Banana Crumble Muffin Recipe

Here it is for those who asked! Click here: Awesome banana muffins

I added a 1/2 tsp vanilla and substituted 1/3 cup of olive oil for the butter to lose the trans fats : )

Go Bananas!

Remember these? There were over 150 bananas in that lovely loot. A few more than our normal 24 per week quota. : )

And since bananas go bad pretty quickly, we had to get busy. We chopped up half of them and frooze them for smoothies later on. And then I started baking. The Banana crumble muffins I made were just heavenly. Ended up making them twice last week.

Then we discovered an easy and A-M-A-Z-I-N-G recipe for bananas foster. HOLY BANANA-RONI! Had to make that twice too.

After the bananas foster I thought maybe I should try something a little healthier. I found a weightwatchers recipe for Banana Oat bread. Very hearty and quite filling.

On Sunday morning the girls helped me make banana pancakes. We topped them with the most divine homemade banana syrup. Taste bud nirvana.

Strawberry/banana and chocolate/banana smoothies were also a big hit for breakfast during our banana week.

And of course, whenever the girls wanted a snack, they still asked for plain old bananas. : )

People thought we were crazy taking home all those bananas but my Dad always taught me, "Waste not, want not. " Dad, I hope this makes you proud : )

Grillin' like a Villian

Grilling weather is here and Taber is loving it.

I am too of course, less cooking for me!!

The other day he brought home some trout that a guy from work gave him.

How can an Alaska boy say no to fresh fish?

He grilled it up and the biggest surprise of the night- Teya (her royal pickiness) LOVED it!

She ate an entire fish and asked for more.

She wasn't even grossed out by the head and dead fishy eyeballs

(can't say the same for myself)

Like Father like Daughter I guess!

If you like Samoa Girl Scout Cookies...

Then I bet you'll like this!

(click to enlarge)

Very EASY toasted coconut ice cream Sundae recipe which tastes to me, like a cold and creamy Samoa girl scout cookie.

Just pour about a cup (or however much you want) of shredded coconut (the baking kind) on a cookie sheet and toast it in the oven at about 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, stirring it up occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn. You want it to be a tan color.

Meanwhile stick your ice cream on the counter so it can soften up. When the coconut is toasted, dump it onto a plate and let it cool down for a minute. Then make a ball with the ice cream and roll it in the coconut till it's covered. Top with hot fudge, caramel and whipped cream. Heaven in a bowl!!!

Little Chefs

When I was in Utah my crafty friend Melinda made these adorable aprons for the girls with their names embroidered on them. I had mentioned on my blog that I wanted to find little aprons for them so she just went ahead and made them!! I thought it was the sweetest most thoughtful gift and the girls LOVE them. Especially Teya who wouldn't even take hers off last night until it was time to get in the bath tub!

With their little aprons we have been inspired to do some kid friendly cooking.

We made the very hungry caterpillar pizza one night.

And last night we decided to make mummy hot dogs.

Probably more of a Halloween type meal but the girls didn't care! They were just happy to be cooking with their mommy.

Thanks Mel for the awesome gift! They are being put to good use!

Delicious GUILTLESS Recipes!!

Being a foodie has it's disadvantages, mainly the toll it takes on your waistline. Which is why I am SO pumped about these recipes I found on the weightwatchers website. I know, I know...You're thinking, "weightwatchers....diet food? Bleh!"

But this is not diet food!! At least, it doesn't taste like it. It's rich, savory and DELICIOUS!!! My family went crazy over it, even Brinley was chowing it down! And when you find a recipe that's good for you and that your kids will actually eat, well, it's only right to share.

Recipe 1: Mushroom Risotto: 5 ww points per serving

I made two risottos, I'll share both recipes but this one was hands down the family favorite. So flavorful and creamy. Taber was just sad I didn't double the recipe! (by the way, I took this picture when the food was still piping hot and you can kind of see the yummy aromatic steam coming off it. mmmmmmm....)

Ingredients

	5 cup(s) vegetable broth, mushroom-flavor recommended (I coudn't find mushroom flavor but I still thought it tasted awesome with regular vegetable broth)
	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2 tsp unsalted butter, divided
	1 small onion(s), minced
	1 pound(s) cremini mushrooms, shredded or thinly sliced (also known as baby bellas)
	1/3 cup(s) white wine (They have cooking wine in the vinegar section)
	1 1/2 cup(s) uncooked arborio rice (found this by the regular rice in a little box)
	1/2 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano recommended
	1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
	1/2 cup(s) parsley, fresh, minced

Instructions

• Place broth in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm.
  
  
• Meanwhile, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add1 teaspoon butter and cook until melted.
  
  
• Add onion; cook, stirring, until onion begins to caramelize, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release moisture, about 5 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; reduce liquid by half, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove vegetables from pan; set aside.
  
  
• Add remaining teaspoon of butter to same pan; cook until melted. Add rice; stir to coat with butter. Pour about 1/2 cup warm broth into rice; stir to keep grains from sticking to sides of pan. Keep stirring until all of broth is absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup warm broth and repeat process. Keep adding broth and stirring in this manner until all of broth is used and rice is just cooked but not mushy (should still be slightly chewy), about 18 to 20 minutes. (this is the most time consuming part because you really have to babysit it for the whole 20 minutes, but again, totally worth it!)
  
  
• Stir in vegetables and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in parsley. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving.

Recipe 2: Creamy Orzo Risotto with Butternut Squash 5 ww points per serving

The butternut squash was a beast to cut up, but I did that while Brinley was napping so when it was time to make dinner everything went really smoothly. Taber and I loved this one, the butternut squash has a subtle sweetness to it that really balances the creamy parmesan flavor of the pasta.

Ingredients

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2 cup(s) butternut squash, cut into small cubes
	1/2 tsp olive oil
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
	1 cup(s) uncooked orzo
	1 1/2 cup(s) water
	1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
	1 tsp thyme, fresh, or 8 whole sprigs (sprigs preferred) (I didn't have fresh thyme so I used 1/2 tsp of dried)
	2 Tbsp fat-free half-and-half
	1/3 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
  
  
• In a medium bowl, toss squash with oil and salt; spread in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, leaving space between squash cubes. Roast, stirring halfway through, until squash is tender and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  
  
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add orzo. Stir constantly until orzo begins to smell toasty, about 3 minutes. Add water, broth and thyme sprigs; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is nearly absorbed, about 15 minutes.
  
  
• Remove thyme sprigs; stir in half-and-half, cheese and roasted squash. Season well with salt and pepper; serve. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving.

Recipe 3: chocolate dipped macaroons: 1 ww point per serving

And you can't have a great dinner without dessert right? This recipe looked easy and I had all the ingredients so I figured why not? We tried them with and without the chocolate. Taber liked them better without and I liked them better with! I probably ate more than I needed but hey, at one point each I didn't feel too bad : )

Ingredients

	3 large egg white(s)
	2/3 cup(s) sugar
	1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
	2 1/2 cup(s) packaged shredded coconut, unsweetened
	3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line one or two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  
  
• In a large bowl, whisk egg whites with sugar. Add vanilla and coconut; stir to combine.
  
  
• Scoop up a level tablespoon of batter and form into a ball with your hands; repeat with remaining batter. Place each ball about 1-inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.
  
  
• Bake until tops just start to turn light tan, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove cookies to a cooling rack for about 30 minutes.
  
  
• Place chocolate in a double boiler or heavy pot; melt over low heat, stirring occasionally (do not allow to burn). Keep chocolate warm and pliable as you dip tops of cookies into chocolate. Place dipped cookies on a metal tray evenly spread apart so they’re not touching; freeze until chocolate sets, about 20 to 30 minutes. Yields 1 cookie per serving.

Hope you enjoy these! I know I did : )

Team Baking

This year for Teya's birthday I recruited some help for her cake. My friend Laura is very artistic and happens to have a cake decorating kit so together we decided to tackle Teya's request for a Little Mermaid cake.

I've always wanted to do a cake with fondant and since I had backup I decided to give it a try. We got together on Tuesday to make the fondant and although we made a huge mess, it was a lot easier than I thought. Coloring it was a little work but it wasn't too bad. Then on Friday we baked the cakes and got to work decorating.

Teya made up the 3rd member of our team and was VERY involved in the process. She loved tasting the frosting, mixing the colors, and giving us her opinions on how we should decorate. While she and Laura stacked the cake I rolled out the fondant.

Once the cake was thoroughly frosted in buttercream we carefully laid the fondant on top.

Laura smoothed and pinched it into place

Then took a pizza cutter and cut out off the extras

After that she started piping on the scenery

She was so good with all the details and every time I looked back at the cake I was amazed at how well it was coming together.

Here's the finished product. We were quite pleased with ourselves!

We used brown sugar at the bottom to look like sand and melted white chocolate into a seashell mold to make the shells. Teya was thrilled and proclaimed it, "the most beautiful cake EVER!"

Obviously I couldn't have done it myself, so many many thanks to Laura for all her help and yay for team baking!

Kitchen Warriors

It may have taken us 3 1/2 hours, and I may never attempt such an ambitious recipe again, but Maria and I are claiming kitchen warrior status for the homemade lasagna we made for our men last night! Here is a link to the recipe http://mylasagnarecipe.com/ Let's just say it involved us cutting up fresh basil leaves, grating a pound a real mozzarella, and throwing in spices I've never cooked with, like fennel seed. Oh yeah, we are hard core!!! (all you REAL hard core chefs are like, "aw, cute, Becca thinks she can cook now... bless her heart") But seriously! We felt so accomplished! (Of course, I think it would've taken me 5 hours without Maria and I probably would've had a meltdown somewhere in the middle) Still, I'm patting myself on the back for trying something new. I'd also like to mention that we made homemade bread rolls, fresh green beans, and a strawberry poppyseed salad for extra credit. Our men were quite appropriately blown away, and I'm giving myself the weekend off cooking because I EARNED it! : )

My mother would be proud

After 7 1/2 years of being married and living away from home, I finally attempted my mom's famous recipes for Teriyaki chicken and Kalua pig. I don't know why it took me so long, maybe I was just intimidated by the fact that there is no recipe, just a pinch of this and a handful of that, and keep putting it in till it taste right kind of instructions. I practiced it 2 nights before the big event, and I'm glad I did because my first pig was a disaster. After making a few adjustments though I tried again and it was a huge success. All our friends loved it and Taber was very happy that I tried something new in the kitchen. : ) Most of all though I just kept thinking that I wished my mom was there because I know she would've been proud. : )

Taber and Brinley dressed up in their Hawaiian gear to help set the mood. Teya and I don't have any Hawaiian stuff so I guess we better get on that!