Chocolate Chip Espresso Banana Bread. Does anything about that sound bad in the least? We sure didn't think so, so we dusted off those mini-loaf pans we'd used last winter for holiday gifts for the neighbors and decided to give this recipe a try! It was delish in every way! We've already made it a second time!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup bananas
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 t. instant coffee powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/2 - 1/3 c. chocolate chips

Combine ingredients & distribute into mini-loaf pans. Makes 3 loaves. (The picture below is from a double recipe.)

I baked it for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

A while back, a friend of mine made this carrot casserole. Now, I'm not normally a fan of cooked carrots, but it was really good, so naturally, I wanted to give it a try. I tried to tweak the recipe for healthiness, but as you can see by my notes below, I think the original chef knew what they were doing when they added the sugar and butter that they did.

Ingredients:
3 lbs. carrots, sliced
2/3 cup sugar (I reduced it to 1/3 c. but probably should have gone with the full amount.)
1/2 cup butter (I omitted it-- of course it would probably be better with.)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp orange rind
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1. Cook sliced carrots in boiling water to cover in a saucepan 20-25 minutes or until tender; drain and let cool slightly.  Mash carrots in a bowl until smooth.
2.  Stir together mashed carrots, sugar, and remaining ingredients until blended.  Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish.
3.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40 minutes.