Baking Banana Bread The Easy Way

I have not really made the best effort to bake for a long time. I used to love it when I had more time and the kids were small, but now they are all grown up and half moved out and I work full time I just don't get the enjoyment or relaxation I used to out of it.

Whilst in lockdown I realised all those bananas i was ordering to keep us healthy each week were going off and getting wasted and I had no idea why! so I decided I needed to do something with them, we had tried bananas and custard one night after dinner, which kind of worked but realised I needed a cake, desperately.

I was going through my Facebook feed one afternoon and saw on my slow cooking group  a brilliant receipe for the normal oven. This was a super quick and easy to prepare receipe and i like easy, so decided to bake it. I had about 5 bananas that were pretty ripe and the rest of the ingredients in my cupboards and it was amazing the whole family enjoyed it.

Here is the recipe below and honestly its just delicious so do give it a try.

Banana Bread Ingredients

100g butter

2 Eggs

125g Caster Sugar

225g self raising flour ( I use supreme sponge)

2 tbsp of milk

2 drops of almond essence

3 medium ripe bananas

Golden syrup to pour on top if you wish

Method

Throw all these ingredients into your mixing bowl but do sieve the flour to make it lighter. I use a kitchen aid mixer so I just set it on high for a few minutes till I can see its all mixed together. Then I pour it into a silicon loaf tin and put on a baking tray then put into a heated oven on 190 for a fab oven. I put some oven heatproof paper over the top for first 30 minutes to keep from burning then leave it for another 30 minutes and voila you have one delicious banana cake  - put on a cooling tray for 15 mind or so and drizzle some golden syrup over the top before you serve.

Banana Bread

Slow cooker - joint of beef, pork and lamb - easy & quick recipes

I bought a slow cooker a couple of years ago, I didn't really use it but tried out a few recipes and kind of left it alone. These days I literally use it every few days. I have cooked the most amazing things in it and I don't use recipes these days I just throw the meat and veg and stock in and leave it and 8 hours later I have a tasty casserole!


easy sunday dinner roasts! - fast, tasty and so easy to make

Beef for Sunday Dinner
A cheap joint of beef from a supermarket or butchers, I put this in the slow cooker, throw a few squirts of golden syrup over it, paste some english mustard around the sides and put on the lid and leave it for 8 hours on low or 4/5 hours on high. leave to cool slightly before carving

Lamb in redcurrant sauce
Leg of Lamb or any Lamb joint, some nice fresh redcurrant sauce or any jar, put the lamb in the slow cooker, add the redcurrant sauce on top, close lid and leave it cook. low for 8 hours and high for 4/5 hours. leave to cool slightly before carving

Pork sunday dinner
Cheap joint of pork - any kind. throw it in the slow cooker, add some apple sauce - home-made or a jar, just a couple of tablespoons and close lid, cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4/5 hours. leave to cool slightly before carving

now these days its very easy to buy slow cooking sauces, eg Schwartz Slow Cookers Chicken Curry,  I have tried a chicken curry one where you just add some chicken, onion, spinach and add the sauce which tasted lovely, I have also followed recipes such as a slow-cooked duck l'orange, which was absolutely amazing! I also make up the odd casserole, i put any meat in for example: chicken fillets/pork loin steaks/pork chops/chicken thighs/legs etc, then add chopped onions, mushrooms, any vegetables i can find, fill it up with water, add some chicken stock or beef stock and leave it cook on low for 8 hours. tastes amazing.

you can literally do whatever you like with it, so play around, make it up as you go along. Very handy for going to work in the morning, you could prepare it all the night before, leave in a bag in the fridge, add to slow cooker in the morning, leave it all day on low for at least 8 hours, a lovely dinner ready when you get home. Most of my meals serve 5.

any questions please ask, i am not a professional cook but can try and help lol

slow-cooking sauces are readily available at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's