Banana Bread

I got this recipe from a lady that I lived next door to my whole life. I'm still yet to find a recipe that I like better than hers. She makes the best banana bread.  Her biggest secret was to use incredibly ripe bananas, like almost rotten bananas. I still can't quite figure out why her big loaves turn out different than mine but they do. So I stick to mini loaves which turn out great.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 bananas (the browner, the better)
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vinegar

Notes / Directions

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Mix till smooth. In a separate bowl, mash bananas. Stir them into batter. Measure milk and add vinegar, mix a little before adding to batter. Grease 4 mini loaf pans and pour in equal amounts of batter to each pan. Cook at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

*You can make 2 regular sized loaves with this same recipe. Cooking time is the same.

French Onion Rice

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
2 cups rice
1/4 cup wild rice
2 cans french onion soup
1 teaspoon salt
3 cans water
chicken tenders

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 350.  In a skillet, melt butter and add white rice.  Stir over medium heat until the rice is browned.  Dump into a large dutch oven.  Add wild rice, french onion soup, salt, and water.  Place chicken tenders on top and cover with lid.  Cook in the oven for an hour or until rice is fully cooked.

Candied Pecans

During the holidays these pecans were sitting out on a dish at my orthodontist.  It took a lot of self control to not eat the whole dish!  So instead, I pestered the receptionist for a few months until I got the recipe.  My orthodontist, Dr. Chan, makes these every year at Christmas time.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Ingredients
2 egg whites
3/4 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves (4 cups)
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 250.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a mixing bowl, hip together egg whites, vanilla, and water until it is nice and frothy.  Stir in pecans until evenly coated.  In a large ziploc bag, mix sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Add pecans and seal shut.  Shake and toss until pecans are completely dusted.  Pour out onto baking sheet and cook for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!