Tasty Thursday

I don't expect this will be repeated very often, but I tried a new-to-me (with substitutions) recipe and thought I would take a moment to share.

One evening in the past week, I was craving baked beans and wieners, grabbed a can from the pantry and opened it to discover in my haste, I'd gotten a can of red kidney beans.  I put the can in the fridge while I got the right can and had my dinner. Don't judge me, it was hot that evening and I wanted something I could heat up in the microwave.

I knew I didn't want to make chili - my go-to recipe for kidney beans, so searched Allrecipes.com for something else. What I found was a kidney bean salad made similarly to a potato salad. I figured why not give it a try.

The orginal recipe was double what I needed/wanted and I was missing a few original ingredients. No matter, I made do with what was in the fridge. The measurements below are half of the original recipe.

1 can (15 oz.) of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 hard boiled egg (I used two)

1 stalk celery (I used cucumber for crunch instead)

1/2 onion chopped (I substitued 2 green onions)

1 tablespoon of sweet green relish (I had none)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip*)

Salt and pepper to taste

I also added some tomato for colour because I figured they would go well with the kidney beans. It is a very versatile recipe as one could add whatever veg is available or preferred. 

*Since Miracle Whip contains sugar I figured it would make up for the sweet relish.

The photo is today's lunch. Lots of protein with the beans and cheese and lots of yummy vegetables. I read somewhere that eating veg with dip is easier for digestion. Who am I to argue? 

Not my mother's potato salad

This recipe definitely has a Tex-Mex flavor...at least to my palate. Very tasty!

I didn't have fresh corn so used some leftover canned kernel corn. I made about a half recipe, but since I rarely measure there was probably more of some ingredients and less of others. 

My son's opinion: he thought the flavor was good but hated the texture. Since I like it, it won't go to waste. 

Recipe - Banana Bread

Because you had a couple of questions, I thought I'd share the recipe I've used for a bazillion years for my banana bread.  And I'm not entirely kidding.

The recipe is found in this old cookbook.  My high school home economics* class used it as the textbook.  When I graduated, my parents gave me a copy as a gift.  If I remember correctly it cost $25....40 years ago that was a pretty penny.

I've used it ever since and it's pretty much my go-to for many of my favorite recipes.

Without further ado, this is the recipe.

2 cups sifted all-purpose flower
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fat (I prefer peanut butter)
3/4 cup sugar (I reduce to 1/2-2/3 cup since there is sugar in peanut butter)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons orange rind (optional)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla)

Line the bottom of a greased 9 x 3 inch loaf pan with a strip of waxed paper.  Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream the fat, sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy.  Add orange rind and flavoring.
Measure the flour, mix and sift dry ingredients.
Mash 2 small bananas (3/4 cup) add 1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1 tablespoon orange juice and milk to make 1 cup.  (I often use 3 bananas and reduce the milk)
Add dry and wet ingredients to the fat mixture, about 1/3 at a time, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, stirring after each addition, beating until smooth.
Scrape into the loaf pan, let stand 15 minutes.  Bake at 350F until tester comes out clean, 60 minutes.  (That's about right for my oven)
Invert on a rack; cool before slicing.

The peanut butter adds a nutty taste, and as suggested, chocolate chips are a great addition too!

And it smells lovely while it is baking too. 

You can see by the splatters this is definitely one of my faves.  Enjoy!


*Is home economics even taught in high school anymore?