Banana Bread

Easy Banana Bread

     If you are looking for a really easy, really delicious Banana Bread recipe, this is it! I have several recipes for this oh so yummy Bread, that my little children go crazy over, but this is the one I use the most. It doesn't even require a blender!! Just mix it up in one bowl, and slap it in the loaf pan.
      I hope you all enjoy this as much as we do.

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (or wheat flour)

Method

     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Note: Check bread half way through baking time, if you think it is brown enough, just lay a sheet of foil on top of it for remaining bake time. 

Canning Tomato Juice

What to do with all those yummy garden tomatoes? Why not make them last all year by canning lots of tomato juice. Enjoy the winter months with that great garden fresh taste in soups, stews and much more. There is nothing better to my family than enjoying a nice big pot of homemade chili on a cold day with a great  Pittsburgh Steelers football game (GO STEELERS!!) :) 

  

Boxes of fresh garden tomatoes in my kitchen.

If you are a beginner in canning, don't worry it's easier than most people think, and so very rewarding. With so many canning resources out there, anyone can do it!

They are so beautiful in the kitchen pantry.

Here is the recipe I like to use:

Tomato Juice

3 to 3 1/2 pounds tomatoes per quart

Bottled lemon juice

Wash tomatoes: drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut tomatoes into quarters and simmer until soft, stirring to prevent sticking. Juice tomatoes in a food processor or food mill. Strain juice to remove peels and seeds. Heat juice 5 minutes at 190F. Do not boil. Add 1 Tablespoon of bottled lemon juice to each pint jar, 2 Tablespoons of bottled lemon juice to each quart jar. Ladle hot juice into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, in a boiling water canner.

For beginners, I would recommend purchasing the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving. This book is great, and has many recipes for canning.

If you have questions about canning tomato juice, please comment below. I will be happy to help!! :)