A Little Bananas

Hello Sweets,

So as I promised yesterday I have the full flavor review of the S'more or Less muffins :), and they are even better than I could have imagined!!  What would have been just ordinary vanilla cake is anything but.  It takes on the flavor of the graham cookies all while staying soft and moist.  The chocolate cake is the perfect flavor, not too sweet but not dry either.  The marshmallow gives the muffin a touch of sweetness, but it also has the flavor of a roasted marshmallow too.  All in all these are a great muffin, and have officially made it in to my personal recipe book :)  Many a nights have been spent jotting down recipes to keep or try, and my hand can attest to that lol.

I am definitely paying for doing all the tax returns yesterday, my shoulders and neck are killing me.  The sad part was I didn't even notice how much time had gone by, because I was so engrossed in the task.  But how many people can say they have their taxes complete by March 2nd?  If I had to guess, not very many at all :D  Now I can sit back and relax while everyone else is stressing, lol yea that sounds perfect.

Today I am bringing something completely different and new.  Something that is sweet, but healthy at the same time.  Yup sweet and healthy, consider your mind blown *boom*.  I haven't been feeling well all day :(, so naturally I didn't feel like making anything for y'all today.  However I had some bananas that were starting to become too ripe, so I had to figure out a way to use them.  Normally I would just make my grandmas banana bread, but then I remembered something I love but haven't had in quite some time ;)

Banana Chips

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas (green ones make crisper chips faster, and ripe ones make sweeter ones)

1tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

honey, to drizzle

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 250F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (to prevent sticking and easy clean up), set aside.

2)  Slice your bananas into thin slices, not too thin or they become limp.

 

3)  Line bananas in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.

 

4)  Sprinkle with salt and nutmeg.  Place into preheated oven for 2 hours, flipping (as much as possible) after about 90 minutes.

 

not as pretty as store bought, but I know everything that goes into them ;)

5)  Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.  Store in an airtight container and enjoy! 

What a great and healthy option when you feel like a sweet snack.  Kids and adults alike would love these little chips, and you can even use them as a decorative final touch on a banana cupcake.  I would think that even picky eaters would love these little chips.  It never ceases to amaze me when I haven't tried to make something I actually enjoy eating.  I'm just a silly girl I guess, who is a little spacy at times in the kitchen :p

As I am finishing up this post my stomach is starting to really hurt, which means I need to lay down and relax for a little while.  Don't worry I'll make sure to be back with something yummy tomorrow, unless this doesn't stop.  But I'm not going to think like that, I'm going to try and stay positive :)  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Quality Time, Quality Food

Hello Sweets,

I am tired, how about y'all?  I couldn't sleep last night because my head felt like it was going to explode, thanks to my injections :(  I had to be up early for my landlord to come by, and then do some quick grocery shopping for the dinner tonight.  Thankfully I got everything taken care of pretty quickly, and since I did all of the clean last night I managed to relax before prepping the food.  Tonight's post is going to be a short one because I didn't take any process photos (oops), and I'm feeling a little lazy lol.  But as I'm sitting here I'm thinking about baking something tonight, lol maybe muffins?  Who knows, but one things for sure, I'll have a new recipe tomorrow ;)

My grandparents picked a Mediterranean salmon as the star of the dinner, so I was tasked to prepare it and prepare some delicious sides too.  I chose to leave the salmon as it was, because it was already seasoned and didn't want to muddle the flavors up.  I personally love brussel sprouts, I know most people don't and it seems those that do cover them with cheese.  Yuck!  I stemmed them just enough to soften them, and then finished them off in the frying pan.  I added a little butter, salt, and pepper, then tossed them a little more.  I also made some brown rice for our starch, I didn't do too much to it.  I just made sure that it wasn't too dry, then added butter and salt.  It was a very simple dinner, but it was delicious.  My grandparents were very happy and satisfied.  Again my grandma ate a good helping of food, which is something she doesn't do enough.  We finished dinner off with the Chocolate Molten cake that I made last night, they both finished everything on that plate lol.  I really like making food for them, but it's even better now that I can have them here at my apartment :)

Now I'm going to go through some of my recipe books to see what delicious treat I can make tonight.  Until next time....


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo

Healthy and yummy!

Chocolate, Need I Say More?

Hello Sweets,

Well it has been a long weekend of moving but it's finally complete, and again I am sleepy lol.  However, Nathan was in Canadia to help me with everything, he actually went above and beyond anything you'd expect!  He not only put up every shelf, and picture, he also assembled furniture and bought me a new tv :D  Seriously I am one lucky girl, well except he is now on his way home :(  The hardest part of our relationship has to be the "see you soon" goodbyes, it never gets any easier.  He was a HUGE help in making my new apartment a home, and even though it's almost done it just isn't the same.  I now consider this apartment "our" apartment because we did so much together, he'll be back sooner than later and until then I'll complete the look and it will be a home!

Even though I had lots of help on Saturday, it still was quite difficult for me.  On the bright side, this whole ordeal is almost over.  This process has been wreaking havoc on my body :(  Since I had family and some friends helping me move, I decided to give them food as thanks :)  Nathan and I marinaded a roast Friday night to serve Saturday, and I will threw it in the oven while all the moving hoopla took place so it wouldn't be long before we could eat.  Of course there were plenty of sweet treats as well.  The pumpkin pie bars made their debut appearance, the oh so delicious pumpkin spice cupcakes (happy accident not intentional for there to be a pumpkin theme), and of course today's recipe.  No today is not a pumpkin recipe, although with the left over pumpkin from the cupcakes I could have made something.  Nathan requested I bake these though, so I thought I would make sure there was something sweet for him when he got here.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2C flour

1/2tsp baking soda

1/2tsp salt

3/4C butter, melted

1C brown sugar, packed

1/2C sugar

1Tbs vanilla

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2C semi sweet chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

 

2)  In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended.

 

3)  Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.

 

4)  Mix in sifter ingredients until just blended.

 

5)  Sift in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.

 

6)  Drop cookie dough 1/4C at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Cookies should be about 3" apart.

 

7)  Bake for 15-17 minutes in the oven, or until edges are lightly toasted.  Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

 

  

These little bad boys are perfectly soft, not so soft it crumbles apart in your hand but that perfect way that I remember my high school cafeteria serving.  Normally this is not my first choice of cookie, but this recipe is so yummy even I can't stop from eating a couple.  The dough even reminds me of the cookies my mom used to make, and I love me some cookie dough.  It was hard to not eat all of them before Saturday lol.

Well I've got a few more things to try and tackle tonight, but to be honest I really just want to have a nap lol.  If Nathan was here he would tell me to take one, maybe I will since everything isn't going anywhere :p  Hopefully afterwards I will be more energetic and can tackle yet another good chunk organization done.  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

So Very Sleepy

Hello Sweets,

I'm tired :(  This whole moving process is wearing me out, and making me sore.  Which is why my post today is going to be a check in/what's up with me post.  I promise tomorrow we'll be back to baking some yummy treats, pinky promise!

So I cleaned out my part of the deep freeze today, along with a good portion of my cupboard (don't worry I left enough for me to survive).  My grandfather and I brought it all over to my new place **happy dance**, and now my kitchen is starting to really come together.  Now with that being said, I'll probably reorganize it a bujillion times over the next week or so, but that is just me and I'll want it perfect lol.  I know for sure there is one cupboard that won't be changed at all.  That is my tea and spices cupboard, that's because it is a small narrow cupboard so it's just the right size for them!  Tomorrow I'll be bringing a little more food over and also a small piece of furniture for my bathroom.  Anyone who knows me knows I love to organize, so this is going to make my bathroom counter clean and that's harder for us girls ;)  I'm also going to pick up some new baking pans, because some were ruined by a cleaning solution and one seems to have disappeared O_o  Luckily there is a sale on Wilton (my favorite baking brand) products so I'm getting the good stuff!  While I'm buying that I also need to buy a step stool since my shoulders are always in pain.  Slowly but surely I'm making my new apartment a home, I'll take some progress pics tomorrow to share with y'all.

For now I am back to my final stages of packing, anyone want to come finish this for me?  Lol can you tell I hate packing, doesn't help that I'm tired and sore already.  *Sigh*  Just thinking about getting to work is making me sleepy, enough procrastinating I am off!  Until next time....

Stay sweet,


Jennifer xoxoxo

My Bark is Better Than My Bite

Hello Sweets,

It's Sunday and the weekend is over :(  I hope y'all spent your weekend doing what you love, and perhaps even a little baking thrown in as well.  I was completely unproductive :(  I slept through all of my alarms (yes I has multiple), which meant I didn't get to go to church.  Then because I wasn't at church I missed spending the afternoon with my grandpa picking things up for my new apartment.  Ugh, lol well at least I'm getting a blog out to y'all right?  I can always make up for my laziness after this post, there is still a bit of packing left to do so that's a priority.

I think part of the reason I missed my alarm was because I couldn't sleep, so I spent my time looking and researching the cutest thing.  Sugar gliders!!!

How cute are they!! **Not my picture**

Aren't they just frickin' adorable?!?  Now I so want one, lol they are the most interesting creatures I've come across in some time.  They are marsupials, which means they're closely related to kangaroos and they're more commonly in the southern hemisphere.  They are nocturnal creatures, but have been known to be a little active in the day (as long as you protect their eyes from bright lights).  They eat fruits and veggies, and then need protein from things like meal worms, chicken, or hard boiled eggs.  Personally I think I would stick to the chicken and eggs, but who am I kidding I can't deny a healthy option to any pet I own lol.  The cute part is they have quite the sweet tooth, so when you create a BLM (a mix of ingredients to get specific vitamins and calcium) mixture there is definitely honey involved.  The other part I just absolutely adore about them is that bonding with your sugar bear (another name for them) is a must, and they love to be right against your body in a pouch.  I just want one so bad now lol, they are so sweet looking and they bark like dogs so it would help subside my desire to get a puppy....for now lol.

Anyways, enough about Sugar Bears, let's get back to the good stuff.  So my momma really wanted me to make this recipe she nonchalantly posted to my FaceBook, really subtle like lol **cue eye roll**.  Since I was going to be spending a night at her house and she was going to drive me to the airport, I was completely okay to make it.  The nice part about this recipe is there is not a lot of ingredients involved, and chances are you have most of them on hand already.  If you like peanut butter and chocolate together as much as my momma and I do, this recipe is completely for you.  We can thank Hershey's for this recipe, since it came from their recipe section :)

 Peanut Butter Bark via Hershey's

Ingredients

2 pk (4oz each) semi-sweet chocolate baking bars, broken into pieces

1 2/3C peanut butter chips

1Tbs shortening (I used butter instead)

1/2C roasted peanuts

 

Directions:

1)  Cover cookie sheet with wax paper.  Place chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl on medium for 1 minute, stir if necessary.  Continue with 15 second increments, stirring after each heating until chocolate is melted and smooth.

 

  

2)  Immediately place peanut butter chips and shortening into another microwavable safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute, stir if necessary.  Continue with 15 second increments, stirring after each heating until chips are melted and mixture is smooth.

 

 

 3)  Stir in peanuts.

 

4)  Alternately spoon above mixtures onto prepared tray, swirl with a knife to create a marbling effect.

 

5)  Gently tap tray on counter top to even out thickness of mixture.  Refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until firm.

 

6)  Break into pieces.  Store in an air tight container in a cool dry place.

 

  

You'll end up with one pound of candy, but on the bright side you'll have no problem finding people to share it with.  It's not overly sweet, and has the perfect subtle saltiness to it thanks to the peanuts.  My momma was very happy with the end result and that makes me happy :)  There are so many different types of bark out there, you're sure to find one that suits your fancy.

 Well I really need to get off my butt and start packing some more.  Tomorrow is the start of a string of chocolaty posts, so be sure to come back because you won't want to miss out on these!  Until next time....

Stay sweet,


Jennifer xoxoxo

No Toast Required

Hello Sweets,


Happy Friday y'all!!  I hope you have some quality kitchen time scheduled for this weekend, I think I'm going to take a break from packing and do some creating myself.  I woke up today so unbelievably stiff this morning thanks to my tumble down the stairs yesterday, which has made doing anything difficult.  However, nothing was going to keep me from giving y'all something juicy to read ;)  And no I'm not taking about the latest gossip, but I am talking about berries.

Keeping with my Thanksgiving throw back, I have the final recipe that I used back in November!  This particular Thanksgiving accompaniment is something I'm not a huge fan of, but that being said the homemade version I whipped up tasted pretty good on it's own lol.  I have to try everything I make in order to adequately write a good post, well that and I ask the person I make it for.  Today's post contains cranberries, so you can only guess what I used them for.  If you guessed cranberry jelly then you'd be correct!  Nathans dad loves it with his turkey, so I asked him if I could make it for him.  He agreed on the condition that I didn't vary too far from the flavor his lovely canned stuff tasted like >_<  Of course I took that as I could make it flavorful but don't add too much extra spice to it, lets be honest most pre packaged stuff doesn't have much flavor period.  Since I haven't eaten too much cranberry jelly in my life (okay, any lol), I had to do some research to see what types of spices others had used.  Thankfully I had a general understanding on how to make the jelly itself from when I made my pie fillings, it's a little different but not overly.

Cranberry Jelly

Ingredients

2 1/4C cranberries

1 1/2C sugar

2/3C apple cider

1/2 lemon, juice only

dash of cinnamon

cinnamon was a last minute addition

Directions:

1)  Place everything, except cinnamon, in a medium sauce pan.

 

2)  Over medium-high heat, cook until cranberries burst.

 

3)  Stir regularly, adding a splash of water if the mixture becomes too thick.

 

4)  Once finished, place in a sieve and push with a rubber spatula.  Continuing until only seeds and skins are left.  Add the cinnamon, stirring to incorporate fully.  Chill at least 12 hours to set.

completely solidified, even has markings from the Ziploc container

  

Nathans dad really liked it, he said it tasted better than the canned stuff.  He even like the subtle cinnamon flavor I added, and now I hope he'll let me do it every year :)  This, just like the pumpkin pie, was something I had never tried before.  I don't think it's beginners luck, but I do think because I am becoming more confident in my kitchen skills it is transferring over to my creations.  Not much makes me smile more than being able to make something for those I care most about :)

Since this is a shorter post I wanted to share some updated photos of my new place, now that everything is installed.

 

 

 

I  am so excited, it's so close that I can barely contain my excitement!!!  I know it's been official for a while, but now that everything is installed and working it actually feels real :D  I get my key on Tuesday and then I start the move, so if you don't hear from me daily y'all will know why.  I am going to do my best to post, but if I haven't done any baking or cooking you may just get a quick little blurb :)  Until next time...

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Not Your Average Country Pumpkin!

Hello Sweets,

Guess what this smarty pants did this morning, I fell down the dang stairs :(  Yup queen of balance herself fell from the very top all the way to the bottom, all with a glass in my hand.  Ironically the glass made it down unscathed, me on the other hand, I'm bruised all over my left side.  Some are even raised.  Ah well what am I going to do right?  Thankfully I was already scheduled to see my doctor this afternoon, but I hadn't done any serious damage to myself besides my ego :p  Well that, and my toush hurts....a lot lol.

Yesterday I promised a trip back to the American Thanksgiving, with a sweet little treat to make the whole thing worth while!  There are staples to every Thanksgiving meal, turkey and mashed potatoes are obviously number one and two.  But that's where all roads take different turns, every family has their own special recipes, whether it's with the main meal or with dessert.  However there is always one dessert that is almost always present at any Thanksgiving meal, pumpkin pie!  Most people don't bake their own but instead buy it, but we all know that is not my style.  I personally don't particularly care for pumpkin pie so I made a coconut meringue pie for Nathan and I (and a few other family members thoroughly enjoyed it lol), but Nathan's mother and Granny both like pumpkin pie so I was going to make it for them.  In true Canuckette form I couldn't just make a traditional pumpkin pie, I had to jazz it up and make it extra special.  Trust me when I say this, it is worth the work and it tastes even better then your regular old pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular

Ingredients

(filling)

 2C gingersnaps, crushed

1C pecans, chopped

1/2C powdered sugar

1/4C butter, melted

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2C sour cream

1tsp cinnamon

1/2tsp vanilla

1/4tsp ginger

7 thin ginger cookies, halved

(streusel)

 1/2C light brown sugar

1/2C flour

1/4C butter, firm

1/4C pecans, chopped

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Fit pie crust into a 9" deep dish plate; fold edges under and crimp.

2)  Stir together; crushed ginger snaps, pecans, powdered sugar, and butter.

 

 

3)  Press into bottom of pie crust and 1/2" up the sides.  Bake for 10 minutes, cool completely on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

4)  Stir together; pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, sour cream, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla until well blended.

  

 

5)  Pour into prepared pie crust.  Place on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet, baking for 30 minutes.

 

6)  Mix the streusel ingredients together, and sprinkle edges of the crust.

 

I had a little extra pie dough, so I created a cute little pumpkin :)

  

7)  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until set.  Shield edges with tin foil for the last 25-30 minutes if necessary.

 

 

8)  Insert ginger cookies around edges of crust.  Cool completely on wire rack for one hour. (I chose not to add the extra cookies, it was too pretty to add anything else).

Look at those lovely layers!

Perfectly set!! Love it when it all works out

  

This was my first and only attempt I've made at a pumpkin pie, and I am so glad that it turned out perfectly!  The layer of sweetened pecans and ginger snaps give the pie a whole new dimension, dare I say even a more grown up twist to the traditional Thanksgiving dessert :)

My lovely Thanksgiving day duo

  

In addition to these two lovely sweets, I also was in charge of the gravy, potatoes, and another dinner accompaniment.  Yes I know I'm being very secretive about what it is, but that's only because I haven't blogged about it yet and I don't want to spoil it for y'all!  Y'all know that's how I do this lol, but only because I love y'all so much.

Since I have about one more week left before I have to move to my new place *happy dance*, I really need to finish up my packing.  I don't have much left to do, but I'd rather finish everything I am not using before, so that way I am pretty much done and nothing is left but my daily items.  Ah the joys of moving, worse part is the packing!  Remember to check back tomorrow for another Thanksgiving addition :)  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo