Banana Nutella Oat Muffins

I had some bananas on the way to brown-town and needed a recipe for something to go with my morning coffee.  Solution?  Wing it with some banana muffins!  I searched pinterest for some basic recipes to get me started and pulled something together with the ingredients I had.  The result was delicious!  I needed to save the recipe for another breakfast in the future.

Banana Nutella Oat Muffins 

1 cup flour
1 cup +2 tbsp oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
4 tbsp butter (melted)
1/4 cup skim milk, frothed
1/3 cup + 1tbsp Nutella
3 mashed medium bananas, about 1 cup
2 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine bananas, milk, vanilla, egg, butter, Nutella and sugar in a large bowl. 

In a separate bowl, add flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda and stir.  Slowly add to banana mixture and beat until mixture is fully combined.  Consistency should be in between a cookie and cupcake batter.

Line cupcake tin and add batter, recipe makes 12 muffins.  Cook for about 30 minutes, check that toothpick comes out clean before taking out to cool.  

Enjoy warm or cool, refrigerate extra muffins.

strawberry banana smoothie

i've been on a healthy-kick lately, so my last trip to the supermarket i got plenty of fruit... maybe i went a little overboard.  so i had just what i needed to make a quick and easy smoothie.  i narrowed it down to try out a strawberry banana smoothie.

ingredients are pretty simple... i eye-balled the measurements,
but all you really need is:

20 strawberries (i used a little more than half the pack)
1-2 bananas (i only used one, but next time i'll use another half!)
3/4 cup milk (depending how creamy you like it, and i used 1% to keep it healthy!)
1 1/2 cup ice (depending how icy you like it, i like a lot of ice)

not many ingredients, plus-- quick & healthy!  great for the morning

before work, just cut up your fruit the night before.  

cut up the strawberries & bananas into big chunks and
put everything into your blender.

i wish i left a couple on the side to garnish with-- so don't forget to
put some aside if you want a cute garnish for your cup!

i like to put half the ice i'm going to use so it blends evenly,
then i'll add the rest in once i've blended it a bit.

press the button a few times, and your deliciously simple smoothie is all set!!

drink up!

Super Fruit Salad

Super Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

1 Pineapple

1 Canteloupe

1/2 Honeydew

1 Apple

2 Cartons Strawberries

3-5 Kiwi

1 Carton Blueberries

Grapes

...And just some extra cookies for me. Ha!

Directions:

Slice Canteloupe in half, clear out seeds with spoon.  Cut half in half, and again so you have 8 slices.  Slice inside part from the skin and cut into big chunks.
Line bottom of big bowl.
Cut up honeydew and line up on top of canteloupe.
Slice off top of pineapple, shave off sides.  Cut off around core and in large chunks.
Line on top of honeydew.
Core and cut apple and line on top of pineapple.
Cut off leaf and half and quarter the strawberries and add on top of apple.
Cut off top and bottom of each kiwi and slice off skin on the sides using knife-
cut into thick slices.  Layer on top of strawberries.
Add grapes and take out stems from any blueberries and add on top of salad.
Store in closed, refrigerated tupperware until serving.  

*Hint- if not serving immediately, put apples in separate container 

and drizzle with lemon to keep from turning brown.

When serving, pour half into serving bowl and mix.  Slowly add remainder of fruit and toss as you pour, this should help to evenly mix the salad.

Delicious and healthy too!

Bon Appetit!

Quadruple berry crisp a la mode

Quadruple Berry Crisp a la Mode

This was my take on Mountain Mama Cooks': Triple Berry Crisp, but I just added in some raspberries. And a lot more butter... oops.  But it sure was delicious!!

Favorite parts:

Blueberries

Blackberries

Raspberries

Strawberries

Walnuts

Oats

Brown Sugar

Vanilla Ice Cream

Cool Whip

Add a scoop of ice cream next to the berry crisp and a dollop of cool whip on top-- I like a little drizzle of the extra juice leftover from the sugary fruit mixture on top.  Ingredients really come together to give a warm and cold contrast with the berry and crispy oats and the ice cream.  Deeelicious!!

Quick and Easy Berry Shortcake

Quick and Easy Berry Shortcake 

Ingredients:

Strawberries

Blackberries

Raspberries

Granulated Sugar (about 1 1/2 C)

Pillsbury Flaky Biscuits

Confectioners sugar (dusting)

Ice Cream

Whipped Cream

Rinse and combine blackberries, raspberries and quartered strawberries with 

1 cup sugar in a bowl and mix well.  

Add extra scoop of sugar on top.   Cover with saran wrap and put in the refrigerator. 

Open the biscuits and separate each one.  Pour more sugar into a bowl and 

coat each biscuit on all sides (including around the sides!)

Grease a cookie sheet lined with tin foil with butter and put biscuits on top.  

Cook as the directions instruct, usually about 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. 

Cut biscuit (or pull apart) in half and add berry mixture between and on top of the 

biscuit pieces, and drizzle extra juice on top.  

Add some whipped cream or ice cream to the side.  

Serve warm.  

reallylongpictureposttomakeupforlosttime

The past few weeks I've been on vacation from work and just a couple weeks ago I started school... MIA! Here's plenty of random pictures to make up for lost time,

Birdhouse by the cottage-- now you can see it since I trimmed all the ivy! 

Here's a little package I put together to bring to Kara Ann's house lunch! Our famous (and to be blogged about in the future) quesadilla pockets! Or pockadillas, we like to call 'em.

  

Simple ingredients. oil, cheese, salsa and tortillas.   

Dinner and dessert with Kara and Kevin after lunch. Orzo pasta salad, mmm.

 
Step one: Make orzo.  Boil water, let sit, strain, stir, you know the drill.

 
step two: dice up some cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and cucumber

 
step three: mix it up!~!

  
step four: add some spices and/or dressing (we used a little italian dressing when we got it to our plates)  and gobble up!!! 

And for dessert........... 

 
CUPCAKES!!! and yes, they're in ice cream cones. :) 

ACTIVITIES:

My vacation was filled with lounging around, hanging out with

 
Last shot of the cabana season!

 

 

Am I obsessed with birds or something?

 

CRAFTS:


DIY glass mosaic table I made with Drew.

 

 

 

 

 

Love my close-ups ;)

THRIFT STORE/GARAGE SALE FINDS:

 

 

Look how cute the ads are in the bicentennial book!

 

 
New cottage treasures:P

 
Close up shot on this baby, I love it!

Aren't these little slipper socks super cute?!

 


Next table project!

Cracking wood makes for wobbly tables.. I have to sturdy it up!

 
Now time to paint and mosaic.

and last but certainly not least...

  
My first etsy purchase!! I love these baby compasses! They're so small and cute, I can't wait to use them for something, I just don't know what.  

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

crafty crazy and taco salad

My crafty crazyness has truly begun.

first off, i made a little pouch for my bike riding adventures!

Easy to put on and take off on the go!

I also made a nice elastic skirt for myself about a week ago.
Simple and comfy, makes a cute outfit!

Silly me, only I'd forget to take a finished product picture! 
I think i got too excited and put it on and forgot. I'll post one up next week. :)

Also  finished up that curtain project I'd been planning to finish for the longest time!
Woohoo it's about time! I'll put up an end result picture up next week also.

Kara and I also had a little RARA + BIZ 'speepover' (as we call it) this past friday!
Lots of fun, just like back in the old days! We even got scared there was a burglar in the house in the night.

Then the next day my mom and I made some taco salad, soooo good.
We always used to make it when i was a kid, it had been a while!!

Table for two, Clegg house!

I made a little place setting.

Close-up shot, pre-sour cream plop!

Mmmmmmmmmmm, looks good to me!!

I also had a few of my first sales on etsy! yeeahh!!!!
So I had to make a few gift tags for each of the orders...

Go make some taco salad!!