This is very moist banana bread. I was taking this to a Christmas brunch and wanted something festive, so I made the following modifications. I added a jar of marachino cherries that I halved, and a can of pineapple tidbits that I squeezed most of the juice out of. I also added roasted pistachios, but I won't do that again; they turned soft. I also used fat-free sour cream and it worked just fine. This took a long time to bake -- about 1-1/2 hours, and it didn't rise much (i.e., it didn't have a domed top). To serve, I sliced the loaf down the center length-wise, then turned to slice cross-wise. This made nice individual pieces that I put on a Christmas tree-shaped tray. I decorated with maraschino cherries to look like ornaments and put a star-shaped cookie on top. It was colorful and very tasty. My family can't wait for me to make this again. Thanks Esther!

It was good, but not great.

Yum! My 9 year-old daughter scraped every last bit of cherry off her plate. It was that good! I opted for vanilla instead of almond extract and stirred in an extra tablespoon of butter. Oh, and I added a dash of salt. I'll make it the same way next time. Delicious!

A great way to use left-over Thanksgiving turkey, but too good to only make it once a year! I made one, very full, 12" deep-dish pie. I made my own dough. Next time I'll double the dough so I don't have to roll it so thin to fit the large pie plate. I'll use: 4 cups flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, 1-1/3 cups cold shortening, 3/4 cup ice water or a little less. I diced the celery, carrots, onions and sauteed them. While the flavor was great, the texture was off (my fault.) Next time, I'll chunk the veggies. I didn't have broth, so I made some with water and bouillion. I love the addition of evaporated milk. I added poultry seasonining with the thyme. Great flavor!

This should be two pounds of cherries, not two cups. Hope this helps!

This scone recipe is perfect! I add the dry ingredients to my food processor & give it a quick buzz. Then drop in chunks of cold butter through the feed tube while pulsing just until the butter is the size of peas. Pour the mix into a large bowl & stir in the chopped cranberries. I also add the zest of an orange and some chopped, toasted walnuts at this point. Make a well and pour in the buttermilk. Stir the dough just until it comes together. Gently gather the dough and work it into a ball, then a flatten into disc, handling the dough as little as possible. Cut the scones, using a pizza cutter dipped in flour between each cut. The key is baking these on a hot pizza stone. Give the stone a generous coating of Crisco and pop it in the cold oven to get hot while the oven preheats. Gently put the cut scones on the stone and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minues. Cool the scones on a rack - another key to keeping the bottoms crispy. I opt to serve these with a glaze, rather than the cranberry butter. Simply mix sifted powdered sugar, softened butter, milk & vanilla. Put it in a small zip-lock bag with the corner snipped off for piping ease. I recommend serving these right away. If you store them air-tight, they'll still taste yummy, but loose the amazing crunchy/crispy texture you worked so hard to get. I never knew scones were so quick and easy to make! I've made 4 or 5 batches within two weeks - and I've given out the recipe! These are a real winner! Thanks so much Anne!

Absolutely delicious! I took this and Jamie's minestrone to a soup potluck. They devoured the potato soup. Jamie's minestrone was great too, but too many veggies for the kids and no meat for the guys, but the gals loved it! I brought a pound of crumbled bacon, sliced green onions and cheddar cheese to top this delicious potato soup.

I had a sirloin steak left over from the grill and was looking for a way to use it up. This worked beautifully. I cubed the steak, added a packet of Au Jus mix and water and let it simmer. Meanwhile, I diced onions, celery and carrots and sauted in olive oil. When the veggies were soft, I added them to the beef mixture. I chopped three potatoes and added them as well. Then tossed in a cam of diced tomatoes, green beans and corn. Seasoned with basil and oregano and stirred in ketchup. Even my veggie-hating son ate it up!

I tested this recipe on three different families. My hubby made "yummy" sounds as he ate it. I took it to a friend, and she loved it too. We had a visiting 10-year-old for dinner, and he went home raving about it. His mom asked for the recipe. That's a winner in my book! I used left-over roasted chicken and mixed it all together on the stove-top.

You can't beat this for a QUICK pizza crust!

Perfect!

I put this in before church and came home to a wonderfully tender chicken. I skipped the foil and put onions, carrots and potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot. Salt and peppered the chicken and put a quarter of an onion inside. Added half a cup of water. Set it on high and let it cook for four hours. When I got home, I put the chicken on a sheet pan and broiled it for some added color. Made gravy by removing the veggies and stirring in corn starch thinned with water. Divine!

The combination of cherries and chocolate is classic and superb in these cookies! I had just returned from a trip to San Francisco and had some dark chocolate from Ghirardelli that I chopped and put in these cookies. I even added a bit of their vanilla bean white chocolate. Delicious! I had some dried cherries in the freezer, so I put them in a bowl with a splash of water, gave it a stir and microwaved until they were thawed. I baked a tray without nuts and two with. They were gobbled right up!

Even without the olives and cheese, this recipe rocks!

My "go to" recipe!

EXCELLENT!

The baking soda trick really eliminated any gas problem! Thank you so much for sharing!

These are the best!

Made this for friends while we were vacationing in central Oregon. It was incredible! Don't blend this - it's so much better with the texture. I even prefer it over the cheesy version of this soup! And it's good with fat free half-half!

Came up with recipe on my own and boy is it good!