Monday, March 24, 2008

Menu Monday



I am late getting my menu up this week because... the stomach bug has hit our house! It's only claimed one of us, though, (my sweet daughter) and she's bravely battling it. I think she's on the other side of it, though, and is feeling much better. I've been thankful for my husband's wonderful invention of freezing gatorade in plastic baggies... those ice chips were a lifesaver last night! I'm usually not a germ freak, but when something like this hits our house I'm a madwoman with the Clorox wipes, disinfectant spray, and hand sanitizer. I knew I was losing it awhile ago when I was cleaning the Lysol can with a Clorox wipe... BUT, we're leaving town Wednesday for a wonderful spring break trip, so I don't want anyone else to catch it!

Besides walking around with my antibacterial products in a holster and firing at will, I'm also working on getting us out of town, so this will be a short week in the kitchen for me!

For now, here's our menu:

Monday:
Hay and Straw (one of my favorite things to do with leftover Easter ham)

Tuesday:
Tomato Basil Soup- my friend Mary's recipe, which is available on her website along with her other fabulous recipes here


Wednesday - Sunday:
We are going for a wonderful week of camping (RV style, that is) at a beautiful state park in Oklahoma where there are cabins, too. We usually stay in a cabin each spring, but this year my husband's generous brother has offered us his ginormous travel trailer. Fun! About 10-12 families from our family bible fellowship will be there, and we all split up the cooking (for dinner) and all eat together at someone's cabin around the campfire. It's a wonderful time of fellowship! We'll have our usual- hot dogs, smores, sandwiches and snacky foods, plus my cute husband will be grilling us steaks . I also always, always take a big batch of sausage balls and my grandmother's banana bread for breakfasts.

One of my first-ever blog posts a couple of years ago was about this trip, and the banana bread. My grandmother's tube pan had an interesting journey to another state and found its way back to us, which I wrote about here. I've never posted the recipe for this amazing banana bread, but I've shared it with lots of folks and everyone loves it. In honor of the 6th anniversary of my sweet Nana's homegoing and since I'm baking some tomorrow, I'd love to share it with you!

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Nana's Banana Nut Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour
3 mashed ripe bananas
1 cup chopped nuts (I usually use walnuts, but frequently leave them out or just sprinkle them on top right before I put it in the oven, in case someone is allergic or doesn't prefer nuts)

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs one at a time. Mix well. Add vanilla. In a separate measuring cup, combine baking soda and buttermilk. Add flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Add bananas and nuts. Bake in a well-greased and floured tube pan or large bundt pan at 300 degrees for 1 hour 55 min. or two 8" loaf pans for 1 hour 15 min.
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For more menus and recipes, visit Laura. Have a wonderful week, and thanks so much for stopping by!

3 comments:

Deidre said...

Yum! That recipe sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing. I have to try it. Have a great time on your trip. It sounds fun.

Chris @ Come to the Table said...

Oh, I am so envious of your trip with other families. It sounds so fun!

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I love banana bread and may have to try this one.

Chris @ Come to the Table said...

p.s. I pray your daughter is feeling better. My oldest had the same bug on Good Friday. No fun!