Uses for overripe bananas
July 19th, 2006
Sometimes I think my children intentionally let the bananas get too ripe. Have any other mothers out there noticed this?
They love bananas.
They ask you to buy them.
You bring home a large, lovely bunch of bananas.
The kids eat two of them and ignore the rest.
Several days later, you notice flies buzzing around something black and sweet-smelling on your countertop.
Aha! It’s the much-begged-for bunch of bananas.
Truthfully, I never let it go that far. When the brown spots become brown blotches, I know I’ve got to do something with the bananas.
Since I’m low on blogging ideas right now anyway, I will devote the rest of this week to: “What to do with those black bananas” Here’s the preliminary list:
Freeze them for later snacking - just peel, slice on a plate, and freeze. When they are frozen solid, put them in an airtight container.
Make banana bread
Banana muffins
Banana cookies (that’s right - cookies)
Banana brownies
Banana cream pie
Milkshakes or smoothies
The following recipe comes from my ever-faithful Betty Crocker cookbook:
Banana Bread
makes 1 loaf
1/3 c. butter, margarine or shortening, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/3 c. water
1 2/3 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
optional: 1/3 c. raisins, 1/3 c. chopped nuts, and/or 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
Start by creaming the sugar and shortening together, then adding the eggs. Mix well. Next add the mashed bananas and the water and combine that. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then add that to the banana mixture. Finally, stir in the extras if you are using any.
Heat your oven to 350. Grease the bottom of a loaf pan, pour the batter in, and pop it in the oven. The banana bread needs to bake 55-60 minutes or even longer. It is too easy to undercook quick breads. They LOOK done long before they are actually done. Check by inserting a toothpick into the center of the bread. It should come out clean or with crumbs on it. If it looks gooey at all, the bread is not done.
When you finally take it out of the oven, lay it on its side for 5 minutes, then flip and lay it on the other side for 5 minutes. After that, slide a knife along the sides and it should slip right out of the pan. Cool on a wire rack. Try to resist slicing it until it’s completely cooled.
Now THAT is much nicer than having three rapidly-turning-black bananas in your fruit bowl.
Entry Filed under: Bread, Breakfast, Old-Fashioned Foods, Recipes, Supper, Table talk
1 Comment Add your own
1. Sophie | July 19th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Here’s a great idea I read in last week’s paper for making banana bread (I believe it was in Heloise’s column). Sometimes when those overripe bananas are calling to you from the countertop, the last thing you want to do is get the kitchen all messy making banana bread. A woman suggested making your own banana bread or muffin premix by measuring out the dry ingredients from your favorite recipe and storing it in a plastic baggie in the pantry. When it comes time to make your recipe, all you need to do is open the baggie and add your bananas and the rest of your wet ingredients. You can then close the baggie and mash everything together with your fist right there on the counter. She suggested using scissors to cut off a corner of the baggie and squeezing the batter directly out into the muffin/bread pan. You could keep severeal of these premix baggies on hand depending on how often your kids let the bananas go bad.
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