Use Up Those Bananas in Banana Banana Bread

You know those bananas that are speckled brown and the stores are selling super cheap just so they can sale them before they go bad?? You know the ones that grandma always kept for banana cookies or breads?? Well here is yet another great recipe for you to try.

Banana Banana Bread

2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/3 c mashed bananas
Preheat your oven to 350.

In a bowl, combine your flour, soda, and salt. (I always leave salt out of recipes!)
In a separate bowl, cream together your butter and brown sugar.

Stir in your eggs.
Mash your bananas.
Stir in your mashed bananas. (I didn't actually measure out the bananas - I just used what I have!)
Stir in your banana mixture to your flour mixture - just to moisten!
Pour batter into your greased pan. I used a pyrex dish because I don't have bread pans.
Bake for 60-65 minutes. This was for a bread pan. For my pyrex, it took about 23-25 minutes.

original recipe here

Reuse Old Formula Cans Into Table Top Essentials

Believe it or not you can make these stylish table top essentials pictured above from old formula cans.

To do so you will need
old washed out formula cans (labels removed)
- modge podge, double sided tape - your choice of adhesive
- scrapbook paper
- scissors/paper cutter
- embellishments (optional)


Start by:

Measure your paper to the height of your formula can. I lined up my paper and measured under and above the lips of the can. Use a paper cutter or scissors to cut your paper.

Be aware that a typical 12x12 paper will not go all the way around the can, you will need to cut an additional strip to cover where the paper will not reach. Use double sided tape to adhere the paper to the can Use paper and other embellishments to give your can more flair. .

You can of course use the cans for whatever you need 

Make and Share a Crispy Apple Treat

Fall in our family has always opened the door to apple time as well. My parents always took me and my siblings to the apple orchard where they would bring home what we picked and many more apples as well. You see apples would be our snacks, help make up meals and be offered in desserts as well. I continue the tradition of visiting the apple orchard but first will build up excitement as we make apple snacks, coloring sheets for days ahead of the trip These rice crispy apples made the list years ago and still are prepared to day Try them and enjoy

3 tablespoons butter
4 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
10 drops red food coloring
6-8 pretzel sticks
1 green fruit rollup (I used green sour “Rip Rolls”)
parchment paper 
Ice cream scoop
Knife or cooking scissors

Step 1: Melt butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Add marshmallows and mix until melted.
Step 2: Remove from heat and stir in Rice Krispies. Add 10 drops of red food coloring. Mix until ingredients are well combined.
Step 3: Lightly spray an ice cream scoop with cooking spray and use it to scoop up Rice Krispies mixture. Place scoops on a piece of parchment paper. Tip: You can lightly spray your hands with cooking spray to form rounder, apple shaped balls.
Step 4: Break pretzel sticks in half and stick pretzels into each “apple”.
Step 5: Use a knife or kitchen scissors to cut leaves out of green fruit roll ups (adults only). Place leaves on top of each “apple”.
Will Make:
makes 12-15 

Punctuation Not only for the Day but a Life time of Reading

Have you ever wondered what reading would be like without punctuation's?? What if someone was attempting to leave an important note to ask another a question. Without a question mark would it be understood that way or would they consider it to be a statement?? A book that demands statements of others to be understood would be hard to understand without these little folks " " A reader of a decleration would run out of air for sure without comma's which allow a quick break or periods that halts the reader for longer time. What if it was something that was full of excitement without the exclamation mark!!! How could the excitement ever be contained. Likewise information hosted within brackets is not for everyone and ind contained as to let the reader in on extra information.

The world is need of  commas just take a look

Here is other great punctuation marks and great reasons, ways and times to use them

Corn Cob Painting

In our area right outside of town you will find corn fields. Many times after the farmers have harvested the fields they will allow one to glean the fields for any corn that may be left behind. While the corn is good for many things from squirrels to crafts one of our favorite things is corn cob printing. This is a great activity to do with your child. The dried corn on the cob offers a texture that when rolled in paint leaves a textured painting. 

You will need: 
•paper plates (for paint) 
•ears of corn (some stripped of kernels, some with kernels) 
•tempera paint 
•paper (large sheets if available)

Cover a table with newspapers as this can be quite messy We were able to find some long rolls of paper and that is always nice to use with projects like this. Dip the corn cob in paint, use cob roller style and simply roll the cob on the paper One fun thing to do would be to use different colors for different effects. Compare prints made by cobs with and without corn.

Herb Roasted Chicken It's Whats For Supper

Dark crispy skin on a super moist chicken breast!

I scored $0.59/lb chickens today...4 of them. While I figured out what to do with all those birds, I thought it would be a good idea to throw a whole one in the oven. It's fast prep and smells so good while it roasts. 

I've made this recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook plenty of times. And I've learned to change it a little bit:

• The original recipe calls for melted butter which is supposed to get brushed onto the bird. Garlic is supposed to get rubbed onto the buttery skin and then the herbs go on. Sure, brushing warm butter onto a cold chicken works great! For about 0.1 second. That butter gets cold fast, which means you'll have flaking butter in some spots and gobs in others.  Most of it will wind up stuck to your brush. If you can manage to get the garlic to stick to that patchy butter, good for you. Good luck getting the spices rubbed on evenly.
• Original recipe doesn't say anything about rubbing the spices under the skin. That's a crime. Period.
• BHG also says to cook the bird at 375­°F the entire time. I've found that the skin just doesn't get as crispy as I like it that way and it drags out the cooking time, and sorta dries out the bird.

Check out what I did. Or click the link to view the recipe at BH&G.

Herb-Roasted Chicken 

1 5-lb whole chicken

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning or ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Rinse the chicken including the cavity; dry with paper towels.

In a small bowl stir basil, sage, thyme, salt, and lemon-pepper seasoning into olive oil and garlic, making a saucy paste.

Loosen the skin over the breasts and pour some of the herb mixture in the pocket. Massage the skin to allow the mixture to get spread over the breasts. Spread the mixture all over the exterior of the bird and if any remains, pour it into the cavity. Twist wing tips under back. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.

Oil and spices all over the back...

and the front... 

And what's left goes in the cavity.

Roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes at 425°F. Reduce temperature to 375°F and continue roasting for 45-60 minutes or until drumsticks move easily in their sockets and chicken is no longer pink (165°F).

Remove chicken from oven. Loosely cover; let stand for 10 minutes before carving.  The temperature will rise while standing up to 170°F.


If you have a cutting board with a juice-catching trough built in, use it. The juices from my bird always wind up all over the counter and this time was no exception. What I need is something like this from Epicurious. 

This has been a reliable recipe and turned out well again. Roast chickens also give me an excuse to eat Stove Top stuffing. Mmm! I love that stuff!

Cost: chicken, which, at $0.59/lb was probably just over $3. I'll round up to $4 and assume that covers the oil, garlic and herbs. That means each serving of chicken is $1. One single dollar. 

Pizza Pasta Bake

Pizza Pasta Bake

Kids would love, love, love this. It's so much like eating pizza! However, for the adult pizza-lover, this is good only for times of pizza desperation.

Pizza Pasta Bake
adapted from AllRecipes

1-12oz package uncooked rotini

1/2 c chopped onion
1 14-oz jar pizza sauce
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 c milk
1 3.25-oz package sliced pepperoni
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c sliced black olives
1/4 c chopped Canadian bacon
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in pasta, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the Italian sausage and onion until sausage is evenly brown and onion is tender. Drain grease.

 

In a bowl, mix the pizza sauce, tomato sauce, and milk.

Stir in the sausage and onion, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and Canadian bacon.
  

Gently mix in the cooked pasta until evenly coated.

  

Transfer to a lightly oiled 9x13" baking dish.

 

Cover, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven.

Remove cover, top with cheese, and continue baking 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

  


Easy to put together, most of the time was essentially hands-free. As for flavor, sure it tasted like pizza, but I quickly tired of it. Pasta is not the same as a nice crispy-chewy crust.  A small-ish serving is plenty for the palate, so plan on having a nice salad and crispy bread to accompany. Kids, I'm sure, could gorge on this meaty, cheesy, pasta dish.

Will I make it again?  I'm not opposed, but won't go out of my way to do it.

Cost:

• tri-color rotini: $0.99
• onion: $0.30
• pizza sauce: $1.59
• tomato sauce: $0.39
• milk: $0.19
• pepperoni: $2
• mushrooms: $1.12
• Canadian bacon: $2
• cheese: $1

TOTAL: $9.58 or $1.60 for each of 6 ginormous servings.

My Favorite Snacks

My favorite snacks will be my chosen theme to be included for the thirteen thursday meme.

1. popcorn (seasoned best)
2. caramels (these are great)
3. taffy (candy lover)
4. dinner mints (sweet stuff)
5. chips (salty)
6. jelly beans (sweet again)
7. pretzels (salty)
8. cheese crackers
9. mini sandwiches
10. slim jims
11. beef jerky
12. ritz crackers and cheese spread
13. anything I can find in the kitchen (desperation)

want to list your chosen list of 13? Head over here

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no rules weekend party

Fall Treat : White Chocolate Popcorn Treat

2 mini bags microwave popcorn - popped
1 cup fall colored sixlets (or any holiday variety)
1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 (7oz) jar marshmallow creme
½ stick butter

Pop popcorn & empty into a large bowl
In a saucepan, mix butter & marshmallow creme over medium heat until melted
Remove from heat & pour over popcorn
Add white chocolate chips
Fold & mix together until well coated
While folding the mixture add your sixlets making sure they don't all sink to the bottom of the bowl
Allow to cool before transferring into parchment lined buckets
You can tie a little gift tag to the bucket handle for added cuteness.


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