Boiler Up!

Just thought I'd share a fashion highlight of the week... Maximus... our little boilermaker.

recipe of the week: banana oat muffins

As you may have noticed... I'd much rather cook than bake.  This surprises my mother since she and both my grandmas are award winning bakers.  I have two faults... I lack patience and like to improvise.  These are two things that you cannot do when baking.  Therefore, my baking skills are not the greatest.  I did have one banana that was turning awfully ripe on the counter and haven't had banana bread in ages.  As you will noticed, I did quite a bit of improvising in this recipe as well.  I keep forgetting I'm out of cinnamon and didn't have any sour cream or walnuts on hand.  However, these turned out delicious with all my improvising.  You are welcome to try them either way!

Banana Oat Muffins

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Servings: 12

Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
    ***I substituted with sliced almonds
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    ***I substituted with nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
    ***I substituted with 1 cup strawberry yogurt (plain yogurt will work too, but all I had was strawberry)

For Topping
1/3 cup rolled oats
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, chilled
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
    ***I was super lazy and only sprinkled brown sugar and oats over the tops.  They worked out fine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.Place 1 cup rolled oats in a food processor and process until ground. In a large bowl, combine ground oats with flour, 1 tablespoon rolled oats, chopped walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the banana and vanilla. Stir in sour cream. Mix oat/flour mixture into egg mixture. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans. 
 
To make Topping: In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Generously sprinkle muffins with topping. 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

allrecipes.com

    ***Muffin pans and myself do not get along (I got a few muffin tops this time since the bottoms stuck).  I always forget to buy liners and therefore (even with crisco or cooking spray) they don't turn out right for me.  My husband is getting used to everything being baked as a bar in a 6x6 pan instead.

before

after

wedding inspiration

My good friend Abby (turquoise penguin) and I have been obsessed with weddings ever since we were little.  While visiting her in Nashville over Christmas we started dreaming up her "ideal" wedding.  So this blog post is a shout out to Abby.  Here's my take on a vintage, southern style, lake inspired and whimsical wedding.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

white space

Today's inspiration ... the freedom from color.  Don't let a little "white" scare you from these amazing spaces.

 

 

 

1-3 Stil Inspiration 4 Houzz 4 DC Designhouse 5 Elements of Style 6 iBaths

recipe of the week: kale chips

Here I am trying to keep my New Year's Resolution and try some new foods.  Kale.  Its green, it looks like lettuce, and it seems like all the celebrities are using it.  I've never bought it though.  And its one of the "superfoods" my pregnancy books recommends eating for babies.  I like lettuce and spinach so why has it taken me so long to try kale?  All the celebrities seem to be eating kale chips nowadays so I decided to give this "miracle" food a whirl.

Baked Kale Chips
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients
1 bunch of kale

1 Tbl. olive oil (careful with the oil, you don't want them dripping!)
1 tsp. salt  (careful with the salt!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.  Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.  ***I didn't have parchment paper so I just coated the sheet with cooking spray.  With a knife or shears remove leaves from thick stems and tear into bit size pieces. (Kids can get involved here!)  Wash kale thoroughly and dry.  Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.  Bake until the edges are brown but not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes. ***Really watch this!! It only took mine about 8 min.

notice, mine got a bit dark.. I left them in for 10 min and it was too long!

They are supposed to be a healthy alternative to chips.  I can see that.  One bunch of kale really isn't enough though.  I would make two bunches for a family size portion.  I think these would be great as an appetizer paired with other "superbowl" type food.  They are super easy to make and fun.  My husband and I decided its sort of the same concept as green ketchup.  Still tastes the same but there is just something different about it.  Either you like it or you don't.  They are worth trying! 

Happy Healthy Eating!

recipe by allrecipes.com