Tuscan Sandwich

Submitted by Lani M.

Inspired by Jessica's creation awhile back, I've been trying to get fancy with the sandwiches. I find that the following sandwich works best with garlic focaccia bread if you can find it. It's round and you can just cut the bread like a pie and slice the pieces in two. They were out, so I used Italian bread instead.



Cut bread in slices and spread out on a baking sheet or pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle oregano spice (and/or rosemary, if you'd like) on top. Put a slice of provolone cheese on one of the slices.



Broil on high for a few minutes until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted and browning a little. You'll have to watch it closely, because it can go from toasted to burnt really quickly.



Put the toppings of your choice on your sandwich. Lately we've been using lettuce, tomato, avocado, pepperoni slices and shaved deli turkey. Um. YU-um!

Banana Bread

Submitted by Lani M.

This is my favorite way to eat ripe bananas (from my Six Ingredients or Less cookbook):



1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas
4 large eggs, well beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour

1. Set oven at 350 degrees. In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add bananas adn eggs. Combine baking soda and flour. Add to banana mixture; stirring by hand, until flour is moistened.

2. Pour batter into two sprayed 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Run knife around edge and turn out immediately. Cool on rack. Makes 2 loaves.