cinnamon banana bread

I'm freezing.
I have rotting bananas.
I turned on the oven & remembered my friend posted this recipe & picture long ago & I'm making it now.
In my new pampered chef mini loaf pans.
happy fall!!

barefoot in the kitchen: Recipe of the Week

twix salad

also served at briste's shower.

it's pretty much a joke to call this a salad... although it looks LIKE potato salad if you don't know what it is.

also known as "snickers salad," but I used twix instead because twix is just so much better than snickers. here's what I did:

• apples, chopped (I used crispin)
• twix, cut into bite-sized chunks
• cool whip (I used regular)

that's it!! I think I used 4 apples, 3 packs of the 99¢ mini twix packs & 3/4ths of a regular sized-cool whip. mix all together & chill.
christy says it's even more delicious with pudding... but I didn't have any & didn't have time to run back to the store. will try that next time, though.

steph will be watching you if you try to take her twix salad.

Cinnamon-Apple Cake

this was a favorite dessert my college roommate NICOLE used to made all the time! (thanks nicole & cooking light!!) as served at book club last night for cry the beloved country at kashann's (& also at richard & erica's first-ever BATTLE OF THE SEXES PARTY on 6/8/07).

you can also double this and cook in a 9x13 pan... recipe calls for "springform pan," but lets get serious: I don't have one of those. so I used my lovely favorite ever williams-sonoma pie pan (thank you wedding gifts) and it worked out fine.

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided (I use raw turbinado sugar)
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used smart balance)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat neufatchel cheese)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use 1 C white, 1/2 C white whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 C chopped peeled apples
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 1 1/2 cups sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl (GO KITCHENAID, WOOHOO); beat on medium speed until well blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture, beating at low speed until well blended.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Combine 2 TABLESPOONS of cinnamon mixture and chopped apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour the batter into an 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon mixture. Bake at 350° for 60-75min (I cooked it 75min) or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cake will look pretty "done" on the outside, but will be delicious and moist on the inside! Cool cake completely on a wire rack. Cut into 12 wedges, using a serrated knife. (This can be served warm or cold.)

12 servings
Nutritional Information: CALORIES 281(28% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 1.8g,mono 3.7g,poly 2.6g); PROTEIN 4.8g; CHOLESTEROL 39mg; CALCIUM 89mg; SODIUM 234mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.3g (COOKING LIGHT 1997)

Birthday Dinner

on sunday, we celebrated haven's birthday with some of her favorite foods. haven (and most of our family) love this butternut squash risotto. it's from cooking light, but i have altered it a bit. go from the recipe, and then follow these instructions:

*increase onion to a full 1 cup
*do not salt the squash, use plenty of pepper.
*after mixing in the squash and water, cover pan and simmer for about 15 minutes, until squash is very tender.
*omit the butter and the parsley.

this is sooo good, we eat it all the time during the chilly season. and it's pretty easy to prepare. risotto's are to be stirred constantly once adding the broth mixture, but i have periodically had to stop for moments to aid a small child or halt a disaster, and it is still delicious!


haven LOVES oranges! wegman's sells more than just your garden variety kind, and they are more spendy, but perfect for a dinnertime treat. the orange closest to the bottom is the cara cara. very sweet with hints of raspberry and a very pretty salmon color. the other orange, was nicknamed "sunset" by my ciela last year when we first tried them, but they are a type of italian orange, and the name has been different nearly each time i purchase them. currently at wegman's i believe the sticker says "italia vitta", but the sign said something to the effect of: italian orange. these are more tart, but incredibly striking served up.