Banana Bread

Sorry for the long break from writing.  I had SUCH a busy weekend.  It was my birthday, and I had a great time with family and friends!  (And, ate WAY too much!)  Unfortunately, I didn't cook much this weekend.  I got what I have wanted for a few months now, a Nookbook.  Actually, to be honest, my husband gave it to me a week early!  I know, what a sweetie!  I absolutely love it, but I have to admit, I have been spending way too much time reading and not enough time cooking or crafting.  I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things.


So, when Sunday came and I saw those brown bananas sitting on my counter, I figured it was time to get bakin'.  I normally use a recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook, but I decided to venture out and find a new one.  I think I might just like this one better too.  The recipe didn't have nuts to be added, but I added some chopped up walnuts to make it taste even better!

Doesn't that just look delish!!!  Trust me it was very good.  I still have lots to eat too!  I can't wait!

The recipe was found on the food network here

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.  

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.  Mix in the milk and cinnamon.  

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined.  Add the dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.  (I added the chopped up walnuts after this, just a cup, but add however much you want).  

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes.  Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.  

ENJOY!

Chicken, Carmalized Onions, and Tomatoes

Here you go.  

The final thing that was served at our Valentines dinner.  

It was SO good and I will definitely be making it again.  We make so much chicken and it's good to find another way to make it.  I searched for days for the perfect thing to make.  I found this recipe on another cooking blog, For the Love of Cooking.  You can find the recipe here.  I thought the recipe was going to be a hard one to do when I first saw the picture, but it was extremely easy to do and tasted like I worked really hard on it.  Bonus!

I wasn't so sure that I would like the feta cheese that was on top, but it tasted fabulous and I have been putting that cheese on my salads now.  Isn't it great how you try something and end up loving it!

Here's the recipe!  Hope you all like it!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup of red grape tomatoes
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Garlic powder, to taste
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 tbsp of feta cheese

The How to:

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and a bit of salt then saute until golden brown and caramelized - about 15-20 minutes.
In large grill pan, heat the other tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and season the chicken breasts with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, and garlic powder, to taste. Make sure pan is nice and hot before adding the chicken. Cook for 5-6 minutes before turning over. Cook for additional 3-4 minutes to desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat to a serving platter. Make sure to let the chicken rest for 3-5 minutes before slicing so it stays nice and juicy. Slice into thin strips at an angle once it has rested.
In the same skillet as the onions, add the grape tomatoes then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Add minced garlic, stirring frequently for 60 seconds. Pour the tomatoes and onions on top of the sliced chicken, drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Top with feta cheese and fresh basil.

Since her picture looked better than mine, and shows the basil (which I ended up not using):  here's what it looks like with lots of practice :)

ENJOY!

Artichoke Dip

Excuse the poor picture.  This was a little hard to capture the goodness of the dip.  It really is delicious!

 Joe and I LOVE artichoke dip.  I made it for our Valentines Dinner.  We could did eat it all up ourselves!  We found the best one at the restaurant, The Garden.  The recipe I am going to share is a great comparison.  I got it from a trainer at work and I just can't get enough of it!

Ingredients:

1 8-oz package cream cheese

1 package shredded Parmesan cheese

1-2 cans of artichoke hearts (non-marinated)

Red pepper flakes

Garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop up artichoke hearts very finely.  I like to use a food processor.  Put the artichoke hearts and cream cheese in a glass bowl and microwave for 3-5 minutes.  You don't need to mix it together before putting it in the microwave.  Add cheese and spices.  When I add the spices, I basically just sprinkle each one of the spices on top, but you can season it to your own tasting.  Cook another 3-5 minutes, or bake in the oven for 15 mintues at 350 degrees for a crunchy texture.  Serve hot with Frito scoops, or tortilla chips. YUM!  YUM!

Enjoy!

Cupcakes, Cookies, and Chocolate....Oh My!

This is what my kitchen looked like on Thursday night, up until almost 11 at night!  

My little sister asked me to help her make a bunch of goodies to give to her boyfriend for Valentines Day.  When I asked her what we should make, she told me to come up with a list of things and then we would pick.  So, here's the list I came up with:

Cupcakes
Sugar Cookies
Rolo Cookies
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Chocolate Covered Pretzels

After texting her this list, this was her response, "Yeah, let's make ALL of that".  My first reaction, WHAT!? Are you crazy?  That's going to be so much stuff!  Then, I got excited to just be able to bake.  I think I like baking more than cooking anything else. :)

We started out making the rolo and sugar cookies.  For those that missed the post about the rolo cookies, you can find the recipe here.  I did one thing different this time around though, and I think we all liked the cookies more than the original recipe.  We accidentally forgot to roll the cookie balls in sugar before putting them in the oven.  They tasted really good without the sugar on top and I will probably never roll them in the sugar again.

As for the sugar cookies, I got the recipe from my friend, Erin.  The recipe originally was for whole wheat sugar cookies, but I just use regular.  I know, I know.  I should be using whole wheat flour to make them somewhat more healthy, but I like them with the regular flour.  They are really fluffy.  If you do use whole wheat flour, just know they may be a little more flat and heavier than regular flour.  My friend will sometimes use half wheat flour and half regular.  I have searched for long time for a great sugar cookie recipe that is super soft, and stays soft days after they are made.  This is the perfect recipe.  These sugar cookies taste better than those individually packaged, big, pink, frosted sugar cookie with the sprinkles.....you know what cookie I'm talking about.  They used to be my favorite sugar cookies to eat until I tried Erin's cookies.

Well, enough talking about them.  Here's the recipe to try.  Again, if you want to make them whole wheat, just substitute the whole wheat flour for the regular flour.

Ingredients:

1 Cup butter

4 Cups flour

1/2 Cup milk

2 Eggs

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

2 tsp. Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Cut butter into flour, set aside. 

Combine remaining ingredients in separate bowl, then mix with flour and butter.  

Roll dough at 1/8 inch thickness. 

If dough is too sticky to roll, add more flour, or put in the fridge for awhile to harden.

  Cut with your favorite cookie cutters.

Put on ungreased cooking sheet and back for 8 minutes.

Let cool and frost! (I like to use cream cheese frosting)

I bet you thought that was going to be the end of the post.  But, remember, we were baking all sorts of goodies that night, so next up, chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels.

What you need: 

Strawberries, pretzels, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and wax paper

They were way easy to make.  I'm sure everyone knows how to make them, but just in case, here's what I did. I melted a bag of milk chocolate chips on low on the stove.  Once it was melted, I dipped the strawberries, holding them by the stem.  Lay them on wax paper to dry and harden.  After I took this picture, I drizzled some white chocolate on the strawberries as well.  I forgot to take a new picture, but you can see them in the picture posted at the beginning of this post.

The pretzels were dipped in both chocolate and white chocolate chips.  We put a bunch in the melted chocolate and mixed them really well.  Then used a fork to take them out of the chocolate and drain.  Again, put on wax paper.  The white chocolate pretzels harden a lot faster than the milk chocolate pretzels.

Don't they look delish!!!  They were so good! 

As for the cupcakes, we cheated a little and bought a chocolate cake mix.  Then decorated them with cream cheese frosting and a strawberry on top.

Sorry for the bad picture.  It was getting late and we were so tired!

And the end result. Here's the baskets that we made for both her boyfriend and Joe.

 Full of SUGAR!  Not only did we have the baked goods in there, but my sister also got a bunch of candy to put in there as well.  We definitely spoiled them with sweets!  As I mentioned in my last post, Joe and I celebrated Valentines Day early, so I gave him this basked full of sugar and the card that I made and posted yesterday.  He loved it!


I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day and gets to enjoy some good food and treats!
What's your favorite treat to have around Valentines Day?

Valentine's Day Card

Whew....what a busy day I had yesterday.  Since Joe has to work Valentines night, we decided to celebrate Valentines Day early and had a great dinner last night.  I got off of work around 3 and spent an hour and a half going to various stores to pick up last minute items.  Then, when I was about to make a part of the meal, I found out that I had forgotten to grab cream cheese, grrrrrrrrrrrrr................so back to trudged on back to the store.  Isn't that how it always turns out though?

Over the next couple of days I will be posting various items that I made for this Valentines night.
First up:  Anyone hate buying cards?  I HATE it!  I spend way too much time in the aisle, staring at the thousands upon thousands of cards.  After about 20 minutes, I've read about 100 and still can't find the perfect one.  One thing I love to do is make cards, so when I found this super cute card, I just had to make it.

Who would have thought to go to a hardware store, pick out some paint charts and make a card with them?!  Not me!  The paint chart was perfect for this card.  The three colors are called, Sizzle, Burning Love, and Smoldering Coals, but you can get whatever names you would like.  I made my own little spin on it with the glittery letters because I couldn't find the ones that they used. You can find the directions on their website here.  If you haven't seen this website before, GO CHECK IT OUT!  It's called the Dating Divas.  It's a great website to find ideas!

But, back to the card....super easy to make, not that expensive, and did I mention that my husband loved it!

Enjoy

Valentine's Surprise #6

Last night was not a good night for me.  I started getting stomach pains around 3 in the afternoon at work.  Luckily, the real sickness didn't kick in until I got home.  Yep, I had the stomach flu.  Joe came home early from work to take care of me, and due to work being really slow.  He has been taking really good care of me today as well.

One thing that has been on my mind all day today is Surprise #6.  I kept asking him when I was going to get it.  If he had it here in the house.  Did he have to go to the store to get it. And so on and so on.  One thing you need to know about me is I love surprises, but also hate them.  I hate the waiting.....

So, Joe finally handed me my #6.  His top 6th reason out of 7 why he loves me.

I love that he thinks I am sweet like chocolate!  I LOVE symphony bars.  The chocolate melts in your mouth.....mmmmm.  I am so excited to dig into this candy bar!  Sadly, I will have to wait for my tummy to get better and won't be able to devour it until tomorrow.  I CAN'T WAIT!

What's your favorite chocolate treat?

Valentine's Surprise #7

I truly believe I am the luckiest girl ever and have the best husband, I know every girl says this, but I really do KNOW that I am the luckiest, he he.  He is very creative and always has little surprises for me to show how much he cares.  Our schedules overlap with work during the week.  We aren't able to see each other until he gets home from work, which means I am usually already passed out on the couch. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yesterday was one of the days where I come home to an empty house.  Little did I know I had a surprise waiting for me:

On the island in our kitchen was a single red rose with 2 notes attached.  The first note explained what was going on.
Basically, he wanted to show me the top 7 reasons why he loves me over the next 7 days leading up to Valentines Day.....(insert  awwwww).  I know, so cute I could have melted right there when I read it.

The second note had his #7 reason:

I don't know how he feels about me posting what he did to the whole blogging world, but I had to share.  I am so excited to see what the other surprises will be this week.

What kind of things do you and your spouse/significant other do for Valentine's Day?

Chicken Pasta Salad

Better lat then never right?!  Sorry it took me a few days to get this posted.  Sunday was a little crazy with the Superbowl and then I ended up getting the flu last night, so I'm just starting to feel well enough to walk around today.  So, here ya go.

I got this recipe from my mom.  It's one of my favorite salads to make.  Delicious!  And, super easy to make. Joe and I will eat this alone as a main dish, but you can use it as a side dish as well.

Ingredients:

2 lb skinless chicken, cooked (either boiled, or can use canned chicken)

Carrots

Celery

Cucumber

Shredded cheddar cheese

Large elbow noodles

Mayonnaise

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Steps to make the Salad:

1. Fill a large pot full of water and a little salt.  Bring to a boil.  Add the uncooked noodles and cook according to the directions on the package.

2.  While noodles are cooking, shred the cooked chicken breasts and dice the vegetables (make them pretty small).  Add to a large bowl.

3. Mix the chicken, vegetables, and noodles together with a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise.  Not too much.  Just enough to mix everything together well.  

4.  Add shredded cheese to the mix.  Mix well.  Cheese should start to melt.

5.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  I prefer to use Lawry's seasoning salt, but use whatever.  

This is best served hot, while the cheese is melted :)

Enjoy!!!

Superbowl=Food

When I think of the superbowl, there are three things that come to my mind:

Food

Hilarious Commercials

Football

And yes, they are in that order.  I like watching football, occasionally, but basketball is my sport of choice.

Joe and I went to the store today to grab some last minute items to make a salad and cookies for our party.  I could not believe how many people were out doing the same thing.  The grocery store employees were even getting into the season of football.  They had various stations around the store set up with football decorations, employees dressed like referees, and of course, samples of yummy food to eat during the game. 

So......What is your favorite game day treat?

Mine, anything with a dip.  I love salty foods and LOVE chips and salsa!  My 2nd favorite dip is artichoke dip.  Sadly, I won't be making either of these tomorrow, so I'll have to post the recipes later on when I do get around to making them.  I'll post the recipe to the pasta salad that I am making tomorrow, so until then, Happy Cooking and Snacking......

Here's a pic to get your mouth watering to prepare for your snack feast.



Whole Wheat Fettuccine with Grilled Chicken and Zucchini

Who doesn't love Olive Garden?  The great bread sticks. Great Italian food.  It's so DELICIOUS!  One of my favorite dishes there is grilled chicken fettuccine alfredo.  As I have mentioned before, I'm trying to eat healthier, so going to Olive Garden whenever I want, probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.  I found a healthier alternative to this great entrée on the Food Network website.  Whole wheat fettuccine with grilled chicken and zucchini.  For those of you who don't like zucchini (ahem...Emily, just kidding), try it first and if you don't like them, take them out.  I really enjoyed this dish and will make it again soon!  What other favorite dishes do you enjoy at restaurants?

Here's the recipe, which can also be found on the Food Networks website here

Ingredients:

• kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 4 4-ounce thin skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• freshly ground pepper
• 12 ounces fettuccine (preferable whole wheat)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cold low-fat milk (1%)
• 1/2 cup evaporated nonfat milk
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 clove garlic and cook 30 seconds.  Add the zucchini, cover and cook until tender, stirring, about 6 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl.

Heat another tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper( I like to use Mrs. Dash's table seasoning blend instead of salt and pepper) and cook through, 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Transfer to plate.

Cook the pasta as directed on box.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water; return pasta to the pot.

Whisk the flour and low-fat milk in a bowl.  Place the remaining 1 clove garlic and 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet and cook, over medium-high heat, 30 seconds.  Add the four-milk mixture and bring to a boil, stirring.  Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.  Add the evaporated milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the cheese.  Stir to melt, about 1 minute.

Cut the chicken into strips.  Toss with the pasta, sauce, zucchini and parsley; adding the reserved pasta water to loosen.

ENJOY!