Banana Bread

Money Saving Mom has baking days a couple times a month, and she makes this every time. I didn't substitute any of the oil with apple sauce, but I'm going to try it next time for a little healthier version.

Banana Bread
Money Saving Mom

Ingredients
2 cups flour (all-purpose, whole-wheat, or a mixture of both)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons milk

Directions
Stir together dry ingredients. Beat together remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

**I made the banana bread again this week with half wheat/half white flour and half oil/half applesauce, and it is still good. It is heavier/denser, but still yummy for breakfast.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into with these. They remind me of the quesadillas at Freebirds. (This is how they make them, except they fold the tortilla in half rather than into a burrito.) mmm. These turned out a lot better than I thought they were going to. Brett asked me if they reheat well if we could triple the recipe and make it a staple. Apparently, he thought they were pretty good. :o)

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
Tasty Kitchen member Melanie

Ingredients
1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
½ Tablespoon (1 ½ tsp) chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoons garlic salt
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 whole green onion, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
½ cup diced red or green bell pepper
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 whole lime, juiced
6 whole burrito-sized flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (combination Of monterey jack And sharp cheddar)
½ cup sour cream (optional)

Directions
Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for tortillas, cheese, and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Drop a little bit of sour cream in a line down the center of each tortilla, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle some more cheese on top of the chicken and rice mixture (to ensure the tortilla gets cooked shut).

Fold the two sides of the stuffed tortillas over, leaving edges open. Spray the top (folded) side with cooking spray (I sprayed them with olive oil with my handy dandy sprayer from Bed Bath and Beyond). Heat a large nonstick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp (2 to 3 minutes). While that side is cooking spray the opposite side. Flip the burrito over and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

New Orleans Style Shrimp Creole

I have been in a cajun mood recently, but all of the authentic recipes that I was finding had clam sauce or shrimp shell stock... not too appealing. I ran into this recipe on Tasty Kitchen this weekend. Granted, I don't know what authentic shrimp creole tastes like, but this is really good and really easy.

New Orleans Style Shrimp Creole
Adapted by Tasty Kitchen member Frank

Ingredients
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped (I used five)
8 oz can tomato sauce
14 oz can chicken broth
1 tsp lemon juice
2 whole bay leaves
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/4 tsp - warning - spicy!)
salt, to taste
2 cups boiled rice (I used two success boil-in-bags)

Directions
In a black cast iron pot, melt butter. (I don't have a black cast iron pot, so I used a 12" frying pan with lid.) Add the oil. Over medium heat, saute the onion, celery, green bell pepper, and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the flour and blend well. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaves, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Bring to a low boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add shrimp, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes longer. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve over cooked rice.