German-Style Chicken and Banana Walnut Cake... Happy Birthday To My Husband!

Today is my husband's birthday. 42 and counting.  Unfortunately he is working all day, but I am making a special dinner and dessert for when he gets home, and I thought I would share the menu with all of you.

Forgive me for not having pictures.  I'm really crappy about that: taking pictures as I'm preparing the recipe.  I guess because my hands are dirty with flour, bread crumbs, chicken juice, etc... I don't want to take the time to wash my hands to take pics as I go.  I promise, I'll try to do better with that in the future.

Dinner is German-style Chicken in my crockpot, with spaetzle and steamed green beans.  Dessert is a Banana Walnut Cake.

GERMAN-STYLE CHICKEN

1 15oz can sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
1 10 3/4oz. can cream of potato soup
1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
1/2 c. sour cream

In crockpot, combine sauerkraut, soup, water, worcestershire sauce and black pepper.  Add chicken thighs, stirring so chicken is coated with sauerkraut mixture. Cover, and cook on low for 6 hours. Using a slotted spoon, remove chicken from cooker, and de-bone. Shred chicken into pieces. Return chicken to pot and add sour cream, stirring to coat all.

Serve over hot spaetzle, noodles, or mashed potatoes.
Serves 6.



BANANA-WALNUT CAKE

2-3 ripe bananas
3/4 c. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1 box (18.5 oz.) yellow cake mix
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1-2 tsp. cinnamon

Put bananas and oil in a blender, and blend until liquified.  Add this, with 1/2 c. sugar to boxed cake mix.  Beat with electric mixer.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Pour 1/2 of cake batter into a greased bundt (fluted) pan. 
Combine brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over batter in pan.  Pour remaining batter over nut mixture, making sure the batter covers all of the nuts (spread with a spatula, if you need to).
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool. Turn onto a cake plate.  Dust with powdered sugar if desired, or a cinnamon/sugar mixture.
** We put a big plop of Cool Whip on ours.

Served warm with a cup of coffee.... FABULOUS!