Trying New Things

I make a pretty mean banana bread (not just my opinion - Gerry really loves it too).  It turns out perfectly every single time, a fact which makes me really less inclined to explore other options for using "frozen" bananas (isn't that what you do with bananas about to go?  Chunk them in the freezer?)  And it's really hard to even consider trying to fix something that ain't broke.

 

Terri's (previously one and only) Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Butter (recipe says you could use margarine instead but I'm thinking that might be what actually causes some to have problems with the recipe)
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 4 Cups Flour
• 6 Large, very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 Cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture.  Add bananas and nuts.  Pour into two well-greased 9x5 loaf pans (TW's Note:  I usually use 5-6 whole pecans to "decorate" the top of each loaf.)  Bake at 275 F. for 90 minutes (Yup - 275 F. - a VERY SLOW oven for 1 1/2 hours.  This means that the top/bottom won't get over-baked or even possibly burnt while leaving you with "raw spots" in the center of your loaf.)

I tried the recipe my mom always made - delicious - but just couldn't get it to turn out 100% of the time.  When I stumbled upon this version, I knew I had a winner!

But in my attempts to use up things I've accumulated in my kitchen (like whole wheat flour - something Jenny, of course, uses all the time but I've never really seem to have a use for) and my ever-increasing Pinterest boards, I found a new best friend: 

Whole Wheat Yogurt Banana Bread with Cinnamon on the blog Crunchy Creamy Sweet by Anna.  This bread is absolutely incredible and I know I'm going to have fun exploring some of her other recipes as well.

~Later, (looking for more new recipes to try), tw