A New Spin on Old Favorites

Jamaican Banana Bread

2 T butter or margarine, softened
2 T 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup fat free milk
1/4 tsp imitation rum extract
1/2 tsp grated lime rind
2 tsp lime juice
 1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking Spray

Topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp butter or margarine
2 tsp lime juice
1/8 tsp imitation rum extract
2 T chopped pecans, toasted
2 T flaked sweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.  To prepare bread, beat 2 T butter and cheese at medium speed of mixer; add granulated sugar, beating well.  Add egg; beat well.
3.  Combine flour, baking powder baking soda, and salt.  Combine banana and the next 5 ingredients.  Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with banana mixture,beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.  Stir in pecans and 1/4 cup coconut.
4.  Pour batter in an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour (mine only needed 45 minutes).  Cool in pan 10 minutes, and remove from pan.  Cool slightly on a wire rack.
5.  To prepare topping, combine brown sugar and 2 tsp each butter and lime juice and 1/8 tsp extract in a saucepan; bring to a simmer.  Cook 1 minute,stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 2 T pecans and coconut; spoon over loaf.

If that recipe doesn’t suit your fancy, here’s another one from Cooking Light that we LOVE.  You can’t go wrong mixing chocolate and bananas, so you know that Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread will be yummy!  Go here to find the simple recipe. 

I’m not really a big eater – unless one of the foods offered is POPCORN.  This is my favorite snack, though I don’t let myself eat it very often because of my piggishness love for it.  I found a recipe to update the old standard buttery snack.  The recipe is called  Sweet and Salty Popcorn.  It’s lighter in fat and calories than caramel corn, but still really good!  It was very simple to make.  Here are the steps and instructions:

Pop popcorn to make 10 cups.  I pour popcorn into a Corningware bowl, covering the bottom of the bowl with the kernels, cover it with a lid and microwave for 3 minutes – no oil or butter.

Whisk together, then microwave for 45 seconds, or until bubbly.  Place popcorn on a baking sheet that’s been sprayed with cooking spray, then pour the sauce over popcorn.  Toss to cover.  Bake at 250 degrees 25-30 minutes, or until crunchy.  (It will get crunchier as it cools)

I made paper holders and served it to company that came over.  Fyi, I sprinkled salt into the bag of popcorn after it was cooled.  I thought it needed a little more of the salty taste. 

Hope you enjoy these new takes on some old favorites!

See you in church Sunday!

With love,