Becka's blog

This was Rob's last week at his summer job with IT on campus. He starts in with teacher meetings next week. I've been going to make something for him to take to work for the last couple of weeks and finally made this old favorite:

Banana Snack Cake

1 cup sugar
2 sticks margarine or butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsps. baking soda
1 cup (about 2 medium) mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal (dry)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and then grease and flour a 9" x 13" pan. In mixing bowl mix sugar, margarine, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Add the soda to the buttermilk and stir to combine and then add this to the creamed mixture along with the bananas. Mix in the flour, salt, and oats. Stir in the chocolate chips and then spread in the baking pan. Top with the nuts if you are using them. Bake for 30-35 mins. Enjoy as is or top with whipped topping or ice cream.

Becka

As my husband can tell you I am not much of a morning person. I don't really feel fully awake and alert until about 10 AM. So, I try to do everything I can ahead of time so there is minimal thinking required in the mornings. Rob eats oatmeal most mornings and I eat it from time to time so recently I started making pre-measured oatmeal packets in small plastic snack bags. I have been making them using instant oats, salt, and dried cranberries. You could use other dried fruits such as apricots, raisins, etc. Rob doesn't like milk on his oatmeal, but if you do you could also put in powdered milk or creamer and then all you would have to add to the mix is water. Here are the proportions I have been using in case you would like to try it:

Oatmeal Packets (these are the amounts per packet)

1/3 cup quick oats
pinch of salt
2 Tbsps. dried cranberries

I just line up several small plastic snack bags and then fill them assembly line style.

After the individual bags are filled I place them in a larger ziploc bag for convenient storage in a drawer. We save the empty bags and reuse them.

To prepare add the packet to 3/4 cup water and then microwave for 1 minute on high. You can also cook this in a saucepan by adding the contents of the packet to the water and bringing it to a boil and then turning off the heat and letting it sit for a few minutes.

This technique will help you ease into the morning a bit more seamlessly if you are not a morning person.

Becka

My mom used to make this pie years ago and it has become one of our favorites. She first made it with a graham cracker crust but eventually mastered traditional pie crusts and from then on she never looked back. I told about her pie crust saga in this post.

Peanut Butter Pie

1 baked 9" pie shell
1/3 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsps. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten (save egg whites)
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Mix together the peanut butter and powdered sugar until crumbly. Save out about 2 Tbsps. of this mixture and put the rest of it into the cooled pie shell. Set aside.
In a saucepan stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Blend the milk and the egg yolks together and gradually stir into the sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter and stir until butter melts. Pour the hot mixture onto the peanut butter crumbs in the pie shell. Set aside while you prepare the meringue.
Meringue
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
6 Tbsps. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Beat in sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Blend in vanilla. Spread over hot filling making sure to seal the meringue to the inner edges of the pie crust. Take a spoon and use the back of it to form peaks in the meringue. Sprinkle the remaining peanut butter crumbs on top of the meringue and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 mins. or until nicely browned. Let cool at room temperature and then refrigerate at least two hours before cutting.

Enjoy your delicious pie!

Becka

Here's another easy skillet meal. I found some ground beef and cauliflower on sale at the grocery store recently and remembered this recipe.

Beef Cauliflower and Snow Peas

1/2-1 lb ground beef
2 garlic cloves
1 small onion, chopped
dash pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups bite sized cauliflower
1/4 lb snow peas, trimmed (you can also use frozen snow peas or frozen peas--about a heaping cupful)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce

Brown beef, onion, and garlic in a large skillet. Drain grease if any accumulates. Add broth and then bring to a boil. Add cauliflower, cover and cook for about 5 mins. Add snow peas or regular peas and cook until vegetables are of desired tenderness. Mix cornstarch with soy sauce and add to mixture in skillet. Cook until thickened.

Becka

I mentioned a while back that my friend Kathy got me the Mitford cookbook for my birthday. The first recipe I have tried from it was called Ray's Coleslaw. We all agreed that it was delicious. I have heard of other recipes for slaw that ask you to salt the cabbage and then drain it, but this was the first time I had tried this technique. I did think that it was a little salty, so I have cut down on the salt a little in the following recipe.

Ray's Coleslaw (From Mitford Cookbook)
8-10 cups coarsely grated cabbage
2 tsps. salt (this is less than the original recipe)
5 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsps. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
dash freshly ground black pepper

Toss the cabbage with the salt in a colander set in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set a plate on top. Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the water to drain from the cabbage. Mix together the cabbage and green onions in a large bowl. In another bowl combine sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and pepper. Add the dressing to the cabbage and onions. Mix well and refrigerate until well chilled.

This is the blade I used to cut the cabbage in the food processor:

This is how I drained the cabbage in the colandar in the fridge:

The following pictures have nothing to do with cole slaw, but I think they are awfully cute:

Becka