Grandma's Favorite Banana Bread

I started making this lighter banana bread recipe for my grandma about two years ago. She would request another loaf every time I came to visit her, which was almost once a week. She asked for it plain, with chocolate chips, nuts, and even raisins. She passed away this past January, so I thought it fitting to name the recipe after her.

GRANDMA'S FAVORITE BANANA BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

- 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 cup mashed overripe bananas (about 3 large)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup vanilla soy or almond milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup nuts/chocolate chips/raisins (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Combine butter, applesauce, and sugars in your mixer and cream together. The mixture will look curdled, do not worry.

4. Add the bananas, milk mixture and vanilla to the work bowl. Mix until just combined.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet.
6. Fold in any extras you may want in your batter with a rubber spatula.
7. Pour batter into a 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes.

*I was making scones at the same time so I added a little extra vanilla bean glaze on top of the loaf

Lightened Up Italian Meatballs

My mom and I both have a stomach condition and cannot really digest foods that contain a good amount of fat. Not even standard 80/20 burgers. It's awful. I was craving meatballs and sulking because I usually can't have regular meatballs. Hence the need for this recipe. I tested it on my entire family and it was a huge success. My mom did not miss the taste of the fat, and even my super picky six year old sister demanded seconds!

Lightened Up Italian Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

- 3/4 lb lean ground pork
- 3/4 lb lean ground turkey
- 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup italian style bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prep a large sheet tray by placing a layer of aluminum foil on it and spray it with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the meats, onion, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, and cheese. Whisk the eggs and cream together in a small bowl and then add to the rest of the ingredients.
WASH YOUR HANDS.
Use your newly clean hands to mix everything together. DO NOT OVERMIX. Gently start forming balls (slightly larger than a golf ball) with your hands. Do not pack the balls too tight. Place the balls onto the sheet tray, about 2 inches apart.
WASH YOUR HANDS AGAIN.
Place in the middle rack of your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Pull out of the oven and then transfer the meatballs to the sauce of your choice. May I recommend my red sauce.
Slather on top of spaghetti, polenta, or make into a meatball sub. I added them over my basic risotto.

Basic Risotto Recipe

I was always afraid to attempt tackling risotto because I always heard how difficult and time consuming it was to make. So I allowed myself to shell out $30-$40 at a restaurant every time I saw it on the menu to get my fix. Then I was bored one day and decided it was time to face my arborio fear. And what I discovered is not only is risotto super easy if you follow just a few simple steps, but I actually found the 20+ minutes I spent over the stove stirring pretty relaxing. Maybe I'm just weird. But what I do know is that this recipe is simply delicious. Enjoy.

BASIC RISOTTO RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice*
- 1 quart (4 cups) reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Melt the butter in a large, high sided skillet over medium heat. Put a medium saucepan or saucier on the burner right next to the skillet and add all of the chicken broth. Turn on the heat to medium low and let it do its thing. We will come back to it later.
Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper when sautéing the aromatics. Add the rice to the skillet and stir to coat the rice and toast for about a minute.
Pour in the wine and stir until it is just soaked up. Then add one ladle full of chicken broth at a time until it is all soaked up by the rice, about 25 minutes.
The key to knowing when to add more liquid is to spread the rice to one even layer in the skillet and then pull it back with your wooden spoon. If the rice that was pulled stays to the sides, it is time to add more liquid. If the rice immediately rushes back towards the middle, you have some more time until the next addition.
When all the liquid is absorbed, take the skillet off the heat and mix in all of the cheese. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Serve alone as a main dish for vegetarians or with protein as a side dish. You can add other flavors like lemon zest and vegetables like asparagus at the very end to create new variations. Make sure that whatever you add is added at the very end and it already fully cooked though. The risotto varieties are endless once you get this technique down.

(risotto topped with meatballs and red sauce)

*I would not recommend substituting a normal white long grain rice here if you do not have arborio rice in your pantry. Arborio rice is a special Italian short grain rice that is used in risotto because it is very starchy, which results in a creamy product that you will not get from long grain rice.

Healthier Plum Upside Down Cake

So I was home alone and bored. When I'm bored, I experiment with my baking. And I just happened to have a plethora of plums lying around for some reason. So I googled what I could do with plums. Not many recipes came up. Then I thought, just treat it like I would another stone fruit favorite of mine, peaches. Alas, this recipe was born from a peach upside down cake I already knew and cherished. I hope it's to your liking.

PLUM UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Don't these plums just look so perfect? I love when I go into the grocery store and see some amazingly beautiful produce. Is that weird?

INGREDIENTS:

- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 6 tablespoons margarine, divided
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, divided
- 4 red plums (about a pound) pitted and cut into about 12 wedges per plum
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon each nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
- 1/4-1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place 3 tablespoons of your butter or margarine into an 8 inch cake pan and stick it in the oven while its preheating to melt the butter (should take about 3 minutes, but keep an eye on it!)
2. Cut up all of your beautiful fruits

3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar and the orange zest over the melted butter
4. Layer the plum slices overlapping all the way around the edge of the pan, and then again in the middle. Try to make it as pretty as possible because this will end up being the top of your cake (it doesn't have to be perfect, I'm horrible with this kind of presentation stuff)

5. In a large bowl, combine the remaining butter and brown sugar, applesauce, and egg. Add the yogurt and vanilla until completely integrated.
6. Combine all the dry ingredients and the nuts together in a small bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and spoon into the cake pan. The batter should be thick.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes on the counter before de-panning.
8. Run a paring knife around the edge of the pan to make sure nothing is stuck, then place a plate on top of the pan and flip carefully onto the plate.
9. Serve immediately or at room temperature. By itself, with whipped cream, or with ice cream. It is good any and every way

My Favorite (and SUPER easy) Red Sauce

So this week I am volunteering for the costume crew for a musical called Grand Hotel. It is incredibly exhausting. And the show, in my opinion, is not enjoyable at all. Which means this week will be all around awful. I didn't want to not have any good food to eat during the week because I am so busy. So I made my favorite, quick red sauce to keep in my fridge for dinner for the week.

This red sauce is good with just about everything: add meatballs and simmer for a great spaghetti dish, use as a dipping sauce for polenta sticks, pour on top of chicken for chicken parm, or just buy some ravioli from Trader Joe's and toss it all together and shove it into one's face hole like I did. It will always be delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

My Favorite (and SUPER easy) Red Sauce

- 2-3 garlic cloves (size depending), sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- basil, torn

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Put a large skillet with an accompanying lid on the stove and medium heat
2. Pour in olive oil and wait for it to glisten, about 3-5 minutes
3. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant and golden, about 1 minute
4. Take off the heat and add tomatoes, wine, water, salt and sugar
5. Stir together and place back on the stove
6. Turn heat to high and bring just to a boil
7. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes
8. Add fresh torn basil
9. Pour into vessel of you choice and enjoy