Chef John’s Banana Bread

From All Recipes.com

I made this recipe a few weeks ago and it was delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

cooking spray

3 ripe bananas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2.
Grease a 9x4 inch loaf pan.

3.
Mash bananas in a bowl.

4.
Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in another bowl.

5.
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer or spatula in a large bowl until smooth.

6.
Stir in mashed bananas.

7.
Add eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, fully blending in each egg before adding the next.

8.
Stir in vanilla extract and milk.

9.
Stir in chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, and flour mixture until just incorporated.

10.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Tap pan on the counter to release any air pockets.

11.
Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour 10 minutes, or until an inserted wooden skewer comes out clean.

12.
Let the bread rest in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan. Slice and serve.

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package uncooked tri-color rotini pasta

• 10 slices bacon

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 3 tablespoons dry ranch salad dressing mix

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper

• 1/2 cup milk, or as needed

• 1 large tomato, chopped

• 1 (4.25 ounce) can sliced black olives

• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in rotini pasta and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain and chop.

3. In a large bowl, mix mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and garlic pepper. Stir in milk until smooth. Place bacon, tomato, black olives and cheese in bowl and toss to coat with dressing. Cover and chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Toss with additional milk if the salad seems a little dry.