Recent Kitchen Happenings.....

What can I say?

I enjoy being in the kitchen, getting creative!

It's a part of "homemaking" that brings me joy, especially when they turn out delicious!!

And I don't mind sharing!!

This past week, I baked up a wonderfully moist Chocolate Banana Bread/Cake.

I had leftover bananas that were starting to turn that fun color of brown-heading-towards-black, so I knew I needed to either bake something with them or prep them for the freezer. 

Only thing is... I already had bananas in the freezer!

Seems I don't eat up my little "bunches" of bananas quick enough sometimes!!

So, using my go-to recipe for Banana Bread/Cake, 

(sometimes, I make bread, sometimes I make cake!)

I decided to step it up a notch and add cocoa to make it

CHOCOLATE!

I mean, who doesn't like chocolate?

Well, in my household, it's just me, and I do love me some good chocolate!

Turned out great!!! 

I also added walnuts and chocolate chips to the batter...

And I was even able to share with others and freeze some of the leftover cake as well!

And here's the recipe!

• BEST BANANA BREAD - EVER
•  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
•  
• Grease or spray a 9 inch loaf pan, set aside (I sometimes use an 8x8 square pan or a rectangular baking one - a 7 x 11).
•  
• In a large bowl whisk together:
• 1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
•  
•  Add:
• 2 eggs, one at a time
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
•  
• Whisk until smooth.
•  
• Sprinkle  over the butter mixture and stir to mix until just combined:
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
•  
•  Fold in:
• 1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
•  
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
•  
• Cool until warm before serving.
•  
• You can also add in 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, if you want. I also like to put in a handful or two of chopped nuts sometimes, like walnuts or pecans, depending on what I have on hand. 
•  
• Also… to make this a chocolate banana bread/cake, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cocoa to the dry ingredients that are listed.
•  
• If you do use a loaf pan, it will take about 60 minutes to bake; the 8x8 pan takes about 20-25 minutes, but could also take up to 45 minutes. Use the toothpick test!!. The 7x11 inch pan I use takes about 45 minutes to bake.
•  
• This is my "go to" recipe for banana bread. Comes out moist and is just so easy to make!!

This past weekend had it's share of stuff to do in the kitchen, 

but the first task took place on Friday,

 when I went in search of

♥RHUBARB♥

Friends of mine (one of them since elementary school) had contacted me to let me know that they had some ♥rhubarb♥ growing at the husband's family home here in the area.

(They live in NC, but have family ties here.)

Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to get some more ♥rhubarb♥ for my freezer!!

Now, to be honest...

I have NEVER ever harvested ♥rhubarb♥ myself from start to finish.

I've either found it in grocery stores

or 

had my mom give me some from her freezer.

So....

I researched it online and watched a couple of YouTube videos to gain 

the "how to" of it all!!

Very helpful!!

End result:

2 more quarts (8 cups) 

of

♥RHUBARB♥

for the freezer

Saturday, I was up early

 to take care of some 

fruits and veggies 

I had purchased at the grocery store on Friday.

2 pints (4 cups) blueberries 

for the freezer

Slices of watermelon cut up for snacking

along with some cantaloupe

While I was rummaging around in the fridge, 

I noticed that my jar of 

Mt Olive Simply Vidalia Pickled Onion Strips

was almost done for -

and I had an idea!

Use the pickling brine and another Vidalia onion

and make my own

pickled onions!

So that's what I did!

They've been "pickling" for about two days now 

and are beginning to taste

like the original.

Now.... to think about what I want to use them for!

(I will be doing this again - especially when I have Vidalia onions on hand!)

As I was doing all this, I had also pulled pork chops from the freezer for supper.

Into the slow cooker they went, along with a can of Bavarian sauerkraut.

I let them cook long and slow.

I had also prepped some veggies to make oven roasted veggies:

Baby Red Potatoes

Carrots

Sweet Potatoes

Vidalia Onion

When the time was right, I used a seasoning mix I had on hand:

McCormick's Toasted Onion and Garlic Potato Seasoning Mix

and followed the directions on the back of the packet.

These turned out great!

AND

I had leftovers!

Lunch and/or dinner on Saturday:

Pork chops w/Sauerkraut

Oven Roasted Mixed Veggies

Strawberry Rhubarb Applesauce

It was delicious!!

Sunday's meals were pretty much based around leftovers... sort of!

Brunch was some of the leftover oven roasted vegetables with bacon added in-

cooked up in my cast iron skillet.

Good the 2nd time around!

Supper was Chunky Chili

The "chunky" part of this came from some stir fry beef I had thawed out from the freezer

(to make room for the fruit I wanted to freeze).

I cut that up into smaller pieced,

added some leftover ground beef 

(that I'd already cooked up earlier in the week),

added a can of kidney beans,

a can of diced tomatoes that had sweet onions in it,

and a packet of mild chili seasoning.

When it was done,

I topped it with some shredded cheddar cheese

and 

some pickled onion strips (from a new jar).

Those onion strips really added to it!

Looking forward to leftovers!

Feeling very blessed

for the bounty 

of what I have

and for 

family and friends.

May you be

Blessed Beyond Measure

and 

thanks for stopping by!

Love and prayers,

Sue