Banana Blueberry Crumb Muffins

Well, I had some bananas I bought last week, they were finally ripe, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with them. I really liked the banana chocolate chip muffins, but I wanted to make something different.

So I decided to change the banana chocolate chip recipe up and add a crumb topping. I'm happy to report it was a successful experiment. Not only do these taste amazing, but they smell amazing when they are baking.

I've never dealt with a crumb topping before but I think the crumb really takes this muffin over the top. These turned out so pretty, I just kept taking more pictures.

Just to let everyone know... I highly recommend these! They are light, fluffy, moist, and sooooo delicious.

I've already had 3 today :)

Ingredients (makes about 16 muffins):
Muffins-
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sour cream
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup blueberries

Topping-
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp butter, cold

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large mixing bowl, mix sugar through salt. Add in vanilla. Add in flour and stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries.
3. To make topping, combine brown sugar through cinnamon. Cut in cold butter until it resembles coarse sand.
4. Line muffin pans with paper liners. Fill cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle topping over batter.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 3 minutes. Remove to cooling rack and cool completely for storage.

Muffins inspired by Your Homebased Mom
Topping inspired by Food Mayhem

Spicy Sweet and Sour Pork

Pork chops were on sale this week and instead of just grilling them up, I decided to use them in a yummy stir-fry!

I was back in commission yesterday after taking a couple of days off for the back injury. I know the hubby was relieved not to have another pizza or fast food night. I spent 2 days alternatively icing and heating my back and while it's not 100% yet, it feels immensely better.

So here we go!

Chop up your green pepper and dice that onion!

Pineapple. I used canned (I was wanting to use what I had in the pantry) but fresh pineapple is equally (and maybe a little more!) delicious. Save some juice to put in your sweet and sour sauce.

Here's what you're going to need for the sauce, plus a smidgen of chicken broth and the reserved pineapple juice.

Start by browning your pork. Does anyone else watch Anne Burrell on the Food Network? I always hear her voice at this point saying "Brown food tastes better!". I heart her :)

The pork doesn't need to be done at this point, it will finish cooking later.

After browning the pork, saute the onions to your liking. I have a husband who will not eat any onion with any kind of texture, so I have to cook my onions until they are practically mush.

Sometimes I dream about a nice crunchy onion. Sigh.

Add in the green pepper and the pineapple and saute a couple minutes more.

Add the pork back to the dish and then the sauce you have previously prepared. Cook for a couple of minutes more, until the pork is done. The sauce becomes wonderfully thick at this point and is perfect for spooning over rice.

Time to plate up! Spoon extra sauce over the rice, trust me.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp chile paste with garlic
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch, divided
1 lb pork, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 (8- oz) can of pineapple chunks
hot cooked rice
toasted sesame seeds (garnish, optional)

Directions:
1. Combine chicken broth through sesame oil. Add 1 tbsp cornstarch, stir vigorously with a whisk. Set aside.
2. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Toss pork with 1 tbsp cornstarch until pork is evenly coated.
3. Heat canola oil in a large skillet. Add pork to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until pork is browned. Remove from pan, keep warm.
4. Add onions to pan, cook to desired tenderness. Add green pepper and pineapple, saute 2-3 minutes more. Add pork back to pan, mix well. Add chicken broth mixture to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until pork is done.
5. Serve pork mixture over rice. Garnish with sesame seeds.

*Recipe inspired by Cooking Light*

Product Review: L'Oreal Everpure Conditioner & More

Thanks to couponing, I've tried out several products I love this month... and some not so much (Samy FatFoam Hair Color, ahem).

1. L'Oreal Everpure Conditioner

I thought I would hate this product. I'm the weirdo that hates rosemary (gasp! A cardinal sin of cooking!). However, since I spent so much money at the salon getting my hair color corrected and I saw this product that said "sulfate-free" in my stockpile, I decided to pull it out and give it awhirl. Shockingly, I love this conditioner! It doesn't smell too much like rosemary, it smells much more strongly of mint. The minty smell puts me in a good mood every time I use it. I also like that this conditioner doesn't feel that heavy, so it doesn't weigh my hair down for the rest of the day but at the same time, leaves my hair with plenty of shine. Cons? I don't think it's as moisturizing as other conditioners I've tried. It's also expensive if you don't have a good coupon and can't find a good sale on it. The verdict? I won't be paying full price for this but if I can get an amazing deal on this again, I will buy it.

2. Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream

I got a great deal on Garnier skin products a couple of weeks ago, so I have been testing this out. I usually only use Olay on my skin but Olay is expensive, even with coupons and sales. My problem is combo-skin. An oily T-zone that is prone to breakouts while having dry skin everywhere else. I stick to Olay because it's one of the only products that doesn't make my T-zone breakout. I've been using this for a couple of weeks with good results though. No breakouts to report. I love the way it feels going on, very silky. It absorbs into the skin right away, another feature I love. Cons? It's very lightweight (as gel-creams are).  We've had summer weather the last couple of weeks, so I can get away with a gel-cream at night right now. I can tell this product won't be effective in the winter. The verdict? A good summer product and good for anyone with acne-prone skin.

3. Samy FatFoam Hair Color

I don't think I've ever used a hair color product that I hate as much as this one! That's saying a lot because I think I've tried every hair color product on the market. I won't be recommending this product to anyone, especially a hair color newbie. I've been putting my own hair color on my hair since I was 16, so I like to think I'm pretty good at it. You wouldn't know that from this product. I spent quite a while putting this on my hair to insure it was even but the color still came out... the best word to describe it was spotty. The color came out terribly uneven. It also made my hair feel like straw. My hair was still dry after I used a conditioning mask on it a couple of days post-color. I use so many hair color products that don't dry out my hair, why would I ever use this one again? I got quite a good deal on this product, but after you consider that I had to go to a salon for color correction, it's the most expensive drug store hair color I've ever tried. The verdict? I will never use this product again. Nor would I recommend it!

The Scourge of the Earth

It all started on Monday.

I was seated at the bar in my kitchen, filling out paperwork for about 20 minutes. When I stood up, my back felt a little tight. I thought I just needed to stretch because I had been sitting in an uncomfortable chair for too long. But the tightness never went away. My back just continued to get more sore as the day went on.

I thought a good night's sleep would take care of it. Instead, my back was even more sore the next morning. I was taking it easy, resting a lot, minding my own business when something dive-bombed my head and buzzed up to the ceiling.

It was a wasp! I will admit, profanities poured out of my mouth. I am incredibly and irrationally scared of bees. I can't even get close enough to the things to kill them. However, it was 1:00 pm and the hubby wouldn't be home till 7. I had to suck it up and try to kill the epitome of evil flying through my house.

I armed myself with a can of hairspray (I read on the internet if you spray them with hairspray, their wings stick to their body, they can't fly, and then you can crush them) and a very heavy cookbook. Not wanting to spray hairspray all over the house, I followed it and tried to wait until it landed on something.

This went on for 3 hours, I am not even kidding you. At 4 o-clock, after taking a couple of swings with the cookbook, one swing tweaked my back. My back immediately began to start spasming. I was forced to retreat to the bedroom with the dogs and lay on the bed in the fetal position, cursing that wasp the whole time. I finally had to accept defeat. I called my mother-in-law and asked her to come take me to urgent care because of the spasms. Thankfully, she said she'd be over right away.

Well, the spasms passed and by the time my MIL got to my house, I was able to get up off the bed. We decided not to go to urgent care unless the spasms returned, but I asked her to stay in case they did return. She also vanquished the wasp.

I cannot believe this bee got the best of me. And that I injured my back chasing a bee. And that when people ask I have to tell them I injured my back chasing a bee for 3 hours. Wasp-1, Jessica-0. No, wait...The score is Wasp-0 (it did die after all), Jessica-0, Joyce-1. Thank goodness for mother's-in-law.

Shrimp Penne

This is one of my favorite recipes!

I say that a lot, don't I? What can I say? I love food!

There is so much color in this dish, which is one of the reasons I love it so. The yellow and red from the peppers, green from the fresh basil, and of course, pink from the shrimp. It's almost too pretty to eat.

Almost.

Start with your fresh produce. Thinly sliced basil, thinly sliced red and yellow peppers, and halved grape tomatoes.

The veggies are simmered in wine. I just love a boozy recipe :)

Saute your peppers in a little bit of olive oil, 3-4 minutes or until tender.

Add in your grape tomatoes and some minced garlic. We really like garlic in our house. Keeps away the vampires!

Add in the wine and simmer 8-10 minutes, or until wine is reduced by half. The veggies really absorb the flavor of the wine in this reduction, so good!

From there, you add in the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are pink. Then add the pasta and mix thoroughly. Garnish with the fresh basil and fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Perfecto! There's nothing left to do but scarf this one down!

Trust me, you won't regret it :)

Ingredients:
12 ounces penne pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 lb large shrimp
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil
Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and saute 3-4 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add grape tomatoes, saute for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add wine, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to the pan. Simmer 8-10 minutes, or until wine is reduced by half.
4. Add the shrimp, cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are pink.
5. Add the cooked pasta and cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in the fresh basil, mix to combine. Garnish with parmesan cheese.
6. Plate up and enjoy!

Adapted from Southern Living

Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

I had a complete and utter cookie failure on Thursday.

Inquiring minds now know why you can't find any recipes online that use pie filling in cookies.

I'm still working on that perfect chocolate-fruit-nut cookie. Thursday's experiment included using cherry pie filling for the fruit in my cookies. I do not recommend this. Using pie filling in cookies completely changes the texture of the cookie, as well as the baking time. I baked these cookies for a good 20 minutes and they still weren't done. In fact, they never got done. The batch, unfortunately, ended up in the trash. And I hate that!

Today's variation changed the amount of cocoa, the type of nut, and used frozen raspberries. They are pretty good, but you know what? They still aren't THE one. Argh. They are so close to perfect, I'm loving the combination of chocolate and raspberry. I think with fresh raspberries, these will finally be perfect!

From my experiments, I've found that these cookies spread out a lot. Best to only bake 6 on a cookie sheet at a time.

I've also found that it's best to make a small cookie so they don't bake as long. With a small cookie, the perfect baking time was 12 minutes.

I am so glad this batch won't end up in the trash :)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg, room temp
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup raspberries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour through salt. Whisk and set aside.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, mix well. Add vanilla, mix well.
3. In 3 additions, add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until just combined. Fold in raspberries, chocolate chips, and nuts.
4. Divide dough in half and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Roll each dough half into a 12-inch dough log and wrap dough log up. Freeze dough for at least 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Grease cookie sheets with cooking spray. Remove dough log from freezer, slice into 1-inch slices. Place about 6 cookies on a cookie sheet at a time. Repeat with 2nd dough log.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies look just baked. Remove from oven and cool on pan for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling rack and cool completely before storage.

Just a Spring Day In Kentucky

The weather has been ah-mazing this week! It's been in the 70's and sunny all week, minus Wednesday which was T-storms all day long. I happily dug my capri pants out of my dresser, out from underneath all my winter clothes. Love my capri pants!

Yesterday, the hubby and I headed down the road to his aunt and uncle's house to help them set up a new patio furniture set they had purchased. The set is gorgeous and it only took 5 people to put together (Jerame and I, his aunt and uncle, and Jerame's mom). I think the boys could have handled it own their own, but us girls were there for moral support :)

But seriously, the table only took about 15 minutes to put together, and then we all enjoyed drinks and snacks on the patio, basking in the sun. It was one of those perfect spring days when it was not too hot or too cold, and the summer humidity hasn't arrived yet. We got to the aunt and uncle's house in early afternoon, but ended up chatting around until 9 that night.

Martha and Ron with their new table. Matches the house perfectly!

Martha, Ron, Joyce, and I.

We didn't want to leave Brutus out of the fun!

In other household news, a new toy arrived in the mail for the hubby yesterday:

Yep, we bought a Keurig. The hubby has been talking about them non-stop for about 6 months, so when he got his Spring Bonus, I folded like a cheap hooker and let him get it.

He's just like a kid at Christmas. He could barely contain his excitement long enough to open the box. A cup of coffee had to be brewed ASAP. The excitement then bubbled over to the taste of the coffee, which won rave reviews from the hubby. In fact, he raved over the taste of the coffee for about 20 minutes (which is exactly 19 minutes longer than I've ever raved about coffee).

Keurig sends this lovely little variety pack of K-Cups with the machine. The hubby has already taste-tested quite a few cups. I had a cup of the Donut Shop blend this morning, love!

We've already been to Walmart to get a couple of different varieties of K-Cups. I bought the Latte Macchiato for me, and we didn't discover until we got home that I bought a variety that's not compatible with Keurig. Boo! The hubby bought the Sumatra blend though and has already fallen in love with it.

We are already anticipating more K-Cup adventures (and looking forward to it!).

Glazed Strawberry Lemon Bread

I know what you're thinking.

Finally, something other than muffins! I thought I would give my muffin pans the week off and make a breakfast bread instead.

I'm not that experienced with bread but hey, you gotta start somewhere. I wasn't sure how long this was going to bake and I was worried I was going to over bake it, but I pulled it out of the oven at the perfect time (thanks to my handy kitchen thermometer!).

This smelled so good when it was baking, I just love the smell of fresh baked bread. The bread has a great texture as well and is very moist. The lemon and strawberry make the perfect spring combination.

Ingredients:
Bread-
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups strawberries, chopped

Glaze-
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Lemon zest, for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a mixing bowl. In separate mixing bowl, mix lemon juice and zest through vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet, stir until just combined.
3. Fold in strawberries.
4. Coat a loaf pan lightly with cooking spray. Spread batter into loaf pan with a spatula.
5. Bake in oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour (bread is done when knife inserted into bread comes out clean or temperature is 190 degrees). At the 35 minute mark, cover the top of the bread with a piece of aluminum foil to keep the top of bread from getting too dark.
6. Remove from oven, let set in pan for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from pan and let cool completely.
7. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Drizzle glaze over the top of the bread, garnish with extra lemon zest.

*Store this in the fridge, to max out the longevity of the bread*

Seeking Professional Help

Sooooo...my hair.

It had gotten a little out of hand. Normally a blonde, I spent last year in a phase of wanting to be exotic. I went Katy Perry and dyed my hair black. I loved it, it was so different from what I usually do. The thing about black hair though, is that it's crazy maintenance! My ashy brown hair color would show at the roots after 2 weeks. It had to go.

I thought (and obviously I am no cosmetologist) that I could just start gradually lightening my hair. Dye it dark brown, then medium brown, then light brown. Umm, no. All I received from trying to go this route was roots that were a completely different color from the ends. And not in an ombre-good kind of way. The black hair just wouldn't take any color. I finally decided to go a salon for my woes.

Hair color correction takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I was at the salon for 4 hours. So not fun trying to sit through that one. I'm glad I did though, my hair looks 100% better. Some before and after shots to demonstrate:

You can tell even from far away that my roots are lighter. 

The lighting sucks in this picture but you can easily see the 2 different colors. Not to mention that my hair turned red from the medium brown I used.

Goodbye weird roots!

The 1st "after" picture (a little creepy, sorry!) 

No more weird roots! So happy!

A lightened up, springy look

I'm very pleased with the results. I think I will retire my self-coloring tricks for awhile and keep letting a professional do it.

And finally, when the cat is away-

The mice don't eat very healthy. The hubby is working late tonight and I didn't feel like cooking. What do you want from me? I added broccoli! :)