Banana Bars

We are enjoying a cool, rainy day in the Midwest. It feels like the perfect day off to me. A day for crafts because I need to make a new fall wreath, baking because everyone is begging for treats and of course some cleaning. Today I am making two kinds of our favorite bars, Simply Homemade Pumpkin Bars and our mother-in-law's banana bars, they're the best!
Ingredients
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter, softened but not melted
1 1/2 c mashed bananas, about 3 bananas
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 c sour cream (I use plain Greek or thick homemade yogurt instead)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
Directions

• Mix sugar, butter, bananas and sour cream (or yogurt), then add eggs and vanilla.
• Add dry ingredients and stir. 
• Pour batter into either a greased and floured or parchment lined 9x13 pan. Bake 350F for 25-35 minutes. Test using a toothpick, if it comes out clean, the bars are done. 
• Place on a cooling rack until they have cooled then frost them using the recipe below.

The Best Frosting
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a medium pan over medium heat on the stove until delicate brown in color. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla and about 3 T. milk until frosting is smooth. You can mix this with a spatula or wooden spoon.

* You can also use a jelly roll pan rather than a 9x13 pan. You will need to adjust the frosting to 1/2 cup butter and 4 c powdered sugar. You may also need to add more milk.

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Mantle Decorating for Fall

Simply try a new decorating idea for an autumn mantle, use what you have around the house or make some of your own pumpkins. I'll be posting a tutorial for the DIY Autumn Burlap Wreath next week so keep checking back if you need a new DIY project! For the shabby pumpkins check the previous post Simply DIY Pumpkin Decorating Project.
Have a great weekend!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

One More Recipe for Refrigerator Dill Pickles

I picked the last of my cucumbers today from my garden and decided to make some refrigerator dill pickles. Angie had posted our grandma's pickles Simply Grandma's Refrigerator Pickles for sweet pickles, so I thought I would try some refrigerator dill pickles. I found a recipe on growveg.com so I decided to try it. It worked great! Even though canned pickles are my favorite, we liked these and they worked great on sandwiches!

Refrigerator dill pickles: 

4-5 washed, sliced cucumbers
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 c water
1/4 c sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 cloves peeled garlic

1. Place sliced cucumbers in glass gallon jar. 
2. Heat the brine mixture in small pan just enough for the sugar to dissolve. 
3. Pour over the sliced cucumbers.
4. Add 1 teaspoon dill or about a handful of seeds, leaves or flower heads.
5. Add 2-3 cloves peeled garlic.
6. Shake gently. 
7. The liquid will not cover your cucumbers, that's ok. They will settle down in the jar as they sit in the refrigerator.
8. I didn't open mine for a three days. If they are still too sour, wait a couple more days.

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Roasted Tomato Sandwich

Truly a favorite sandwich at our house! This is the fancy sandwich that I wrote about in the post, Simply Roasted Tomatoes. We ate these sandwiches for a couple of our camping meals, the kids thought it was very cool (and yummy)! The basic ingredients are roasted tomatoes, cheese and bread but here are some of the variations I use for this sandwich.
Fancy Sandwich:

• Toasted bread:  Start with your bread, here are some great ideas, English muffins, English muffin bread, ciabatta, French, Italian, white bread, buns, gluten-free, etc., you get the picture right? Any bread you like. For ours, I used ciabatta rolls and toasted them in the toaster.
• Mayonnaise: I mixed about a teaspoon of Italian seasoning in about 1/4 cup mayo. (I made 5 sandwiches). Spread mayo on your toasted bread.
• Cheese: I almost always use fresh mozzarella but I have on occasion used provolone. Place a slice or slices of cheese over the mayo.
• Place roasted tomatoes over the cheese. I like to heat my tomatoes slightly before I do this.
• The kids like another layer of cheese over the tomatoes but I will leave that one up to you!
• Place a layer of spinach (I don't always do this) on the top.
• Cover the sandwich with the toasted top of the bun or bread, whichever you used.
• Wrap the sandwich and heat them for about 2 minutes on the grill if you're camping or microwave them if you want, just enough to melt the cheese.

Enjoy your fancy sandwich!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi