Recipe of the Week:

last night i felt very mommy-ish....

i had sutton's homemade babyfood cube trays thawing a bit on the counter so i could transfer them to bags in the freezer, sutton's bath running in the other room so that daddy could bathe him, dinner in the oven, laundry going, the iron on, and some DEElish smelling banana bread for betsy's bridal b'fast in the oven. whew!

i really enjoy cooking (when i have the time and good ingredients on hand)...so i thought i'd share my favorite recipes with y'all.

first up is my mom's banana bread recipe i made last night. i'm not sure of where it originally came from but we will give her credit for it. i keep ripe bananas in the freezer and thaw them in the fridge whenever i have time to make some of this homemade goodness. i really challenged my kitchenaid mixer by trying to make a triple batch...we survived without too much batter slung around!

chris likes this bread best when i leave the center of it gooey for him...i decided to cook it all the way through for saturday's party, i hope they appreciate that :)

Mimi's Banana Bread

1/2 c. softened butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3 ripe bananas
(1/4 c. chopped nuts if desired)

Preheat oven to 325. Mix butter, sugar, and eggs well. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, and salt with a wisk. Add flour mixture to egg mixture. Add bananas and mix. (Stir in nuts, if used.) Bake in greased loaf pan for 55 minutes.

(okay...the recipe says 55 minutes, but it's never done for me in 55 minutes. i usually cook it an hour, turn off the oven and leave it in. i go back and check the center with a tooth pick until it's baked all the way through!)

if you're feeling a bit indulgent....try spreading some cream cheese mixed with either some orange juice concentrate and powdered sugar or sliced sweetened frozen strawberries. mmm...mmm...good!

enjoy the bit of lovin' from the oven!!!

****update 9-9-08!! you should definitely make this recipe as muffins...soooo much better. i think it's the the increase in muffin top to inside bread ratio that does it! (there's a seinfield reference in there, somewhere.... :)