Saturday, September 10, 2011

Cooking : Banana Coconut Loaf

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

Directions
Mix together flour, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chopped walnuts, and cherries.
Break eggs in a mixing bowl, and beat until light and frothy. Add sugar and melted butter or margarine. Beat well. Stir in mashed banana and flavoring. Add flour mixture, and stir just to combine. Spoon into greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Cool.

Cooking : Baked Onion Dip II

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups chopped sweet onion
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a 1 quart baking dish.
In a medium bowl, mix Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and sweet onion. Transfer to the baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven 40 to 45 minutes, or until onions are tender and the mixture is bubbly and lightly browned.

Cooking : Asparagus Soup I

Ingredients
4 large potatoes, peeled
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 (10 ounce) cans asparagus
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fennel greens for garnish

Directions
Boil and mash potatoes. Puree in a blender, and set aside.
In large pot, dissolve bouillon in water following the directions on the package.
Add asparagus spears, and stir until spears are dissolved. Stir in the potatoes. Season with fennel seeds and pepper to taste. Garnish with fennel greenery if desired. Serve hot.

Cooking : Bean and Bacon Soup

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can ranch-style beans
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped onion
6 thick slices bacon, cooked and cubed

Directions
In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine the beans, tomato sauce, chicken stock and onions. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Using a potato masher, carefully mash some of the beans in the soup to make it a little thicker, if desired. Add the bacon and serve.

Cooking : Aunt Mazo's Dessert

Ingredients
4 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
4 pints heavy whipping cream
1 (4 ounce) jar maraschino cherries
1 cup chopped almonds

Directions
Remove labels from the cans of milk and put them unopened into a large pot of gently boiling water. Boil for about 3 hours. Make sure the water doesn't boil away or the cans will explode (or so I'm told).
After 3 hours, take the cans out and cool in fridge.
When chilled, open the cans and put the results into a bowl.
Beat the whipping cream, and fold into the "caramel sauce" (cooked, cooled condensed milk). Mix in the nuts and cherries.