Blueberry Banana Cake

I'm loving how much baking I'm currently getting to do!  I made a blueberry banana cake the other night to share with some friends.  It was delicious!  Basically, I would say its like a wonderfully moist banana blueberry bread with cream cheese frosting.  Yum.  The original recipe is from theKitchn, which is where I'd previously found and tried a fabulous recipe for banana caramel cake.  I did modify the recipe a little though.  I didn't put lemon zest in the frosting or almonds on top.  I also left out the rum.  I figured that the kiddos would be a little weirded out by those things.  I know I was when I was a kid.  And, let's be real, while I thought the almonds were nice for garnish, I didn't really want to eat them on my frosting.  Like why would you want to ruin perfectly smooth, creamy frosting with nuts?  I also simplified things a little by leaving the cake in the pan versus taking it out and having to find a platter and frosting the sides.  I would caution you to know how your oven bakes and start checking on the cake EARLY, if you ever decide to make it.  I was house-sitting, and apparently that oven bakes quick.  The original recipe says 75 minutes, but my cake was done in 45.  I'm glad I checked on it when I did!  Unfortunately, this cake disappeared before I got a picture.  It seems as though the brother got a slice and forgot to put the rest up...leaving it easily accessible to a couple of dogs.  Argh.  However, I decided to solve this little problem by making another one.  After all, my mom hadn't gotten to try it and we're in Minnesota with family to share with.  And it's practically a health food, right?  It's got bananas, blueberries and lemon... That pretty much outweighs all the sugar, don't you think?  The second time around, I still left out the rum, but I did keep the lemon zest...which, I think, was a wonderful addition to the frosting!  This time, it took the full 75 minutes to bake.  Clearly, all ovens are not created equal!  I did manage a picture...although, not a very good one:        

Angel Cake Bars

Somehow or another we ended up with 6 egg whites that needed to be used.  Naturally, I started Google-ing and Pinterest-ing recipes that used 6 egg whites.  I finally found one that would work perfectly for dessert last Sunday.  I'm calling them "Angel Cake Bars."  Cookie Baker Lynn calls it "Self-Frosting Angel Cake."  Although, I think her definition of frosting must be completely different from mine.  I was excited to have found this recipe.  I had thought about doing angel food cake, but after doing some searching, I discovered that most of those recipes require 12-15 egg whites...I did not want to then have extra egg yolks to deal with.  So this was really perfect.  I had all the ingredients on hand too.  Always a bonus.  These turned out really well.  They go perfectly with ice cream, fresh fruit, or a fruit sauce (I did a lemon blueberry sauce).  It's a great summer dessert!

Couponing for Hope!

One of my Scentsy sisters recently contacted me and asked if I would feature a special fundraiser on my blog.  Obviously, I said, "Yes!" because here I am, blogging.  (I must take time for a quick side note to highlight one of the reasons I love Scentsy: we help each other out!  I'm very thankful for my Scentsy family and the way everyone is so willing to provide support to one another, whether or not it has anything to do with Scentsy.)  Okay, back to the point.  I would like to invite you to attend the "Couponing for Hope" event in Broken Arrow, OK on August 7, 2012.  This is why you should go:

"Have you ever wondered why those people carry those crazy binders into stores?

Do people really get stuff for FREE by using coupons?

Are there really coupons for stuff I use?

Come learn the answers to these questions and more!  Learn how to cut your grocery bill DRAMATICALLY following a few simple tips.

ALL PROCEEDS from this event will go directly to a mission trip that will be supporting Giving Hope Haiti and Room for Grace.  These Haitian missions support terminally ill children and adoptable orphans in Montrious, Haiti."

This is a really great cause!  I would encourage you to go, if possible.  It will benefit you and many people in Haiti.  If you cannot go, you can still donate!  Just send your donation through PayPal to "iluvkiddos@hotmail.com".  I know that your thoughts and prayers for this effort would also be appreciated! 

     

New Fan

Ever since we moved in, we needed (maybe wanted) a new ceiling fan.  The original was an ugly white with awful brass accents.  To update and save money, we spray painted the fan and blades, replaced the brass blade attachments with brushed nickel, and changed out the ugly light things.  That worked well until recently.  We started to notice that the lights were burning out faster.  And there was one socket (I guess that's what you'd call it) that was particularly difficult to deal with when changing the light bulb.  A couple weekends ago, the brother went to change that light again.  This time, the base of the light bulb with the thread got stuck in the socket.  Seeing as how the living room needs more lighting anyway, only using the 2 remaining lights wasn't going to work.  Luckily, Lowe's happened to have their Hunter ceiling fans 20% off.  So we picked one out (it's suppose to be a 5-minute fan....power to whoever can do that in five minutes) and the next day, the brother and I got it installed.  I've done lights and a ceiling fan by myself before, but considering the height and everything, and second set of hands was really helpful.  The brother is also much taller.  Now, we have a fan with 4 lights that is very efficient at cooling and quiet, and not so much of a dust collector.  Fantastic!

Before

After (Yes the downrod is much shorter, but it actually works out well.  The brother was having some issues getting his hand hit by the blades during P90X-2.  That's what he gets for being stinking tall.)

   

The Easiest Burlap Wreath...EVER!

Ever since I got hooked on Pinterest, I have wanted to make a wreath.  If you don't already know this, Pinterest has LOTS of great ideas for wreaths and tutorials on how to make them.  We have an old window on our mantel, which dons ornaments in all the panes at Christmas, but has nothing going on the rest of the year.  I decided I'd to burlap since it's pretty neutral and can be dressed up embellishments.  As I was looking for some kind of tutorial I kept running into ones where you cut lots of little burlap squares, fold them just right, and pin them just right on to a foam wreath.  While I'm probably capable of doing this, it was a bit too tedious for my taste.  Then, I found a great idea from Top This Top That.  All you really need is a metal wreath form and burlap ribbon.  Genius.  It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what I was doing.  Once I got in the groove, it was smooth sailing.  I ended up using a couple different weaves of burlap, which you can see in the picture.  I like it because it gives it a little more texture without screaming at you.  I plan to add some kind of embellishment, some color, but I haven't figured out what yet!  Any ideas?

I Can Sew...Well, Straight Seams...

It was past time for us to change out the toss pillows.  That's one of the problems with dogs.  They apparently really like toss pillows.  They like to lay on them.  Lick them.  Fortunately, knock on wood, ours don't chew or rip them.  Regardless, ours were in rough shape and smelled horrendously of dog.  At least, I thought so.  I decided it would be better to make covers, with zippers, that could go on and off a pillow insert.  That way, they could be washed.  Luckily, the pillow inserts we got can also be washed.  Bingo.  So the project was planned... I was just going to have my mother sew them, but then, after seeing what a grade school kid had sewn on Facebook, I thought I should at least know how to make pillow cases.  That's right.  I cook, bake, clean, wire lights, tile, paint, but I don't sew.  I took home whatever in 6th grade, but I don't think that really counts.  My mother was kind enough to show me how to use her machine, and got me going.  However, I did end up asking her to just put in all the zippers because that was getting complicated.  I did the rest though.  And they don't look janky at all!  It's almost miraculous that seams turned out even and straight.  Although, that could just be credited to my OCD.  Maybe it's more impressive that I didn't end up with the needle through my finger.  But seriously.  Here's a picture of one of them:

 

Pesto & Goat Cheese Pizza

I threw this together the other night, and, oh, it was very, very tasty.  I found a yeast-free whole wheat pizza crust recipe online...just Google it.  Made the crust and threw on some pesto sauce, sauteed mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, red onion, and black olives, and finally sprinkled it with goat cheese...and by "sprinkled" I mean "dropped small clumps."  This was very simple to make...and quite enjoyable to eat.  I definitely would not mind repeating this one in the near future!

In case you didn't know, goat cheese doesn't really melt like, say, mozzarella.  It gets lightly golden on the outside, and it's creamy warm goodness in the middle.  Yum!

S'mores Cookie Bars

The 4th of July was a fun-filled day with the Liberty Fest parade, going to the movies, worship, and going to some friends' for food & fireworks...Oh, and baking these puppies!  I needed a treat to take to the festivities Wednesday night, and I came across this.  While there are many cute, and probably tasty, red, white, and blue treats on Pinterest.  I went with this one!  I figure s'mores are pretty American, right?  I also had graham crackers and marshmallows left over from a Velata party.  These turned out to be scrumptious.  Not that I was surprised.  I was, however, a little surprised by how rich these were.  You really only need one, if that.  So good:

Get the recipe at Leenee's Sweetest Delights! (FYI I used actual marshmallows instead of the cream and it turned out perfectly yummy...although there's not that lovely layer that you see in her picture) 

7UP Chicken & Rice

I think the theme for this summer is trying recipes I found on Pinterest during class last year.  So, yes, this is another Pinterest find.  And, luckily, we already had everything needed to make it.  I don't know that there's a lot of redeeming "healthy" value here (soda...cream of chemical soup), but this is very delicious and easy.  I used brown rice instead of white and had sugar snap peas on the side...so that makes it pretty healthy, right?  The chicken turned out perfectly moist, and the rice was wonderfully creamy.  It's a keeper!  And, I'm so glad to tell you, this is a slow-cooker recipe.  I love slow-cooker recipes.  Of course, the family thoroughly enjoyed it too!  Here it is:

7UP Chicken & Rice

(Six Sisters' Stuff)

Ingredients:

3  lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen)

1  can of cream of chicken soup (10.5 oz)

1  can of 7UP or Sprite (12 oz)

1  c rice (Minute rice, brown or white)

1/4  c chicken broth 

Directions:
Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker.  Cover with soup and 7UP.  Cover and cook for 2-3 hours on low (I did 2).  Add rice and chicken broth and cook for 2-3 additional hours until chicken is cooked thoroughly (it just took 2 for me).  Keep warm until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Warm Quinoa Cranberry Salad with Butternut Squash

I came across this yummy recipe on Pinterest one day.  Great find.  While, I'm sure it's technically more of a fall dish, we happened to have everything needed to make this tasty dish.  Kind of.  I realized after I started that I had dried cherries, not cranberries.  However, I don't think it really made a huge difference.  It was still scrumptious.  Other than using cherries, the only thing I really changed from the original recipe is not adding butter...which I just totally forgot about.  Also, I simplified the whole butternut squash cubing process buy using the frozen, already cubed kind, from Sunflower Markets.  The family thought it was pretty great too.  The only "problem" was my brother wished I had made some kind of meat too.  I explained to him that it was Monday, and, therefore, meatless.  In reality, I just wasn't up to also cooking meat.  Oh well.  Here you go:

Warm Quinoa Cranberry Salad with Butternut Squash

Ingredients: 

1  c quinoa

2  c vegetable or chicken broth (low-sodium)

1  bag frozen, cubed butternut squash 

1/2  medium red onion, thinly sliced or diced

1/2  c dried cranberries (or cherries)

1  sprig of rosemary & a sprinkle of sage

2  tbsp EVOO

1/2  tsp salt

1   tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Cook quinoa in pot with broth over high heat.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Leave on stove for about 25 minutes or until broth is absorbed, stirring occasionally.  

Meanwhile, throw everything else into your Pampered chef steam-in-the-microwave thing.  Toss it around for a bit.  Cook it in the microwave until the butternut squash is cooked through and the onions are tender.  If you don't have a nifty steamer thing, you can bake it in the oven at 425.  

Once everything is done, mix the butternut squash mixture with the quinoa and add the apple cider vinegar.  Stir.  Serve.  Enjoy!

Almond Sheet Cake

I'm really enjoying the opportunities I've had recently to bake, try some, and send the rest along to others so that it doesn't end up on my thighs.  This cake is another Pinterest find, and it's definitely a keeper!  I made it for my mother's work party and it was a huge hit.  The almond flavor is just perfect.  The cake is the perfect texture and wonderfully moist.  I topped my slice off with some fresh cherries, pitted and quartered.  However, it could be topped with any kind of berry, or nothing at all!  It's absolutely divine either way.   

Almond Sheet Cake

(from Sweet & Savory by Sarah)

Cake Ingredients:

1  c butter

1  c water

2  c flour

2  c sugar

1  tsp baking soda

1/2  c sour cream

2  eggs

1 1/2  tsp almond extract 

Icing Ingredients:

1/2  c butter

1/4  c milk

3 1/2 to 4  c powdered sugar

1  tsp almond extract 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a jelly-roll pan with Pam or something.  In a small saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil.  In your large mixing bowl, add the flour and sugar.  Pour the boiling water and butter mixture over the flour and sugar mixture.  Beat well (but be careful so that your batter doesn't go flying everywhere!).  Add the baking soda.  Add the almond extract.  Add the sour cream.  Add the eggs.  Mix again, scraping down the sides at least once.  Pour into your greased pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until middle is set and toothpick comes out clean.  

Start your icing just before the cake is to come out of the oven.  Bring the butter and milk to a boil in a medium sauce pan.  Once boiling, remove from heat, and add the remaining ingredients to the sauce pan.  (I recommend adding the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, whisking between.)  Whisk until well mixed.  The consistency should be pourable, so be careful not to add too much powdered sugar.  Pour onto cake and let sit for at least 20 minutes before serving.   

Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans

As you might already know, I'm a big proponent of one-pan meals.  I really like being able to have my meat, vegetables, and starch all-in-one.  Makes things a lot easier.  I found my inspiration for this dish on, well, Pinterest.  The original recipe is from Real Simple, although I tweaked it a tad.  I was lucky enough to score my potatoes, green beans and lemons on a great sale at Sunflower Markets.  It's great when that happens!  Everyone really enjoyed this dish!  I must warn you, though, that any leftovers will be extra-lemony.  Not a problem for me, but could be too tart for some.  Here you go: 

Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans

Ingredients:

6  TBSP EVOO

2  lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 zest & juiced (after juicing, quarter the rind)

4  cloves garlic, minced

1  tsp salt

1/2  tsp ground black pepper

3/4  lb trimmed green beans

8  small red potatoes, quartered 

4  chicken breasts (I did skinless, boneless, but you're welcome to use with skin & bones)

Lemon pepper seasoning (optional) 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.  Coat a large baking dish/dutch oven/cast-iron skillet with 1 TBSP of EVOO.  Arrange the lemon slices and left over rind in a single layer in the bottom.  

In a large bowl,  combine the remaining EVOO, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices.  Add the potatoes to the same EVOO mixture and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the potatoes and place them along the edge of the dish/skillet on top of the green beans.  Place the chicken in the mixture and coat thoroughly.  Place the chicken (if it has skin, skin-side up)  in the dish/skillet.  Pour any remaining mixture over the chicken in the dish/skillet.  At this point, I chose to make sure my chicken was good and flavorful by sprinkling lemon pepper seasoning on both sides.  

Roast for about 50 minutes, or until chicken in thoroughly cooked.  Also check that the potatoes are nice and tender.  You may have to remove the chicken and cook the potatoes a while longer...but I didn't have that problem!  Serve it while it's warm.  Enjoy!