What's Cookin': Spice & Crumb Banana Bars

My SIL was commenting today about how Mom's bananas were turning bad and that they needed to be made into banana bread. At which point my brain sparked and I remembered that I had this recipe and had never posted it. I told them about it and was immediately told I had to post it.

I have no picture, because it was awhile ago and I'm a horrible blogger.

You must make these. You must, must, must. They are the tastiest banana flavored dessert I have had. Delicious. Print this out and go make them now.

Spice & Crumb Banana Bars - makes 12 (ish. Depending on how big you cut them.)
2 C flour
1 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar, packed
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C ripe bananas, sliced (about 2 'naners)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C sour cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first four ingredients until crumbly and press 1 1/2 cups into ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Reserve 1/2 cup crumb mix for top. Add the rest of the ingredients to the remaining crumb mix and beat for 1 minutes, until well blended. (You'll have some mashed 'naners, and some chunks.) Pour over crust and sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Bake 30-40 minutes until golden. Cool before cutting.

When the bottom crust cooks all the sugar melts to an almost candy like slab on the bottom. So you get the softness of the banana muffin-type filling, and the crunch of the crust. If you can't wait until it cools, I would totally serve it warm with ice cream.

Hey Look! We're Alive!

Dude. Being sick sucks. And that was a nasty one. But aside from a few sniffles, the kids and I are over it now. And Ben's seems to be moving faster than ours did, so he should be over it soon as well.

Because of being sick, life all but came to a stop last week. Chores hardly got done and I didn't run all week. Our anniversary plans got pushed back to this coming weekend. And we've been eating a lot of junk food. Whoops. =\

But now! Now I am better, and now I can get back to life. I made a delicious batch of potato bread yesterday using leftover mashed potatoes. It turned out heavenly. I think the best part is that every now and then you get a bite of ground pepper that was in the mashed potatoes. It adds a nice, surprising little kick while having a piece of toast, or a sandwich. I used this recipe, with the difference of using about 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes and a 1/2 cup water, instead of cooking a potato just for the bread.

This week's menu plan will go something like this:
Monday: Foil Wrapped Chicken & Rice
Tuesday: Beans & Rice with tortillas
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Pork (I'll figure out the details of that later. I just have a roast that needs to be consumed.)
Thursday: Leftovers

 I can't wait to get back to home cooking. I felt so guilty giving everyone junk food last week. So guilty, in fact, that I did a whole giant meal of Salisbury Steak, mashed taters, stuffing and bread on Friday. I guess the need to cook had been building all week.

I sat down yesterday to total our grocery spending and we're over. Way over. $160 over. Which makes me very disappointed, but I know exactly how it happened. The once a month shopping just doesn't work for us. I spent most of the budget at the beginning of the month and then we had little things purchased since then. I will try to cut it to two weeks instead and see how that works.

I will need to post pictures of our garden and the changes we made. We hung just about all of our produce-bearing plants in hanging pots to keep the cats out of them. They are hanging on our eaves and they are loving life greatly. I can't believe how big they're getting. I think we're going to have a ton of tomatoes and jalapenos. And our mint is trying to take over the world.

I can not wait for produce this summer. I realized the other day that I want to can so badly. Pickles, jams, vegetables, all kinds of stuff. I want a pantry stocked to the brim. My Mom-in-love said she will plant me some more spaghetti squash this year and I am so excited for it. I can practically live on that stuff.

In short, I guess I'm really ready for summer. I just wish the weather around here would make up it's mind.

Oh! Before I forget. I'm like 2 inches away from being done with my shirt. Just in time for our mini-trip. So once it's finished I will have pictures for you all. I love it! Although I wish I had made it just a wee bit smaller. I prefer tighter fitting clothes. I am thinking I might make another one in a different color. Also, I have 1/8 left on the secret project. Will reveal all when I can.

This Man

This man is the love of my life - I love him more deeply now than I have before.

This man still makes my heart turn over and my knees go weak when he walks in the room.

This man is the most beautiful man I've ever seen.

I'm grateful that this man gave me a chance over 4 years ago and asked me to be his wife.

This man gave me three beautiful, crazy, adorable children.

This man is a goof ball, and I love him for it. He can drop me to my knees in fits of laughter.

This man has stayed beside me and stuck with me through many trials. He has rescued me from many dark places.

This man is the greatest gift God has ever given me.

The Benefit of Illness

We've had a sick household this week, which means not getting a whole lot done. The only person who has escaped it so far has been Ben, which is really unusual but I am happy for that. I hope he doesn't get it, since it seems to be a really nasty one.

Tomorrow, the 20th, is Ben and I's 4 year wedding anniversary. We have plans for this weekend, so I am trying my hardest to be at least mostly cured of this stupid cold by Friday. I have tried everything I can think of aside from orange juice - Airborn, Sombucus, hot toddies, Nyquil, Motrin, and sleep. I've sat on my butt making sure I don't over exert myself just so I can get better quickly. Which for me is really hard. The bathrooms need cleaning, the laundry needs folding, I need to vacuum, and haven't made bread in over a week. I am really glad I stocked up on bagels now. I have at least kept up with dishes. But, we are getting better. I'm to the coughing stage now, which is a good sign, and the munchkins are pretty much over it. With the exception of Ty, who has the cough as well now.

One of the good things about being so sick is that I've had a ton of knitting time. There's not much else to do when your brain and body can't really function. So I have knit on my secret project, and I have knit on my Maude, that I am trying to finish by Friday. I have a bit of the body left, and the sleeves. I am very glad that it is a short sleeve. They shouldn't take very long. But for now, I have to finish 11 inches of this

2x2 rib. It's a good thing I'm already brain dead.

C25K - Week One, Day 6

Things I've Learned From Week One:

• You must, must, must stretch before you run.
• Running around a fairly small yard can make you dizzy. Changing direction periodically helps.
• Good shoes are a must.
• Uneven ground is not good.
• Morning is nicer to run in, it's less hot.
• Reward yourself for motivation. I get green apples when I finish my run. (I love green apples.)
• I've lost one half inch!
• Stretching after a run feels good.
• My ankles hurt (see above about uneven ground).
• I feel incredibly good having run this week.
• I might be repeating Week One next week. We'll see.
• Ben said he can tell I've been exercising. SCORE!