Gingery Banana Bread

I had a HUGE surplus of bananas that were getting over ripe and needed to be used ASAP so I settled for using some for banana bread. I thought about gingerbread and decided to give my banana bread a gingerbread twist!










3 cups flour*
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

4 medium over ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
6 TB butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

*sub any gluten free mix you like!


Grease 2- 9 inch loaf pans and preheat oven to 350


In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients and whisk together well.










In a mixing bowl combined mashed bananas, molasses, egg butter and sugar and beat until well combined.











Scoop in dry mixture 1/2 cup at a time beating on low speed until combined.

Gently fold in crystallized ginger.










Split the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans and bake 45-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.









Allow to cool in pans for 10-15 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Slice and enjoy!

Pressure Cooker Creamy Banana Squash Soup

I got a Farberware 7-in-1 Pressure cooker and have been playing around with it, but so far only followed other recipes. My friend came over and gave me some beautiful banana squash so I thought I would use it for my 1st experimental recipe to see what I can do. I did some searches and modifying to come up with this and I think it turned out very well!

If you don't have a pressure cooker, no worries, you can do it stovetop- just cover over medium heat until the squash is very tender.







2 TB butter
3 cloves garlic
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 lbs Banana Squash, peeled and cubed
1 good sized granny smith (or other tart apple) , cored and diced
1 medium sweet potato (white flesh is my preference), peeled and diced
4 cups chicken broth
1 TB dried basil
1 TB dried tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

2 cups milk, half and half or heavy cream *depending on your creaminess desires, you could use a combo blend of fat content or whatever you like, I used whole milk.


Set your pot to saute, add butter, onion and garlic and cook until they are tender and fragrant.

Add squash, apple, sweet potato, and seasonings.











Set pot to Soup/Stew setting and set the timer to 20 minutes, close pot and GO.















When it is done, do the quick release.











 Use an immersion blender or transfer it to a high speed blender in batches to puree to smooth.

Stir in milk/cream slowly. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve!

Tacos Di Pollo Squisiti

I made tacos from an awesome pizza recipe I made a few years ago. I changed it up ever so slightly
but they were fantastic!














1 lb chicken , seasoned cooked and shredded
6 slices peppered bacon, cooked crisp and diced
Baby Arugula
Crumbled Goat Cheese (Fontina or Provolone is also good!)
Taco shells---hard or soft

Sun Dried Tomato Aioli:
1.5 ounces sun dried tomatoes
2 TB olive oil
6 oz plain greek yogurt
1 clove garlic
pinch of cayenne

For the Aioli:
Place Sun Dried Tomatoes and garlic in a high powered blender and chop them into bits. Add in olive oil while the blades are running to chop more. Add in greek yogurt and process until it is mixed thoroughly, puree if you like but I prefer leaving some chunk.

Mix the aioli with the shredded chicken and allow to mingle in the fridge for at least an hour.

When the chicken and ailoi has mingled place in a pan and heat over medium heat until heated through.

Scoop chicken in/onto shells, top with arugula, bacon and cheese and enjoy!