Picklefritz

What the heck is Picklefritz?

Well, after dating Todd for a while now and visiting Wisconsin a few times I am convinced Wisconsinites have a diet of mostly cheese, beer, and pickled foods.

Todd's not too picky and enjoys just about everything, and in true Wisconsin form he does love a pickled something or other, to the point that his grandparents used to call him Picklefritz.  

He really wants "us," a.k.a., me, to try canning, which I'm not opposed to and have always wanted to learn anyway.  His mom even gave me all her old canning stuff so I have no excuse but to get my can on.

So, over the weekend, I decided to try my hand at it.

I chose a quick pickling recipe I've had hidden away in my recipe books for a while now.  It's called quick pickling because it doesn't require the boiling of the jars and all that jazz.  You just throw it all together in a jar and let it sit in the fridge for a week and...like magic!...pickled...whatever you chose.

In this particular instance the recipe called for green beans, which we had in Old Fashioneds at his grandma's house last year.

It is super simple, too!  

The beans as they're getting snapped and thrown in the jars...

Beans swimming in spicy pickling juice.  This recipe calls for LOTS of garlic and some dried hot red chilis...

And Todd can't keep his hands out of them!  To really "pickle" they're supposed to sit for a week, but he keeps sneaking beans.  I have no confidence they will make it to the end of the week.  But I can see why.  This recipe is truly fantastic!  And, as I mentioned, amazingly simple!  

I highly recommend it!  You won't be disappointed.

Kitchen Cravings

I have been having cravings for ethnic foods lately, something I love eating a ton of, but isn't readily available in ol' Wyo.

I will say, however, Casper does seem to have a pretty good taste for something different.  There are several Asian restaurants here and lots of sushi - what I've really been wanting - and I've heard an Indian restaurant is supposed to be opening soon.  Naan bread and lamb Vindaloo...here I come!

I've realized though, if I want something different I'll probably have to make it.  I've got several recipes for Indian, Moroccan, Thai and other fun dishes, but haven't given many of them a try - mostly because I used to be able to just walk down the block and find a restaurant that suited any taste... at any time.

A couple nights ago, however, I made Pad Thai, a traditional Thai noodle dish with a little spice and lots of flavor.

Pad Thai is something I never really ordered at a restaurant because I think it's pretty bad for you there.  I have tried it though, so I know what it should taste like and the following recipe hit the nail on the head.  I was SO excited.  And I didn't feel bad eating it because I knew what all went in it.

And it didn't really call for any crazy ingredients I couldn't find - except dried, minced shrimp, which I just had to do without.  It didn't affect the taste any.

I think I found this recipe in Shape or Cooking Light or some other healthy magazine.  Enjoy!

Shrimp pad Thai
12 oz. rice vermicelli noodles (I used the very thin, almost Angel hair looking noodles.  It didn't come out bad,  but I had to double the sauce to cover everything and it still seemed a little short.  I think the next time I will use a wider rice noodle and will still likely double the sauce.)
1/3 cup peanut or vegetable oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic

Start doubling here:
8 oz. shrimp, peeled, deveined and not frozen
5 green onions cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups of bean sprouts, divided
1/3 cup Thai fish sauce (this stuff smells when you start cooking it, but you don't taste it later.)
2 tbsp. EACH ketchup and sugar
1 tsp. red chile flakes
2 large eggs slightly beaten

Cilantro leaves
(optional) roasted, unsalted peanuts
lime wedges

Soak the noodles in a large bowl of very hot water until soft, about 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Pour in oil.  Add garlic, shrimp, and green onions and cook about 2 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in 1 cup of bean sprouts, the fish sauce, ketchup, sugar, and chile flakes.

Push shrimp mixture to side of pan and carefully pour eggs onto the other side.  Let cook undisturbed for about 1 minute or until mostly solid, then quickly scramble with the other ingredients in the pan.

Drain noodles and add to shrimp mixture stirring thoroughly.

Transfer to plates.  Top with remaining sprouts, snipped cilantro and peanuts if desired.

Voila!

Just like the restaurants!

Tune(a) in

There are a handful of things I've been craving lately: pork chops, stuffed peppers, and tuna casserole.

There is no rhyme or reason for my cravings.  They're just there.  And I've put off appeasing them until I can barely take it.  So, tonight I caved to the call of the casserole.

I didn't want to make a dish that called for cream of mushroom soup, so I took to the Internet to see what I could find.  What I discovered is there are a lot of tuna casserole recipes out there!  And I didn't like just one.  So, I took an ingredient from one, an idea for thickening from another, and so forth, until I concocted what I thought might make a good combo.

Then I asked Linds H. for her recipe.  She's a good cook and I wanted to compare notes.  Her's was completely different still!

I decided to give mine a shot.

I know what's coming next is not modest at all:  It was freaking awesome!  AWESOME!  Todd and I were both very happy with it.  And I was very proud.

Kim's Kicka$$ Concocted Tuna Casserole
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c. milk (we use skim around here, which I figure makes up for the use of cream)
1/2 - 1 c. frozen peas
1 13.25 oz. can of mushroom stems and pieces + the juice
3 5-oz. cans tuna packed in water, undrained
16 oz. pasta of choice
pepper to taste
about 5 twists of a salt grinder
5 oz. pkg. of shredded parm
Plain bread crumbs

Throw your pasta in some water and get it going.

While the pasta is cooking, brown onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil over medium-high.  Turn heat to just a little hotter than low, and sprinkle flour over onions.  Whisk in cream and milk, season with pepper, and bring to a simmer, stirring periodically to keep smooth.

Keep checking the pasta - you want it cooked to only slightly more than al dente.  

Add the peas, mushrooms, tuna, and salt to the cream mixture.  Simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up tuna.

Drain pasta and dump into large mixing bowl.  Pour sauce over the noodles and mix.  Add package of parm.  Mix thoroughly.

Pour casserole into a medium-sized baking dish and sprinkle with plain bread crumbs.

Pop in the oven and bake until bread crumbs are crisp and casserole is bubbling through.

Recipe resoultion

One of my new year's resolutions was to finally find a...resolution...to my recipe mess.

This is a mess that's been going on for, let's just say, some time now.  They used to be organized, but after I started accumulating more and more recipes I decided the system could be better, and that's, ironically, when it all went downhill.

For the last several years my ever-growing collection has been stored in a one gallon Ziplock bag.  It is a HUGE pain in the butt to go through any time I want to cook something.  I've tried to find recipe books to organize it all, but it's like they don't exist anymore, and the ones I have seen I didn't like, so I've been left...holding the bag.

No longer!

My mom found me a recipe book for Christmas that works nearly perfectly.  I had to put in several more of my own categories, and had to buy many more inserts for the recipes (and I still don't have enough), but it's a start.  And a good one.

Here is the before.  There were five more piles on the buffet...

And here is the after!  The project isn't completely done.  They don't all fit in the book, so there will need to be another, but at least it's not a Ziplock...

Now, a sampling of some of those recipes: 


Todd has had a terrible cold for the past week, so I made some homemade chicken noodle soup last night.  I love this recipe...

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 parsnip, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices (I didn't have one of these last night and it still came out great.)
2-3 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2-3 stalks celery ribs and leaves, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 1/2 - 8 cups chicken broth (use 8 cups if you throw noodles in)
egg noodles
Chicken (You can brown 3 boneless, skinless breasts then bake them to use in the soup, or just get a rotisserie chicken and chop up the meat from that.  This is a really good option.)

Heat oil in a large pot.  Add the parsnip and next 6 ingredients and saute about 5 minutes.  Add broth and chicken and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer with the lid on until veggies are tender.

Cold be gone!

The next recipe is a brand new one for me, and oh man, is it good!

 Italian Burgers (Cooking Light)

1 red bell pepper cut into strips
1 green bell pepper cut into strips
1 onion, cut in half then cut into slices
1 1/2 cups store-brand marinara
16 oz. hot Italian sausage
16 oz. lean turkey burger
whole wheat hamburger buns
Sliced provolone cheese

Prepare a grill or broiler.

Heat on medium-high a little bit of olive oil in a non-stick skillet.  Add the peppers and onions, saute 10 minutes.  When tender, add the marinara and cook until heated.

While the veggies are sauteing, mix the burger and sausage (removed from the casings) together thoroughly in a bowl.  Divide into 6-8 patties and place on grill or broiler until done. 

Assemble patty on the bun with one slice of provolone and top with pepper mixture.

YUMMILICIOUS!

Marshmallow maddness

I have done a lot of baking over the past few weeks, but the crowning glory is something I've never tried before: marshmallows.

I have never in my life considered making marshmallows. In fact, I have never in my life considered how marshmallows are made. I have just always assumed they were delivered to stores by the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

But a recent edition of Cooking Light magazine that had a marshmallow recipe in it got me to thinkin'. It looked surprisingly easy - not as easy as a giant marshmallow delivery boy, but a notch below. I'm totally gonna do this, I thought.

Then, much to my amazement, my coworker's fiance Marge brought homemade marshmallows to our winter garage sale. She and her mom make them every year!

I felt like I was about to belong to an elite society.

On Sunday I whipped up my batch of marshmallows. The cream was perfect! It tasted like the marshmallows we all know and love - only better! It was like I opened a giant jar of marshmallow cream. I considered making a fluffer-nutter.

I finally got the pan of cream out of the fridge last night to finish them up.

It's amazing! They are perfect!! I feel a little like a mad scientist.

The pan of marshmallow cream. I don't see why you couldn't stop here and just jar it and make fluffer-nutters every day for lunch...


After the pan of cream has chilled for at least 8 hours you flip it out onto a counter covered with a powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture. This keeps the marshmallows from sticking to each other. Then you start cutting them up!


More cutting. It's important to keep your knife covered in the powder mixture so it doesn't stick to the cream. Also, I didn't dump the entire bowl of powder onto the counter because it initially looked like a lot more than I would need. Then I had an idea: I should toss the marshmallows in a ziplock bag with the left over powder and give them a shake. Do this step. It made covering all the sides of the marshmallows really easy...


Move over Marshmallow Man! Check these babies out!


The recipe is actually called Toasted Coconut Marshmallows, but I did nothing with the coconut part, so I've removed anything relating to that from the recipe. It's from Cooking Light.

• Cooking spray
• 2 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (2 tablespoons plus 1 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3/4 cup cold water, divided
• 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 2/3 cup light-colored corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Line a 13 x 9-inch cake pan with wax paper, allowing the wax paper to extend over sides of pan. Lightly coat the wax paper with cooking spray.

Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl; set aside. (NOTE: The gelatin will start reacting and by the time you're ready for it it's like a giant Jell-O Jiggler.)

Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/4 cup of water, 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring periodically, over medium-high heat until a candy thermometer registers 260° or for about 15 minutes. (NOTE: I do not have a candy thermometer which is partially why I'm so amazed these came out! I just let it boil for a little bit then took a good guess.)

While sugar mixture cooks, beat the vanilla, salt, and egg whites at high speed in a heavy-duty stand mixer with whisk attachment until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form.

Remove sugar mixture from heat; gradually stir in softened gelatin. Mixture will appear foamy. (NOTE: This is where it starts looking like a science experiment!)

Gradually pour the gelatin/sugar mixture into the beaten vanilla/egg white mixture, beating until very thick (about 5 minutes). Gently spread marshmallow mixture in prepared pan. Coat 1 side of another sheet of wax paper with cooking spray. Place wax paper, coated side down, over marshmallow mixture. Chill 8 hours or until firm.

Combine powdered sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl with a whisk. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the powder over a cutting board or counter. Remove top sheet of wax paper. Invert marshmallow mixture over powdered sugar mixture. Flip marshmallow mixture to cover both sides with powder. Using a sharp knife, cut mixture into about 1-inch squares.

Place the rest of the powder mixture and all cut marshmallows into a large ziplock bag. Shake gently to cover all sides of marshmallows.

Pop in a mug of hot chocolate or coffee! (Yes, coffee. It's delish!)

Perfect fall day

We had today what I thought we'd skipped right over: A fall day. And it was perfect!

It was so nice out, I spent essentially all day outside - starting with the raking of all our leaves in the back yard. I love the fact I have a yard. I know it means yard work, but that's one of the reasons I love it! I've always wanted a place to hang out, grill, have flowers, veggies - a dog. And now I do!


Last night and today we had three dogs. We dogsat a couple labs of some friends of ours. I'm hoping to get Rigby socialized with these dogs because we're going to leave him at their house when we go to Nashville in November. I think it's working. They were playing and lounging in the sun, having a good ol' dog time.

Here they are in the back of my car for the ride back home. Rigby's on the left...


I also took Rigby on a walk, got a second fridge picked up for the workshop, and went over to a friends house for a deer tenderloin dinner. How fall-ish is that?

I finally got my pumpkins carved today too! We went to a different patch this year in Ft. Collins: The Bartels Farm. They had tons, TONS of pumpkins. Literally, the fields stretched to the horizon!


Here's a new recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds that I tried last night. It is freaking good. This recipe has the perfect blend of sweet and salty. Don't let your Halloween go by without making these!

From Real Simple magazine:

Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seeds
Place 2 cups pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet with sides in a 300 degree oven until somewhat dried out.

Remove seeds from oven, place in a bowl. Increase oven temp. to 350.

Stir together 2 tbsp. granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Pour 2 tbsp. melted butter over seeds. Sprinkle sugar mixture over seeds and toss to coat.

Place back on the cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cook until crisp!

Tantalizing tomato

I love roasting veggies. But of all the veggies I've roasted I have never tried tomatoes.

Until tonight.

They came out quite delicious! I ate them by themselves, but could totally imagine them in salads or pasta, or with fresh mozzarella, or on French bread smeared with roasted garlic. (And no, Linds C., I haven't become a huge pasta eater!)

To make them:

Cut the stem end off of however many Roma tomatoes you want to make. Slice them in half lengthwise. Clean out the seeds and membranes and place them insides up on a baking sheet lightly spritzed with oil.

Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes, shake a few twists of a salt grinder over them, and sprinkle with fresh thyme to your liking.

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

First Supper

Tonight is the first night Todd and I had a meal AT the table.

As a moved-in-together couple we've already done the first dinner and first bottle of wine thing, but tonight was the first night we could actually sit and eat and SEE the table.

The main dish - fish - I overcooked terribly, but the rest was freaking amazing.

I concocted a rosemary sauce for the fish that was finger-licking good (How boastful! But it's true...); made a side of pasta tossed in olive oil, a little salt, pepper and parmesan; and fried zucchini that brought a tear to our eyes - if I say so myself!

What did I love best about this meal? Well, first, that Todd loved it - minus the grotesquely overcooked fish. Secondly, that we had it at the table like normal human beings. Third, the new brand of wine I'm drinking obnoxious quantities of (ever tried Sebeka Shiraz from South Africa? Do. But give it a chance to breathe a little. You won't regret this.)

Most of all...I'm loving that we're sitting at the table together - him polishing all his leather work-gear, a.k.a. holsters, belts, etc. and I'm sitting here drinking delicious Sebeka. But we're doing it together.

I love dinner around the table at my new - temporary - house.

Fried Zucchini:
1 fresh zucchini sliced into 1/2 inch slices

Dip slices into 2 lightly beaten eggs. Dredge dipped slices through mixture of seasoned (not Italian seasoned) bread crumbs mixed with grated Parmesan cheese. Use a bit more cheese than bread crumbs.

Place breaded slices in a large pan with olive oil heated high enough to fry. Cook to even brownness on both sides.

Serve. Then cry for the sheer deliciousness of it all.

Rosemary dip for fish: (The amounts here a bit rough. I was concocting! Taste it before serving and fix what you need.)
3 BIG sprigs of Rosemary
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 heaping tbsp. chopped garlic
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
couple shakes ground black pepper
2 green onions
2 cap-fulls of lime juice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until well mixed.

Dip (overcooked) fish in sauce.

Love it.

Burger queen

I am a grill master. A burger queen, if you will.

My new grill had its inaugural outing tonight.

After nearly having a stroke putting it together yesterday (projects are not my thing and the tight places my hands had to go made me wish for child labor. I swore like a sailor over some of those parts!) tonight's end result was well worth it.

The little monster in all its glory...


Cookin' up some flame broiled goodness...

Deliciousness...!

I'm pretty much a grilling goddess.

Active Endeavors

I have been on the move all day today running and biking. The weather is super nice and rumor has it we're supposed to maybe get more snow this week, so I've been taking advantage of the Spring-like weather.

After a considerable run this morning followed by a lengthy bike ride I was ready for some lunch. And I wanted something a little heartier than a salad.

So, I cooked up some pasta. Those who know me are probably pretty surprised by that. I basically never have pasta. I pretty much went cold turkey with it several years ago and haven't gotten back into it. It just seems like I'm throwing calories away on something for nothing, which I don't enjoy.

I know, I know...those who also know me will likely argue back: But what about beer and wine? Well, I enjoy those. And let's be realistic: I'm not giving them up so I need to cut somewhere!

Every once in a blue moon, however, I'll buy some whole wheat pasta to use in "healthier" dishes. I did that today. I figured after a 6.7-mile run, and a who-knows-how-many-mile bike ride...rotini could probably fit into my diet.

Here's what I concocted on the fly at my stove. I was very happy with it!

Active Endeavors Pasta
3/4 c. (serving size on box) whole wheat rotini pasta
1 c. frozen salad shrimp
1 small handful chopped walnuts
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 heaping tsp. chopped garlic
1 1/2 tbsp. grated parmesan

Boil pasta and shrimp. Drain and pour in serving bowl. Toss with remaining ingredients while warm. Serve immediately. Serving size = 1.

That's all folks. Badda-bing, badda-bang.

Enjoy!

Spring?

I feel like my "Spring" posts are similar to Coldplay's songs "Lost!" and "Lost?" on the Viva La Vida album.

I was so sure in "Spring!" that it was. But tonight I'm really questioning it.

We have gone from absolutely amazing 70 degree weather today to a predicted blizzard for tonight and tomorrow. How? Why? I mean, I saw people actually wearing bikinis at the park today when I was on my bike ride!

I refused to believe it until I saw it, but I'm becoming a believer.

I went on a walk around 6:30 p.m. to enjoy the last little bit of the day and it was already a lot cooler. And there were ominous clouds brewing in the west. Now, the wind is howling outside my front door. Sadly, I think the blizzard rumor might be true.

So, here I sit sipping a mug of hot vanilla-milk with my heat up again.

It's so sad that such a great day is going to come to such a yucky end.

Part of my afternoon, after enjoying the nice day, was spent in the kitchen. I made some meatloaf, which is one of my favorite foods, and tried a new recipe for chicken soup that came out fantastic! Chicken soup is a kind of wintery food, I know...I wonder if somehow, deep down I knew it was only Spring(?).

You must try this soup!

Old Time Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 parsnip, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 celery ribs and leaves sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 mined garlic clove
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
3 skinned chicken breasts
1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Heat oil in a very large pot. Add parsnip and next 6 ingredients and saute about 5 minutes, or until the veggies start to soften. In the meantime, lightly sear the chicken breasts on both sides in 2 tsp. of olive oil.

Add broth and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes.

Remove chicken breasts and "shred" into bite-size pieces.

Return chicken to pot with lemon juice and heat through.

Enjoy!

Pioneer hygiene

I ran out of toothpaste this morning.

I was in Laramie, getting ready for Linds H.'s baby shower and I used the very last drop of my Crest Whitening with Scope - which I am a devoted consumer of beyond any other brand out there.

"Don't forget to get more when you get into Cheyenne," I told myself.

I forgot.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until about 30 minutes ago when I was on the phone with my mom. This was at about 8:15 p.m. with me already in my PJs and no desire to go back out. (I agree, PJs at 8:15 p.m. is pretty lame, but I am really tired after not sleeping well last night!)

Anyway.

Without skipping a beat, my mom asked if I had any baking soda.

I do, and as unappealing as it sounded to concoct my own toothpaste out of baking soda, I wondered to myself how I had never thought to do this before.

I mean, I don't frequently run out of toothpaste or anything, but on the occasions I have I usually just brush my teeth with mouthwash and go immediately to the store the next morning. Using baking soda had never crossed my mind.

I decided to use mouthwash to mix it up instead of plain ol' water - maybe it would be more like real toothpaste and less...gross.

It was a good idea. There is a reason I am not an Arm & Hammer or Tom's natural toothpaste kind of gal.

It sucks.

But I made do, like I imagine pioneer women of the past did, and brushed it up.

Tomorrow it's back to Crest Whitening with Scope. All the way.

Firsthand knowledge

I made the ribeye steaks tonight from wyomingpure.com that I took on the local news Thursday morning.

I lightly salt and peppered them and spritzed them with a little extra virgin olive oil and popped them in a 325 degree oven until they cooked to about medium-rare to medium doneness.

So now, instead of pitching a product I haven't tried, I can say with 100 percent certainty that they were delicious.

Maybe it's because they're "dry-aged for 21 days for maximum flavor and tenderness" (what I said on t.v.), or maybe it's that "all their beef comes from organically grown cattle with no antibiotics or hormones" (another line from t.v.), or maybe it was simply just an awesome cut of meat and I haven't had a steak in a long time.

Whatever the reason, I would totally eat it again. And would recommend it to others too...

Ok. I'm dropping my t.v. personality...

But...maybe I could interest you in the "$25 griller special" for the nice weather coming up...?

On a (Dinner) Roll

I am on a roll with entertaining these past couple weeks.

I hosted my first dinner party a few weeks ago with Lori and Shaq, and tonight I had my second.

Linds and Jonna drove over from Laramie to hang out and eat some grub. Jonna hadn't seen my apartment since I moved in - and Linds hadn't seen it since the addition of my living room rug - so it was fun to show them how the place has changed.

We had a roast chicken, sweet potatoes "fries," and a new recipe: asparagus with balsamic brown butter sauce that was an absolute disaster.

The directions call for adding a balsamic mixture to a pan of browned butter, the process of which completely exploded all over my stove and walls - sort of in the manner of a fireworks show. There were little explosions and splatters at first that rose to a grand finale of sprays and bursts before I could move the pan from the stove.

On top of that the recipe sucked. I will not be making that again.

However, I made another new recipe for dessert: Glazed Lemon Buttermilk Cake that we topped with mixed berries.

And that totally made up for the asparagus...

Kim's Altitude Defying Banana Bread

Or, I might call this "Welcome to the West Banana Bread" since it was one of the first things I baked after getting here. It's really called "Mom's Banana Bread" and is from Cooking Light, but I like my names better. The recipe is delicious no matter what it's called, and what's even better is I didn't have to adjust it for altitude.

Enjoy!

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup low-fat sour cream

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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 either 4 (5 x 2 1/2 -inch) mini loaf pans or one 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes for mini loaves, or 1 hour and 10 minutes for larger loaf, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let bread cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely before cutting.

Serving size = 1 slice

Calories 147; Fat 2.2 g; Protein 2.5 g; Cholesterol 7 mg; Sodium 180 mg; Carbs 30.2 g

Cooking Light, Nov. 1996