Amy's Banana Bread.

this is my sister's banana bread recipe and one of the only recipes i use.  its easy and always yummy.  {my tip} use whole wheat flour instead of regular 

or add some chocolate chips for an extra treat!

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 mashed overripe bananas {i actually usually use about 5 bananas!}

preheat oven to 350.  grease a loaf pan.  in large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt.  in another bowl, cream butter and brown sugar.  stir in the beaten eggs and mashed bananas.  mix with flour combo until well moistened.  pour batter into pan.  bake for 50-60 minutes.  cool 10 minutes, remove from pan and enjoy.  

easy pumpkin muffins.

i only do easy recipes.  here's one we always enjoy!

1 spice cake box mix

1 small can pumpkin

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 water

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

preheat over to 375.  mix ingredients together.  grease muffin pan and fill {i only fill each space with about 2 tablespoons of mix} and bake 25-30 min.  makes about 30 muffins {and lasts about a day at my house}.

enjoy!

Spider Crackers

We've been under the weather at this house.  And by "we", I mean "ME".  It just feels like when the mom is sick everyone is sick because life sorta stays on hold.  Actually, my husband (who has earned the title of All-time Superdad after the last week) did a great job holding our crazy schedule together, keeping the kids clean and fed, and giving me ample time to rest (like serious sleep: 15+hrs on Saturday night for this mama).


Amidst the sickness, I did manage to do a couple fun thing with the kids.  We made Spider Crackers one day for our morning snack!  It was a fun activity that the kids enjoyed doing...and eating!

Here's our supplies:

round crackers 

peanut butter (you could use cream cheese or other spread)

pretzel sticks

chocolate chips (or raisins)

frosting or more spread or whatever

knives for spreading

oh...and...a couple cuties.  :)

 This is the goal: a cute little cracker sandwich that looks like a spider!!

 Both my boys love spreading and getting to use a knife, so I got out the dull kiddie knives and let them spread-away.  It was messy!

 There was lots of eating...especially out of the chocolate chip bowl!

Just spread peanut butter (or chosen spread) between two crackers and add pretzel sticks for legs.  Then we used a little frosting to hold the chocolate chips on for eyes.  That's it!

 And yes, it was almost 11am, but we're still in pajamas.  I was sick, ok?

Proud of his yummy spider!

Orange Yogurt Popsicles

Today is super hot so we are making popsicles!  I don't have a ZOKU (yet) but we do have these cool rocketpop molds from my cousin.  We've been using them for years and they are always a hit!  Of course, you can use just about anything to make popsicles - no fancy molds needed!

The boys were excited to help so we did our mixing on the floor (don't worry, I cleaned my floors yesterday...maybe that doesn't make you feel better).  The littlest boy was doing his "happy dance".

Usually, I just put anything in there: fruit, juice, yogurt, lemonade, pudding...whatever.  But today I looked at what I have available and I googled for "homemade oj and yogurt popsicles".  Here is the yummy and oh-so-easy recipe:

Orange Yogurt Popsicles from Cooks.com
6 oz. frozen oj (about 1/2 can)
1 pint plain yogurt (we used vanilla because its what we had on hand)
1-2 tsp vanilla (we used a little less since we had vanilla yogurt already)

Blend together well (by hand is ok) and pour into molds.  Freeze!

Can you say, "Dreamsicle"??

Waiting for the yummies to freeze is definitely the hardest part!

Easy Grilled Pizzas

We've been enjoying flatbread pizzas on the grill this week!  After my sister told me how easy pizza on the grill can be, I had to try it out!

Ingredients:

flour tortillas, pizza/pasta sauce, mozzarella, your choice of toppings, and olive oil

Heat your grill to medium.  Brush both sides of your tortilla with olive oil.  Let the tortillas heat on the grill with the cover closed for 2-3 minutes or until grill marks appear on the bottom.  Then, flip your tortilla and begin to add toppings.

Let the tortillas sit on indirect heat with the cover closed to allow cheese to melt over toppings.  We made  cheese, pepperoni and BBQ chicken (add BBQ sauce and chicken with mozzarella). 

That's it!  Your own flatbread pizza - in 5 minutes!

My kids love them, too!

Thanks for the great tip, Amy...love this new summer staple!

Birthday Yummies

My littlest man turned TWO yesterday.  That is a crazy time: when the baby of the family turns two.  Wow.  Up until Wednesday, I still wasn't sure what we'd be doing to celebrate...I'm an up-to-the-last-minute kind of gal lately.

We decided on a small gathering of family on Saturday, with another small family gathering coming up later this month.  It was low key and I made almost no work for myself.  And, I realized that Bennett really couldn't have cared less!  He loved his special day just the same as if I had gone crazy with decor, cleaning, and a fancy cake.  Simple is good!

I baked some cupcakes in ice cream cones Saturday afternoon.  They were awesome!  They are perfect for little hands to eat, able to hold onto the cone as they dig into the cake and frosting.  

We baked a few normal cupcakes and one giant cupcake for the birthday boy!

To bake the cupcakes, I just follow these simple instructions from RealSimple.com:

Bake your cupcakes directly in the ice cream cones. Fill 24 flat-bottom cones two-thirds full with cake batter. Place the cones in a high-sided 9-by-13-inch baking pan and bake in two batches at 325° F for 30 minutes. Let cool, then frost with two 16-ounce cans of frosting. You can have your cake and eat its holder, too.

Any overflow around the top of the cone, I just cut off with a sharp knife before frosting.  I used Betty Crocker's Fluffy Whipped Frosting for a light, creamy texture and it was great!

The only other cool thing I did for the party was make fruit kabobs!  What a fun, summery way to serve fruit.  I will definitely be doing this for all our summer gatherings!

Happy 2nd Birthday to the Benny!

From the Archives...

I'm in the mood for springy treats, so this caught my eye to share with you this week.  Angel-food petit-fours!  Perfect for a birthday, baby or wedding shower, or even just a little treat after lunch.

From Parents Magazine, June 2010, page 70.

Cake Box Cookies

Last week we made Cake Box Cookies.  I had seen the recipe in the back of Parents, but hadn't been privy to the recipe before.  My friend, Mollie, says these are amazing and fun and delish.  And let me tell you...she knows Delish (with a capital "D")!  For me, they have to be easy-peasy...and they are!  So simple and quick and yummy, too.

Ingredients:

Box cake mix of your choice

1 egg

1/3 cup of oil

1/3 cup of buttermilk

Whip it up and roll into 1-inch balls...

We rolled ours in some sprinkles.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Cool...

and enjoy!

I've been trying to find something my 3 year old likes because he isn't really into cake (and certainly not cake pops - "yuck, mom").  He really loved these cookies - maybe because they aren't too sweet.  I think I will try chocolate next...the yellow cake mix was ok, but not great...

Until I created this ice cream sandwich.  YUM.

Rainbow Pancakes

I'm sure you've seen rainbow pancakes before - they are so cute!  I have been wanting to try them for a long time and around St. Patrick's Day, I saw a lot of rainbow pancakes in blogland, so I was reminded of the idea.  We had green pancakes on St. Patrick's Day, so you can imagine how thrilled my kids were when they got to try these...

During the hiatus one morning, I just whipped up our usual pancake batter and then divided it into separate glass bowls.  I added food coloring to each to create the colors I wanted.  So fun, so easy, so cute and special for your kids!

My dear friend, Sarah turned me on to Martha Stewart's Basic Pancake Recipe.  Its a never-fail, easy recipe  that always satisfies.  Or, as Martha says, 

Nothing says "weekend" like pancakes for breakfast. When you see how simple it is to whip them up from scratch, you'll wonder why you never did it before.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• *Assorted toppings, such as butter, maple syrup, 
• confectioners' sugar, honey, jams, preserves, 
• sweetened whipped cream, or chocolate syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees; have a baking sheet or heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine).
3. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel.
4. For each pancake, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 2 to 3 in a large skillet).
5. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You'll have 12 to 15 pancakes.) Serve warm, with desired toppings.
   
   

Rudolph Cookies!

Adorable Rudolph cookies made by our friend, Jen.

What child (or adult) wouldn't love these festive Rudolph cookies?!  This special reindeer is pretty popular at our house, so the cookies our friend, Jen brought over last weekend were a huge hit!  Here's how to make them...

1 package of Pillsbury Simply Peanut Butter Cookies
M & M candies (for eyes and nose)
chocolate covered pretzels (make your own OR buy them already dipped!)
frosting (just a bit: to attach M & Ms)

Directions:
Form each cookie into a slight triangle shape before baking.  Bake according to package.  Cool for 2 minutes, then press pretzels into cookie for antlers.  Continue to cool cookies completely, then add small dots of frosting to attach M & M candies for eyes and nose!  Voila!  Thanks to Jen!

Crunchy Craisin Salad

As usual, I can't take credit for this recipe.  A friend, Molly, started bringing this salad around years ago and now its a staple for my family, too.  We especially like this tasty salad around the holidays - its so very festive!

Crunchy Craisin Salad:
1 head of broccoli (cut into small florets)
1 head of romaine lettuce (cut)
1 package ramen noodles
1 cup pecans (chopped)
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1/3 cup brown sugar

Toss cut broccoli and cut lettuce in large bowl.  Set aside.  Combine dry ramen noodles, pecans, butter and brown sugar in oven-safe bowl.  Stir until noodles and pacans are coated.  Brown in oven at 350 for 10 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.

Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3-2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

Toss all ingredients together and garnish with craisins.  Enjoy!

Starbucks Doubleshot Cupcakes

Ok...these are the first cupcakes I have ever made from scratch.  It was a big deal.  They are nothing short of amazing.  If you are a coffee-lover like me!  They have a great consistency, are soft, and not too sweet.  The recipe is from Hope Studios.  I am copying the recipe on this post, but its a little less decadent than her recipe that includes buttercream frosting, caramel, and chocolate covered coffee beans.  Find her exact recipe here.


Starbucks Doubleshot Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces; 240 g) plus 2 T sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 230 g) lightly salted butter (not margarine), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz; 300 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 small can Starbuck's Double Shot Espresso and Cream (6.9 oz can)
1 t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Measure flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to mix. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Alternately, add the dry ingredients and the Starbuck's Double Shot, beating after each addition, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Spoon batter into the cupcake papers, 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely.




Thanks to Hope Studios for great recipes...I'll be trying this Cinnamon Streusel Cake soon!

Quick Dinner Tonight

So...tonight we needed a quick fix dinner and Pepperoni Pasta is just the thing for this family!  This recipe can be altered so many ways, depending what you have on hand at home.  Add vegetables, chicken, or different cheese for variety.  Its so easy I often make prepare while the kids are eating breakfast or lunch, then keep in the fridge until dinner.  It makes a solid 8 x 13 pan...leftovers are goooood.

1 box of penne pasta (or any version of your favorite whole grain pasta, of course)
1 jar pasta sauce (your favorite!)
1 bag of fine shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package of turkey pepperoni

Cook noodles.  Chop pepperoni into small pieces.  Combine cooked noodles, chopped pepperoni, pasta sauce and half bag of mozzarella into bowl and mix well.  Pour into baking pan and top with remaining mozzarella.  Cook at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Enjoy!

*Thanks to Jessica for turning me on to this go-to recipe!

S'mores Brownies

I just made our second batch of this s'mores recipe since Sunday.  Apparently, its a hit.  It makes a small batch, but they are sooo gooey and rich that you only need a small bite!  We love them with vanilla ice cream!  YUM!

1 box of your favorite brownie mix (I used the $0.65 Market Panty Fudge Brownie mix)
4 Hersheys bars
4 Graham crackers
16 large marshmallows

Heat over to 350.  Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with tin foil.  Mix brownies as directed on box.  Fill bottom of pan with half of brownie mix.  Then create layers of graham crackers, chocolate, and marshamallows.  Cover the marshmallows with the remaining brownie mix.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out almost clean.

Makes 12-16 brownies.

On A Stick!

It seems like everything is showing up on a stick lately (no, I'm not talking about State Fair food!) and as a mom of young kids, I love it!  Treats on a stick are so much fun to enjoy...why is that?!  Well kids and adults all love them and they're easy to eat, too.

*My first fun discovery are Cake Pops, by Bakerella.  Hello, adorable!  I mean could anything be cuter?!  Of course Bakerella's are totally ornate and amazing, but even just a plain little cake ball is so cute!  I haven't personally tried to make these yet, but my sister made some bunches for Mother's Day and put them in vases, to look like flowers.  They were delicious and adorable!  Check out Cake Pops and all the other amazing treats at www.bakerella.com!

*My second discovery are Cookie Pops!  My friend Kelly had these for her sons birthday party and I couldn't get over how FUN they were!  What a great treat!  It got me thinking about lots of other ways to use them...  We made them today at our house and here's the process:

All you need is:

One tube (12 oz) cookie dough

Two (2 oz) Milky Way bars

12 popsicle sticks

Cut each candy bar into 6 pieces (width-wise) and put a popsicle stick in each....

Divide the tube of cookie dough, flatten out, and wrap around each stick, forming into a ball...

Place on a cookie sheet about 3 inches apart and bake for 14-15 minutes!

Voila!  Yummy chocolate chip cookies with a gooey caramel center - and on a stick!  So fun!

I have to admit, my Cookie Pops were a little top heavy.  I tried to take them off the baking sheet too soon (after only about 5 minutes) and they were still too fresh, causing some of the sticks to fall right out.  Bummer.  I also had the large size popsicle sticks (the "craft sticks", you know?) and maybe that caused some trouble.  I'm making one more batch tonight for a little neighborhood campfire we're going to, so I'm going to try with some smaller popsicle sticks I found in the craft bin.

I think these Cookie Pops will be my baby boy's special treat for his first birthday, coming up soon!  We'll be traveling and I thought these would be a good alternative to brining cupcakes along.  I have to think of some way to adorn them and make them extra special...I have a few ideas...do you???

*My final "on a stick" discovery is really nothing new, just something innovative for those of us with little kids!  They are called "Mighty Minis" from Popsicle brand.  These popsicles are super miniature (about 1.5 inches tall) and perfect for a post dinner treat this summer.  In addition to the perfect kiddie portion size, they have some gelatin in them, which makes them melt slowly!  How genius!  I don't think I need to say much more...(other than: go out and get yours now because they are hard to find!).

Mighty Minis are so cute!

So.....do you have any "on a stick" discoveries to share???

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

I have never made soup before (from scratch...I am darn good at opening a can! Ha!).  On Sunday after a morning of playing outside in the freshly fallen heavy white snow, I could think of nothing better to feed the family than some yummy, comforting, warm soup.  So...I went where I've never gone before and made a new recipe for Cream of Chicken Wild Rice soup from my cousin.  After just one touch of the soup to his lips, my husband said, "Wow, this is really good!".  Why thank you.  :)  Not so bad if I do say so myself.

1 onion chopped
1 large carrot shredded
1 celery rib chopped
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
8 c. chicken broth
3 c. cooked wild rice
1 c. cubed cooked chicken
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. evaporated milk
1/4 c. chives snipped

In large saucepan, saute onion, carrot and celery in butter until tender.  Stir in flour until blended.  Gradually add broth.  Stir in the rice, chicken, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in evaporated milk; cook 3-5 minutes longer.  Garnish with chives.  Enjoy!