G-team Banana Bread

September 6, 2013 by Mackenzie

Last weekend, we (the WU golf team) traveled to Michigan for our first tournament of the year! We played really well and won the tournament! Yeah Bears! Now, I knew that we needed a little something extra to get us through an 8-hour bus ride so I brought along some banana bread. As a team well-known for our bottom-less stomachs and endless appetite for dessert – I knew the bread wouldn’t last long. And it certainly didn’t – they loved it! Since we won the tournament, maybe this bread needs to become a tournament tradition 😉

G-team Banana Bread
Makes 1 loaf
Recipe from my Grandma Mary

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour
3 ripe bananas, mashed

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, salt and vanilla and mix well. Mix in the baking powder and flour, then add the mashed bananas. Mix until just combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour!

Banana Walnut Muffins

April 27, 2013 by Mackenzie

Classes are over so let the cooking and baking begin!

I made these for breakfast yesterday and boy were they good! The recipe is from Fine Cooking’s “Breakfast and Brunch” special magazine. There are so many good recipes inside so get ready to see a lot more!

These muffins were especially good because they were BIG. Not your puny little muffins that you have to eat three of to feel full – but those big, wide-topped muffins that you see in a bakery window and just have to have… Plus, bananas and walnuts are such a satisfying combination, then you top it with a cinnamon glaze? Sheesh, I’m sold!

Banana Walnut Muffins
Makes 12-16 muffins
Recipe from Fine Cooking’s “Breakfast and Brunch” magazine

Ingredients:

Muffins:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup
10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup skim milk, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced bananas
3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Melt the butter and get it cooling. Set out the milk, sour cream and eggs so it can get to room temperature. (Do this way ahead of time! Its the key to the recipe!) Toast the walnut pieces.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F and line your muffin tins with muffin baking cups. I also sprayed the muffin tin so the muffin tops would be easy to get off. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, butter, milk, sour cream, eggs and egg yolk until well-combined.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold gently until just moistened. Gently fold in the banana pieces, walnut pieces and vanilla. Do not overmix – leave the batter a little lumpy.
4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, mounding the batter 3/4 inch higher than the rim of the cups. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes on a wire rack.
5. When cool, whisk the powdered sugar and cinnamon with 4 tablespoons of water (or however much you need for the right consistency). Pop the muffins out of the tin and place on a rack with foil underneath. Pour the glaze onto the tops of the muffins, using a pastry brush to spread it. Let the glaze dry for 15 minutes and then enjoy!

Steelcut Oats – Cardamom, Vanilla and Bananas

February 10, 2013 by Mackenzie

When we were at the store last week I bought some plain, quick-cooking steelcut oats to make for breakfast. I’ve been experimenting with different combinations of toppings and here is my favorite so far!

Steel-Cut Oats with Cardamom, Vanilla and Bananas
Serves 1

1/4 cup steel-cut oats, uncooked
3/4 cups water
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Banana

Boil 3/4 cups water in a small saucepan. Add oats and cook, covered for 5-7 minutes. Let sit 1 minute. Add cardamom, vanilla and sliced banana – mix it up and eat with a hot cup of coffee!
(The cardamom and vanilla amounts are just approximations of what I do – I just add however much I feel is necessary to give it a good flavor, but start there)

Other good toppings to mix and match:
Blueberries, Bananas, Raspberries
Cinnamon, Cardamom, Vanilla Extract, Almond Extract, Maple Syrup, Honey
Slivered Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Chocolate Chips

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

February 7, 2013 by Mackenzie

I’ve been making smoothies a lot after my morning workout. It’s simple but good and so I thought I’d share it with you!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Makes 1
Recipe adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 cup frozen strawberries, washed and halved
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 tablespoon honey
Water or almond milk

Directions:
Put all ingredients except water or almond milk into a blender. Blend and add water or almond milk to thin it out as needed, I usually need about 1/4-1/2 cup.

Mackenzie

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