Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Once Upon A Time, I Wrote in This Blog & A Quick Recipe!

Afternoon Lovelies!!

Before I go ahead and explain where I've been hanging out most days as of late, I'll just ask one simple question - how many of you have bought (or tried to buy) a house recently?! Whew! Over in our little corner of the world, that's what we've been up to lately (other than every day stuff like work, travel, chores, blah, blah, blah!).

What I can say is that the process has been pretty exciting and overall, I have really enjoyed it. We looked at a slew of places (single family homes and townhouses), and actually made a few offers before our latest offer was accepted. If all continues to go well, we will be the proud owners of a four bedroom townhouse in ONE MONTH! Gasp! I won't go into all the details just yet, because I can see a slew of "before and after" posts coming your way this fall! But, for now, wish us luck over the next 30 days that there are no unforeseen bumps in the road, and that we're well on our way to creating our "real" first home!

And, since I've been lacking in the recipe inspiration department lately, I wanted to pass along a new banana bread recipe that was given to me just last week. It's healthy, simple and yummy! I actually haven't made it myself yet, but it's on my list for the next two weeks! If you bake it before I do - send me your pictures!

Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

*Tip:  If I have ripe bananas and do not want to make bread that week, I will take a freezer quart size ziplock and peel banana(s), stick into plastic bag squeeze it to puree, then add a squeeze of lemon and pop into freezer. Just mark how many bananas you leave in the bag, that way you match the recipe. When I am ready to make the bread  I just sit take the bag out of the freezer to thaw for 30-40min or pop them into the microwave for 15 seconds..


Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup wheat germ  - (At the store, it usually comes in a glass jar (toasted wheat germ) you cannot taste it)
½ - ¾ cup chopped walnuts (you can omit nuts, sometimes I do!)


Preheat oven to 375. Using an electric mixer, blend together butter and sugar. Add mashed bananas and lemon juice and mix well. 
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt together. Then, blend in wheat germ. Toss dry mixture into wet mixture and stir well. Add walnuts, and stir, do not over mix. 

Pour the mixture into 8x4 loaf pan that has been lightly sprayed with baking spray. Bake for 35-45 minutes (check at about 35 minutes). Insert knife to check - bread is ready when knife comes out clean.
ENJOY!!

2 comments:

Erin said...

Congratulations on putting in an offer on the townhouse! We just purchased our first home in May so I know exactly how you're feeling. I will pray for y'all that the bumps stay small and manageable! Enjoy the process though! What a fun time for you and your husband!

Erin

Darby Hawley said...

yay!!! Congratulations! I can't wait to see all of your pictures and future projects!