New Year And Carbs

I ended 2012 poorly. It's been ages since I've updated. It seems like I've apologized about my long bouts of neglect more than actual blogging. It was my first year into it and I'm still learning. My lack of organization and time management is also a force to be reckoned with. I just want to express my enthusiasm for the new year and new beginnings!

This blog started with the purpose of chronicling my journey of making an organized (and fun!) adult home and life. I may have slacked off on the blog, but I can say that I cook way more often, developed better house chore habits, and have continued creative projects.


I decided to begin with two bread recipes. I realized I've never made any type of banana bread or "breakfast" bread variety. J came over one evening and we gobbled them up. These breads are comforting and delicious. A perfect start.

 

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

 

Recipe @ fakeginger

 

 

I followed the recipe exactly. It turned out wonderful. Mr. P decided this one was his favorite. Cream cheese is always Mr. P's favorite. My banana's were perfect for this recipe. They were dark on the outside but perfectly soft for baking. I was glad I just happened to have walnuts in the pantry!

 

 

Banana Zucchini Bread



 



I adapted my recipe from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 C mashed ripe banana

1 C shredded zucchini

1/3 cup yogurt

5 Tbs butter, melted

2 eggs

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C light brown sugar

2 C all-purpose flour

1/4 C toasted wheat germ

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Directions:

 

1. Pre heat oven to 350F. Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan with non stick spray.

 

2. In separate bowl, sift flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and spices together. ( I always do this while I'm preheating. Makes the whole process faster.)

 

3. With mixer, combine banana, zucchini, yogurt, butter, and eggs. Beat until just combined. Add sugars and blend on medium.

 

4. Add dry ingredients to wet. Beat until just combined.

 

5. Bake at 350F for an hour to 65 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove to rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

 

You could add a frosting if you would like. I enjoyed mine warm and with a little butter. I got a lot of compliments from coworkers that hate zucchini and loved this bread!

 

 



 

Grilled Goods and Home Decor

The girls got together this month for grilled goods and home decor. Mr.P and I are officially in our new place.

It was really hard to narrow down the choices, we all pinned so many yummy grilled foods. Two kabob/skewer ideas were used and I'm so glad we chose "skewed" food!  It rained all day Tuesday. I don't have a covered porch. Broke out the George Foreman. Super easy to make these kabobs on an electric grill. Not all was lost!

Apple Kielbasa Kabobs

These were awesome. I'm a big fan of kielbasa. Adding the apple was genius.

Grilled Ham and Pineapple Skewer

The basting sauce really soaks into this and is great to munch on. We added the cherries for color and even more sweetness.

Grilled Balsamic Honey Glazed Carrots

Here's some of the spread including the carrots. I would have liked the carrots more if made on a real grill. They were still really good though! We also made an oven version of some foil packet Grilled Garlic Potatoes. We loaded ours with extra cheese and smothered it in ranch afterwards instead of the recommended sour cream! I didn't get a picture since they took forever in the oven. We ate those long after the grilled food was demolished.

Banana Boats

We used peanut butter/chocolate chip mix, almonds, and coconut to ours. Popped in the oven instead and they still came out AWESOME. Seriously, I could have ate a whole bunch by myself! Really good idea. I've even thought of other "toppings" to add. I think a "Banana Split" boat; adding cherries, chocolate, pineapple, and butterscotch would be amazing.

Home Decor Projects!

Two of us decided to do this really cool idea involving vinyl letter "stickers", scrap book paper/paper in general, paint and mod podge. Click the link for the tutorial. I read her comments to find out that you can find these letters at any Wal-mart where the poster board/science fair supplies are. Found mine there too!

DIY Quotes on Canvas and Cardboard!

I used my favorite Vonnegut quote. I used an old paperback I was going to donate/give away. I felt like I was doing something incredibly wrong as I ripped the pages out!

She made hers using scrap cardboard and scrapbook paper. I liked how she made it two toned! The color of paint she used made it shimmer and almost look coppery.

Melted Bead Sun catcher

This is a great idea. I'll definitely be making some soon to hang from the trees in my yard since I don't have anywhere else to hang them! She used the cheap-o glow in the dark plastic beads that came in a plastic pack for like $2 from Wal-Mart. It looks awesome hanging from her porch!

Until next time! <3