Crab Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

These fun and easy appetizers were inspired by my belief that if you present a
child with attractively plated food in a fun way you can get the child to eat just about anything -
I had no tuna, no eggs and wanted to make a quick lunch for my daughter - she eats tuna salad and egg salad - but crab salad? (Crab meat I had - coupled it with some mayo, chopped capers, diced celery and a little salt, pepper and old bay seasoning, instant crab salad)

All I did was cut the tops off some cherry tomatoes, scoop out the insides (which, as an added healthy bonus, she actually ate all the pulp calling it 'fresh tomato soup') and stuffed the tomato shells with the crab salad - she ate them all!! These look so pretty and you can do them ahead - and of course, you could stuff them with egg salad or tuna salad or whatever...

Easy Banana Bread

So easy - old bananas, ripe and ready and what to do? Make bread, not war... simple recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup softened butter
2 eggs
3-4 mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour (more if needed)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and combine well add mashed bananas and milk
and vanilla - sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and add - stir just to
combine - fold in nuts if using. Bake in a loaf pan (grease bottom only) at 350 for 1 hour or until
a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - cool for 5 mins in pan, use a knife to loosen
edges and turn out onto a rack - cool completely

Valentines Day

Wow - its been so long sinced I have added to this blog (still keeping up with my cooking videos on www.youtbe.com/ilovetocookalot )...but I am back now and will try to post regularly...today is Valentines day - not so exciting from the romance perspective for many of us who have been married awhile, but very very exciting for my little girl - so for breakfast? Why heart-shaped pancakes of course, as I am sure countless other mother's made this morning