Banana Pancakes

I needed to use up a bunch of VERY ripe bananas and decided to try my hand at banana pancakes. I happened upon a great (and healthy) recipe at Shef Shanan's. They were a huge success and the kids ate them up faster than I could dish them up! I did triple the original recipe as I was hoping to have extras to freeze.

Crockpot Black Beans

I have been looking for a good crockpot black bean recipe and finally found a really good one at the feast within. I added bell peppers and made up a double batch so I could freeze half for later.

Gardening with Newspaper

I buy the Sunday paper almost every week for the coupon inserts and we also get a couple of free local newspapers. After I’m done looking through them I usually save them for use in starting the grill or the fire pit in the back yard, but I always have more “leftover” newspapers than I could ever possibly use.

While on Pinterest (I know, Jared says I’m addicted), I saw a couple of ideas for using old newspapers in gardening and decided to try them with our garden this year.

The first idea that I saw was to form seed starter “pots” out of old newspapers. You use a soup can to shape your newspaper, fill the new “pot” with dirt, plant the seeds and set them in a leak proof container (so you can water the plants without making a mess). Then when you are ready to transfer the seedlings to your garden you just unfold the bottom and place the plant (newspaper, dirt and all) into the ground. I was getting ready to start my tomatoes indoors so I decided to give it a shot. I’m so glad that I did, too. My plants are growing nicely and it saved me some $ (which is always nice). I plan to do this with the rest of my seeds this weekend.

My tomato plants are already a couple of inches tall after only few weeks

The second idea that I saw was using newspaper for weed control (it's #5 on the list). The article says that you can take newspaper and spread it out over your garden like you would with “landscape fabric”, spray it with water, cover with mulch, and let it will keep the weeds from growing. I’ve used landscape fabric before and it never keeps the weeds away as well as I’d like it to so I plan to give this a shot when I plant my garden outdoors. I am curious how well the newspaper holds up to the wind even with the mulch on top. If you’ve done this before please let me know how it went.

Menu: April 2-8 (Easter/Resurrection Sunday)

Sorry that it has taken sooooo long to get the menu up. My computer is having issues, and wedding season and spring cleaning have begun. I also started my tomato and pepper seeds but that's another post for me to write.

• Kraft Fresh Take Baked Chicken (the southwest one), sauteed green beans, and roasted red potatoes (Monday)
• Tuscan Chicken Stew (I did substitute one red pepper for the tomatoes as Jared and Mr. R don't really like them, I also added 1/2 cup chicken broth and topped the dish with 1/2 cup of Italian blend cheese) and homemade garlic bread. (Tuesday)
• Ham (I am working on a new recipe but the linked recipe is a favorite), roasted red potatoes, mixed veggies, and rolls
• Grilled Chicken Salad (chicken, boiled eggs, cheese, croutons, ham, carrots, broccoli, etc. over romaine lettuce)
• Christ, the Lord, is risen today!! Our "Easter" dinner:

• roast chicken
• garlic herb mashed potatoes
• baked sweet potatoes
• crockpot glazed baby carrots
• steamed broccoli and cauliflower
• dinner rolls
• "brownie bottom" cheesecake

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I follow a few "Deal" blogs and happened to see a post yesterday on Pocket Your Dollars that made my heart beat a little faster...a Taste of Home deal.I am slightly "addicted" to cookbooks and foodie magazines (yes, I have more than I could ever find time to read through in their entirety).

Now through 4/29 you can get TOH's Family Meals & Church Suppers 3-Book Set for 19.93 (74% savings). Along with each purchase you also get a free 1-yr. subscription to Taste of Home. Plus, you'll snag free shipping if you use code LST82 at checkout. It's a GREAT deal for yourself or for a gift (Mother's Day, Wedding, Birthday, Housewarming, etc.).

So who are you going to buy one for?

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

I wanted a quick and easy dessert the other night but didn't have any cocoa so the usual chocolate microwave cakes (1 minute chocolate cake or 10 minute or less chocolate cake for 2) were not an option. Then I thought about different flavors that I had in the house and decided to try a variation on my chocolate cake recipe using peanut butter, banana and chocolate chips.

One-Minute Chocolate Cake

I saw this idea on Pinterest and just had to try it. The original recipe is by Chocolate-Covered Katie and it is definitely yummy for a microwave cake. It's also quicky and easy (unless I'm making it with the kids). I tweaked it just bit as you'll see below.

• 5 tsp cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tablespoons mashed banana
• 3 tablespoons milk of choice (I use coconut milk if I have it on hand)
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cold coffee (to enhance the chocolate flavor)
• optional: 1 rolo or carmello square

Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. Add liquid, stir, then transfer to a little dish, ramekin, or even a coffee mug. Microwave 30-40 seconds. If you don’t want to eat it straight out of the dish, be sure to spray your dish first (and then wait for it to cool before trying to remove it).

I don't bother to add the chocolate frosting as I'd rather add a Rolo or Carmello square to the top of the batter before microwaving so there is this ooey-gooey choco-caramel swirl in the middle of the cake. 

"Trail Mix" Cookies

Jared promised the kids a treat if they finished their supper last night. I had a few different things that I could make so it wasn't a problem until the kids couldn't agree on which treat to make. Their options were trail mix, granola bites, or chocolate chip cookies and they all wanted something different. Then I had an idea, why not try to combine the flavors from all three into one - chocolate chip cookie dough with the addition of oats, coconut flakes, craisins, and crushed peanuts. The kids named this creation "trail mix cookies".

Sweet Cream Lowfat Coffee Creamer

Coffee is an essential part of my day and I like my coffee with a hint of cream (not too overpowering though as I can drink it black when necessary). As I pulled the bottle of creamer from the fridge to fix Jared a cup of coffee, I thought to myself, "This feels really light I've probably only got enough for one cup." After sending Jared off to work with his coffee, I scoured the kitchen for something that I could use to make my coffee creamy without adding a lot of extra calories (since we are trying to lose weight right now).

Hangers with a New Use

Ever since I can remember I've had a "weird sense of creativity". As a 9 or 10 year old I remember drawing plans to build a small airplane out of an old tricycle. I've used old oat canisters for instruments, milk jugs for piggy banks and other such "nonsense". So when my paper towel holder broke and I really didn't want to buy a new one that sense of creativity kicked into gear. The idea came to me while I was putting clothes away, "Why couldn't I use one of those dry cleaner's hangers?" You know the ones I'm talking about, the ones with the metal upper attached to a cardboard bottom. So I measured the length of the paper towel roll and then cut the cardboard an inch or so longer. I then bent the hanger accordingly to fit the new length. See...