Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The King of All Banana Bread Recipes

Please tell me you NEVER throw away your browning bananas. Those babies are worth their weight in gold.

Let 'em get good and brown. Leave 'em there for a few days, as long as you don't have fruit flies (like we do; long story). Then, when they're nice and dark, make that 'nana bread. Of course, if you don't have the time right now, you can always freeze them and save them for next week. Or month. But you really don't want to wait that long. And be sure to pin or bookmark this recipe so you can find it later.

Forgive the horrid pictures.
This is my mom's tried and true recipe. I hope she doesn't mind me posting it here, because you're all going to steal it and pass it down to your children, and your children's children, and you'll take all the credit for it, because it's that good.

 Oh, and don't feel bad if you taste the batter before it's even in the pan and you can hardly stop. It's just so yummy! But beware, if you eat a lot it will expand in your stomach and you'll be so bloated you'll just want to die.  But you'll have to balance that knowledge with knowing if you don't eat it now, you might die anyway...

1 C white Sugar
2 C (2 medium) mashed bananas
1/2 C  butter, soft
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (substitute 1/4 C plain applesauce per egg... just do it.)
2 C flour
1/2 C chopped nuts (optional--but I never use them)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a bread pan. Blend the first 6 ingredients (sugar, banana, butter, milk, vanilla and eggs or applesauce), beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Stir in the remaining ingredients just until moistened. Batter will be thick, almost doughy. Pour into bread pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan; cool on cooling rack.

I really suck at taking pictures.
Variations:
I can't have egg, so I use applesauce instead (in banana bread). The bread is super moist and has excellent flavor. 
Add chocolate chips.
Put oats and brown sugar on top before you bake it.
Use apples instead of bananas. If you use apples, add a little oil and cinnamon to the batter, and put brown sugar and oats or raisins on top.
Use oat or half white/half wheat flour instead of plain white for a healthier alternative.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Small Victories

Just a quick report on a few small victories for me. Today Jon and I went on a drive, and we stopped at a gas station for me to pee (like usual). I saw a pack of doughnuts, and I was like, *Gasp* "I want doughnuts!" *to Jon* "Do you want doughnuts? I want doughnuts. We should get some doughnuts." So we walked over to the bakery section and looked at the doughnuts. They had a cinnamon doughnut that looked AMAZING. I looked at it, turned around, and walked away. Didn't buy it. Score!

Then, my sister and I decided to go out Christmas shopping, since it's almost Christmastime already. We had a very unsuccessful trip, but we were thinking of stopping at the food court for dinner. I decided not to, and ate before I left: homemade chili in soaked/sprouted rice. It was delectable. I saved money and ate healthy. Huzzah!

Finally, at the mall, my sister (who had not eaten dinner) got hungry, so we stopped and got fruit smoothies. Mine was very disappointing. I wanted a churro. So Katie said that if I still wanted a churro when we left, we could stop and get one. I agreed. We went shopping, and I had to get a belt because my pants keep falling down. We were leaving, and I tell Katie we can skip the churro, because I just had to buy a belt longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. Victory!

Plus, I weighed myself this morning, and I have gotten rid of two and a half pounds. Super encouraging. Totally going to keep it up!!





Also, Liam is adorable. To read his birth story check out Julie's blog Ramblings.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Little Liam is here!

Today we welcomed into our family a new member! Liam Anthony Petras was born at 12:22 (I think) on November 2nd.


He is 8 lbs, 1 oz; 20 inches long.
Born at 42 weeks, 2 days gestation.

Unfortunately, Julie did not get the birthing experience she was hoping for; after an ultrasound at 42 weeks, the doc said he wanted to induce immediately due to low amniotic fluid and Liam not moving around much. After 2 days of contractions with little progress, the doc recommended a C-Section and Julie and Damon agreed. This beautiful baby boy was born healthy and he and mama are doing great! Apparently, his head was caught on Julie's hip, and that's why labor wasn't progressing. But he's here now and we're all madly in love with the little guy. He's got black hair, one dimple on his right cheek, and big feet! So adorable!

I'm already his favorite aunt. I can tell by the way he squints his eyes and blinks when I hold him.

Congratulations to Julie and Damon on the birth of their perfect son. Welcome to our world, Liam! Love you all so much!