Winter Storm Refueling Snack

We've been working to prepare for the predicted winter storm with a week of frigid temperatures  but hoping it won't be as bad as it sounds!  Tractors and trucks are fueled, we've got plenty of feed for the animals, the generator at the barn has been started on a test run just in case we lose power and the wood pile was restocked for house heat. I've also made  sure there is plenty of food in the pantry for refueling the farmers!





Cold weather always brings the hungry farmers to the kitchen for a refueling snack. The last of the holiday banana stockpile was begging to be baked into something that would be good with a glass of milk or a cup of hot chocolate!  Banana Snack Cake  from Jim Graham's Farm Family Cookbook for City Folks is easy to prepare and perfect for winter storm snacking.







Banana Snack Cake

1 cup butter,softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup (2 medium) bananas,mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup quick rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and eggs, and mix well.
Stir in buttermilk, bananas, and vanilla; blend thoroughly. Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup and level off. Stir in flour, oats, soda, and salt; mix well. Stir in chips. Spread batter in 9x13-inch greased pan. (Optional: Sprinkle nuts evenly over the top.)  Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Dairy Goes Bananas

I love this month of gathering with friends and family to celebrate and give thanks for the blessings we enjoy on a daily basis.  As I flipped through a new cookbook, 'What's Cooking at Wye', that I picked up on my visit to see the spring daffodils on Wye Mountain, Banana Pudding seemed to be the perfect choice to carry to our Thanksgiving church dinner today. It meets my criteria for using dairy products and serving a crowd!

The recipe didn't have a lot of detailed instruction so I decided on my own to line the bottom of the 13x 9  serving dish with a layer of vanilla wafers with a layer of banana slices on top,pour the pudding mixture  and top it with the rest of the vanilla wafers. I can tell you from licking the spatula--it's mmm... good!

Banana Pudding

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese,softened
1 can condensed milk

Mix ingredients above together and set aside.

1 large box instant vanilla pudding
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the above ingredients together; then add to the cream cheese and condensed milk mixture.

8 bananas-sliced
1 large tub Cool Whip
1 package of vanilla wafers

Add to the mixture above: 1 large tub of Cool Whip (fold one big blob of this into the mixture above)
use the rest to top the pudding. Pour into large bowl, top with remaining cool whip...place in the refrigerator.

                                                                          Happy Sunday!