Monday, February 7, 2011

NEW BANANA BREAD RECIPE AND EYE SORES

Well the morning started out simple enough, low on milk, low on butter and brown speckled bananas on the verge of reaching inedible.  So I thought why not make some banana bread and I have a new recipe that I wanted to try, only because it calls for cream cheese and I love cream cheese. Since we are low on butter I had to substitute the butter-flavored Crisco for butter.


BANANA BREAD adapted from Taste of Home
Like I said up above due to a shortage of butter (seems people must be eating it by the stick here) I used the butter-flavored Crisco. I also added nutmeg to the bread because I LOVE nutmeg in my banana bread. I am sure cinnamon would be just as tasty. This bread has the nicest texture, soft and fluffy, with the creamiest taste. I am also imagining the alternatives to the orange flavor in the glaze...


Ingredients
  • 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, divided
  • ORANGE GLAZE:
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
Directions
  • In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in 1/2 cup pecans. 
  • Transfer to two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 
  • In a small bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients; drizzle over loaves. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).
This recipe yields TWO loaves which in our home is important many people wandering around and banana bread seems to go fast. This is what brings me to the sore eyes...our full house consists of Mister, myself our 3 boys, Mocha the lab and my parents. My parents came to live with us when their eyesight failed them. Yes, both of them have issues and it seems to never end which is slightly disheartening. My mom lost an eye to glaucoma because the pressure could not be controlled by her medicine and surgery led to infection and yadda yadda yadda she is a cyclop. My dad's eyesight is something else, retinal detachment, macular degeneration and cataracts with pressure issues as well. Here is the kicker bad enough that mom has only one eye left, that eye is now troubled too, the pressure seems out of control. To top off that, dad who is legally blind, is going to have cataract surgery and his pressure seems not so good so they are talking about trying to relieve some of that pressure while removing the cataract. Just so amazing that over 10 years later they are still dealing with these eye problems.

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