It's my day off. Most of the time, I have a list a mile long of honey-dos I made for myself. Finally, the first assignment for the day was to get some baking done. I don't do lots of baking because it is time-consuming, but this time I decided to stock up on some items we particularly enjoy. Then, I made a tally of how much the baking cost.
Baking in this house must always start with banana bread. Only, I got smart this time and made a double batch. I used all three of my Vinelli loaf pans and finished with a Vinelli square brownie pan. I did have to watch the brownie dish because it baked faster because the layer of batter was thinner. I wrapped two of the loaves in foil and freezer-safe Ziplocks hoping to keep them staying fresh for a week as that is about how long it takes for us to finish two loaves. . .but then, we do have house guests this weekend.
The second necessity was a batch of pancakes. I say necessity because ever since Alex asked for some banana pancakes, I have felt guilty about not getting to it. So, I used the same old pancake recipe and added two bananas with 2 tablespoons brown sugar mixed in. The big change was this time I had a Presto Griddle, thanks to my mom and dad, which was such a great time-saver. In 15 minutes, they were done and packaged and ready for delivery. I think in the future I will not add the 3 tablespoons butter called for in the recipe. The pancakes were really greasy. Giving the pancakes to Alex also satisfies my third New Year's Resolution of sharing food with others. For those of you who are thinking Alex is special or something and gets lots of attention (especially the other guys in my office) remember that he's not the only one. Dan gets anything he wants. Dewey has gotten Paprika Pringles from Italy (before everyone else was around), and I brought William some strawberry lemonade when I learned that it was his favorite. So, Alex is simply getting what he asked for. There is more to be shared. Happy Valentine's Day, Boys!
Lastly, I wanted to try something new. I purchased some heavy whipping cream, which has so many uses in a kitchen, but I rarely have enough items planned to use the container before it expires. This time, I was prepared and started with a cinnamon biscuit recipe from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics. I mixed up the batter and had the rolls ready to go in the oven when the banana bread came out. They went into a freezer-safe Ziplock, too, and will be iced Saturday or Sunday morning when we are ready for them. I made 12 rolls instead of the 9 the recipe claims to make. I try to keep them small to cut back on the calories. And I can say already that I like my mom's icing recipe better than theirs.
Cost to Make Banana Bread
- $0.18 Flour (Aldi)
- $0.01 Baking Soda (Publix)
- $0.01 Salt ((Publix)
- $0.96 Butter (Costco)
- $0.14 Brown Sugar (Costco)
- $0.58 Eggs (Costco)
- $0.14 Walnuts (Costco)
- $0.22 Chocolate Chips (Costco)
- $2.07 Bananas (Aldi)
- $4.31 Total
Cost to Make Banana Pancakes
- $0.15 Flour (Aldi)
- $0.04 Baking Powder (Publix)
- $0.01 Salt (Publix)
- $0.29 Eggs (Costco)
- $0.24 Milk (Costco)
- Free Vanilla (Gift)
- $0.18 Butter (Costco)
- $0.07 Brown Sugar (Costco)
- $0.35 Bananas (Aldi)
- $1.33 Total
Cost to Make Cinnamon Biscuits
- $0.10 Brown Sugar (Costco)
- $0.02 Cinnamon (Publix)
- $1.16 Cream (Costco)
- $0.22 Flour (Aldi)
- $0.01 Salt (Publix)
- $0.08 Baking Powder (Publix)
- $1.59 Total
Well, now you know what I did this morning. How do you spend your day off? All in the kitchen? None in the kitchen? Please share your ideas of fun in the kitchen.
