banana nut bread

i wish i could say that it was a gloomy fall morning with rain pouring outside so i decided to bake some banana bread.. but unfortunately that is absolutely NOT the case.  instead, it is one of the hottest days we have had all year, reaching over 100 degrees! insane.  so the real reason i baked this morning is because i had some really brown bananas.  it's terrible that i'm complaining about such beautiful weather because a lot of people would trade the cold in a second.. but i'm dying for some cool fall weather, gloomy skies, and raindrops.

my sweet mother in law gave me her recipe and since i have made it a few times.. you can try it for yourself, but i think it's bomb.  but beware!  this recipe yields two loaves- you gotta remember this lovely woman had 8 kids to make this for!! so either prepare for a lot and to have people over for coffee and a treat, or cut it in half.. or i guess you could eat all of it :)

ingredients

1/2 cup of butter

2 eggs

2 cups of sugar

3 ripe bananas

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

2 cups of milk

walnuts

instructions

preheat oven to 325 degrees

cream together the butter, eggs & sugar

add mushy bananas

combine salt and flour and add alternately with milk

add baking soda

pour in walnuts depending on how nutty you like it

(i use about 2 cups)

coat your loaf dish with non-stick spray

and pour half of the batter in!

(or cut the recipe in half and pour it all in)

bake for an hour.. depending on how powerful for you oven is

i usually have to let it bake for an hour and a half

and after the long wait, enjoy a hot piece with butter and a cup of coffee

sweet tooth

my cousin michael is down visiting us this weekend so i wanted to make him his favorite.. chocolate chip cookies.  i tried a new recipe i found and it was fantastic.  if you like thick and chewy, then you HAVE to try this recipe!!

best chocolate chip cookies

2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3/4 cup of melted butter

1 cup of packed brown sugar

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

• preheat oven to 325 degrees
• sift together the flour, baking soda & salt.. set aside
• in a separate mixing bowl, cream together the belted butter, brown and white sugars until well blended.  
• bead in the vanilla, egg & egg yolk until light and creamy
• slowly incorporate the flour mixture until just blended and then add in the chocolate chips
• drop 1/4 cup onto the cookie sheet and leave some space because they get big and thick!
• bake for 15-17 minutes.. and enjoy!!

from the hitch kitchen..

since getting married, i obviously have been learning many things about being a wife.  one of these things is that making your husband's favorite foods is a VERY good thing.. so i have been getting creative and experimenting.  i wouldn't say that i'm the best cook in the world, but i'm learning!  i'd been pretty intimidated to making anything for nick for a while (given that he was a line cook when he was like 11) but i've gotten over that!  after trying a whole bunch of new recipes these last few months i was losing track of them and wanted to get organized so i had the bright idea of actually using a recipe box.  most people would say that's common sense, but i've never been too quick on the common sense thing anyway.  after playing around on photoshop the other day i decided that i now wanted to make my own recipe cards.. and this is what i came up with.

since i now have my own recipe cards i'm gonna share the recipe of nick's favorite breakfast that my sweet mother in law passed to me!

BAKED OATMEAL 

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs

2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups oatmeal
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.  Pour into oiled 8x8 in. baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-60 min.  It should be firm when you shake the pan.  Serve with warmed milk if you like.  You can also at nuts or fruit to the recipe too!  It is so delicious, like having dessert for breakfast :)

nick thinks this whole, decorating the house, cooking, blog, recipe, nesting this is cute.. i just think it's fun.  it's late and i'm not even sure if half of this made sense so it's time for bed.  my hubs is sound asleep next to me and he just looks so precious. time to join him.. goodnight!