Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

This may be the best banana bread I have ever had! I think it's the sour cream...

adapted by Our Best Bites from Cooking Light

2 C flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C sugar

1/4 C (4 Tbs) real butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)

1/4 C sour cream or plain yogurt

3 Tbs apple juice or milk*

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C coconut

Topping: 2 Tbs additional coconut

Glaze: 1/2 C powdered sugar whisked with 1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice

*as in: don't go buy apple juice just for this recipe. If you don't already have some, just use milk!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until blended. Add eggs and beat to combine. Add banana, sour cream or yogurt, apple juice (or milk), and vanilla. Beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat at a low speed until just combined. Stir in 1/2 C coconut. Pour batter into a 9x5" loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle additional 2 Tbs coconut on top. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Note: Check bread after about 40 minutes. If the top has browned and the coconut pieces are looking toasty, cover top of bread lightly with a piece of foil. Continue baking until done. When done, remove pan from oven. Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then carefully remove from pan. Whisk powdered sugar and lime juice together for the glaze and then drizzle over top. Cool for another 15 minutes before slicing.

Garlic-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

I made this yummy tenderloin for Valentines Day and loved it! Even Ethan, our vegetarian, said it wasn't too bad. It's from Our Best Bites (my new favorite website).



1 large or 2 medium or small pork tenderloins

2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 1/2 Tbsp. chopped rosemary leaves (strip them from the woody stem first)

2 1/2 Tbsp. coarse mustard (I used Dijon mustard and it was so good!)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
A few turns of pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Rinse pork tenderloin in cool water and trim any excess fat or the silvery membrane on the meat. Pat dry and place on the prepared baking sheet. You are supposed to bake it until it reaches 160 degrees inside, but I don't have a meat thermometer so you have to watch it. One tenderloin took about 30 min while the other took about 45. Cook up and enjoy!

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce

Another Pioneer Woman recipe. If you like blue cheese you will drool over this sauce. I made this for Valentine's day and everyone loved it. I'm going to eat the leftovers with a spoon...

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 2 whole Ribeye Steaks
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Very Large Yellow Onion, Sliced
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• ½ cups Crumbled Blue Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Salt and pepper both sides of the steaks. Grill in 2 tablespoons butter until medium rare.

Saute onions in 4 tablespoons butter over high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until dark and caramelized. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in blue cheese until melted. Serve steaks on generous portion of sauce.

Faint.

Hot Corn Dip

I made this for the Super Bowl. So the kids would eat it, I did not use any jalepeno peppers and it was still really good! It is a different dip with the corn in it and that's what we loved!

Ingredients: Recipe by Emeril Lagasse

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 1/2 cups corn kernels (from 4 ears fresh white or yellow corn, or frozen fresh corn)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell peppers - I used roasted red bell peppers from a jar.
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions (green and white parts)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise - 1/2 C was plenty for mine
• 4 ounces monterey jack or cheddar, shredded- I used monterey jack
• 4 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• Tortilla chips, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn, salt, and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels turn deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Note that if you're using frozen corn it probably won't get golden brown. Just cook for about 5 minutes as the recipe states. Transfer to a bowl.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Add the onions and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, until the onions are wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the green onions, jalapeno, and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Transfer to the bowl with the corn.

Add 1/2 C mayo, cayenne pepper, half of the monterey jack and half of the cheddar and mix well. If you need more mayo to hold the mixture together then add it, but I found that 1/2 C was plenty, and I even added a little extra cheese.

Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish, or something equivilant and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve hot with tortilla chips or Fritos.

Kick A-- Seven Layer Dip

I wanted to make 7-layer dip for the SuperBowl---but it would just kill me to make it without any secret ingredients! So I did lots of checking on allrecipes and other recipe sites to see what makes other people's dips super.

Here's what I came up with:

Layer 1

1 can refried beans mixed with 1-2 T. taco seasoning

Layer 2

about 3/4 c. sour cream mixed with 4 oz. softened cream cheese and about 1T ranch seasoning (dip or dressing, whatever you have)

Layer 3

guacamole (recipe to follow or use store bought)

Layers 4-7

(any combination of the following) shredded cheese, tomatoes, green or red onion, cilantro, olives

Guacamole

avacados

chopped cilantro

chopped red onion

chopped garlic

salt

lime juice

sprinkle of cumin

I know, I know--how much? It just depends on the avacados. You can can make a little batch with one avacado or a huge batch with tons of them. Just add a little at a time until you like it. (Remember you can always add more, but you can't always take it away!) And all the ingredients are optional depending on your preference. Don't not make it because you're missing cumin--just leave it out and pick up some cumin next time you're at the store---it really kicks it up.

Avacado Tip---you usually buy avacados before they're perfectly ripened. In the store they are usually very firm or hard and maybe even a little green. Plan to buy your avacados about 3-5 days before you want to use them. Just leave them sitting on the counter to ripen. They will be good when they feel a little soft all over and they are black. Haas are my favorite kind. You can ripen your avacados faster in an avacado emergency (it can happen!) by putting them in a brown bag with an apple or a tomato. I tried that this time and it worked wonders. My rock-hard avacados were perfect in two days.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

I am on a Pioneer Woman kick lately. I made this Texas Sheet Cake on Sunday for company and it delivered! The leftovers did not last long in our house. Here is the play-by-play.

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans (I did mine sans nuts)
• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

Pioneer Woman Salsa

I made this yummy salsa yesterday and I can't stay away from it. It truly is a restaurant salsa and so delish if you make the cheese nachos she suggests. For more detailed instructions, go here.

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
• ¼ cups Chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
• ¼ teaspoons Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
• ½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
• ½ whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.