Add about 3/4 cup water during the duration of cooking (of the chicken and preparing the cottage cheese mixture.)

2. Tortilla:
Tear to the layer over the sauce

3. Diced chicken in taco seasoning:
Dice cooked chicken (I like to use rotisserie chicken as a shortcut), and place in a skillet.  Add 1 package taco seasoning (or 1/4 cup) and 3/4 cup water.  Mix with a spatula until thickened and incorporated.

4. Cottage cheese mixed with sour cream:
Stir together 1 cup cottage cheese and 1 cup sour cream and grind in some black pepper while you're at it, too.

5. Shredded cheese
(your favorite kind for enchiladas)

and repeat the layers once more beginning with another tortilla.  After those layers, pour on the rest of the enchilada sauce and more shredded cheese.  I also had some black olives in the fridge, so I cut those up and tossed them on top. 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Lullaby Muffins

Yesterday I baked some muffins to use up some ripe bananas.  The recipe I chose is called "Lullaby Muffins" and claim to help you sleep better at night.  The recipe only calls for whole foods and is a very healthy and low-fat muffin.  I don't remember where I found it, but it's been a few years and it must have sounded good for me to write it down. ;)

Ingredients 

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (no substitutions!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 large ripe bananas 
• 1/3 cup applesauce (I didn't have any, so I used 1/4 cup oil)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup milk or 1/2 cup soymilk
  
  Directions
  
  
  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Blend (or mix) together the bananas, applesauce, honey and milk.  Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and stir just until moistened.  Spoon the muffin mix into paper-muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Through the magic of Google, I found a source for the muffins, it's not my original source, but it's one.  www.food.com

Swedish Meatballs (BH&G)

This is a fairly simple recipe. I made a few alterations with the ingredients, and they still turned out nicely!  Although we served it with a German side dish, not Swedish, they complemented the Spätzle well and tasted great!

Ingredients

1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup soft bead crumbs {I used Panko bread crumbs}
1/2 cup finely chopped onion {I used 2 T dried minced onion; however, an actual onion would help the moisture level a lot}
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley {again, I used what I have-- dried}
1/4 tsp tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground allspice or nutmeg
8 oz ground beef or ground lamb
8 oz ground pork or ground veal {I wish there was a variety, but we just had beef in our fridge}

Instructions
In a mixing bowl, combine the egg with the milk.  Add the bread crumbs, onion, parsley, pepper and allspice (or nutmeg.)  Mix the meats into these ingredients until combined.

Form into small meatballs and place onto a foil-lined baking sheet.  (Since we used such a low-fat beef, it would have been easier to spray the foil first.)  It made about 36, first time that I actually made more than the recipe says it will yield, which is 30.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  The cooked temperature would read at 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Done!

Another way to cook these meatballs is by frying.
The rest of the recipe calls for:
1 T butter
2 T all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant beef bouillon granules
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 cups milk
3 cups hot cooked noodles
snipped fresh parsley (optional)

Fry half of the meatballs into a heated {stainless-steel} skillet with melted butter, over medium heat, turning to brown evenly, for about 10 minutes or until done.  Remove cooked meatballs and place on a paper-towel lined plate.  Repeat with the second half of the meatballs.  With the remaining skillet drippings (should have 2 T, if not add cooking oil to make up the difference), stir in flour, bouillon granules and the pepper.  Gradually add milk, stirring.  Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.  When the gravy bubbles, cook for 1 minute longer.  Return meatballs into the skillet and heat through.  Garnish with the snipped parsley.

Source: "Swedish Meatballs." Recipe. Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. 12th Ed. Des Moines, IA: Better Homes and Gardens Books, 2002. 362.

New Year's Lunch

We had a big lunch on New Year's Day with my sister.  She made the cranberry sauce, Thomas made the Spätzle, and I made the meatballs.  While we were eating, I mentioned that is could become a family tradition!

Spätzle-Presse

{Spätzle- German egg noodles}

Spätzle recipe
500 g Mehl {5 cups all-purpose flour}
1 Prise Salz {pinch of salt}
8 Eier {8 eggs}

Shift the flour into a large bowl, add eggs and salt one after the other with a dough attachment on a hand mixer or stand mixer.  After it's kneaded, it will be tough and won't run off a spoon.  Fill the Spätzle-press, place over a large boiling pot of water and move it back and forth so the dough falls into the water.  The Spätzle is done when it floats.  Use a large slotted spoon (Schaumlöffel) to scoop up the Spätzle and place in another bowl.  Repeat the process with the next portion of dough. 
{Source: Chefkoch.de}

(Swedish) Meatballs

Gute Appetit!