Vacation breakfast: Fruit Fritters

On our last day of vacation, we stopped at Yana's in Swansboro, NC. It's a cute little restaurant full of 60s memorabilia. Meeting you at the door is Elvis strumming on his guitar. Elvis is cool, but we go there for the fritters.

The fruit fritters are TO. DIE. FOR. They have them in apple, strawberry, banana and peach when in season. Since there were four of us at this meal and peaches were in season, we got an order of each one. It was the delicious. I have to say, the peach and strawberry are my favorite with apple following close behind. The banana is also very good but the others would win out if I had to pick.

No we didn't eat all of them or we would have been in diabetic shock, but they did provide enough sugar to get us through our shopping. Yana's has take out boxes with the directions how to reheat them right on the box. They heat up very well.

We all scream for ICE CREAM! when it's homemade

One of summer's greatest pleasures is sitting under Grandma's carport listening to the whir of the ice cream freezers.



We usually make it a few times a summer, but so far this year we have only made it once. Our family is growing so it is becoming hard to find flavors everyone loves. This time we didn't succeed because one of the kids doesn't like any fruit ice cream, so he ended up with store bought. Oh well, more for me!

This time we made peach and banana. They were both wonderful, but the banana was my favorite.

This is the way our family makes ice cream. I have made a custard first, but this was is easy and delicious.

2 packages instant pudding (vanilla for fruit flavors)
1-2 can evaporated milk
1 quart half and half
mashed fruit (5-6 bananas, 10-12 peaches)
sugar to taste
milk to fill the freezer

A lot of the measurements will depend on what size freezer you are using. The banana we made in a one gallon freezer so we only used one can of evaporated milk. The peach was made in a six quart freezer so we used two cans of evaporated milk.

Follow the directions for your ice cream freezer. This also works well in the kitchen aid ice cream attachment but you just have to scale down the recipe.



There are no pictures of the finished product because once the tops were taken off, the bowls were filled and the ice cream disappeared. I'll try to do better if we get a chance to make some more before the summer is over.

Simple and Delicious: Banana Split Pie

Banana splits scream summer. This is another quick and easy recipe. For a crowd it is easier to make this pie than to have a banana split bar. It is much less mess and the addition of the graham cracker crust gives it another texture banana splits don't usually have.

Step 1: Pour chocolate sauce (I used hot fudge) in the bottom of a graham cracker crust and freeze.



Step 2: Slice bananas and sprinkle with lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Add bananas over chocolate sauce.


Step 3: Top with pineapple sauce and maple walnuts.



Step 4: Add ice cream. I used a 5 quart container of chocvanstraw (neopolitan) ice cream. I allowed the ice cream to get a bit soft, took it out of the container and sliced it off. It was just the right size to cover the toppings.



Step 5: Top with whipped topping and freeze.




Step 6: When you are ready to serve, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Slice and serve. You can add more chocolate sauce, walnuts, and maraschino cherries if you'd like. Caramel sauce would also be delicious.

This recipe idea came from the July/August 2008 Simple and Delicious magazine.

Cream Cheese Banana Muffins

Sometimes I'll buy bananas just to let them get soft and brown to make banana bread. If I haven't bought them specifically for banana bread but I have one or two get brown before I can use it, I'll put it in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer. Then when I have four or five bananas in the bag, I'll make bread or muffins.

I found this recipe in Southern Living a couple of years ago and it's been my go to banana bread since then. The cream cheese keeps it moist and adds to the richness of the bread.



Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (1 1/4 pounds unpeeled bananas, about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8- x 4-inch loafpans.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.

Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Muffins: To bake muffins, spoon batter evenly into 24 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Makes 24 muffins. Prep: 15 min., Bake: 25 min.