Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I always have left over bananas that go bad before we can eat them so I finally decided to start doing something with these over-ripe bananas. I started going through banana bread recipes on line and I found one for peanut butter banana bread. Sounds yummy to me! The only thing I omitted was the walnuts because hubby can't eat them. Here's the link...http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Peanut-Butter-Bread/Detail.aspx.

 So her's the finished product. Looks good, smells good, tastes? Well, kind of bland. I think it needs more peanut butter and more bananas. Maybe even more sugar. I'll make it again soon and tweak it a bit. I'll re-post it when I get it right.

Bulgogi

Bulgogi is a Korean beef dish that my hubby made once before and I've been craving all week. I couldn't find the recipe he used so I went to allrecipes.com and put bulgogi/Korean beef in the search box. It brought up several recipes, so I pretty much took what I wanted from each. Again, measurements are approximate as I was really just tossing in some of this and some of that.

beef flank steak (Some recipes called for another type of steak. I like flank, so this is what I'm using.)
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use reduced sodium and can never taste the difference)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp sriracha hot chili sauce
almost a whole bulb of minced garlic. (I do love me some garlic!)
1 bunch of scallions, chopped, just the green parts
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
A few of the recipes called for rice wine, which I do not have, but since I'm drinking mimosas as I prep the food, I figure a little champagne might work instead. I know that it's totally different, but I improvised.
All of the recipes I found also called for sesame seeds, but my hubby can't have seeds, so I'll just sprinkle them on mine after it's cooked.

Mix everything except the beef together in a small bowl. Thinly slice the beef, against the grain, into strips. Put the beef in a shallow container or a large ziplock plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the beef. I let this marinate for about 3 hours, but you could really let it go overnight, or as little as one hour.

 This smelled so yummy even though it was raw!

When I was ready to cook, I fired up the grill and when I had the temp holding steady at 350, I put the beef in a grill basket/skillet and let it cook for about 4 minutes, then I turned it and let it cook for another 4 minutes. Cook it to your desired level of doneness. (Is that a word? You know what I mean, right?)

When the beef was ready, I served it with fried dumplings that I bought in the frozen food section at H-Mart and sticky white rice. I had also read that bulgogi was sometimes served with lettuce leaves to wrap the meat and rice in, so I had green leaf lettuce to go with it. I made a sauce from soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, scallions, sesame seed oil, crushed red pepper flakes and a tiny bit of sriracha.

I let it all simmer for a while and whisked it frequently.

When we were all seated at the table, I asked Dad if it was anything like the bulgogi he remembered from Korea. Without hesitation, he said "No, but it's tasty!". I guess we'll have to go to a Korean restaurant some time soon so I can get a feel for what it's really supposed to taste/look like, but in the meantime, this was really tasty!

If anyone out there has a recipe for something a bit more authentic, I'd love to try it! Please send me a link!

Happy eating!

New Fridge!!!

I never thought I would become domesticated enough to get excited over a major appliance, but I totally am! We finally decided it was time to replace the harvest gold, side-by-side, circa 1972 fridge. I really had my heart set on a bottom freezer with french doors on top. Our new-ish dish washer and stove/oven are black, so I decided to get a black fridge to match, plus stainless is way expensive just for a different look. I found a really nice Maytag on sale at Homedepot.com for just under a grand, then I called around and found out that Sears has a price match guarantee. They match the price, plus give you ten percent off the difference. Pretty good deal!

Now, my existing fridge, in addition to being ancient and ugly, was kind of small, and I really wanted something much bigger. This new one wasn't going to fit, so I called my wonderful contractor, Kenny Smith, of KPS Contracting (410-313-9996, tell him you heard about him from me!) to come remove some cabinets. Kenny came over and in no time at all he removed the cabinet over the fridge (Who really uses that anyway?) and a little one on the side that was only good for broom storage.

Now I was finally ready to go buy my new dream fridge! I get to the store, show the salesman the Home Depot sale price, get set on what I'm going to pay, and as I'm about to hand over my bank card, I think "Wait! I forgot to measure my front door!" I live in an old house with narrow doors and no sliding glass door in the back. I quickly called my dad and asked him to measure the door. 33 inches. Shit! This new fridge is like 38 inches on the smallest side! The salesman says the top doors can be taken off, but nothing can be done about the freezer door. I'm SOL! As I leave the store the tears begin and my hubby suggests we go to the bar. I have a great hubby!

The next day I'm still heartbroken about this fridge. I start looking on line at the ones that will fit through the door and I realize that they also would've fit in the space with out me paying Kenny to come F up my walls by pulling out cabinets! (Not his fault! Totally mine! I knew that the wall was going to be a mess, and I really should have checked the measurements first. I'm going to have him fix up the wall as soon as I save up the money.)

Still not satisfied, I go to Home Depot on my way home from work. I made the saleswomen pull the fridge out from the wall and measure it without the doors. It'll fit! Plus, she says they can take the freezer door off too! Bingo baby! I go home and hubby orders my new fridge. The guys who delivered it were great and I'm happy. Here are some pics...

I love the deli drawer!

And a bottom freezer! No more bricks of frozen food falling out and breaking my feet when the land!