Banana Nutella Swirl Muffins

Nutella…like I needed to read any further, I was in love with this recipe http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2013/01/nutella-banana-swirl-muffins/

I always have bananas in the freezer because no matter how much me and my lil one love bananas we can never get through a bunch before they turn brown. Recipes like this are ones that I take those bananas out and Bake away! This recipe was simple and my lil one even helped, we love recipes where she can participate.

what you will need:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Nutella

mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined

get your bananas, no they don’t look pretty…but they taste great in baking!

place the bananas in a different bowl from your flour mixture

and mash them up…this is a good chore for the lil ones 🙂

add the sugar and brown sugar to the mashed bananas

mix in the egg oil and vanilla until it is all combined

slowly add the flour mixture

and mix until there are no lumps

Now it is time to add the pecans

fold them in…do not over stir

line your muffin tin…I ended up with one and a half muffin tins worth

Mmm get the Nutella ready too!

fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full with the batter

top with about a teaspoon on Nutella

take a toothpick and swirl them all together

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-17 minutes…mine tooka few minutes longer than this, I may have filled them a bit fuller than I should have. But just use a toothpick and when it comes out clean they are done…note that the Nutella will be on the toothpick all melted, just make sure the batter part is done.

ENJOY!!!

English Muffin bread

You read that right… ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD! Ok I am a CARB junkie and I love toast, I Love english muffins…what could be better than english muffin toast?! Very few things.

When I found this recipe on pinteresthttp://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/moms-english-muffin-bread.html I knew I had to try it. Bonus is, is that this recipe is so easy to make, and is very fast for a bread recipe. It makes 4 loaves, you may think that is a lot…but you wait until you have devoured 2 loaves in the first day…it is not a lot!

what you will need:

5 1/2 cups warm water

3 packets rapid rise yeast (you can use regular, but will have to let rise twice)

2 tablespoons salt

3 tablespoons sugar

11 cups flour (i have used both bread and all-purpose both tun out great)

add all the ingredients together…no need to let yeast do its thing or wait, just add it all together and mix (how simple is that?!)

your dough should be quite sticky…not like regular silky tight bread dough

grease 4 loaf pans…mine were not the same size but they all baked just fine.

slop even amounts of the dough into each loaf pan…smaller pans got a little less

proof them in a warm spot until the dough reaches the top of the pans…dont let go much higher or it will fall. this took anywhere from a half an hour to an hour guess it depends on the yeasts mood.

then bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes….keep the oven on, brush the tops with melted butter and bake an additional 10 minutes

you will have these beauties!

let them cool

and enjoy….I like mine toasted, that is how you get the english muffin effect. Add jam, honey cinnamon sugar, nuttella…whatever. Just Enjoy!

Bathtub Paints!

It has been Windy and cold here…I think the Groundhog lied to us. So we need to keep busy doing things indoors. Nothing wrong with that all you need is some imagination and pinterest http://teamdischinger.blogspot.com/2012/01/bathtub-paint.html of course (oh and if you don’t like messes…you may want to skip this)

what you will need:

corn starch

food coloring

baby shampoo

water

paintbrushes

ice-cube tray

Place 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch in each compartment of the ice-cube tray for every color you want to use.

then add a good squirt of baby shampoo to each one as well. I got cheap stuff from the dollar store for this.

then add a few drops of your food coloring

add about 1-2 teaspoons of water and mix them up…I used a toothpick, use whatever you have handy

Get the wee one naked and put them in the tub with the paint!

It is messy…but it is confined to the tub, so when you are done, turn the water on and have bath time 🙂

so much fun!

it all cleans up so easily, this was with just water

the brushes are clean to use for next time…no effort

the paint comes off with just water…but to speed it up use a cloth

All clean!

Dorothy’s Eclairs

Just so you all know I do have access to recipes other than those I find on Pinterest. And here is one 🙂

A few months ago we were at my in-laws house, my mother in law had just made some delicious eclairs. I had to have the recipe! She said she had gotten it from a lovely old lady Dorothy (good name and hence the name of the eclair, Also a good name because it was my Grandmas name) who they used to live across the street from.

This recipe is easy, and delicious. YOU MUST TRY! here is what you will need:

Eclair shells

1/2 C. butter

1 C. boiling water

1 C. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

4 eggs

 Boil the water and butter

Once boiling add the flour and salt

stir vigorously until it makes a ball…this is quick!

Like…really quick!

Remove from heat

Let cool slightly, and add eggs one at a time and stir until smooth.

I was worried about this, It looked like I had made dumplings for a while but I kept stirring really fast and look! It got smooth.

Now take 2 spoons

 and scoop and scrape…make them about spoon size.

I ended up with 41 balls…You can also put this dough in a pastry bag and make logs

now you need to smooth out the tops, the recipe I had said to use a wet spoon to smooth them out, I found my fingers were less hastle.

Put them in a 450…yes 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes…this will puff them up

see Puffed! keep them in the oven but turn the temp down to 325 and bake another 25 minutes

You should have these!

Now while they are still hot, tear…or like I did cut the tops off

scrape out the insides…You really don’t have to do this step, but it makes that lil bit more room for the filling 🙂 You could just poke a hole in them really, and leave that lil bit in there and just pipe the filling into them

Now this is the insides of all the puffs…not much but still kinda yummy to eat.

place your puffs back in the oven for a few minutes just to dry them out nicely

 all dry 🙂

Now time for the filling!!!

Filling

1 large Instant Vanilla Pudding (sugar free works fine, and allows diabetics to enjoy them)

2 C. milk

8 oz. Cool Whip

mix the milk and pudding (i used cheesecake flavor, I am sure any flavor would be great) Mix them until nice and thick…I used skim milk, I think 2% or whole would make it thicker.

then fold in the coolwhip

There is your filling

Take a spoon generously plop it in the eclairs

Yum

Place the top back on

Do not throw the left over filling away…EAT IT! it is YUMMO!!! 🙂

Here is the finished product

 

Enjoy!    I did not frost, I think they are great right here…but there is an option frosting Keep scrolling down.

Optional Frosting

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

3 Tbsp. butter

2 C. powdered sugar

1/3 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt chocolate and butter in microwave.  Stir in rest. Frost eclairs.

French Bread…pretty easy

As you know (if you have been keeping up with my blog) I have been in a roll with bread…hahaha roll, with bread get it! ya I’m lame. Anyway, I have been trying any and all bread recipe I can get my hands on. My favorite so far is still the Amish white bread recipe, but this one may be a close second. I had a worry after i had made it, and was concerned with the recipe when the instructionshttp://www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post_09.html  said to punch it down 3 times during the rising process, I thought this was going to take hours (id did not, then the recipe just called for yeast so I just used active dry yeast, come to find by reading her comments that she was using the rapid yeast, this too had me worried. Come to find, that it did not matter that I used regular yeast, and it did not take hours to make, I punched it down 3 times and still had bread in about 2 hours with the whole process start to finish. it is a nice airy bread, tastes great, and as a side note, it makes fantastic french toast!

Here is what you will need:

2 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbls. yeast
3 Tbls. sugar
2 Tbls. white vinegar
Add the above ingredients together and let sit until bubbly (about 3-5 minutes).  Then add:
1 Tbls. salt
1/3 c. oil (I use veg)
6-7 c. flour (or a little more if it’s too soft…i used almost 8), one cup at a time–add enough until the dough is soft, but firm enough to mold into dough loaves

combine the water, yeast, sugar and vinegar

I stirred it and let it do its thing for a few minutes in the oven on the proof setting (if you don’t have a proof setting, just a low heat or a warm place in the house is fine)

is should get a lil bubbly

then you want to add the salt and oil

now you get to start adding the flour. The instructions said 6-7 cups…I needed almost 8. I guess it just depends on the weather, elevation and just the mood

this was after 6 cups…mine was just not ready to be bread so I kept going

here we are at 7…it is supposed to be sticky, not like regular bread, so if you can make a loaf with it is ready to go, mine was still too loose.

this is with my 8th cup…it was perfect. still stick, and still a loose dough

I greased a bowl and scraped the dough out into it…dont knead it, dont punch it, just plop it in there. Then I sprayed the top with cooking spray

place it in your oven or in your warm spot and let is rise to the top of the bowl, this can take a lil while took mine about a half an hour.

See it grows! now to punch it!

PUNCH!

then put it back in the oven or warm spot to let is rise again…punch it down and let it rise again, then punch it another time and let it rise again…(took about an hour all together.)

If you don’t have the time to do this, do not worry one punch down and re rise is enough (You probably don’t even have to punch it down if you are in a hurry, just let it rise once without punching it)

now you have a bowl of fluffy dough…I did not punch it this time, that is just the dent from the previous punches

Grease your countertop and turn that dough out onto the counter…Do not knead

cut the dough into 3 equal sized pieces. Shape them into long rectangles to resemble french bread loaves and place on greased cookie sheets…you can sprinkle corn meal on the cookie sheet to if you want.

slice a few lines in the bread to make it pretty and brush the tops with egg

let them rise for about a half an hour until they have doubled in size, or until they are the size you want them.

see pretty loafs….Now bake for 30 minutes in a 375 F oven

Mmmmm

Beautiful!

ENJOY!!!

PMS cookies

If you are reading this and you are a woman, then you understand why one might need a PMS cookie. If you are a man and you are reading this, you know a woman who may need these some day and it would be helpful to know how to bake them!

All day today I was CRAVING something sweet. I just couldn”t figure out what it was I wanted. I searched pinterest high and low, nothing looked good. Until I saw it…. http://www.annies-eats.com/2011/01/14/giant-double-chocolate-cookies/ I had to make them.

The recipe said it only made 12 large cookies, now now, this would just not do, I needed more than 12! So I doubled the recipe. Now looking back, I really don’t need that many Large cookies. But I know I will eat them anyway. So I will give the recipe for a single batch of 12…if you are like me, then double it. The photos will be showing the doubled portions…so dont be shocked!

You will need…remember this is for a single batch of 12…for 24 like the pictures show you need to double this.:

1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed

1¼ cup sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup dark cocoa powder

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. coarse salt

1 tsp. baking powder

2½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream the sugar and the butter together for 2-3 minutes

Should look nice and fluffy

Then add your eggs one at a time and blend them in

It should look creamy like this

Now for the cocoa…I used Hersheys Special Dark cocoa powder

Mic until thoroughly combined

Next add your flour, salt and baking powder

You will have a to die for dough now….dont dive in, you still need to add the chips!

Mmm chocolate chips…you may need a heavy-duty spoon to fold these into the batter

This is as far as a spoon would get me.

So put down a piece of parchment paper, and put your dough on that and knead…yes with your hands!

You will get it looking like this, just make sure there are going to be chips in all the cookies

Next thing you wanna do is make a nice even rectangle, or square, or whatever shape you’re lil PMS’ing heart desires. Make sure the dough is even all the way around though

Cut that shape into 12 (or 24 if you doubled) even sized whatevers 😛

Roll them up into balls, and place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet (little helpers like this part)

The flatten them a bit

Put them in a 350 degree F oven for 16-20 minutes. I did 20min

You will have fist size chocolate goodness

Le them rest on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes

Transfer them to a cooling rack

And ENJOY!

The great bread flop…

I know I know, if it is not broke don’t fix it. But saw this recipe for bread and I had to try it. I love the Amish bread recipe I have been using but it is a little bit dense and was looking for a more fluffy recipe. This one I found on Pinterest was not it. http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-basic-white-sandwich-bread-166588 It was an ok recipe, but there are a few things I may change if I ever do try this again. The thing I did not like was that I had to add the sugar with the flour, I think I would rather dissolve the sugar in the warm water then add the yeast and stir it all together and let sit until it is frothy. Where as this recipe just has you dissolve the yeast in the warm water and then add all of the other ingredients. Look at me trying to be a master baker 😛 I am going to be the first to tell you that I know NOTHING about bread baking, but I do know that yeast needs to be able to come alive and do its thing.

I am posting my flop recipe so that you guys all know that not everything I make turns out great. Sometimes you have a flop, such is life. You have to pick up your feet and move on…so here it goes.

Enter, “The Flop”…

You will need:

2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
1 cup (8 oz) warm water
2 tablespoons (1 oz) unsalted butter
1 cup (8 oz) milk – whole, 2%, or skim
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
5 1/2 – 6 1/2 cups (1 lb 9 oz – 2 lbs 3 oz) all-purpose flour

Place the warm water in your mixing bowl, and sprinkle the yeast on top (this is where I would do different, but that is for a different post at a later time)

The yeast is now dissolved

Combine the melted butter, milk, sugar and salt, and get one cup of the flour

dump them into the yeast mixture

stir until you have a lumpy batter

next add 4 1/2 cups of flour to the mixing bowl (add more if you need it)

mix it until you get a floury shaggy dough

then knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, it will get nice and soft, a little sticky is good, it should ball up nicely.

put your dough ball on the counter and clean out your mixing bowl (or grab a clean one) grease the bowl and place the dough ball back in the bowl turn it around so that the ball is nicely oiled.

place a damp cloth over the bowl and find a warm place for it to proof

let it proof for about an hour

It should look like this

Do not punch it (i know, darn) just turn it out onto a very lightly floured counter

cut it into 2 pieces

Do your best to make them into loaves. fold and pinch, You can do it

Place them in oiled loaf pans

and let them rise about a half an hour or until the peaks rise just above the pan

this was mine after a half an hour…not much hight, so we kept going

there we go, an hour of proofing and we have it, but the tops are dry 😦

and when I slit the tops they fell 😦

turn your oven onto 420 degrees F, when you put the loaves in the oven turn it down to 375. then bake for 30 minutes…You will then have, well I hope yours turns out better.

Butter the tops,

Not bad…but not good. Enjoy!