Quick Chicken Stew (A Pantry Stew)

Some days I just have to have soup. Like yesterday, when a cold front came through with winds and rain and the temperature was about 55 degrees. It was cold compared to the low 90's that had been earlier this week. So I decided to whip up a quick stew, or soup, with just ingredients I had on hand. I found 3 chicken thighs in the freezer, and added some vegetables. I would have liked some mushrooms and celery for this, but didn't want to go to the store. So this was our lunch yesterday, with a little left over for today. Tomorrow the temperature will start climbing back up, and stew won't sound good to us then. This Quick Chicken Stew was delicious and hit the spot. And it is satisfying to make something so tasty with just the ingredients you have on hand.
I didn't measure anything, but here's what I did.

Quick Chicken Stew
From Lynda's recipe Box

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any visible fat
1/2 of an onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 can low-sodium chicken broth, or equivalent amount of water
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
some baby carrots, cut in half
about 3/4 cup of frozen peas
about 1/4 teaspoon dried Tarragon leaves, or dried Thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Sliced mushrooms and celery are good in this also.
Heat a 3 or 4 quart saucepan over medium heat with about 1 tablespoon oil. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken in the oil, about 2 minutes per side just until browned. Remove chicken to a plate. Add the onion to pan and cook for about 1 minute, adding oil if needed. Then add the minced garlic. Stir in the chicken broth or water, and add the cooked chicken thighs with any accumulated juices from the plate. Stir in the carrots and potatoes. Add water to the pan to completely cover the stew. Bring to a boil, cover pan and reduce heat. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the peas and Tarragon (or Thyme), to the stew and cook about 5 minutes more. Cut the thighs into bite size pieces and add back to the saucepan. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve and enjoy!

NOTE: Sometimes I thicken the broth when I make stews like this, by making a slurry with cornstarch and water. Then just add a little at a time to the stew, stirring. Just add enough to give the broth a slight thickness.

Oven Roasted Carrots

My favorite way to prepare many vegetables is by roasting them in the oven. It gives them a sweetness that they may not have otherwise. Carrots are fantastic roasted, either until they are tender crisp, or even until more tender. The only thing you have to be careful of is not to burn them. Since they have a naturally high sugar content, carrots will burn if roasted too long, or at too high a temperature. If you haven't tried roasting carrots yet, now is the time to try. I think you'll love their great flavor, plus they are so healthy and very reasonably priced. Carrots are a very affordable side dish, which will go with about anything. Here's the easy method.

Oven Roasted Carrots
1 pound carrots, peeled, and sliced about 1/2-3/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley, optional, as a garnish-I like them with fresh parsley the best, but used thyme this time

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place sliced carrots on a baking dish, add the Olive oil, and stir carrots to coat with the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven 30 minutes or more, depending on how large you carrots are. I roasted these large carrots about 35 minutes. Check them several times and turn with a spatula. Remove from oven when done. Enjoy!

Fresh Broccoli and Califlower Salad

My husband wanted me to make this salad last week, so it was an opportunity to re post this recipe that was one of my firsts posts when I started my blog. This is another delicious old recipe from years ago. My grandmother introduced this wonderful, fresh salad to us and it became a most requested dish at our family gatherings, especially Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you don't like uncooked veggies, you may not want to read further, but we love our fresh, crisp veggies here. This Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad is dressed in a tasty ranch style dressing and stays crisp for a couple of days. It makes a good sized salad though, so it's perfect when you need to feed a crowd. Whenever I make it, I think of my sweet, wonderful grandmother, who lived to be 92 years old. I feel so blessed to have had my grandmother for so many years and to have so many wonderful memories of her. We will always enjoy this salad of hers. I hope some of you will give it a try also.

Fresh Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

From Lynda's Recipe box and my grandmother

1 head of cauliflower, cored and cut into florets

1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets(bite size pieces)

2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin

1 red onion, diced-or I like to use Vidalia onion when available

1 green bell pepper, large dice

2 stalks celery, sliced- I don't always use this

1 8 ounce carton of sour cream- I use low fat

1 cup mayo-I actually measure the mayo into the empty sour cream container, just like my grandma did

1 package Hidden Valley dressing mix-the dry mix

Cut all vegetables into a large bowl. Mix sour cream, mayo and dry Hidden Valley  dressing mix in a bowl. Add dressing to vegetables and stir until well incorporated. The dressing will be thick at first. Keep refrigerated. Will stay fresh for a couple of days. Enjoy!

How to Cook a Tender, Oven Braised, Beef Pot Roast

My first cooked meal of the New Year was a very tender and delicious beef Pot Roast, braised in the oven. A cold front that blew in left me wanting something warming and comforting for dinner. And I had a chuck roast in the freezer that was calling my name, and bringing back memories of my Mother. My mom made the most tender, melt in your mouth roasts I've ever tasted, so I think of her every time I make pot roast. Sometimes I make mashed potatoes with pot roast, but most of the time I bake potatoes with the roast as my Mother did. You can just break up the potatoes on your plate and cover with gravy. This is comfort food at it's best.

I always add onions to the pot and I brown them slightly the first thing. Then I brown the roast on all sides, even the ends for just a few minutes. Add carrots and potatoes to the pot and you have a true one pot meal to look forward too. I even make the gravy in the same pot. I'm lazy when it comes to clean up.

If you cook chuck roast long enough, it will be very tender and delicious. Many folks tend to take it out of the oven too soon, resulting in a tough piece of meat. You really need about 1 hour of cooking per pound of chuck roast. Use the fork test to see if it's tender. Stick a fork in the meat and pull. If done, it should begin to pull apart very easily, like you are going to shred it.This is right where you want it. Here's my method.

Classic Oven Braised Pot Roast

my Mothers

1 chuck roast- mine was only 2 1/2 pounds

1 onion, sliced

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into about 1 inch slices

5 or 6 potatoes,(I used Yukon Golds) peeled and cut in half or fourths, depending on the size

1 dried bay leaf

beef broth, water or chicken broth

In a dutch oven over medium high heat, in about 1 tablespoon of oil, cook the sliced onion for just a couple of minutes, until it softens and begins to turn golden. Remove the onion to a bowl. Season the roast liberally with salt and pepper, and garlic powder if desired. Add more oil to the dutch oven if needed. Add the chuck roast to the pan and brown it on all sides. Place half the onions on top of the roast and half scattered around the roast in the pan.  Add enough liquid to come up most of the way next to the roast. I used 1 can low-sodium beef broth and 1/2 cups water in my pan. You could need more or less, depending on the size of your pan and how full it is. Toss the bay leaf in the liquid and cover pot with lid. Place dutch oven in a preheated 300 degree oven and cook for about 60 minutes per pound of beef. My 2 1/2 pound roast took about 2 3/4 hours to become tender and delicious. Add the potatoes to the pan about halfway through cooking. Cover the pan and continue baking until roast is tender. When done, you can serve the pan juices as is, spooned over the meat and potatoes, or you can do as I do and thicken the juices some for a really tasty gravy.

To Make a Quick Gravy: After you remove the roast and veggies from the pan, skim any fat from the juices,or use a fat separator to make the job easier. Then make a slurry of about 1/4 cup flour and some water. Mix until there are no lumps. While meat juices are simmering, whisk in flour and water mixture a little at a time, only using enough flour mixture to thicken the gravy as much as you want it. Simmer gravy a couple of minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour gravy over potatoes and meat. Enjoy!

White Bean and Ham Soup

 Christmas is over for another year. It takes so long to get ready for Christmas, and then it's over so quickly. And the meals take hours of  preparation, and then we eat and you have a ton of leftovers. It's a good thing we like leftovers.But we'll do it all agin next year, and enjoy every minute of it.
 We always bake a bone-in ham for our Christmas dinner. No other kind will do, and that gives me a ham bone to use for cooking a pot of bean soup. I make sure to leave some meat on the bone so that the beans will have some meat in them too.

 I chop up some vegetables to add to the pot and let it all cook into a delicious and hearty soup. And of course there must be corn bread. I used Great Northern Beans for this soup, but you could also use navy, or cannellini beans. Sometimes I make Pinto Beans and Ham, which are also delicious. So leftover ham is a good problem to have. I always soak the beans in water overnight, or else I use a quick soak method, where you bring the beans to a boil, then cover and remove from the heat to let them soak for 1 hour. Then pour off the water. Add more water to the pot, then begin to cook. After wards you'll have a pot of delicious comfort food, White Bean and Ham Soup.

White Bean and Ham Soup

2 pounds dried white beans, I used Great Northerns
1 ham bone with meat
1 large onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 dried bay leaves
1 can of low sodium chicken broth, or about 2 cups chicken stock
about 6 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
fresh minced parsley- optional

1. Sort the beans and then soak the beans. I pour part of the beans on the counter and go through them to remove any dirt or small particles of rock that may have snuck in the bag. Repeat until all the beans have been sorted. Rinse the beans well under water. Place in a soup pot. Add water to cover. I gave the beans a quick soak by bringing the pot to a boil, then turning off the burner, cover and let them soak for 1 hour. Pour off the water. Place the beans back in the soup pot on the burner. Add the ham bone, the chicken broth and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover.
2. While the beans are cooking, dice the onion, celery and carrots. Add to the pot with the bay leaves. Cook, covered for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Beans will smash easily against the side of the pan when they are done.
3 Remove the ham bone from the beans and cool until cool enough to handle. Now, I like the bean soup to be a bit creamy with a thick broth, so I take a big spoon and smash some beans against the side of the pan  and stir them back in. I do this several times until the soup begins to look creamy. I guess you could use an immersion blender, but I haven't tried that.
4. After the ham bone has cooled enough, take the meat off the bone and discard any fat. Put the ham into the soup and season well with salt and pepper. I used about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in this soup, but it will depend on how salty the ham is as to how much you have to add. Serve this soup with a huge chuck of corn bread and enjoy!

NOTE: Dried beans will take longer to cook in high altitudes. Also if the beans are older, they will also take longer to cook, so plan plenty of time when cooking dried beans.

Easy Slow Cooker Stew

Stew is one of my favorite meals to have during the cold months of the year. Cooking it in the slow cooker makes it super easy. Last week when my Mother-in-law passed away, we had extra people to feed, so I dug out my crock pot and got to work. Peeling the potatoes and carrots were the most time consuming. Plus, I cut up a chuck roast, instead of buying stew meat. By using a roast, I feel I'm using a better quality of beef for the stew. When making stew, there doesn't need to be a recipe. Just use the vegetables you like and  you can also use up any leftover veggies you may have in the fridge.
Here's what I did this time.

Slow Cooker Stew
1 beef chuck roast, cut into cubes- I had a 2 1/4 pound roast
potatoes, peeled and cubed
carrots, peeled and sliced- I used almost 1 pound this time
1 onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups frozen peas
1 can diced tomatoes
green beans and any other vegetables you want to use
1 can low sodium beef broth
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
parsley
salt and pepper to taste
water

Cut the beef roast into cubes. Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan, and then add half of the beef cubes. Add salt and pepper to the meat. Brown meat in the hot oil turning when browned on one side. While the beef browns, peel and cut up the potatoes and carrots and add them to the crock pot. Then, remove the beef and add to the crock pot. Add another tablespoon of oil to the dutch oven and add the rest of the beef. When it is brown on the side, stir and add the chopped onion and garlic, if using. Turn the heat down if necessary to keep the pan from burning.
Add the beef broth to the browning meat and stir up all the brown bits that are in the pan. There will be a ton of flavor in those brown bits from the meat. Don't skip browning the meat for the stew as browning gives it so much flavor. Add all the meat and broth to the slow cooker, the tomatoes, then the rest of the vegetables you are going to use. Fill the cooker with water to cover the stew. Add the bay leaves and salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours, or until the meat is tender.
Sometimes I thicken the stew a bit by adding 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to about 1/4 cup water. Mix well and add to the stew, stirring carefully. Cover the stew and cook another 30 minutes. When done, you have a delicious hot stew to warm you up. Enjoy!
This coming week I'll be posting some Thanksgiving recipes, so be sure to stop back by!

Korean Beef Rice Bowl

I saw this dish recently at Steamy Kitchen and wanted to try it soon, and I'm so glad I didn't wait! My photo isn't as good as Jadens, but the meal was certainly excellent. Once you have all the vegetables chopped and the beef sliced, this meal comes together in just minutes. That is if you are not working around a 14 month old granddaughter who is trying to pull stuff out of your cabinets. She didn't take her planned nap, so meal preparation was a bit challenging, to say the least, with a very active and curious toddler around. But back to this meal- it's one of those lick the bowl clean type of dishes. Judging by the groaning that was coming from my husband, I knew he loved it. The sauce that the beef is marinated in is delicious; sweet but yet it's got so much flavor from the garlic and fresh ginger. I've got to make it again this week because it keeps calling my name! Here's what I did.

KOREAN BEEF RICE BOWL
slightly adapted from Steamy Kitchen

2 cups dry rice, your preference, cooked

1 pound beef, I used top sirloin, sliced thin

2 tablespoons soy sauce-I used low sodium

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/2 of an onion, diced

1/2 cup of carrots cut into matchsticks -recipe calls for 1 cup

1 small zucchini, diced

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Put your rice on to cook first, using whatever kind you like. The vegetables can be prepared a day ahead if desired. If doing them at time of meal, have them chopped before you begin cooking. Slice beef very thin, across the grain. It can be prepared several hours in advance also.
Mix the minced garlic, grated ginger, sesame oil and brown sugar together in a bowl. Pour over the beef and let marinate.
Heat a wok or skillet to medium heat. add the 1 tablespoon oil and the onion and cook for a couple of minutes. Turn up to high heat, add beef and cook until barely an pink left. Add the carrots and zucchini and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook just until wilted. Stir in the toasted sesame seeds. Serve this over rice. Enjoy!

Honey and Butter Glazed Baby Cut Carrots

I'm addicted to baby cut carrots. I love their sweetness, the crunch, and they make a tasty, healthy snack, or a quick side dish that goes with just about any meal. They are delicious cooked tender crisp, or even cooked until completely tender. I enjoy them tender crisp, but others in my family prefer them very tender. However you like them, a glaze of butter and honey just makes them that much better! Give them a try.

HONEY and BUTTER GLAZED BABY CUT CARROTS

1 pound baby cut carrots
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
pinch of salt
chopped parsley for garnish, if desired

In a large saucepan, add water to about 1/2 inch depth. Bring water to a boil and add a couple pinches salt. Add the carrots to the pan, and bring back to a boil. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for about 5 - 1o minutes, depending on how well cooked you want the carrots. Use a fork to poke the carrots to test for doneness. When done to your liking, drain the water from the carrots. Over low heat add the butter and honey to the carrots and simmer a minute or two until carrots are glazed. Serve hot, garnished with parsley. Enjoy!

REMINDER! Tomorrow, April 30th, is the deadline for any submissions to April's Family Recipes. If you have a recipe that has been enjoyed by your family for a long time we'd love to see it. You may still submit recipes until midnight, April 30th, EST USA. Please send me an email with the URL of your post to whatscookin52 at sbcglobal dot net. Thanks!

Homemade Chicken and Noodle Soup (with cheater noodles)

I have been rather absent from my blog lately, due to not feeling well, and taking care of my granddaughter. My daughter-in-law had to go on a business trip for several days, so I stayed at their house at night, because my son goes to work very early in the morning. So my cooking has been rather erratic at best. But I'm back with Chicken and Noodle Soup, using purchased frozen noodles (gasp!), instead of making my own like I usually do. When I don't feel well or I'm not wanting to spend a large chunk of time in the kitchen, I cheat! How about you?
I did use a whole chicken for this flavorful soup because whole chickens are the best value for your buck out there. It cooked for about 1 1/2 hours and then cooled a bit before I took the meat off the bones. However, boneless chicken pieces may be used, but the broth will not be as rich as it could be using bone-in pieces. The best cheater noodles, in my opinion, are Reames noodles, found in your grocers freezer department. They are the most like homemade noodles that I have found and were highly recommended to me first by my Mother-in law many years ago. Enjoy!

HOMEMADE CHICKEN and NOODLE SOUP (with cheater Noodles!)

1 1/2 pounds boneless or bone-in chicken pieces
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (about)
2-3 celery stalks, diced
1 onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
about 1/2 cup frozen peas
12 ounce package frozen Reames noodles
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh, chopped parsley
2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Add 8 cups water to soup pot and add chicken pieces OR a whole, 3 1/2 pound chicken. Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Cover pan and reduce heat to a simmer. Boneless chicken pieces need to simmer 20-30 minutes; bone-in pieces about 40 minutes. A whole chicken, about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 hours. Remove chicken to a plate to cool. Skim off any fat from the broth. Add the chopped vegetables and the frozen noodles to the broth and cook about 20 minutes, or until noodles are as tender as you want. Remove chicken from bones, if using a whole chicken. Dice or shred meat. Add chicken to the soup and add desired amount of salt and pepper, if desired. Add in the herbs and serve steaming hot. There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of this delicious soup!
By the way, I use Reames because I like them; I'm not receiving any compensation for this post.

Hamburger Stew

Do you have a dish in your family that you've made so often that you could do it blindfolded? I could this one. My Grandmother used to make this Hamburger Stew and likewise my Mother, and I've made it for years too. My husband loves to take this delicious stew to work with him as it's quite filling. It's a perfect soup for using up whatever leftover vegetables you may have in the refrigerator or odds and ends of fresh vegetables hiding in the crisper. Use as many vegetables as you want. I have no written recipe for this; we just throw in whatever is on hand. So, this is a recipe of how I made it this time. I made this huge batch today and enjoyed it immensely on this windy, cold day. We're expecting snow flurries tonight or tomorrow, so this soup will be warm and comforting. Served with homemade rolls or cornbread, it is the perfect comfort meal! Let me tell you how I made it.

HAMBURGER STEW- from Lynda's Recipe Box

Ingredients vary according to what you want to use, or what is on hand.

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 small onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 stalks celery, diced - I include the leaves

2 cans of diced tomatoes (15 ounces), or whole tomatoes, broken up

2 cans of beef broth (low sodium)

1/2 pound carrots, or more, peeled and diced

1 1/2 cups green beans, fresh, frozen or canned

about 1 1/2 cups frozen corn (or fresh or canned)

about1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 small, diced zucchini, if desired

about 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage

5 or 6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

salt (I used 2 tsp., but I cook low salt so you may need more than this)

pepper, about 1/4 tsp.

water; add enough to cover ingredients in final cooking

In a soup pot over medium high heat, brown the ground beef until done. Drain off any grease. Add onion and cook until slightly softened. Add the celery, tomatoes, carrots and beef broth. Season with 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. If more liquid is needed to cover everything, add a little water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; the corn, peas, zucchini, if using, cabbage and potatoes. Add enough water to the pot to just cover the vegetables. Cover and cook another 40 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed. I think the longer you cook it, the better the taste. The cabbage adds a lot of depth of flavor too, and this stew gets better every day! I sometimes add okra too, but I don't always have it. My mother would also add a few turnips to the pot, but my husband doesn't like them, so no turnips for us! Thyme is a great herb flavor for this soup, and sometimes oregano is my fave. It just depends what ingredients I use.

I've had people tell me their families also made this type of dish. Some have called it "Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup". Do you or someone you know make stew similar to this? If so, what is it called? I'd love to know.

Roasted Parsnips with Carrots and Red Skinned Potatoes

I hadn't eaten parsnips since I was a kid, until two days ago. I loved the way my Mother fixed them. She parboiled them, cut them in half lenght wise and then laid the parsnips in a hot skillet with butter and and fried those babies until tender and caramelized. They were wonderful! My Father called them "rat tails", I guess because they are fat at one end and real skinny at the other. My brother wouldn't touch them because of Dad's reference! I forgot to take a picture of them, but they are a root vegetable, similar to a carrot, only white, with a sweet, kind of spicy flavor. I had some the other day, so I decided to roast them in the oven with some carrots and small red skinned potatoes. My husband has always told me that he hated parsnips, so I didn't cook them. But he liked these! This isn't a recipe, per say, just a way to do some mixed vegetables in the oven .

These three vegetables roasted beautifully together. I peeled 3 parsnips, 3 large carrots and cut up 6 red skinned potatoes in a bowl. I sliced the carrots and parsnips about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick and poured about 2 Tbs. olive oil over all. I added kosher salt and pepper to taste and sprinkled all with some Thyme. After roasting in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes, my husband I enjoyed them with our lunch. This made about 3 servings, so adjust the amounts according to

what you need. The only thing I didn't like was the flavor of Thyme and parsnips together! I love Thyme on carrots and potatoes, but next time I'll use another herb, or just salt and pepper. Roasting really brings out a wonderful flavor in vegetables and has become my favorite way to cook many of them. However, grilling time is coming up and it's another great way to cook! Have you ever cooked parsnips?

Whole Wheat Carrot- Banana Bread

Who doesn't love a good piece of Banana Bread? Do we need another recipe for Banana Bread? Probably not, but don't we enjoy trying something just a little bit different? I sure do, so that's why I decided to try this bread after sorting through a stack of "must try" recipes the other day. It has been cut out of some forgotten magazine, so I can't give a proper source for this yummy Whole Wheat Carrot- Banana Bread. I eagerly got all the ingredients out, turned on the oven, and then read the recipe again and discovered that I didn't have the proper sized pans! It called for 7&1/2in. x3&3/4in. pans, which was smaller than the regular bread loaf pans that I have. I toyed with just pouring all the dough into 1 pan, as it could work, maybe. But I had a recollection from my early married years of the first time I made my Mother-in-Laws homemade dinner rolls, and she assumed that I knew that it would take two pans for the whole recipe, but in fact, I didn't know that! I had dough oozing out of my pan and wrapping around the racks of the oven and creating quite a mess for me to clean up! So, I decided to play this safe, especially since I wanted to take pictures, and used 2 larger pans. The loaves are not as high as I would like, but at least they didn't flow over the sides of the pans, leaving me with a mess. An added bonus was that the loaves took less time to bake! So here's what you will need:

Whole Wheat Carrot-Banana Bread

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar ( the recipe calls for brown sugar, but I used 1/2 white and 1/2 brown)

2 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp.cinnamon

1 cup ripe, mashed bananas

1 cup finely shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to350 degrees. Grease 2 7&1/2 in. loaf pans. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. In another bowl combine flours, soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients and mashed bananas alternately to butter mixture, stirring after each addition. Fold in shredded carrots and nuts. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool in pans for about 15 minutes and then remove bread from pans to finish cooling on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves. In my larger pans, it took about 25 minutes to bake.

This bread is moist and yummy with a little different texture than the other recipe that I use. However, my husband doesn't like it as well as my old standby. He thinks it's a bit dry. It does have a more crumbly texture due to the whole wheat flour, but I do not find it dry. So, 1 bread, 2 opinions. I guess that if I make it again, I'll take it to a ladies brunch, or some other activity! Have you ever baked something and loved it only to have your husband or someone else not like it?

Fresh Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

After our oldest son got married almost 6 years ago, he began asking for certain family recipes that he grew up with. I began to see a need to get all of my family recipes organized, as many of the the dishes I make are not written down on paper, but instead written in my memory, and that isn't a safe place! I have so many of my own tried and true , but also those of my Mother's and mother in law's, and piles of untried recipes that I think I'll get around to "one of these days". This blog is really helping me to organize my written recipes. And those that are still in my mind, well, I'm working on them. This Fresh Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad recipe came from my Grandmother. It has been almost 30 years since she made it for the first time. My family had gone to my grandparent's home for Thanksgiving and my Grandmother had made this salad. We all loved it so much, that for many years we had to have it every holiday! I don't make it as often as I used too, as too many new recipes come along. But I made it this week, so I'll share it with you!

FRESH BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER SALAD
1 large head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 head of cauliflower, cut into pieces
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, chopped ( I use 1/2 of a red onion)
2 celery ribs, sliced ( I didn't use celery)
Combine all the vegetables in a large bowl.
DRESSING
In a small bowl mix together;
8 oz. sour cream ( can use low-fat)
1 cup real mayo
1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix( use the Original mix)
Mix well and fold into the vegetables. Cover and refrigerate at least a couple of hours before serving. It's so good, with the tangy dressing over the fresh, crunchy veggies! However one of these days, I'm going to experiment with the dressing, trying fresh herbs in place of the powdered ranch. But that's for another day.