Trying Some New Recipes

I had some bananas that needed to be used, but wasn't in the mood for plain old banana bread. So I went through my recipes, changed one a little, and came up with a really tasty treat. It has a bit too many carbs and too much butter to make it something I can eat a lot of, so DH is helping - a lot.

Banana Cinnamon Bread
makes 2 loaves

1 c butter
1/2 c Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)
1/4 c honey
4 large eggs
3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c 9-grain cereal
1/2 c oat or wheat bran
1/4 c ground flaxseed
1 c cinnamon chips


Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add the bananas, honey, and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour, cereal, bran and flaxseed, then the chips, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into two lightly greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, smoothing the top. Let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Bake the bread for 50 minutes, then gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top, to prevent over-browning. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the oven; a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean. Allow the loaf to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan, and cooling it completely on a rack.


I've made the same kind of meat loaf for about 20 years, and after Cooking Light did a feature on various meat loaves, I thought I'd try some of them. This one is definitely a keeper! (DH says he'll reserve judgement until he eats it cold in a sandwich tomorrow, though he did gobble up two large servings tonight).

Iberian Meat Loaf
adapted from Cooking Light

3/4 lb. lean ground beef
3/4 lb. groun turkey
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce, divided
1 c chopped onion
1/2 c dry bread crumbs
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1/3 c sliced pitted green olives cooking spray
1 1/2 t paprika
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t ground coriander
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 large egg whites or 1 large egg
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat oven to 350˚. Combine meat, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, and remaining ingredients (except cooking spray) in a large bowl. Shape mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining 1/2 cup tomato sauce evenly over top of meat loaf. Bake for 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes.

I served this with Curried Orange Rice so that the sweetness of the raisins offset the savory flavors of the meat loaf.


food & drink