Baking and Cooking

When I was in college I loved making banana bread. I made it all the time when I lived in off-campus in an apartment. I used a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book similar to this one. I had a different version of the cook book then and the newer version changed their recipe some. But the truth is I changed their recipe as well. I like my banana bread to be moist and not dry, so I always add more milk. I decided to use up some bananas today and Hazel and I made some. I changed the recipe to make it healthier as well.

Mashing the Bananas

Hazel is a good banana masher as well as a pretty good mixer. She also loves adding the ingredients.

Mixing the dry ingredients

Beating the eggs

The completed batter

Banana Bread

Your Recipe

4PointsPlus Value

Prep time:  30 min

Cook time:  60 min

Serves: 16

Ingredients

	3 large banana(s), over ripe and mashed
	1 1/2 cup(s) whole wheat flour
	2 tsp baking powder
	1/2 tsp baking soda
	1/3 cup(s) sugar
	1 tsp ground cinnamon
	1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
	1 pinch ground cloves
	1/4 cup(s) ground flax seed meal
	1/2 cup(s) uncooked rolled oats
	1/3 cup(s) lard and vegetable oil shortening
	1 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
	2 large egg(s)
	1/4 cup(s) chopped walnuts

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. Mash bananas and set aside. Beat eggs, then mix in shortening and milk. Then add banana. Add liquid to dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in walnuts. Pour into a sprayed bread pan and back for 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes in pan and then let cool on rack. 

The consensus between Hazel, myself and our babysitter is that it came out great. We each had a few pieces. I think there is some left for Steve, but he worked late tonight. I don't know if he found it when he got home since I was leaving when he came home.

Then for dinner we put some chicken in the slow cooker. Since we had our usual Wednesday babysitter here, I didn't want to spend too much time cooking when I could be doing something else. We changed the salsa chicken recipe I have seen in cook books and heard at WW meetings. I wanted it a little more well balanced. I will serve this with rice tonight. Oh, and my chicken was frozen. Hopefully it cooks in time.

Hazel helped with this as well. I didn't let her touch the chicken, but she loved adding the vegetables, salsa and canned goods. And of course turning it on. Sorry I didn't take any pictures of this.

Salsa & Vegetable Chicken

Your Recipe

5PointsPlus Value

Serves: 6

Ingredients

	6 item(s) cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast(s)
	1 cup(s) fat free salsa
	2 cup(s) canned diced tomatoes
	1/2 package(s) frozen mixed vegetables
	1 1/2 cup(s) canned black beans

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients into slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours or if chicken breasts are frozen cook on high for an hour and low for 4 hours.

Again, we all liked it. This Steve did tell me was good as well. So it got four thumbs up. We had it with rice but you could also serve it in a taco shell or tortilla. My little kitchen helper loves to help prepare all meals. Of course her favorite thing is to chop the vegetables now that I got her a cutting board and chopper. We seem to be eating a lot of zucchini now that she is chopping since it is easy for her to cut. Unfortunately, it is not one of our favorite vegetables here, but we are learning to love it.

How do you let your kids help you in the kitchen?

Places I sometimes share.

Valentine's Day Garland and other crafts

While Hazel was decorating her valentines some more, I made a very simple garland. I glued some red heart cut-outs that I got at the Dollar Tree (I think) onto heart doilies. I alternated the doily colors pink and white. Then with Hazel's glitter glue I wrote letters on it. To string it I cut two slits in each one with an Exacto knife and strung it on a thin ribbon (which had tape on the end). Very easy and gets us into the holiday spirit a bit more.

Close up of one letter

Hazel was having fun decorating the wood cut-outs today with glitter glue. Yesterday she added glitter glue, stamps and stickers to our paper valentines.

Then remember the needle felting I did at the end of January. I finally did something with a few of them. I bought a head band at Joann Fabrics and sewed on the flower.

I got my model to stay still and let me take a picture, but first I had to wear it and let her take a picture of me with her camera. Luckily she doesn't know I can download her pictures yet. We got her a kids' digital camera for Christmas so she wouldn't play with ours all the time. Most of the pictures she takes are of something like a leg or the sofa because she doesn't quite get the proper way to use it.

This one might be the one to send to family for Valentine's Day.

I also bought some barrettes at Joann Fabrics to make different barrettes for her. So I glued one of the hearts onto one. She has actually been letting me pull her hair back at least for a short bit most days. I used the idea I read on someone's blog of using the non-slip shelf liner inside the barrette to make it not slip out. This is one of the biggest problems we have is nothing will stay in her hair. I will let you know if it works or not. We are waiting for the glue to dry still before we could try it.

Well that is about all we have been up to in crafting besides a bit of painting.  Hope you are having a good day!

Here is where I sometimes share posts.

Dress up/ Closet Organization

If your child is anything like mine she has many hats, bags, purses, etc. everywhere. My daughter has always been into purses (apparently so was I). For a changing table we had used a piece of furniture (almost a dresser but with a door to hang small items). When she out grew the changing table pad we moved it out of her room and started using it for dress up clothes. I like to buy costumes at the post-Halloween sales, plus she has my old hats and things. She is getting quite a collection, however when she does play with them it tends to be pulling everything out and leaving them in a pile. I wanted to find a better way to organize it all.

As I was looking at my disorganized closet I remembered the over the door purse hanger I have and wanted to replicate it for Hazel. I decided to tie ribbon along the door of the dresser and hang some of her hats and purses on them. I simply used clothespins to hang everything up. We are going to also add some ribbons at the side that isn't against a wall to spread this out and hang the rest up. That will require some nails and since I had my eyes dilated this morning at the doctor's and can barely see it will have to wait.

I'm also thinking of doing something similar over her closet door for all the bags, backpacks, etc. we have collected. She seems to have more bags than me and she still would rather use mine.

One last thing to share before I go rest my eyes. On Saturday we went to Lakeshore Learning Store for their free craft. It was decorate your own notebook. Here is Hazel's.

The notebooks themselves were paper with a colored piece slightly thicker on top. Two holes punched through and a rubber band stuck through from the back and strung onto a popsicle stick. Then they had foam stickers, markers, stamp markers and glitter glue to decorate them. Hazel of course globbed on the glitter glue and stuck all the stickers in one spot, but had fun. It is an easy craft and now she has a notebook or drawing book of her own.

Hope your Monday is going well.

Busy Sunday

Ok, between checking out all the wonderful posts in Sharing Saturday and going to church, spending time with my family and now it is time to watch our home team the Patriots in the Super Bowl (though we will have the game on probably but won't watch too closely), my Sunday has flown by.

Here is my short post for today. Sharing Saturday has over 110 amazing entries. Go check them out and it is still open if you would like to share. I am always thrilled to find new wonderful blogs to follow each week.

Today I also found a new blog hop for Mom bloggers. It is over at The Grant Life. Go check it out and link up!!

Ok, I'm off to go visit more of the posts and leave comments. Hope you will do the same.

Sharing Saturday #5

Mia and I would like to thank all of you for sharing your creations and inspiring us each week.  We are eager to see what you will link up this week.