Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

• 1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour(or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.

With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)

Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes.

Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This bread can be frozen.

Makes 1 - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

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Cost Cutting that I Use

This is my recipe for laundry detergent. It makes 2 1/2 gallons of detergent, initial cost is maybe $15-20, depending on the prices in your area, however when you break it down the cost is only about $1 per bucket of detergent, and last us - including the detergent I made for my mom, so 6 people - around 9 months. It is also AWESOME if anyone has skin allergies, I can't comfortably use any other detergent, even "free and clear" ones because they all break me out to some degree, I've never had an issue with the stuff I make.

Other things I do that cut down on costs is I buy the whole 5 lb processed ham, at WM and take it to the deli and have them slice it for me, then when I get home I separate it into 1lb freeze bags, freeze all but one bag of it at a time - $7(maybe) for 5lbs of sandwich ham, instead of $3 per 1/2lb.

Coupons - when my printer has ink.

I buy the ink refill bottles for the printer...it works wonderfully until you screw it up and put the colored ink in the black and black in the colored...

I make my own cleaners using vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and rubbing alcohol...there's quite a few different ones listed on here : http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/153/1/Earth-friendly-oven-cleaning.html Maybe about $5 a month as opposed to my "normal" $30-ish.

Of course generic items.

I also try to go to the local butcher and buy most of my meats there, they're fresher and are generally cheaper. In the spring I build up a garden and freeze or can a great portion of it - Spaghetti Sauce & Salsa especially. I also bake a lot of my own bread.

I do have a bit of an advantage out here where I live because I have an awesome neighbor who brings me a flat (2 1/2 dozen) of eggs every week or so that his chickens have laid. He also has some hogs & a cow he's going to be taking to slaughter this spring and will just split the processing cost with him to fill our freezer - roughly $400 (maybe) for half an "organic, free range" cow and one or two full hogs, all cuts of both.

I limit my driving to just what's necessary and do all my running in the same day, planning the trip out so I don't have to back track most of the time. We (as a family, I'm quite sure Brian eats out more often than he admits) don't go out to eat more than *maybe* once a month.

I bake something daily, and cook dinner nightly. I also have a stock pile(that needs to be refreshed) of freezer safe plastic containers that I'll fill with lunch size meals, from any leftovers we have, and put them in the freezer for later. Brian then takes them to work with him - when he thinks about it - for lunch there or we'll have them here for lunch - just something we can pop in the microwave, much like any other TV dinner, but without all the "preservatives and sodium". I don't buy many snacky junk type foods - soda, only if we're having a gathering here at the house; snack cakes - not at all, I make them instead - well cookies, cakes, the like; chips are a rare purchase, maybe one or two bags a month, maybe, instead I do buy crackers for those salt cravings, but most don't go through crackers like they do chips; etc etc.

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Peanut Butter Cake

1 1/4 cups butter
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup roasted peanuts(optional)

Cream butter and sugar, beat until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one.
Blend in peanut butter, then flour.

Pour into 2 lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans.

Bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes or until center test done.

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter over it as soon as it comes out of the oven!

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Fresh Pumpkin Spice Bread

I start off the pumpkin recipe making season with purchasing a large pumpkin.

The absolute easiest way to prepare a pumpkin for baking use is :
Cut it in half.
Lay each half on a baking sheet, cut side down so that it creates a seal.
Bake in a 350* pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until pulp is soft.
Take out of the oven and let cool before moving on, remember it will be HOT and can burn you.
I then scoop the steamed pumpkin meat out of the rind, putting it into my blender then puree it.

Two cups of pureed pumpkin is equal to one can of pumpkin bought at the store.

I measure it out into 2 cup increments, into labeled freezer bags, then freeze whatever I am not going to be using immediately.



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Pumpkin Spice Bread

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups (or 1 can) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

Grease & flour two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Pre-heat oven to 350*.

In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, & nutmeg.

In a separate bowl stir together the pumpkin & oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the pumpkin mixture, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350* for 1 hour or until wooden pick or cake tester, inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Smoother with butter and enjoy!

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