Going Bananas

We recently had a little family luau, or 'Tiki Party,' as my son called it. Along with some old favorites, we tried out some new recipes as well. We had particularly good luck with bananas. Let me share the two fantastic banana recipes we discovered.

This is a great way to use up some extra bananas if you need a change from making banana bread!

Royal Hawaiian Pie

Ingredients:

2 (9 inch) pie shells
4 cups sliced bananas
1/2 cup sweetened pineapple juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place sliced bananas in a medium bowl and cover with pineapple juice. Toss gently until slices are coated. Let soak for 30 minutes, then drain. Place bananas in pie shell.

In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Sift over top of bananas. Dot with slices of butter. Put on top crust and seal, slashing two to three vents near center. Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Pie can be served hot or cold.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Cathy. You can find it here.

Notes: My mom was worried that this would taste like baby food. Far from it! The bananas stayed pretty firm...almost the texture of apple pie. The flavor of the bananas paired with the pie crust was great. A wonderful, tasty surprise!

Hawaiian Baked Bananas

Ingredients:

4 bananas, peeled
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup orange or pineapple juice
3 tablespoons sherry, optional
1 dash nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped almonds or macadamia nuts, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice bananas in half lengthwise. Place the bananas in a small glass baking dish. Stir together the brown sugar, juice, and sherry (if using); pour over the bananas, then sprinkle with nutmeg. Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in chopped nuts, and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle over the banana mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes until bananas are tender, and have become slightly glazed.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by LADYC20054. You can find it here.

Notes: We skipped the nuts because of my son's allergies. Even so, these were really, really good! You have to try them!