Banana Crunch Muffins

These are good.  Really good.  What I love about them is that they don't take forever to cook (like traditional banana bread) and they don't get too dark where the muffin and pan touch.  Win/Win in my book.  I hope you enjoy these as much as my hubby and I do.  

Mix together streusel/Crumb Topping Ingredients 

1/4 cup butter or shortening

1/2 cup sugar 

1/3 cup flour 

Add more flour and sugar in equal amounts so topping is crumbly and not too greasy.  If you like, you can even add some chopped nuts.  Set aside.  

In bowl, mix together following dry ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups flour 

3/4 cup sugar 

1/3 cup oil 

1/2 tsp salt 

2 tsp baking powder 

In seperate bowl mix together the following wet ingredients: 

1 egg

1/3 cup milk 

3 medium bananas~  mashed with a fork 

It's best to mix these by hand since using a stand or hand mixer usually causes these to be overmixed.  I mix these just until the ingredients comes together.   Add wet ingredients to dry using a wire whisk or spatula until moistened and flour clumps are mixed in.  Do not overmix or the consistency won't be right and they will be rubbery.  Just barely mix! 

Scoop into greased muffin tins and top liberally with crumb topping.   

Bake at 350 degrees until knife inserted comes out clean and muffin tops spring back when touched.  If you must put them back in the oven do so for a minute at a time and check with a toothpick.

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Sharing this over at Frugally Sustainable.  

Pull Apart Monkey Bread

I made this recently and it's oh so easy and yummy too.   

It's great for a snow day project with kids and so fun to eat! 

2 large can of buttermilk biscuits 

About 1 cup of regular sugar 

cinnamon 

Cut biscuits into bite size rounds and toss in the above mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  

  

Melt in saucepan:

1 stick butter 

1 1/2 cup sugar 

Cook till melted and combined but don't overcook or sugar will burn.  

Coat bundt pan with non stick spray spread biscuits evenly around.   Pour melted sugar/butter mixture on top and bake 350 for 37 minutes.

Enjoy!

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Sharing with:
Frugally Sustainable

All Things Photography~!

I had a wonderful opportunity recently, and that was to meet up with other local photogs in the Northwest Indiana/South Chicagoland area.  We were supposed to have a bigger turnout but winter reared it's ugly head and kept some of us from getting out and driving.  We talked,  exchanged lenses,  took shots and shared lenses again.  (Can you tell I enjoyed the swapping lenses part?)  

I was great to meet other people who share the same passion and wouldn't roll their eyes at me when I obsessed or talked about all things photography.

Here's a shot using Katie's 35mm with Beth's sweet daughter.

This is the above image cropped. How I want one!  The sharpness is incredible.  

And here's one of Katie's sweet son:

We held our meeting at the Library in downtown Crown Point.  I could definitely move here!  

The library is across the street from the County Courthouse and is surrounded by antique shops, shopping and restaurants.  

I've been plugging along with my Nifty 50 and using it as much as possible 

since it's my least used lens in my bag.  Here's a recent selfie.  

And another recent one with some backlighting in my living room.  

Lastly, I've been partaking in a group and we were challenged to do a storyboard.  I did this one today of my husband hard at work.  (all with my 50mm)

We've got freezing weather in Chicagoland and a high today of 0 degrees.  It's frigid!  Stay safe and warm!  

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Easy Breakfast Pastry

My friend, Angella,  made this last Sunday for our Church Potluck Brunch and it is delicious.  And super easy as well.  The final result will look like you spent much more time than you really did.  

The ingredients are oh so simple~
  

3 eggs, scrambled or cooked as an omelette 

(I lightly cook my eggs since they will be going into the oven) 

1 can of crescent rolls 

Slices of cheese  (I used pepper jack)  

Other ingredients could be sliced ham, crumbled bacon, broccoli, mushrooms, or whatever you like in your scrambled eggs and omelettes.   

Next time I plan on adding some more zing!

Unroll your crescent rolls and pat the dough together at the seams so it's all one piece.  

It's best to try and handle the dough as little as possible so it stays light and flaky.  

Overhandled dough gets heavy and dense.  

Please forgive my awful cookie sheet.  Of a truth, I'm ashamed of it.  

 Top with Cheese...

 And egg...

 Fold the two sides over the top and into the middle. 

 It doesn't even have to look pretty.  

 Once it bakes it will look imperfectly perfect.  

 My package of crescents said to bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes but I found that 8 minutes was good.  Once these things get burnt there is no going back to good taste.  

Place on Serving Plate and slice into serving pieces. 

Yum! 

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Sharing with:

Frugally Sustainable

Easy Homemade Hummus

Oh how I love Homemade Hummus!  When the hot summer days leave no desire to cook I whip up a batch of hummus for a quick snack, but this can be enjoyed at any time of the year  It's great with chips, pita bread, carrotts and green, red and yellow pepper wedges.

It's truly one of my favorite things to eat! You can buy it at the grocery store or deli but making it from scratch tastes so much better than the tubs at the grocery store.  And you can tweak the main recipe to your liking.  

If you can't find tahini at an ordinary grocery store then try a health food store.  It usually runs about 4-5 dollars a jar and can be used for 4-6 batches depending on how much you add.  

Without furthur ado, here's my go~to recipe.  

1 can of garbanzo beans 

1 lemon cut in half adn juice squeezed. (remove seeds)

(you can use the lemon juice in a bottle but it's not as tasty) 

1/4 cup tahini, or more if desired 

1 Tbsp minced garlic 

Olive Oil 

Paprika

Drain chickpeas of juice and set aside.  Put lemon juice, tahini, garlice salt and chickpeas in food processor ( you can use a blender also but have to add a bit of water in the beginning) and give it a whir.  Add some olive oil and water until you are able to blend hummus.  Add more olive oil if desired and remainder of ingredients, adding water and/or olive oil until blended well.  Add more salt to desired taste. 

You can also make various flavored hummus by adding some of the following: 

sun dried tomatoes 

Infused oils

Olives 

Roasted red peppers 

Pesto 

Walnuts 

Before serving, drizzle the top with olive oil and paprika.  

Enjoy!

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

   

Easy Peach Cobbler

I made this recipe when I was first married about 20 years ago. 

How time flies!    It's a super easy recipe with basic ingredients that will probably be in your cupboard already.  

1 stick butter 

1 cup sugar 

1 cup flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

cinnamon~  a few shakes 

1 small can peaches~  drained

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 cup milk 

Place butter in 8 by 8 glass pan and place in preheated oven till butter is just melted.  Make sure it doesn't burn or get brown.  

Drain peaches and set aside.

In large bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Add milk and vanilla and mix until just moistened.  Do not overmix.

Pour batter in pan, spreading around if possible.  Top with drained peaches.  

If you like you can add some sprinkled brown sugar or a crumb topping (my favorite and recipe for that soon!)

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes till set.  Do not overbake.  

I hope you enjoy this simple homemade cobbler as much as we do! 

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Sharing with:

Frugally Sustainable 

My Dining Room Table Centerpiece

Doing a Shot a Day is causing me to try and see things in a new light and I think I'll have to start trying to be creative.  It IS, after all, still January with many more days to come till the end of the year!  

Someone had given me the bottom milk glass plate and I absolutely love it.  The scalloped edges and vintage style match my kitchen so well.   Along the way I've been able to pick up some bowls at the the thrift store and even the cake stand below to go with it.  The cup is very delicate white china and the glass dome was also a thrift store find.  The bird nest was purchased from target for a few dollars last easter.  

All stacked up and layered~ I simply love it.  It's not what you'd normally find on a table and I love the fact that it's different. 

 And I like different! 

I shot this in manual mode at f3 1/250 ISO 1000.  The light coming in our dining room (and living room is absolutely wonderful diffused light and the way my 105mm captures light is just incredible.  It can  make even the most boring subject look a lot better!

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Cherry Fluff

This is so yummy on a hot summer day, at a barbecue or to have as a chilled dessert.  It's so easy to throw together and I like to make it the day before so there is no last minute rush and it has time to chill and firm up a bit.  

One Can of Cherry Pie Filling 

One Can Sweetened Condensed Milk 

16 ounces crushed pineapple~ do not drain 

1 cup chopped nuts 

1 cup mini marshmallows

In a very large bowl combine pie filling, crushed pineapple and sweetened condensed milk.  

In a very large bowl combing pie filling, pineapple and sweetened condensed milk.  

Toss in Marshmellows and Nuts.

Whip all together until incorporated then fold in Cool Whip. 

Chill overnight or for a few hours before serving. 

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Sharing with:

Frugally Sustainable

Imparting Grace

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Oh how we love Chicken Cordon Bleu.  It hasn't been on our dinner menu for a long long time (years!)and it popped into my head recently so I thought to make it.  It's pretty easy and the most difficult part is the pounding of the chicken.  

Here's a quick and easy recipe to add to your routine.  I hope you like it as much as we do! 

1 bag frozen boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs (I prefer thigh)

8 slices Ham (black forest is good) 

8 cheese slices (the better quality is better)  You can use American or Swiss or Mozzarella.  I prefer American.  

1 stick butter 

Bread crumbs (any kind, but Italian is great)  

toothpicks 

Let the chicken defrost until still a bit icy.  It seems easier to pound that way.  With kitchen mallet pound as evenly as possible until chicken is about 1/2 an inch or so.  

To make less of a mess I put my chicken pieces inside of a freezer bag.  It also keeps it from slipping around. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  

Assemble chicken, ham and cheese and roll up as tightly as possible.    

Pierce with toothpick to hold together while baking. 

Dip each chicken piece in butter and then roll in bread crumbs.  

Place on greased baking sheet.   

Bake, covered with foil, for 45 minutes @ 350 degrees or till chicken is done.  

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!  

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!

Shared with:
Imparting Grace

Just a Lovely Day!

I've wanted a blog that isn't specific to one topic where I could include snippets about everything I love. From photography to cooking to homemaking, to my faith and everything in between.  So just a lovely day is going to be about just that.  Everything that I love

I love photography.  I love capturing moments. I love making my house a home.  I love my husband. I Love God.   Life is a good thing.  Even the worst days have something good to appreciate.  It's just a lovely day!

If you'd like to get updates from my facebook page please click HERE to follow and get notifications.  I'd love to hear from you here on the blog as well so please leave a comment!

Have a Lovely Day!!!