Strawberry Banana Bread

In the baking mode again! I had a few strawberries and bananas that were looking rough, so I made this yummy recipe! The girls and I LOVE it! Planning on taking some to school next week. Made a great baked meatball pasta that I will share later. Have a great rest of the weekend!

Ingredients- Makes 3 loafs (I made 2 regular loafs and 2 mini-loafs)

2 sticks of butter, softened
2 cup sugar
4 beaten eggs
5 mashed bananas
4 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 container fresh strawberries chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your loaf pans (or even muffin tins). Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

In a small bowl, beat eggs using a fork. Add eggs to sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add mashed bananas and combine.

Sift or whisk to combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add sifted dry ingredients to banana mixture and mix until flour is just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! Fold in strawberries.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. The edges will be slightly brown and a toothpick or knife should come out clean. Cool completely before removing from loaf pans.

2 mini loafs and 2 regular loafs…

The girls love the middle of bread, so I cut 2 pieces for them. Perfectly baked! Katie even had 2 pieces.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

YUM! I am on a baking kick lately. I am loving the baking process. Going to try to do one baking project a week (at least).

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 package of chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tray with non-stick cooking spray or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Slowly add to the dry ingredients. Gently fold together. Do not overwork.

Divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups and bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 375°F and bake for another 13-15 minutes. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy warm.

Blueberry Muffin Hack

I had a container of blueberries that needed some loving, so I tried this blueberry hack for copycat Otis Spunckmier muffins. SO AMAZING!!!!!!

Ingredients

1 package whole blueberries
1 Package White Cake Mix
1 Package of Instant Vanilla Pudding 4 serving size
4 Eggs (beaten)
1/2 C. Vegetable Oil
3/4 C. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions

Rinse blueberries lightly and drain well. In mixing bowl beat eggs until light. To the eggs add cake mix, pudding, vegetable oil, vanilla, and milk. Beat until smooth but do not over beat. About two to two and half minutes. Batter will be thick.

Carefully fold blueberries in batter with a spoon or spatula. try not to break the berries, they can be very tender.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes depending on the size of you muffin cups. Test with a tooth pick and taking care not to over bake. Will make about 9 large muffins or 12 – 15 small muffins.

Banana Bread Two Ways

Over ripe bananas call for a little baking! Decided to try it two new ways! Happy Sunday!

Ingredients

For the bread:

3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Cinnamon Swirl: 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon

Blueberry: 1 cup of fresh blueberries

Directions for the Cinnamon Swirl Bread-

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and four a loaf pan. These would be great in muffin tins as well.
Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!
In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.
Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, but remember, if you’re using a different-sized loaf pan, be careful and keep a close eyeball on it!

Directions for the Blueberry Bread

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and four a loaf pan. These would be great in muffin tins as well.
Mix butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla and baking soda together. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!
Gently stir in blueberries
Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

So yummy! The girls gobbled up an entire spoonful! Serve with ice cream for an amazing dessert or warm for a yummy breakfast…

Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Ingredients
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, more for greasing pan
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup sugar
Pinch salt
½ loaf sweet egg bread, cubed- I used apple bread 
2 eggs, beaten

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a medium sized baking dish and fill it with bread.

2. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt. Continue cooking just until butter melts; cool.

2. Add eggs to cooled milk mixture and whisk; pour mixture over bread. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until custard is set and the edges of bread have browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast

It is a beautiful Sunday morning here in Georgia. We had a lazy morning sleeping in a bit, then I woke up and made the girls one of their favorite breakfasts, homemade french toast. My goal for the new school year is to make a batch of something on the weekends to freeze for breakfast during the week. The mornings can get hectic, so I know I rely on frozen waffles and french toast sticks a lot. Not only is it cheaper to make your own, it is also much healthier. This recipe was a hit, as my girls will eat anything drenched in cinnamon sugar =)

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast

4 pieces of bread- I used the challah bread that I got from the farmer’s market yesterday. PERFECTION!

Mixture- I really don’t use particular recipe… or exact measurements. Usually it just depends on how much I am making and what kind of bread I am using. Today I whisked 4 eggs in about 1 cup heavy cream. I added about a tablespoon cinnamon and 1/2 tablespoon of nutmeg,and a bit of salt to taste. I whisked it all together, then dunked the bread on both sides and let it soak up all that yummy goodness. On medium heat, I warmed up about a tablespoon of butter in a pan and cooked on both sides until browned, about 2 minutes on each side. I topped with cinnamon sugar and warm maple syrup.

Spaghetti and Meatball Bake and Cheesy Garlic and Herb Bread

Hey kids! This week has been SUPER long. Tomorrow is finally Friday! The hubby and I are going on a much needed date night and the girls are going to the gym. My awesome gym has Date night every Friday night. We take advantage of it every few weeks. Not sure what we will do, but I can guarantee there will be a cocktail or two involved for this mama :0

Tonight I made a riff on Spaghetti and Meatballs. I basically put all the cooked ingredients (pasta- whole wheat thin spaghetti, meatballs- frozen and thawed in a pan, and sauce- marinara that I added fresh basil and thyme to) in a casserole pan and topped with shredded mozzarella. I baked it for 15 minutes, right about when the cheese started to bubble and turn brown.

The V-shaped basil at the bottom has no meatballs. Perfect for some veggie pasta leftovers =)

I also made some garlic herb butter (3 tablespoons butter, 3 minced garlic, and 1 handful of chopped basil and thyme) that I slathered on some bread. Then I topped it with mozzarella. You are welcome! =) Amy