Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have some brown and mushy bananas in your fruit bowl? Well, you can put them into good use with this Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe! There are a lot of wonderful things to turn overripe bananas into like Banana Bread with Walnut Crumble, Banana Cream Pie Shake, Banana Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars, Almond Banana Cake, Banana Cream Trifle but I think this is the one that my daughters love the most. It's really good, that's why!

These cookies are soft, chewy and really tasty! They have the goodness of chocolate chip cookies with the added flavor of banana. Who wouldn't love that? My daughters enjoy having these cookies for snacks and they love bringing it to school for lunch dessert. 

Such wonderful treats! You should try it!

Almond Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache

It's my hubby's birthday today! As I wish him the best birthday ever, let me share with you this cake that I made for him. It's his favorite banana cake, tweaked with the addition of almonds which is also his fave. 

It looks pretty, right? It's yummy too, I tell yah...so you should definitely give it a try! ;)

To the #besthusbandever, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May you always feel God's love in the life we share! I LOVE YOU! Wishing you good health and all the blessings you deserve!

Banana Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars with Cream Cheese Glaze

Bananas are among our favorite fruits so we always have them at our house. I usually buy a dozen per week and most of the time, we are out of it in just 3 days. But there are times when we end up with a bunch of brown spotted bananas. Not wanting them to go to waste, I usually turn those overripe bananas into banana bread, banana cream pie shake and sometimes into banana chocolate cake, banana trifle or banana bars like these... 

They look pretty, don't they? Well, these Banana Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars aren't just pretty...they're also delicious and very easy to make! It's a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and banana bread with the added goodness of caramel. I'm sure you'll love them! And with the added Cream Cheese Glaze the banana bars will even be more wonderful!

The next time you have a bunch of overripe bananas in your fruit bowl, don't throw them and try this recipe instead! Overripe bananas may not be the best for eating out of hand, but when it comes to these baked treats, they couldn't be better! 

Banana Cream Pie Shake

We're in the middle of summer here in the US, and though summer time means fun, the scorching heat can be very unpleasant and exhausting. It's kinda draining and can make us crave for fruity, icy treats that can help cool us down. Whenever we're at home, making milkshakes, smoothies, and Filipino coolers like ice candies, sago't gulaman, halo-halo, saba con yelo and mais con yelo is a part of our daily routine.  We find it to be the best way to beat the heat!

Of all the summer treats we love making, milkshake is the one we make more often. It's very simple and quick to prepare. Just put all the ingredients in a blender and you'll have a delicious shake in no time. This banana flavored shake that I'm sharing with you is one of my family's favorite. It's an adaptation of Sonic's Banana Cream Pie Shake. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Saba Banana con Yelo

It's spring break here in Texas this week. Though we didn't go out of town, my daughters are so excited to be off from school. Cherlin said she's thrilled to be home because she can help me do the cooking. Isn't she the sweetest??! She really enjoys helping me out in the kitchen, you know! She's only six but learning how to cook is something she really enjoys.

Last weekend, she helped me bake Food for the Gods and chop some ingredients for Beef Caldereta for a friend's baby shower. After that, she said she's really tired and would love something cold for snack. This is what we made together.

This is a favorite Filipino snack called Saba con Yelo. Saba is a variety of banana common in the Philippines and is very popularly used in snacks like ginataang halo-halo, turon, banana que, and halo-halo and in dishes like the pochero that I posted last Friday. Though I love just anything with this banana, the Saba con Yelo was my most favorite when I was growing up. I loved the thought of going home from school to this cold snack. My daughters, especially Cherlin, love this too. 

Check it out and see for yourself how the simple Saba bananas can turn into a delightful snack...

Banana Cream Trifle

Next to Christmas, New Year's Day is the second most celebrated holiday in the Philippines. We, Filipinos make lots of preparations for it, and there are some traditions that we follow in the belief of ushering in a prosperous New Year. We literally celebrate this day with a BIG bang! At the strike of 12:00 midnight, you can hear church bells ringing, firecrackers banging and booming everywhere, children making sounds with their torotot (horns), car horns tooting and empty cans dragged all around. These things are done to make lots of noise which is believed to scare away evil spirits. After all the noise making, a midnight meal called Media Noche is shared with family members. This feast symbolizes family union and celebration. It is believe that when we put lots of food on the table, we will have food all year round. I grew up practicing these things, and I have always loved the sight of fireworks display and abundant food as we welcome the new year. 

Now that we are in Texas and firecrackers aren't allowed here in our area, we just content ourselves in watching fireworks display on TV. But we still blow our colorful horns as the clocks strikes 12 and we fill our dinner table with lots of food. But let me tell you a secret --- for some reasons, I don't enjoy spending too much time in the kitchen on this day. I guess I don't want to be spending the whole year in the kitchen so I'm thinking that I'd better be out of there when the clock strikes midnight. LOL. So it's either I serve food that can be prepared ahead of time, or I make easy to prepare ones. This dessert that I am sharing with you today falls on both categories...it can be made the day before and it is also so easy to prepare. :)

I want to end 2011 with this Banana Cream Trifle - a very simple yet beautiful and truly delicious dessert that my family and I love so much. There's no cooking involved and can be easily whipped up in minutes, so this is perfect for any occasion!

Banana Que

Saging na Saba (Cardava Bananas) trees are common in the backyards of Filipino homes especially in provinces. I grew up with saging na saba as my frequent afternoon snack either in the form of turon (Banana Rolls) or  Banana Que, and sometimes, inihaw (Grilled Banana). These are all popular street food, so even during times when we didn't have saging na saba from our backyard, they were always readily available. My favorite is Banana Que which is deep fried saba with caramelized sugar coating in bamboo skewer. It is called such because like the Filipino Barbeque, it is on a bamboo skewer. But it is not grilled. The skewer is just for ease of handling and eating.

Just like me, Clarise and Cherlin love banana que...and we all like it with crispy sugar coating. So unlike my mother who used to add a little water on the caramelized sugar, I don't. Her way of cooking banana que results in a soft and smooth sugar coating. Mine has a crunchy texture.

I'm also sharing this on  Food Trip Friday, Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck@EKat's Kitchen,  Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home.

Ingredients:

• 4 Large Cardava Banana (not over ripe)
• 1/2 cup sugar in the raw (this gives a better crunchy texture compared to regular brown sugar)
• Vegetable oil
• 3 bamboo skewers 

Classic Turon (Banana Rolls)

Last May 5, Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner was offered to be one of the blog-tour stops for “Vegan Family Meals: Real Food For Everyone”, a new cookbook by Ann Gentry, Hollywood’s #1 Vegan Chef and owner of chic LA restaurant, Real Food Daily. I said YES, of course! I'm not a Vegan...but I feel that this is such a good opportunity to try Vegan food.  

The blog-tour will run from mid-June to mid-July. I chose to do recipe duplication of her Lasagna Rolls which I will share with you in the week of July 11.  I'll be posting details of the blog tour in the days to come, so watch out for it! Meanwhile, for those of you who would like to know more about Ann Gentry, visit her blog, Real Food Daily.

Yesterday, I was so excited to receive my complimentary copy of "Vegan Family Meals" cookbook! 

I found some recipes that I would love to try, aside from the Lasagna Rolls (which I will be doing for the blog tour) like the Sesame-Shiitake Tofu Frittata and Black-Eyed Pea & Red Pepper Soup. But I'm not ready for that yet...I have to get the needed vegan ingredients first! For now, let me share with you my Classic Turon (Banana Rolls) which I guess both vegan & non-vegan will love. :)

Turon(Banana Rolls), which some call Banana Lumpia(Banana Spring Roll), is a favorite Filipino snack made of sliced banana & jackfruit, dusted with sugar and wrapped in spring roll wrapper and then fried. Some also use mango, cheddar cheese and coconut instead of jackfruit. Well, I still prefer using jackfruit. The ripe Jackfruit itself has an amazing taste, aroma and texture that when combined with Cardava Bananas create a more satisfying flavor. Here in Texas, I buy it frozen or canned. Jackfruit contains many vitamins and minerals, and offers numerous health benefits. It has isoflavones, antioxidants, and phytonutrients which means that it has cancer-fighting properties. If you haven't seen or heard of Jackfruit & Cardava Bananas, here's how they look like:

Try this very simple and easy to prepare snack and you'll see what you've been missing...

I'm sharing this on What's on the Menu Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Foodie Wednesday, Let's Do Brunch, Miz Helen's Country Cottage's Full Plate Thursday and It's a Keeper Thursday.

Prep Time:~15 mins              Cook Time:~10 mins               Yield: 12 pcs. turon      

Ingredients:

• 8 pcs. Saging na Saba (Cardava Bananas) or Plantain Bananas cut lengthwise into 2 or 3 depending on thickness
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ cup fresh or canned ripe jackfruit cut into thin strips
• spring roll wrappers
• Vegetable oil

Banana Bread With Walnut Crumble

Last Wednesday, I received my prize for winning A Latte With OTT,A's Clabber Girl Iron Chef Challenge --- a $100 worth gourmet gift basket consisting of: 

Rex Roast Coffee

Pappardelle’s Plain Glutten-Free Pasta Trumpets

Pappardelle’s Whole Wheat Chipotle Lime Mefaldine

Pappardelle’s Calypso Blend

Clabber Girl Baking Powder 8.1 oz

Clabber Girl Snicker Doodle Cookie Mix

Berkeley Olive Grove Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Gegenbauer Tomato Fruit Vinegar

Dulcet Lemon, Mustard & Dill Sauce

Enrico Formella Mild Giardiniera

Ben’s Sweet & Hot Mustard

Sir Kensington Ketchup

Judge Designs Olive Oil Dipping Dish 

What an awesome prize! As my way of saying thanks to Clabber Girl, I'm featuring my mother's favorite Banana Bread with Walnut Crumble today.This is another recipe with which I always use Clabber Girl Baking Powder.

This is a very delicious & moist banana bread that is so easy to prepare. You don't even need a mixer for this!

Try it! It's very tasty, I'm sure you'll make it again and again! 

* I'm linking this up on My Meatless Mondays,  Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mangia Mondays, Hearth and Soul Hop Hub, Delectable Tuesday, Two Maids a Baking, Tuesdays At The Table and Made From Scratch Tuesday.

Prep Time:~10 mins              Cook Time:~35 mins              Yield: Two 4x8" loaves 

Ingredients:
For bread:

• 3 ripe bananas (mashed)
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1½ cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups bread flour

For the crumble:

• 6 Tbsp melted butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup minced walnut