Tasty Tuesdays: the 15th recipe

There's a chill in the air and that means fall is a coming, which means fall flavors and fall recipes for Tasty Tuesdays. As previously discussed, I love the flavors of fall and will incorporate canned pumpkin into just about anything: bread, oatmeal, soup, desserts, etc. Since I have such a disdain for the change in weather, I find great solace in taking advantage of the bountiful seasonal cooking opportunities.

Today's recipe doesn't necessarily scream fall, but I wanted to share it with you because I think it's the type of recipe that everyone should have in their repertoire. It's the kind of recipe typically handed down by your grandma or your mom. Loaves are baked and gifted to neighbors and friends. But the beauty of the recipe is that you're essentially taking lemons and making lemonade. Allow me to explain...

We've all been there. We've all bought a bunch of bananas only to see them turn brown before we've had the chance to enjoy them in their natural form. There they sit on the counter in all their brown glory almost mocking you for your grand ambition when you bought them at the grocery store over a week ago.

But all hope is not lost my friends. You can take these bad bananas and redeem them into something warm and comforting. I've tried several recipes, but this is my favorite so far. The original comes from Cooking Light, but I've made a couple of tweaks and adapted into my own.

This is Bananas, (and bananas are good), Bread

Ingredients:

2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2/3 C white sugar
1/3 C brown sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 C mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 C sour cream (I use fat-free and it doesn't compromise the recipe)
1 T honey
1 t vanilla extract
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a fork or whisk.

3. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute).

4. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add bananas, sour cream, honey and vanilla and beat until blended.

6. Add the flour mixture and beat at low speed just until moist.

7. Pour the batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray and bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

This bread is perfect on its own for breakfast or a snack. It always works marvelously in my banana bread french toast which was featured in Tasty Tuesdays two weeks ago. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. Yes, I have picked yet another template for my blog. I can't seem to stick with one I like. Blogger doesn't exactly have a plethora of options, so I have to make do with what they offer. What do you think?