B is for…

Matheus is learning about the letter B at preschool this week, and since today was his turn at “show and tell” we decided to bake some Banana Bread for him to share with his friends, along with the item he picked to show everybody: his beloved Mr. Bear!
He was so happy this morning and entered the class very proud and running to tell his teachers about the treat he had brought!
Last week was letter A and we baked apple muffins, he liked the idea so much that for now on you can all expect to see some baked goods around here every Thursday (Planning on carrot cupcakes for next week, ideas, ideas, ideas…!).
Lunch was so nice today, especially because I did not have to cook! Hubby asked if we wanted to go out for lunch with him today and we more than quickly accepted the offer. It is always nice to go out, and Matheus loves to go pick up daddy at work so we can all eat together!
We went to a Greek deli (as I was craving some Greek food – hummus, tzatziki, baba ghanoush, yum!), nothing fancy but the food was very good!
And speaking of the husband, on Mondays he usually goes to a pizza place with his friends during lunch break, and when he comes home late afternoon he always mentions having at least a slice of one of his favorite pizza. Well, today I decided to recreate the much-loved Italian pie and, based on what he once told me the ingredients were, I made White Pizza for dinner!
The catch on this one is that there is no red sauce, and here is how I made it: I mixed some ricotta and grated Parmesan cheeses and spread that on the crust, sprinkled some salt, pepper and garlic powder, covered the whole thing with grated mozzarella cheese and, to top it all, added a few diced tomatoes and chopped fresh basil. It actually came out nice and the Husband said it was pretty close to the one he likes at the pizza place (and obviously I was proud of myself!). Only the crust, which was store bought, was not of our liking and is not going to be a repeater for us. However, the pizza is definitely going to show up again (with homemade pizza crust, I might add), as I like ricotta a lot and this combination was very tasty!

Ana

White Pizza










This Banana Bread is of my favorites Cooking Light recipes, super easy and very tasty; I have made it numerous times as loaf as well as muffins (just reduce the baking time), and bet you all are going to like this one!

Mr. Bear coul not resist and had a muffin for breakfast today!

Mom's Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light butter, softened
1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream (or plain yogurt)
2 large egg whites (or 1 whole egg)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites; beat well, and set aside. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until blended. Spoon batter into a 9x5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350º for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf.
Cooking Light, November 1996.

My notes: I always make it using one whole egg (I don’t see the point why waste 2 yolks, and do not believe one egg is going to add much fat to a whole loaf). Today I made it into mini-muffins, it yielded 36, and they were ready in 18 minutes.