Foodie PenPal

It's time for the Foodie PenPal reveal!  This month, I received a fantastic package from Courtney.  We both think that we'd get along really well since we both love food and are runners.  I knew I could expect a great box from Courtney and she certainly didn't disappoint!

Courtney sent me some great snacks--a Pineapple Upside Down Cake Larabar, a Sweet Indian Curry Coconut Milk Chocolate Bar (I can't wait to try it!), and Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.  I enjoyed the Hazelnut Butter on an apple for lunch one day.  And, the Larabar is part of my lunch for this afternoon!  The Naga Bar is tucked away for a day I'm really craving chocolate!

Courtney also sent me some Cranberry & Hazelnut Crackers.  She said that she received them from a PenPal and loved them so much she sent me a box too! 

Courtney also sent me some Pure Honey and Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa.  It's kind of funny because a couple of weeks ago Mike and I were talking about how cute those honey bears are and then Courtney sent me one. Also, you simply can't go wrong with Caramel Hot Chocolate!!!

Courtney, thanks again for an awesome box!  I appreciate it (and you) so much!  :)

I sent a package to Deb...if you'd like to see what I sent, visit her site:  Cooking on the Front Burner.

Are you interested in participating in Foodie Pen Pals? Here's some important info for you!

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! -The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for November, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by November 4th as pairings will be emailed on November 5th!

Turkey Meatballs

A couple of weeks ago my friend and I got together and spent a few hours making freezer meals.  We both work full-time and sometimes struggle to put a healthy homemade meal on the table every night after work.  Making freezer meals turned out to be an excellent solution!  We spent about 4 or 5 hours putting together our meals and each of us ended up with 14 freezer meals.

One of the recipes that we made was meatballs.  We mixed the meat, rolled them into balls and flash froze them before placing the meatballs in freezer bags.  When I was ready to use the meatballs, it took a minimal amount of time to cook the spaghetti (or spaghetti squash in my case), heat up some sauce, and cook the meatballs.  A healthy and delicious meal was on the dinner table in a record amount of time!

We're already planning our next freezer meal cooking day, as we've deemed our recent one a huge success!  Some of the recipes we froze are already on my blog, like pizza dough and beef stew, but I have a few new recipes that I'll be sharing in the future.  Have you ever made freezer meals?

Meatballs

Makes approximately 24 1-inch meatballs

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground turkey

1.  In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together until completely combined.

2.  Roll meat into 1 inch balls.

**If you're freezing the meatballs: place the rolled meatballs in a single layer onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and place in your freezer for approximately 1 hour.  When the meatballs are hard, place them in a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze.  When you're ready to cook the meatballs, continue at step 3.

3.  Preheat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

4.  Add meatballs to the warm oil and cook for about 5 minutes per side, turning the meatballs as each side browns.  Cut into one meatball to ensure that it is completely cooked.

**You can also freeze the meatballs after cooking them.

Adapted from:  Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Saturday Sweetness

I don't know about you, but I find a lot of inspiration via Pinterest. I try to limit the amount of time I spend browsing, because it certainly would be easy to spend all day on Pinterest!  I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite pins from each week with you, so each Saturday I'll be featuring some recent pins that I thought were sweet--both literally and figuratively.  I'd love for you to join in my posting some of your favorite pins in the comments!

Apple Cider Baked Donuts

Source: foodiemisadventures.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Banana Bread Pancakes

Source: chelsniccuisine.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Cookies and Cream Popcorn

Source: ericasweettooth.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

Source: lifessimplemeasures.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Butterfinger Fudge

Source: crazyforcrust.com via Melissa on Pinterest


Easy Creamy Mac & Cheese

Source: clevercraftycookinmama.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

If you choose to re-pin any of these recipes, please be sure to pin from the original website, not mine. Thanks :)

Apple Cinnamon Popcorn

Early this week I had the honor of attending the first ever Online BlogCon, a fabulous online blog conference put on by Dorothy and Ashton.  The best part about the conference was that I could attend on my on time.  There was no travelling required and I could read the posts in my pajamas if I wanted to!  The speakers were so informative and I met a lot of new bloggers through the Facebook Group.

I learned a lot from the conference and I'm still trying to absorb all the information.  I'm trying to implement some positive changes around here, and I hope that you'll find them to be positive as well.  One change that's already in place (and has been a long time coming) is my Recipe Catalog.  It's the new tab up at the top and I've categorized every recipe on this blog.  I hope that makes it easier for you to find recipes!

 

Mike and I don't go to the movies too often, but when we do, we try to go on a Saturday morning so we can get the matinee pricing.  Then we don't feel too bad about splurging for a popcorn and pop!  The movie theater we go to has a flavor station where you can add your own flavors to your popcorn--anything from ranch to white cheddar to caramel to apple cinnamon.  I love sweet popcorn so it's no surprise that I tend to sprinkle the caramel and apple cinnamon on our popcorn. 

We often have movie nights at home on the weekend, and that means popcorn!  One night I decided that I wanted flavored popcorn.  I ground up some apple chips until they were like powder.  Then I mixed in some cinnamon and sugar and sprinkled it over our popcorn.  It was delicious!  I kept the leftovers in a glass container and now I find myself craving popcorn even when it's not movie night!

 

Apple Cinnamon Popcorn Flavoring

 

1 (2.5 ounce) bag crispy apple chips

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon sugar

 

1.  In a blender (I used our bullet), grind the apple chips until they resemble a powder.

 

2.  Add cinnamon and sugar and blend to mix.  (Feel free to add additional cinnamon or sugar to suit your tastes.)

 

Sprinkle flavoring over popcorn.  Store in an airtight container.

 

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

I've found that once you get out of your routine, it can be quite challenging to get back into it.  For the past 2-1/2 years, I've been working out 5 or 6 days a week.  Since I began running 2 years ago, I've been almost constantly training for a race.  When I wasn't training, I was doing strength workouts or Zumba just to keep moving.  Since my half marathon last month, I've had absolutely no motivation.  I had told myself I could take the week following the race off from training to give my body a chance to rest and heal.  Well, that week has turned into a month!  I get up every morning to make Mike's lunch and then rather than staying up to exercise, I've gone back to bed.  I just can't find the motivation--a nice warm bed sounds so good!  Some mornings I'll wake up and tell myself that I'm going to work out and the next thing I know, I'm crawling back in bed.  This morning I was convinced I'd go to the gym...but I didn't.  So, if you've seen my motivation, will you please send it back to me?

This dessert has absolutely nothing to do with running or motivation.  Unless of course you count that this deep dish cookie pie is so delicious the taste will motivate you to run to the kitchen to make it.  That was a bit of a stretch but run with me on this...haha.

My friend and I discovered the blog Chocolate Covered Katie around the same time.  It's a blog featuring healthy desserts.  We had my friend and her husband over for dinner and she brought along this pie for dessert.  I absolutely loved it!  She had me try to guess what the pie was made of and I had absolutely no clue.  Who would have thought that such a delicious dessert was made from garbanzo beans?  Honestly, I don't think that you would know it was healthy if I didn't tell you.  Please don't be alarmed by the ingredients in this recipe--it's amazing!

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

2 cans garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed) (500g total, once drained)
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

1.  Blend the garbanzo beans, oats, applesauce, vegetable oil, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar very well in a food processor (not a blender).   If needed, do this in 2 batches, depending on the size of your food processor.

2.  Mix in chocolate chips, and pour into an greased 10" springform pan.

3.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

4.  Let the pie stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Slice and serve.

Source:  Chocolate Covered Katie

Homemade Cheez-It Crackers

I'm a big snacker.  I blame it on my grandparents :)  Our family jokes that every time we go to Canada to visit, all we do is eat.  A typical day consists of a lot of food:  breakfast at 8, coffee and snacks at 10, lunch at 12, tea and snacks at 3, supper at 5:30, tea and snacks at 8.  Whew!  That's a lot of eating!  I don't think I eat that much when I'm at home, but I definitely enjoy my snacks!

Lucky for me, Mike enjoys his snacks too.  However, we both have different preferences when it comes to snacking.  I like sweet snacks--a piece of cake, a brownie, a donut, a piece of chocolate etc.  Mike won't turn down a sweet snack like ice-cream but he definitely prefers salty snacks like chips.  One of his favorite snacks is Cheez-It Crackers.  Sometimes I have to ration them out for him because he could eat an entire box in one sitting!

This month I was assigned to Delicious Existence for the Secret Recipe Club.  Her blog focuses on eating healthier foods.  I began browsing through her Kitchen Adventures posts and came across a recipe for Homemade Cheez-It Crackers.  My search ended right then and there as I knew a certain somebody would be thrilled with this snack.

I did make a lot of changes to the ingedients in this recipe as we do not eat vegan.  I used all purpose flour, butter, and real shredded cheese.  I've noted a few tips through-out the recipe as well.  My crackers did not get very crispy, but I think I made them too thick.  They still tasted really similar to Cheez-Its!  I'm looking forward to making these crackers again with different cheeses and rolling them thinner.

Homemade Cheez-It Crackers

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into pieces
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
5 Tablespoon water

1.  Combine the flour, butter, cheddar cheese, cayenne pepper, and paprika in your food process and process until you have small crumbs.

2.   Add the water and continue to process until a ball of dough is formed.

3.  Form a circle of dough with your hands and wrap it in plastic wrap.

4.  Refrigerate dough for 45 minutes, then place in the freezer for 15 minutes.  (I believe you could also just refrigerate overnight and bake the crackers the next day.)  You want the dough to be very cold.

5.  Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/8" thick.  (I placed the dough on a floured surface and then covered it with the plastic wrap.  Then I rolled the dough out with a rolling pin.  This prevented the dough from sticking and I didn't have to keep adding flour.)

6.  Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into 1/2" squares.  If desired, gently poke each square in the center with a round skewer to create the traditional Cheez-It look.

7.  Transfer squares to an ungreased glass pan and bake at 350 for 15- 20 minutes.  (My squares were thicker than 1/8" and took 23 minutes to bake.)

8.  When the crackers are golden and crispy, removed them from the oven.

Allow the crackers to cool before eating them.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Source: Delicious Existence

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping.  The leaves are changing and the wind is picking up.  Pumpkins and apples are dominating the market and blog-land.  Fall is here in full force!

I love to use fresh seasonal products, so I'm really enjoying pumpkins and apples right now.  I made some homemade pumpkin puree and decided to use that in this recipe.  The texture and color is slightly different from canned pumpkin puree.  Mine was a light yellow color and I strained a lot of water out of it before adding it into the recipe.  The muffins cooked up perfectly and have a subtle pumpkin flavor.  The cinnamon sugar coating gives these muffins a slight crunch and they really do taste like donuts!

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Makes 12-16 muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup buttermilk
1-1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.  Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and pumpkin puree.  Set aside.

3.  Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. 

5.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture alternating between the two.  Beat until just combined. 

6.  Scoop the batter evenly into greased muffin tins.  (A 1/3 cup measuring cup is perfect for this!)

7.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

8.  Let the muffins cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

9.  While the muffins are cooling, melt the butter in a small bowl.

10.  In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.

11.  Working one a time, dip each muffin into the melted butter.  Then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture until completely coated.  Return muffins to the wire rack and cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Source:  Brown Eyed Baker

Banana Bread Donuts

Do you have baking moods?  I do!  Since I have Fridays off from work, I usually spend a portion of the day baking.  Sometimes I wake up knowing exactly what I'm going to bake that day and other days I have no idea what sounds fun.  On the days I don't know what to make, I'll often narrow down my choices by the ingredients I have in the house or how much time and effort I feel like putting into a recipe.

These banana bread donuts came about because I had quite a few over ripe bananas and I wanted something easy to bake.  My added incentive was using my Baby Cakes donut maker for the first time!  I also wondered how it would work to take a banana bread recipe and make it in donut form.  It turns out that it works out pretty well!  I made the batter for my Healthier Banana Bread and just poured it into the donut pans.  The taste and texture was different than the banana bread, which I found interesting!  I topped some of the mini donuts with cream cheese frosting, and it added the perfect amount of sweetness.

Healthier Banana Bread Donuts

Makes 12 donuts

You will need:
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (approximately 3 large bananas)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
cream cheese frosting

1. Whisk flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.

3. Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.

4.  Pour batter into greased donut pans.

5. Bake at 325 for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown and a donut springs back after being touched lightly.

6.  Cool donuts slightly before transferring to a wire rack and frosting.

Source: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Ranch Style Chicken Sandwich

As much as I love to spend time in the kitchen, there are some days when I'd prefer a dinner that is quick and easy to throw together.  Whether I've had a long day at work or I'm just feeling lazy, it's always nice to have some easy meals to fall back on.

This sandwich is one of those meals!  It's quick, easy, mostly healthy, and delicious.  I typically marinade the chicken in the fridge while I'm at work, and it has such a great flavor.  Then once I get home it's simple to fry up some bacon and cook the chicken.  Just pair this sandwich with a fresh salad, and in less than 20 minutes, supper is served!  You can also skip the bread and serve the chicken with a side of baked potato or whatever your heart desires.  However you eat it, I guarantee you'll enjoy it!

Ranch Style Chicken Sandwich

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
4 slices thick sliced bacon
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Ciabatta rolls, sliced in half

1.  Pound the chicken breasts with a mallet to 1/2" thick.

2.  Pour the Dijon mustard, honey, and lemon into a Ziplock bag.  Seal bag and shake gently to mix.

3.  Place chicken into marinade and seal the bag.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours (I often do 8+).

4.  Fry the bacon, and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Leave the grease in the pan.

5.  Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off the excess marinade. 

6.  Heat bacon grease in frying pan and add the chicken.  Cook on high until browned on each side, about 2 minutes per side.

7.  Reduce heat and cover frying pan.  Cook chicken until completely cooked, about 10-12 minutes, flipping as needed.

8.  Place 2 pieces of bacon on each chicken breast and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

9.  Cover pan again and heat until cheese is melted.

10.  Place chicken on Ciabatta rolls and serve immediately.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Monster Munch

Last week, we entered Champ into a costume contest.  We had 3 categories to choose from and ended up choosing "Best Pair", which meant I had got to dress up as well.  My mom gave us some awesome costumes to use (so I didn't have to have the dog wear one of my t-shirts), and we set out for some fun.  Both sets of our parents came to watch their "grand-dog".  Unfortunately, we didn't win, but we still think our puppy was the best in the show! 

As we were heading back to our cars, we passed a popcorn stand and I made a comment to my dad about it being the best kettle corn around.  He bought a bag and shared it with us after dinner.  I think it's the perfect mix of sweet and salty.  I could eat the entire bag by myself!

One of my favorite fall treats is mixing candy corn and peanuts.  It tastes like a Payday candy bar, and I try to keep a bowl of candy corn and peanuts out during the fall season.  One afternoon as I was eating the kettle corn I thought about mixing it with peanuts and candy corn to see how it tasted.  Turns out, it was pretty delicious!  I'd recommend just mixing enough popcorn, candy corn, and peanuts to be eaten immediately as the popcorn will become stale if you let it sit out.  Though, if you're anything like me, it won't last long enough to grow stale!

Monster Munch

Ingredients:
2 cups kettle corn
1 cup candy corn
1 cup peanuts

Mix ingredients together and serve.

I didn't have a "monster" to put by the Monster Munch...maybe I should rename it Scarecrow Munch :)

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Let's talk cookies for a minute...one of my youth group girls asked me to bring cookies to our next meeting.  I texted her during the week to find out what kind of cookies she wanted and she told me she'd like some chocolate chip cookies.  I was happy to oblige!  I decided to forgo my typical chocolate chip recipe in favor of a new recipe.

This was the first time I've made a pudding cookie, but it certainly won't be the last!  These cookies were so soft, even after a couple days they still tasted like they were fresh baked. These cookies were a huge hit with my girls.  I made a double batch of cookies, intending to share them with the whole youth group, not just my small group.  However, the cookie container got hidden and the cookies remained in our small group.  My girls absolutely loved these cookies!  In fact, one of them brought a few home to her family and I got a text saying "yummy cookies"!

Before I get to the recipe, I have a favor to ask of you.  I entered my Fruity S'mores Bowls into the Nestle Toll House Tales recipe contest, and I've been chosen as a finalist in the Milk Chocolate Category.  The winner is chosen by votes, and I'd really appreciate yours.  You do have to register via Facebook, but you should be able to revoke any permissions after the voting has ended if you desire.  You can vote once a day until October 16.  Thank you!

And now, the recipe!

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1-1/2 sticks butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pudding (I used Cheesecake flavor)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
2-1/4 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips

1.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.

2.  Add in pudding powder and beat until blended.

3.  Add in eggs and vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

4.  Slowly mix in flour and baking powder.

5.  Add in chocolate chips and mix until distributed.

6.  Roll cookie dough into 1" balls and place on a greased baking sheet.

7.  Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Two Years

It's hard to believe it's been 2 years already, but in some ways it seems like so much longer.  I know that we were meant for each other...

 

You warm me up when I'm cold

 

You wipe away my tears when I'm sad

 

You're my protector when I'm scared

 

You bring me more happiness than I could have ever imagined

 

You're the provider for our families needs

 

You make me laugh (sometimes at inappropriate times)

 

You put my needs first

 

You're the taste tester for all my recipes

 

Most of all, you're my best friend and the love of my life!

Apple Snickers Pie

It's time again for the Crazy Cooking Challenge monthly reveal.  October's theme was Apple Pie.  The Crazy Cooking Challenge has been revamped since it began last year.  It's laid-back and easy to participate in.  If you'd like to join, you can read the details here.

Back to the pie.  I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of pie.  I've made an apple pie before, and it was delicious, but this time I really wanted to make something different.  I used a recipe I found via Pinterest for my inspiration and whipped up a delicious Apple Snickers Pie.  It's basically Snickers Salad in a pie shell and it's absolutely decadent!

Apple Snickers Pie

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) tub Cool Whip
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 apples, cored and diced (plus a few slices for a garnish, if desired)
4 regular sized Snicker bars (or 20 minis), chopped (plus a few pieces for garnish, if desired)
1 graham cracker crust
1/4 cup caramel ice-cream topping

1.  In a medium mixing bowl, gently combine the Cool Whip and sweetened condensed milk.

2.  Fold in diced apples and chopped Snickers bars.

3.  Drizzle caramel topping over the graham cracker crust.

4.  Pour the pie filling into the graham cracker crust.

5.  Refrigerate pie for at least 2 hours before serving to allow it to set.  The pie will not be completely firm.

6.  Garnish the pie with apple slices and Snickers bars.

Slice and serve.

Adapted from: I Heart Nap Time

“I’m partying at the Pi Day Pie Party at Crazy for Crust today. Come party with us!”

Upside Down Banana Cake

I'm the person who gets excited when I see that the bananas on my counter are turning brown.  I know that brown bananas mean I get a chance to make something delicious with them.  Typically I turn to banana bread, which I love.  However, after seeing this recipe when I was searching for the perfect recipe for last month's SRC, I knew I had to make it!

This cake is made from a fantastic banana bread recipe but what really makes it special is the upside down topping.  Bananas are mixed with butter and sugar, resulting in a caramelized banana topping that is delicious! 

Upside Down Banana Cake

Serves 16

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 bananas, thinly sliced

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
2 eggs
2-1/2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup milk

1.  Cream the butter and brown sugar together until well blended.  Press into the bottom of a cake pan.  (I used a 9x13 and my cake was quite thin, I'd go smaller if possible).

2.  Place sliced bananas on top of the butter/sugar mixture.

3.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter.

4.  Add eggs and mix until fully incorporated.

5.  Mix in bananas and vanilla.

6.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

7.  Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture, alternating between the dry ingredients and the milk until everything is mixed together.

8.  Pour batter over the banana slices.

9.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes (if using a 9x13" pan, longer if you pan is smaller).  The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

10.  Place a flat plate or platter on top of the cake pan and flip it over.  Remove the cake pan and allow the caramel topping to drip down.  (Be sure to do this while the cake is still hot or your cake will absorb the caramel topping instead {like mine did!})

Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.  Cover any leftovers.

Slightly adapted from: NYCity Eats

Foodie Pen Pal

Have I mentioned before how much I love getting mail?  It's so exciting for me, especially when I open a package full of delicious treats!

Every month I look forward to the Foodie Pen Pal program.  This program was created by Lindsay from the Lean Green Bean.  Each month she matches up bloggers and readers and sends out our matches.  Once we receive them, the fun begins.  We have a $15 spending limit and about 2 weeks to fill a box full of foodie items and ship them out to our pen pal.  I sent a box of goodies to Emily, and I received a fantastic box from Sheila, who blogs over at Breakfast Menu.

 

I was thrilled to receive a variety of teas from Sheila.  Now that the mornings are cooler, I love starting my day off with a hot cup of tea.  She also sent me a Chai chocolate bar--you can't go wrong with chocolate and tea!

Sheila included a few snack items for me.  I am keeping the granola in my desk drawer to sprinkle over my Greek yogurt at lunch--it's so yummy!  I have not yet tried the seaweed snacks, but I'm looking forward to trying a sweet seaweed snack.  The crunch dried fruit was awesome!  I loved every bite and I'm going to have to buy some to keep on hand for snacks!

Sheila loves breakfast foods--hopefully you guessed that from the name of her blog, so she included a few breakfast items for me too. I love pancakes and my goodie box arrived in time for me to make a batch of pancakes for breakfast the day before my half marathon!  I also received some local products--Avocado Honey and Lavender soap.  I believe the pancake mix is local as well.

Thank you, Sheila, for an awesome box of goodies!  You're awesome :)

Are you interested in participating in Foodie Pen Pals? Here's some important info for you!

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! -The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penpals is open to US &Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for October, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by October 4th as pairings will be emailed on October 5th!