"Wicked" Banana Bread

Also known as Cooking Light's Moms Banana Bread.

I only made one modification to this recipe. It calls for 1/4 cup of low fat sour cream (which of course I didn't realize until I was already 3/4 of the way thru!) I substituted 1/4 cup of low fat strawberry banana yogurt instead.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light butter, softened
1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low fat yogurt or sour cream
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well blended. Add banana, milk, yogurt and egg whites; beat well and set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until blended.

Spoon batter into 9 inch loaf pan (sprayed); bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

May as well be porn.

Could these be any cuter?




"Perfect, just like my Dad"



"Doggone Cute"


"Gorgeous just like my Mom"

Gap.com, I'm in love.

A little remodeling.

As you can see I went a little crazy and did a little reformatting of the Blog tonight. (Damn you Randy for being out of town...at least I'm not spending the night searching for internet porn...or baby items.)

Sadly, in the transition I did lose my poll results, so if it's not too much trouble, chime in again!

I'm off to bed soon but would love to hear what you think!

Oh yeah, and the pizza? Freakin' awesome.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Pizza

In honor of the Bills 4 - 0 record (whoa!) this is my current craving.



Ok, so it has nothing to do with the Bills and everything to do with Randy being out of town and me being able to eat WHATEVER I WANT!

Dinner can't come soon enough.

Our Little Shamrock...

...is THIS big today!



Per thenestbaby.com, Shamrock's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

Counting down the days until we can schedule our BIG ultrasound! It's driving me mad!

PS. Gap maternity jeans = seriously the most comfortable piece of clothing I have EVER worn.



PPS. Take the poll people!

Just because she makes me smile...

Chicken Italiano Skillet

Yet another new kraftfoods.com recipe. Sadly, they didn't call for any seasoning really...and I can't live without garlic, so it is modified a touch from its original form.

Probably wouldn't make this very often not because it wasn't REALLY good but because it can't be all that great for you!

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (go crazy if you like, I'm sure I used more like 2 tablespoons!)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained (I used the Italian Seasoned)
1 1/2 cup water
1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
Salt and pepper to taste


SPRAY large skillet with cooking spray. Add garlic and chicken (I put ground pepper and a bit of salt on the chicken); cook and stir 5 min. on medium-high heat. Add green pepper and onion; cook 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

STIR in tomatoes, water and Macaroni. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover.

SIMMER 10 min. or until macaroni is tender, stirring occassionally. Stir in Cheese Sauce until blended.

Very tasty, we ate the whole pan between the two of us.

Happy Birthday Gram!

Yesterday was my Gram's Birthday. (See how I left out the age...a woman never tells. Let's just say, you wouldn't believe it if I told you!)

Gram has always been the one person that I could always count on be it for telling me to straighten up, giving fantastic hugs or sitting on the porch with our glasses filled with Lambrusco. In essence, she is the perfect Grandma.

Hope you had a wonderful birthday! Love you!

Maple Apple Pork Chops

I came across this recipe on kraftfoods.com...but it was for chicken and chicken and I? Yeah we aren't friends right now. I have to say though I was impressed with how easy and yummy it was. Definitely one of my new fall recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 boneless pork chops
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup zesty Italian dressing
2 red cooking apples, sliced
1 small onion, sliced thinly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray cooking sheet.

Mix together the syrup and Italian dressing.

Place pork chops on cooking sheet. Place onions on top of pork chops and surround them with the apple slices. Pour syrup/dressing mixture over the top of the pork chops.

Bake at 400 for 25 - 30 minutes.

I served with mashed potatoes and brown sugar glazed carrots. Mmmmm.

It's a conspiracy...they are working against me now!

Every now and then I will have to hide food around the house. This may seem weird to you, I know it is to me most of the time. The reasoning behind this is because my lovely, health conscious, work out savvy husband has ABSOLUTELY no self control when it comes to sweets.

The problem?

Well, when I buy a package of Double Stuff Oreos I expect them to be where I left them...untouched preferably, or at least with very few missing.

Sadly, this is never the case. Once said treats are found they disappear at an astonishing rate. When confronted, Randy says "That damn rat again..." Nice. Usually I'm lucky if I get one treat before they are gone.

So, this past weekend I treated myself to a bag of Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids (only my all time favorite candy EVER) and placed them in their Target bag in the spare room. No one but me ever really goes in there so I figure they would be safe, especially since they weren't in plain view.

Randy just calls me:

Him: What else besides the Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids were in the spare room.

Me: Why?

Him: Was there anything else?

Me: Crap, Skittles found them didn't she?

Him: Yup, all the Swedish Fish are gone...

Me: Please tell me she didn't eat the Sour Patch Kids, I'll beat her.

Him: Well, she tried but I don't think she liked them.

Me: Did she slobber all over them?

Him: ::chewing:: I sure hope not because I'm eating them right now.


Awesome. They'll be gone by lunch time.

Our Little Shamrock...

...is THIS big today!



Per thenestbaby.com, tiny bones forming in Shamrock's ears mean the little one can now pick up our voices. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender. (Can't WAIT to schedule this!)

Gee, thanks Dad.

Randy, Gram and I are driving to Virginia for a week in the beginning of October to see my parents, sister and nephews.

I just get a phone call from my dad:

Him: Hey, what type of beer does Randy like? Sam Adams?

Me: Yup, that, Guinness or anything light.

Him: Yeah, so I'm hoping the weather is nice because here's my plan: We'll sit out on the deck, enjoying the fall weather. Gram will drink her wine, Randy and I will drink our beer, and you...well you can sit there and watch us.

Me: Always nice talking to you Dad.

Our Little Shamrock...

...is THIS big today!



Per thenestbaby.com, Shamrock is continuing the march towards normal proportions, his/her legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Shamrock is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though I probably still haven't felt the movements.

And here's Mommy sporting a pair of her maternity (!!) pants.

What a Beautiful Couple

Randy and I had the opportunity to go to one of the most beautiful weddings we had ever been invited to over Labor Day weekend. The food alone (and let's face it, that is much higher on my list now then say...the open bar) was AMAZING. A beautiful couple, a beautiful wedding, a beautiful marriage.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots (courtesy of Emily, because, you know...I forgot my camera.)


The lovely bride and groom












Congratulations to the Happy Couple and lots of love to all.

Our Little Shamrock...

...is THIS big today!



Per thenestbaby.com, Shamrock is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.

And here is what Mommy looks like at 14 weeks:



Still not really showing, but definitely still bloated (especially today!)

First Second Trimester Appointment - Done!

We got to hear the heart beat that was AWESOME but the baby was moving around all over the place so she had to keep searching for it. Damn Misencik kid is already running me ragged!

I've gained 5lbs all together which she wasn't thrilled with, but she said obviously since I was a "lightweight" (god bless her, I don't think I've EVER heard that before) before hand that I needed it and to just continue eating well and exercising.

Now that I have my energy back I guess I'll be upping my exercising some!

Next appointment we get to schedule the big U/S!

Our Little Shamrock...

...is THIS big today!



Goodbye First Trimester, Hello Second.

Per thenestbaby.com, Shamrock is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Shamrock is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)

This Friday is our next appointment, I'll keep everyone posted.

Hope you all had a great LONG weekend!