Banana Bread

I'm a big fan of banana bread.  Every time I buy bananas and don't get around to eating them before they turn brown, I throw them in the freezer and accumulate them until I have enough to make a batch of banana bread.  I have tried many recipes.  Some use milk, some use cinnamon, some are dense, others are fluffy.  My current favorite recipe doesn't use many ingredients, but it does use brown sugar in lieu of granulated sugar.  I also may notoriously undercook my baked goods, but I haven't had any complaints yet, so if you are so offended, just leave the bread in the oven the extra ten minutes.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (softened, not melted)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 - 3 overripe bananas

Step 1: Acquire over-ripened bananas.  Yes, they are brown and look like this:  Don't fret.

Step 2: Cream butter and brown sugar in a bowl.  This is much easier with an electric mixer, but I had to suffer through hand mixing (woe is me).  Once creamed, add the eggs and the bananas.  Lumpy is ok.  

Step 3: Combine flour, salt, and baking powder and slowly add to the mushy banana mixture until everything is combined.  At this point add any extras you want: nuts, chocolate chips, or nothing at all.

Step 4: Pour into a greased baking dish (preferably a loaf pan, but use what you have) and bake for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes.

Step 5: Remove from oven.  Test doneness with a toothpick.  Slice and serve!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I'm not a huge pancake fan, but I am a huge cinnamon roll fan, so in an attempt to fool myself into thinking I was eating a healthier version of a notoriously sweet breakfast item, I stumbled upon this recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes and tried my hand at them for a brunch this past weekend.  Above you see the last pancake to come off the grill, but worry not, there were no survivors. 

Basically I got the recipe from this site: http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/03/01/cinnamon-roll-pancakes/.  So you should obviously follow those directions and admire her prettier pictures, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway. 

I prepped the pancake batter first, then made the brown sugar/cinnamon filling and put it in the fridge, and finally prepped the cream cheese icing.

This was actually my first time making pancake batter from scratch (i.e. no bisquick involved) and I must say it's a rather easy process. 

The bag of buttery brown sugar was also a delicious food coma inducing sugar bomb.  So the tricky part came with the execution of these pancakes with the cinnamon swirl.

There was a little trouble initially.  But hey, it's still tasty.  My brown sugar/cinnamon was a little runny, so I had to amend my pouring technique from the ziplock bag.

While still not perfect, I had vastly improved by the last few pancakes.  So once you flip these guys over, you will no longer see a beautiful brown swirl amid your dough.  It kind of melts away, so you see remnants of where the swirl used to be.  You don't lose the flavor though.  Serve with your cream cheese frosting drizzled on top and suddenly you've got a brunch dish that will please pancake lovers and sweet tooths (teeth?) alike. 
 

Mashed Potato Benedict

Yet another variation on my favorite brunch item: benedict.  This version utilizes some leftover cheesy mashed potatoes I had in the fridge, because why should such a delicious form of the potato be reserved solely for dinner?  Upon eating this yesterday, I have discovered my current favorite easy breakfast. 

Step 1: make sure you have leftover mashed potatoes in your fridge and scoop some into a ball/patty.

Step 2: cook the bacon in a skillet. remove to paper towels when cooked through.

Step 3: cook potato patty in bacon grease to brown the outside (~2 min per side)

Step 4: plate potato patty, cover in bacon, and now crack the egg into the skillet.

Step 5: slide your fried egg atop the bacon covered potatoes

Step 6: devour