banana nut bread

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1/2 cup warm vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 1/2 cups raisins
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 very ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 (9x5 inch) loaf pans. In a large bowl, with a mixer, cream sugar, butter and oil. Mix in eggs, vanilla, pecans and raisins. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix well. Add bananas and mix thoroughly.

Pour batter into pans. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until bread begins to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (This can be tricky as you may hit a banana which means your toothpick won't be clean--keep poking around). Just make sure the top is golden brown. Let bread sit for a few minutes, it will continue to firm up as it cools. If you use the new darker, non-stick pans you will need to reduce temperature to 325 and watch after one hour.

This comes from my Nannie Bess, Newport, Arkansas. I grew up with this one and there is no one that has ever turned down a piece or two or three. Enjoy.