Ohhhhh Bananas!!!

I noticed a few bananas on the kitchen counter Friday when I grabbed the bread for lunch. They were definately past ripe. Normally I would probably just toss them out but I'm an avid couponer and love to save money so just throwing away something seemed wrong. We decided we would make some banana bread. Something I've never done, but I love to bake so figured it would be easy. I found the following recipe and it turned out great. One note from my husband is that I need to make sure to COMPLETELY mash up the bananas. I'm not a banana bread fan so I had no clue???

2 cups Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/3 cups mashed bananas (I just used the 4 bananas I had)

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt.
In a seperate bowl cream together butter and brown sugar.
Stir in eggs and mashed bananas.
Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture.
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans.
Bake for 60 minutes.

The boys had fun and I didn't waste the bananas. All in all it was fun.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well despite a huge mess in the kitchen, we did get cookies made yesterday. The kids turned it into a learning lesson as always. We had a chocolate chip counting/quessing contest. Winner got to eat a cookie....actually they all got a cookie :) Only a few left already.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The goal today is to make chocolate chip cookies. I'm pretty tired since it's Friday but we're gonna try!!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Christmas Breakfast Casserole Recipe

We started making this for breakfast on Christmas a few years ago. It is delicious and I wanted to share it with you.

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork sausage
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 6 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes
• 8 ounces mild Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk. Add the sausage, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Cover, and bake 45 to 60 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until set.