The Curse of the Rotten Banana

The other day, while my husband and I were grocery shopping, he started to walk towards the bananas and then proceeded to place some in the cart. I immediately froze and then asked him, “Why would you put bananas in the cart when they’re just going to go bad?” Typical nagging wife? I hope not. I’m sure he would beg to differ.

He joined a special training course for work and thought bananas might help him get through some of the endurance training. I applauded him for his efforts but I couldn’t shake the thought of the money we would be throwing away once they turned rotten.

After a few promises from him that he would eat them all, I gave the bananas a second chance. He’s definitely working his way through them, one banana at a time, but I have to admit, I’m still keeping a watchful eye on that banana bowl. I’m onto them…

In the meantime, just in case we aren’t able to work our way through them fast enough (mind you, he went out last night and bought more…yikes!), I thought I would scrounge up some recipes…just in case.

Classic Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. With a wooden spoon, mix the butter into the smashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.
4. Sprinkle in the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
5. Add the flour last, mix.
6. Pour mixture into a greased 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour.
7. Cool on rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Banana Fritters

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 3 bananas, mashed and sprinkled with 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. Measure, sift and mix all of the dry ingredients. Whisk together the milk and egg; add to dry ingredients.
2. Fold in the mashed bananas. If the mixture is too thick, add a little milk. If the batter seems too thin, add a little flour. (Batter should have the consistency to mound up in a spoon)
3. Heat deep fryer to about 375 degrees (or add 1 inch of oil to a deep skillet or kettle and use a thermometer to check the temperature).
4. Drop by spoonfuls in small batches. As fritters brown on one side, turn them over. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
5. Keep them warm and feel free to sprinkle them with a little bit of cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar before serving.

Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1-2 ripe banana(s), mashed (depending on how strong of a banana flavor you want)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients with a wire whisk.
2. In a small bowl, with an electric mixer, combine eggs, milk and oil. Slowly add wet ingredients and mashed banana to dry ingredients. Hand mix only until large lumps are gone.
3. Heat griddle or frying pan. Grease pan lightly. Drop about a 1/4 cup of the mixture onto the pan and bake until bubbles appear and edges are brown. Flip pancakes and cook for a minute or so longer.
4. Feel free to sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and serve with your favorite syrup.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Sift together the four, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
3. Cream together the shortening and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, banana, oatmeal and nuts. Mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients, mix well and drop by the teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until edges turn lightly brown. Cool on wire rack.

What do you usually do with bananas that are on their last breath?