Mystery of mysteries! (or onset alzheimer's) This recipe went missing from this blog all of sudden. It was posted here at one time, but no more. So here I am re-posting it again. Here is the original post:

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The girls call the bananas for these muffins "rotten" because they are black when I take them out of the freezer. They only eat "perfect" bananas in their prime, so anything that has brown spots or overripe gets thrown in the freezer until I can use them for this recipe. It's the Ilokano in me, coming out, what can I say. I just can't stand to throw food away.

My mom, makes very good banana bread but she doesn't ever write the recipe down. I've tried several recipes until I came up with this one, which the girls heartily approved. However, there is something about baking it in a cake pan or loaf pan that they just don't like. The only time the whole batch gets gone in a day or two is when I make it into muffins. They take it for their lunches, and snack on it when they get home from school. It even goes faster when it is frosted with the cream cheese frosting (recipe follows) that I usually use for carrot cake.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine (butter is better:))
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bananas, mashed (equivalent to 2 cups)
1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

With an electric mixer, blend butter and sugar, add eggs and salt. Beat until fluffy. Add mashed bananas and mix well. Sift together all dry ingredients and slowly add to banana mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix until blended then add the vanilla. Pour into grease muffin tins or loaf pan. I lined my pans with paper cup liners for less messy baking, and it's easier for the girls to handle with the paper liner. For muffins, bake for 15-20 minutes. If using a loaf pan, bake for 40-50 minutes. Makes 18 muffins or 1 loaf.

This recipe does well doubled or tripled, as I have often had to do just to use up all the rotten bananas saved up in the freezer. When freezing bananas, just put the whole bananas in a plastic bag and throw in the freezer. They are good up to 6 months. They can probably last longer, but that is the longest that I have kept them in the freezer without having the freezer burn taste.

Thanks for asking for the frosting recipe, Susan. I just realized I never did post it at the end of the banana muffin recipe :-) Here it is:

1 stick (1/2 cup) Butter
2 bars Cream Cheese
approximately 2 cups of Powdered (confectioners) Sugar

Beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add confectioners sugar starting with 1 cup and adding a little bit more at a time until desired sweetness is achieved.

Frost cake. The Clone decorated the top with toasted and chopped Pecans.

In the response to your comment, Susan, I said one bar each of cream cheese and butter. That proportion will work too, especially when you're making a smaller batch of frosting as in for muffins. The proportions above is what we use for the triple layer carrot cake.

Stel tagged me! What fun :) Click on the title above to go to Jade-n-Mom.

Another favorite at the Chinese restaurant, here is our version of Sesame Chicken.

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast cut into strips
3 cups oil (for frying)
Sesame Seeds

BATTER:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

SAUCE:
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 chicken bouillon or 2 teaspoons instant chicken granules
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Combine the ingredients for the batter mixture and whisk until blended. Let stand for 15 minutes. In the meantime, heat the oil in a wok or skillet and heat until it reaches 375 degrees F. Dip the chicken strips in the batter and drop in the hot oil one strip at a time. Don't over crowd, you may have to fry the chicken in 4 batches. Fry the chicken strips until they are golden and drain on paper towel.

After frying, remove all the oil from the wok, but don't wash. Return to the heat and add all the sauce ingredients, previously mixed together. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and simmer for 3 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Add the fried chicken strips and stir to coat with the sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

This is our version of this, very typical Filipino version of the spring roll, Lumpia. Since my hubby is alergic to bean sprouts, that ingredient is omitted; and since I never plan ahead, I use mainly the three mainstays of our refrigerator, carrots celery and cabbage. Any vegetable can actually be added when making lumpia; besides bean sprouts, green beans, water chestnuts, other types of cabbage, and broccoli, to name a few, can also be used. In a pinch, I have also been known to use the frozen mixed vegetables in lumpia.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 whole head of garlic, minced
1 large onion, sliced
2 large carrots, julienned
1/2 lb. green beans, julienned
2 stalks of celery, sliced thin diagonally
1/2 head of cabbage, sliced thin
3 tablespoons of oyster sauce
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 25/pack of spring roll wrappers

Heat wok or large pot and brown the ground meats until they render fat. Use the fat rendered to saute the garlic and onions until they are fragrant. Add the carrots, green beans and celery and stir fry until the green beans are almost tender, then add the cabbage. Stir fry a bit longer with the oyster sauce, soy sauce, and black peppers just until the cabbage wilts. Don't overcook. Let the mixture cool.

When cool, wrap in the spring roll wrappers and either freeze for later use, or fry in hot oil until lightly browned.

All these reminiscing about life in Baguio here and here just got me thinking about these: Sayote or as it is called in the grocery stores here, Chayote Squash. These are pretty mild as squashes go, and while they can be used in various soups and saute's, sometimes they are best enjoyed simply boiled and dipped in bagoong (fermented fish paste) and vinegar. The green stuff floating in the dipping sauce is green habanero sauce, that's optional. I just like spicy stuff. I had these with the clams, as I just have to have some kind of vegetable with all my meals and these were simple enough to make, just boil till tender. My hubby even tasted these, dipped in the bagoong, and he liked it! Mikey liked it! :)

Ever since I saw Sassy's Halaan recipe, I have been hankering for some clams. I found these clams at Costco and decided on impulse to get a bag since I was buying pizza for the kids anyway. I never know what they'll eat, so I always try to have a back up. Well, I knew the Clone would not even come near these, so no question there. Anyway, by the time I got home, I got to thinking, maybe I'll make clams with black beans instead. It may go over better with my hubby who is not so much into soupy dishes. But, it was not to be. When I looked in the fridge, I found I was out of fermented black beans. So I was back to the Sassy's recipe; I had all the ingredients on hand, except for the sili leaves. Although that soup would hit me in just the right spot, I still had to admit that it would be a hard sell for my hubby. So what I have here is a cross between the two versions. Not quit soupy, but not quite the Chinese sautee either.



2 pounds Clams, scrubbed clean and soaked in cool water
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons ginger, minced
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/4 cup white wine
Black Pepper
Oil

Heat the oil and sautee the garlic, ginger, and onions until fragrant. Add the clams, oyster sauce and wine; cover and simmer just until the clams open. Sprinkle with black pepper, and remove from heat. Serve immediately, either over steamed rice (my version), or with garlic toast (hubby's version).

Beef stew for me has always been tomato based with potatoes, carrots, and other veggies in the "stew". Southern beef stew, I learned was quite different though. It was more of just plain beef stewed in gravy. It was pretty good, different, but quite satisfying. However, I just can't leave it well enough alone, so here is my version with a few additions.

2 pounds of lean chuck roast, cut into 1/4 inch thick medallions
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 large onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tablespoons flour
Salt & Pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Pinch of Red Cayenne pepper
4 cups water
Oil

Dredge the beef sliced in the flour, and quickly sear in the hot oil in batches and set aside. Reserve the flour left in the pan after dredging. Sautee the garlic and onions until fragrant, and add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushroom is slightly browned on the edges, the onions translucent, and any liquid rendered from the mushroom has evaporated. Add the red bell pepper and stir. Add the flour, and cook in the oil for a few minutes. Put the browned beef slices back in the pan and add 4 cups of water to start, and simmer until the beef is tender. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the pan, and if needed add more water to keep it from drying out. In our kitchen, we always serve this over rice, but it is also good with corn bread or home-made rolls.