Banana Bread

In college I had a roommate, Lisa.  She was a great cook and we all loved her food. She didn't bake too often because she was working full-time and going to school full-time. She was friends with everyone on campus (no really!). She worked for the corporate side of Cold Stone. She brought home ice cream all the time. She hated it when we would take a taste -- at least without asking. Mostly because she was planning on giving it away to a friend. That's how she was able to keep her girlish figure, and be friends with the entire campus! Lucky girl!
One thing Lisa made well was banana bread. I have yet to find a more delicious recipe. Lisa's is sweet, flavorful, and moist. Lucky for you, I made it the other day which means - you get the recipe now too!

Banana Bread

recipe thanks to Roommate Lisa

2 cups sugar
2½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder. Mix in remaining ingredients. Bake in 2 greased bread pans for 1 hour.

Tips:

Sometimes this bread can get a little dark. After about 30 minutes if the bread is looking dark, cover with foil while bread finishes baking.

Spanish Tortilla

So the other day, I was reading Vanessa's blog and thought that her Spanish Tortilla sounded yummy, easy, inexpensive, and I had all the ingredients. Perfect! Dinner was solved. So I took her recipe and made a few adjustments.
I will say, the flipping is a little tricky - but if you have a plate, it probably would have worked better than me trying to use the lid of my frying pan (not as balanced).

Spanish Tortilla

adapted from Vanessa
vegetable oil
3 potatoes
8 Eggs
1/3 cup of milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 tsp garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 slices of thick ham, cubed
1/2 green bell pepper, cubed
cilantro, for garnish
1 tomato, diced, for garnish

Heat oil over medium-high heat. You want just enough to coat the pan and about half way up your potatoes. Cook until potatoes are almost fork-tender (about 8 minutes). Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, milk, garlic, salt, pepper, and cheese; set aside.
Once potatoes are browned and almost fork tender, drain oil. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Add in your egg mixture. Add ham and peppers. Gently stir the egg mixture for a few seconds. Cover pan with a lid. Once you feel like it is done on the sides and bottom, here comes the tricky part! Get a plate out and flip the pan over to the put the Spanish Tortilla on the plate. Then slide the Spanish tortilla off the plate and back into the pan so the other side can cook. (She made it sound so easy!) Once cooked through, remove from pan, garnish with cilantro and tomatoes.
Serve warm or room temperature. Serves 4-6 people.