Irish Soda Bread

4 C. sifted flour

1 T. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 C. butter or margarine

1 C. raisins, if desired

1 1/2 C. buttermilk

Sift together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly (this is where you can use a pastry blender). Stir in raisins if desired, until evenly distributed. Add buttermilk stirring to make a soft dough. Tun onto lightly floured board and knead to form a smooth ball. Knead lightly and just for a short time because this dough shouldn't be treated as roughly as yeast dough.

Pat by hand on greased baking sheet to 1 1/4-inch thickness. With a sharp knife score into four sections. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 mins. until bread is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter. Dance an Irish jig when finished, or try it with yer pint o' Guiness!

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bars

So I had some overripe bananas on my counter, and my usual mantra is "when life gives you overrripe bananas, make banana bread." But I was a little bored of banana bread, so I consulted my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (a gift from Christmas past, courtesy of our Mether). Even with all of the online recipes sites, I still look to this book quite often for inspiration and great recipes. Using my reference skills I looked to the index for "banana" and what did I find but a wonderful recipe for these tasty treats. As luck would have it, I had all ingredients on-hand except for the optional walnuts (although next time I'll make sure to have these too), so I gave it whirl!

Ingredients

• 3/4 C butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 C granulated sugar
• 2/3 C packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 C mashed ripe bananas (2-3 medium)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 6 oz package (1 C) semisweet chocolate pieces...or more if you are so inclined
• 2/3 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter or margarine w/ an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat till combined. Beat in the egg, bananas, and vanilla till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the electric mixer (if you have a KitchenAid, no problem!) Stir in the remaining flour. Stir in chocolate chips and if desired, nuts.
3. Spread the dough in the prepared baking pan. Bake 25 minutes or until golden.
4. Cool lightly and cut into bars. Makes 36 reasonably sized bars or fewer Markle-size bars.

Black Bean & Cheese Enchiladas

This dish came to me on Ash Wednesday, whilst I was speaking to Spank about the fish tacos she was preparing. I thought that sounded quite delicious, but alas, I had eaten my last fish on Fat Tuesday (what?!). So I was left with two options to satisfy my craving for a Mexican style meal: 1) Go to the store during grocery rush hour or 2) Scour my pantry for other meatless options. Fortunately, I found a can of black beans and came up with the following concoction without that dreaded trip to the store. And when Larry doesn't miss the meat in a meatless dish, I know it's a success!

Ingredients

• 1 Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 Cup of your favorite salsa (I think a chunky one works well)
• Desired Mexican seasonings (I added cumin and onion salt, but if you have a flavorful salsa, you can skip these)
• 8 6-in tortillas (corn or flour)
• 2 Cups shredded cheese
• 1 Can Enchilada Sauce (I used a can of El Pato aka "The Duck" here)
• Sour Cream (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together beans, salsa, and seasonings in a pan over low heat. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Coat the bottom with a couple of spoonfuls of the enchilada sauce. Heat tortillas to make them easier to roll(about 20 seconds in the microwave, or 10 seconds each side on a stovetop burner). On each tortilla, place a spoonful of the bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Roll up and place in the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Spray one side of the foil with cooking spray and cover the enchiladas, spray side down. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with a dollop of sour cream, if desired and serve!

Country Mushroom Soup courtesy of our Mether

1/4 C. olive oil
1/4 C. flour
Stir these together until smooth. You are not making a roux.

2 C. chicken broth; gradually stir in

1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-2 bay leaves
Add in these ingredients.

Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occaisionally. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet saute 2/3 C. chopped celery and 1/4 C. chopped onion in 2-3 TBSP of olive oil. Add in 4-5 C. of shrooms (not the magical kind). Cook and stir until tender. Add to broth mixture. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 2/3 C. half and half, cream, milk, or evaporated milk. (A small can of evaporated milk works well for creaminess.) Heat through, and do NOT boil. Discard bay leaves and serve.

As you know, mushrooms tend to suck the moisture out of things! We did about 5 C. of mushrooms, which really sucked the moisture out of our soup and made it thick. Really, it had quite an odd consistency. If this is the case for any of you, I recommend adding more broth. It was flavorful and worked out perfectly!

Plum Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine and mix until creamy: 3 eggs, 2 C. sugar, 1C. oil.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well: 2 C. flour, 1 oz. (entire bottle) red food coloring, 2 small jars baby food plums, 1/2 tsp. soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 C. chopped nuts. Bake in bundt pan for 1 hour & 10 mins. (check with toothpick after 1 hour; it may be done if toothpick comes out clean. After cake cools, frost with any cream cheese frosting.

Thuper Thmoothieth (Super Smoothies)

Ingredient amounts are approximate. You may adjust for your desired smoothie texture and flavor balance. Both recipes make 2 large smoothies or several smaller ones.

Vanilla Chocolate Cherry Bomb

• 1 Cup ice



• 1 Cup frozen pitted cherries



• 1 Cup vanilla yogurt (or plain yogurt plus 1 tsp. vanilla extract)



• 1 banana



• 2 T chocolate syrup
  

Blend all ingredients. (If you need to add liquid for blendability, I recommend milk or water). Then drizzle more chocolate syrup on top.

Cherry Lime Squeeze

• 1 Cup frozed pitted cherries



• 2 real fruit lime popsicles (or 1 Cup limeade plus 1 Cup ice)



• 1 Cup plain yogurt

Blend all ingredients. (If you need to add liquid for blendability, I recommend limeade, milk, or water).

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

OMG! Are these delicious! The flavor resembles a dessert, but they are reasonably low in fat and sugar, and packed with fiber and vitamin A...almost too good to be true.

HINT: To save time, I did the first part of the "baking" in the microwave. But I believe it is IMPERITIVE that you do the last 8 minutes in the conventional oven.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/twice-baked-sweet-potatoes-111250.aspx