Monday, April 2, 2007

We've gone Bananas!

We have about 50 ripe bananas at our house right now and about 100 more ripening.

This seems to beg the question... "What am I going to do with all those bananas?"

My answer... I have no idea! I mean really how can I use them all?

I enjoy bananas, but I'm sure you will agree that this is an excessive amount. Sharing with the neighbors might be an option if they didn't all have their own banana trees.

Here are a few ideas I came up with...
Just eat them, of course
banana bread
banana pancakes
banana cookies
banana smoothies
banana muffins

I researched some banana recipes and came up with one for banana fritters... turns out that one is not a family favorite!

So, if you've got any ideas about what I can do with all these bananas... let me know!

(Please understand I'm not complaining about having fresh ripe bananas from our own banana trees. I'm just looking for creative suggestions.)

4 comments:

Miriam said...

Perhaps you can freeze some of the bananas. Frozen bananas make a tasty treat.

Also, you can dip the bananas in chocolate. (ie. Fondue)

Unknown said...

Banana Coconut Cream Pie
Serves 8
1 (6-ounce) pie crust
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/3 cups water
1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted
2 medium bananas
Lemon juice from concentrate
Whipped cream, whipped

In heavy saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in water; stir in Condensed Milk and egg yolks. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; add margarine and vanilla. Cool slightly.

Fold in coconut. Slice bananas; dip in lemon juice and drain. Arrange on bottom of pie crust. Pour filling over bananas; cover.

Chill 4 hours or until set. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with toasted coconut and sliced bananas if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Frozen Chocolate Banana Pops
An easy treat the kids will love.
INGREDIENTS:
• 6 ripe bananas
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
PREPARATION:
Peel bananas; cut in half crosswise. Insert a wooden stick into flat end of each banana half. Lay bananas on a shallow pan or baking sheet; freeze for about 3 hours, until very firm. Melt chocolate chops over hot water.
With a spatula, quickly spread melted chocolate over each banana, coating well. Chocolate will become firm right away. Wrap each banana in foil; store in freezer.

PB&J Mom said...

I have mashed many a banana and froen the mash into ice cube trays for the girls. Then you can always pull them out when you want to make bread.

I also remember my mom making pancakes with them sliced INTO the middle of them. Yup - Saturday night traditions! Pancakes and Lawrence Welk.

Jen Rutkowski said...

One of my favorite ways to eat a banana is this:
1. take a banana with the peel still on and slice it like a hot dog, trying not to slice all the way through the banana
2. fill the slice with chocolate (chocolate chips, candy bar, etc)
3. wrap banana in tin foil and put on grill, in oven, or in a fire
4. bake for a few minutes (this requires some experimenting for temp and time b/c it is rather preference dependent)
5. Open up tin foil and scoop out banana/chocolate with spoon.
6. This technique satisfies 3 of my criteria for fun eating: contains chocolate, is fun to eat, and is easy!