Fall Cooking

It was indeed a day for cooking . The rain came down in buckets and the sky turned to shades of grey. This weekend gave us a preview of what's to come in the months ahead and rained for most of the afternoon.

Fortunately for me, lots of time spent indoors out of the rain means lots of time for cooking! I took full advantage of the opportunities the rain provided. I had some very ripe bananas and plenty of left over veggies which provided the base for two new recipes:
Primavera Pasta Pie
Banana Cake------Yummy

Primavera Pasta Pie was a quick put together.....but the banana cake took forever to cook (but worth every minute of it).

You won't be disappointed if you love veggies and spaghetti, cream cheese and bananas.

PRIMAVERA PASTA PIE

8 oz. spaghetti.... I had left over spaghetti with sauce already on it..Loved it

1 egg

1/3 c. cheese - your favorite

1 tbsp. butter
Cook spaghetti and drain. Mix egg, cheese and butter with spaghetti noodles. Press into a greased, 9-inch pie pan.
FILLING:
2 c. broccoli - DD would like this to be something else next time.

1 sm. pepper (red or green), cut into strips

1 red onion, cut into rings

8 oz of fresh mushrooms

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 c. Romano, grated

3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. natural sea salt
In skillet, cook broccoli, pepper and onion in butter until crisp and tender. Stir in, cheese, Italian seasoning and salt. Spoon into pasta crust.
TOPPING:
3 eggs

1/2 c. half and half cream

2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Mix cheese and whipping cream, and pour over veggies and spaghetti mixture.

Bake, covered, for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake 10 more minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes.

Cut into wedges .................it's a keeper and so vegetarian!

Banana Cake Supreme

1 1/2 cups bananas mashed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add powdered sugar to make a smooth icing
Garnish
chopped walnuts or pecans
Directions:
Preheat oven to 275°............seems low but slow cooking is a good thing
Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.

Spread on cooled cake.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts/pecans over top of the frosting, if desired.

OMG....I have already had a wedge of the pasta and 2 pieces of cake....I'll be seriously dieting on MONDAY!