From Zoe's Kitchen- Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Brown Sugar Frosting

I love bananas, but I am a little unusual. I only love bananas when the skin is nice and green. Once they start to yellow I don't like them anymore. So needless to say, we have a lot of leftover bananas around our house. It is good though because I love to make banana smoothies and of course bake banana bread.


This recipe isn't probably anything you haven't seen before, but this is the recipe I use for making banana bread. I have used it for a long time and I don't remember where I got it from. I did alter it by making it all whole wheat flour and I encourage you to do the same. Adding whole wheat flour adds fiber and a lot of other good nutrients that white flour is lacking!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (3 bananas or 2 large bananas)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
Nonstick Cooking Spray

I know this isn't how you are supposed to do this but I just mix all of the wet ingredients in one large bowl, then add all the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Spray a loaf pan or muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill with batter, for muffins fill about 2/3 way up- makes about 12 muffins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes for loaf or 35 minutes for muffins.

Maple Brown Sugar Frosting
I decided to add some frosting to the muffins I made (I made a loaf and a batch of muffins) and I found this wonderful recipe for frosting at Joylicious- it is delicious!!!

2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
8 Tbsp butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup real maple syrup (I just used pancake syrup)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugars and butter until combined. Add salt. Using mixer, beat on medium while adding syrup and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Frost cooled muffins!

So yummy!!!!

It's hard to bake all night with this little one staring at you!!

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Thrifty Projects in the Works

Finally got started on a few projects for the house last night- mainly did a lot of sanding. Here are some of the finds I am refinishing to make our house purdy!

This rocker I found on Craigslist for $20- Super sturdy and comfortable, all sanded up and ready for paint!

Found this shelf at a garage sale for $3- nothing too special but it should work well in my craft room.

Old windows for free from my sister. I have a couple projects I am sooo excited about planned for these.

This little guy was my best friend last night!!

Stay tuned to see how they all turn out! And make sure you come by later this week for my first tutorial!!!
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Embroidery and a Giveaway

I love embroidery. It don't know when I started liking it so much, but I remember being really little and loving seeing all the beautiful wall decorations and tea towels my grandmother made. I have done a few embroidery projects- tea towels, wall hangings, but I want to get better at embroidery (I want to get better at all the crafts I am doing actuall, but embroidery specifically).

This summer Floss Box is having a summer stitch school on their blog. I haven't had time to partake yet, but it should be a good skill builder. They have tutorials for a large varieties of stitches and go step by step to explain them.

Here is some pretties from pinterest that have been inspiring me lately.

 Love the colors- love the saying- would be beautiful for a laundry room. Absolutely love her blog too. Source: SarahJane Studios.

Love this- so cheerful- love the fabrics hanging there on a line. Source: Paint Me a Picture.

I love quilts that have embroidery in them. So nostalgic and sweet! Love that the embroidery is also on dofferent fabrics. Source: LeAnne's House.

Another great effect- redwork. I love it so much- I someday would love to make a redwork quilt! Source.

So just in time for my embroidery obsession:

Geeky Sweet heart is giving away this too cool embroidery case here.

Act quick- it ends today!

New Food Friday #2- Chewy Granola Bars

Lately I have had a really hard time finding food for breakfast during the weeks. I get really cranky if I don't eat breakfast, but I have to make it something fast. I don't really like a lot of the granola bars from the store because of all the extra sugar added and how expensive they are. So off I go to look for granola bar recipes.
I found this wonderful recipe for Thick, Chewy Granola Bars on Smitten Kitchen and I decided to try it.

The recipe was pretty flexible and she has a lot of good detail of what add-ins you can use but this is the basic recipe I followed.

Thick, Chewy Granola Bars:
1 2/3 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar (was out of granulated)
1/3 cup oats processed into flour in food processer
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups dried fruit and nuts (I used craisins and almond slivers)
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 Tbsp water

I mixed it all together in a large mixing bowl.

The recipe called for baking it in a 8x8 pan, lined with parchment paper that had been greased. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

This is where I went wrong. I don't have an 8x8 baking pan so I used a 9" round pan. I got scared that they were too thick while I was pressing them in so I did them in 2 9" round pans. They were to thin and one of the pans got a little too crispy.

Also, I didn't have any parchment paper and so I used wax paper- big mistake. I ended up with wax paper stuck to the back of the granola bars. It is a big mess to try and get the edible part off.
Next time I will put them all in a 9" circle pan (if I don't break down and go buy a 8x8 baking dish) and either use parchment paper or just grease the bottom really well.

No pretty granola bar pictures here. Just keeping it real.

They didn't turn out perfectly for me- but I will definitely try them again. They were so delicious and very filling. I ate them for breakfast and I didn't get hungry until lunch time. I like that they have peanut butter in them to add some protein and fat.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Crafting, Cooking and Creating!

Notice Anything Different???

Lately I have been doing a lot to try and make my blog look just like I want it to. I made a new header. I got it to center on explorer, but when I view it in Safari it is still off center. Any super smart blog people know how to fix this problem??

The other thing I did was add a menu bar at the top. I used a tutorial from The Girl Creative. She made it really easy and I love the way it turned out. I am still working on the content for some of the tabs, so be patient!! I have some tutorials in the works :)

Thanks for stopping by everyone!!