Strawberry Banana Muffins

Our Bountiful Basket had strawberries and bananas and I wanted to find a recipe where I could use these in one recipe. A strawberry/banana smoothie was an obvious (and tasty) choice but I wanted to see what else I could find.
I found a wonderful recipe for Strawberry banana muffins at for the love of cooking blogspot.

Ingredients:
½ cup of butter, softened
¾ cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
3 overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
10-12 fresh strawberries diced
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then coat a muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, bananas, and vanilla then continue beating until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together, mix well. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just combined. Add most of the diced strawberries and most of the chocolate chips then gently mix them into the batter.

Spoon the batter evenly into each muffin tin. Place the remaining strawberries and chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

Place into the oven and bake 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Once cooled, we ate them without any butter. They were delicious!

This Week's Basket

Here's the basket we got on Saturday....I am SO LOVING Bountiful Baskets!!! I've had so much fun finding tasty, healthy recipes.

The stumper this week? Cucumbers! I know, I know! Put them in a salad, right? Not so much. I found a recipe for cucumber sandwich, which we will make in a few days. And then there's the celery, which I've given to Eric (and will give some to my mom) because, I'll at least eat cucumbers, but I really HATE celery.

This week I'm making: Banana Strawberry Muffins (with last week's overripe bananas and this week's strawberries) & Green bean salad w/Maple Dijon Vinaigrette.

Friday Night Videos

Not as much a fan of the song, as I am of the dance/zombie theme: (the song isn't so bad, I guess)

Remember that Haboob in Arizona a few weeks ago (there were two, right?)...interesting video of that haboob:

Augmented reality cinema:

Funny dog loves his pool:
I had to end with that video because it's so funny!

Kale Chips

I mentioned that I didn't know what to do with kale when it came in my harvest basket. I looked up recipes and found one that had pretty good reviews so I tried it. I found the recipe at allrecipes.com.

Ingredients
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 pinch sea salt, to taste

Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Cut away inner ribs from each kale leaf and discard; tear the leaves into pieces of uniform size. (I made my pieces about the size of a small potato chip.) Wash torn kale pieces and spin dry in a salad spinner or dry with paper towels until they're very dry.
3. Put the kale pieces into a large resealable bag (or use a bowl if you don't mind getting your hands oily). Add about half the olive oil; seal and squeeze the bag so the oil gets distributed evenly on the kale pieces. Add the remaining oil and squeeze the bag more, until all kale pieces are evenly coated with oil and slightly 'massaged.' Sprinkle the vinegar over the kale leaves, reseal the bag, and shake to spread the vinegar evenly over the leaves. Spread the leaves evenly onto a baking sheet.
4. Roast in the preheated oven until mostly crisp, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and serve immediately.

The first time I made the chips, I had the oven at 250 degrees and baked them for 30 minutes. They came out perfectly crisp and I thought they were so tasty. I didn't think I would like them, and I thought I would have one or two and that would be it. I ended up eating a ton of them and loved them!
The second time I made the chips, I followed the directions and baked them at 300 degrees. They burned. Eric still liked them, though.

I will make them again, for sure. Kale is SO healthy for you. According to Web MD, kale is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. Check out the article here the talks about all that you get from eating kale.

Harvest Basket

Saturday, we picked up our 2nd basket from Bountiful baskets. I have been loving the addition of fruits and veggies to our home and diet. I have had a blast finding and trying new recipes.
Here's this week's basket: I will use all these fruits and veggies. Eric dug right into the black berries, which were perfectly ripe. This basket included two large bundles of kale! Kale! What am I going to do with kale!? (I will find something, right?) And there is a unique melon that I am eager to taste.

Last week I didn't know what to do with the figs that came in the basket, so here's what I did. I made a wonderful appetizer: Figs with Goat Cheese, Pecans and Bacon.

Ingredients
6 figs, halved
6 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans
3 slices bacon, cut in half

Directions:
Preheat the broiler.
Stuff fig halves with goat cheese. Press pecans into the cheese. Wrap each stuffed fig half with half a slice of bacon, securing with toothpicks.
Arrange on a medium baking sheet. Broil 5 minutes, or until bacon is evenly brown and crisp and goat cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

*the only problem I encountered was that the bacon, if uncooked, took too long to cook in this manner and the figs got burned. So I purchased precooked bacon, and then it got over cooked. Next time I will use the precooked bacon, but move the top rack down one level and hope it comes out perfect.

Either way, the figs were marvelous!!! Yum!

Nate and Shannon's Reception

My cousin Nate got married on Friday (which is why Emily has been in town). I don't know Tammie's kids as well as my other cousins because they moved out of state when they were all very young.

We are FB friends, mind you, and I've gotten to know them via their FB profiles and comments, but it's nice to get to know family face to face, if you know what I mean.

Richard and my mom joined me at the reception, where it was so nice to catch up with many of my cousins who were there. I think it's time we had a cousin reunion. None of the 'adults' or parents...just the cousins. We talked about that idea for a little while and we all agree it would be nice...so that will be coming soon. I am one of 26 grandchildren on the one side, so seeing cousins is pretty fun.

My cousin Nate and Shannon were married earlier in the day and they had a beautiful reception at Noah's South Jordan. They were catered by Leatherby's! I had no idea that was even an option....so there was an ice cream counter with waffle bowls! Yum!

Of course, I was running around taking pictures, because that's what I love to do.

Tammie's Birthday

July 13, 2011: My aunt Tammie turned 50 this year. My cousin, Emily, is in town for her brother's wedding, so she threw a surprise birthday dinner for her mom. She made the most impressive (and delicious) cake. We all went to Porcupine Pub & Grill for the surprise.

I got a picture as Tammie was realizing we were all there for her...yeah, she looks like she's overwhelmed.

It was a very nice evening. Here are some of the pictures I took.
Emily and her son Carson:
The family, minus my cousin Derek:

Work BBQ/Picnic

July 13, 2011: My team has a new manager we have been trying to get to know. And, we have added a new team member. AND, we are all a little burned out. So, we decided to take an afternoon for a team picnic at Liberty Park.

Lori's husband grilled chicken for us. We brought the sides and we played some boccie balls (which I'd never played before). Overall, we had a very enjoyable afternoon. The weather cooperated with an overcast, yet very warm (not hot) day.

We watched the squirrels jump from tree to tree and declare their territory with tail waves and loud squeaks. We watched the dogs walk by and suddenly stop in their tracks as they caught the fast moving squirrels in their vision.

We had a marvelous cheesecake from the cheesecake factory and it wasn't until we'd each had a slice that someone decided to read the nutrient information. It was shocking! 800 Calories! eek! Saturated fat: 29 grams!! carbs: 62! SIXTY TWO CARBS! yeah, well, that ended my love of the cheesecake factory plain cheesecake! (even their low carb, made with splenda is still 570 calories, 37 carbs, 26 sat fat.)

It was a very enjoyable afternoon. My coworkers are like a family, which is nice. Here are the pics I loved:
Two Squirrels:
Veronica, a new coworker.
Lisa:
Tasha and a baby puppy:
A friendly game of Boccie Balls:

Friday Night Videos

Here are this week's videos. I was having a rough week last week, so here are the videos for this week.

We made our first journey to Echo Reservoir for the summer. I took these videos of Richards adorable kids (watch them in HD):




I thought this little commercial was too funny:

A funny video about Jack Sparrow...my brother showed me this one. I think it's awesome that Michael Bolton makes fun of himself. F-Bombs ahead, so put on the headphones!:

John and Kathy's Birthdays

Eric's mom and dad celebrated their 60th birthday in July. They are literally only days apart in age.
To celebrate, the family had a 'surprise' dinner, that wasn't a surprise. We went to Market Street. I love Market Street, but this was the first time I wasn't entirely impressed with the service or the food....too bad, because it normally is top notch on both counts.
I enjoyed the halibut, which had an amazing tarter sauce. The tarter sauce made that dish. Without it, the fish was bland, bland, bland.
We embarrassed them both with a happy birthday song and later went to John and Laura's for an evening of conversation.

Very nice evening.

Here are the pictures I loved from that night:

Me with Eric's Mom and Dad:

Mushroom (Garlic) Bread

So I made this fabulous Mushroom Bread recipe last night that I'd found on allrecipes.com. I am not a mushroom fan. Generally I don't like the texture and will eat them if they are with pizza.

When I saw the mushrooms in our pack from Bountiful Baskets, I figured I would just let Eric eat them his way and not worry about it. Out of curiosity I searched out recipes for some of the other items in our basket and ended up searching for mushrooms. When I found recipe, I thought I'd just try it and if I didn't like it, I'd give it to Eric to finish up.

We had steak for dinner and I made the bread and my taste buds were dancing with delight!! The flavor is fantastic and went really well with the steak. I had some left over steak for lunch, and one piece of the mushroom bread and even reheated, it was oh-so-good!

Tuesday's Thought

Slippery fingers pushed 'enter' a couple of times while putting this post together and it posted with nothing in the content....grrrr! Anyway, here's this week's REAL thought:


Courage
“Climbing with Courage”
--Alexander Lockhart
Courage, contrary to popular belief, is not the absence of fear, but the heart to act in spite of fear. It is doing what you’re afraid to do, taking risks, and growing bigger through strength and confidence when the odds look like they may be against you. Courage enables you to accept opposition and then guides you with determination to conquer it. By discovering specific fears that are inhibiting the growth of your full potential, you can then develop the courage to manage these fears and direct your choices in life with decisions which enhance your well being.
Sometimes before we begin to reach high and climb toward our dreams we often look back at a time when we may have experienced a setback and fallen backward. It then becomes hard for us to bring forth the courage to continue. As you encounter challenges in your life, they may seem as hard to overcome as climbing a mountain, but if you persist, you will learn and grow from them and develop the courage to continue forward.
Once, a team of mountain climbers set out on an expedition to try to conquer Mount Everest. The first attempt failed, as did the second. Then, on their third attempt, despite careful planning and extensive safety precautions, disaster struck. An avalanche hit, and most of the team was injured. A few weeks later, a group held a glorious banquet to salute the team for their great act of courage and their attempts at greatness. As the leader of the failed expedition stood to address the group, he walked over to face a huge picture of Mount Everest which hung like a silent unconquerable giant behind the banquet table. He then made a fist and pointed to the picture and said, “Mount Everest, you defeated us once; you defeated us twice; you defeated us three times. But, Mount Everest, we shall someday defeat you, because you can’t get any bigger but we can.”
Courage is the mastery over fear. It is not allowing fear to take over and control our lives. Courage means persevering when life has dealt you a seemingly losing hand. It is turning your crisis into an opportunity. Each time you are willing to face your fears, you are summoning the courage to rise above disappointments, take risks, and grow stronger. Dare to dream big and awaken the courage within yourself to face adversity and to go forth with your desires. With courage your fears can’t get any bigger, but you can!

Fruit & Veggies Basket

I've been wanting to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet for a long time. The problem is that I am very picky about flavor and texture of the fruit. I don't mean to be that picky, but I am. I do not like fruit that is over ripe or too under ripe.....it's hard to get one that's just right. So I'm trying to re-teach myself to like fruit and vegetables by letting my pallet start over as an adult. I wonder if my tastes will change?

This interest began to develop after some tastings I did with my sisters a couple of years ago at their home....and when I watch any show on the Food Network, there's always talk about mixing flavors. Flavors I have convinced myself that I don't like...but what if that was young Tina's pallet? Time to find out.

A few of my coworkers get weekly fruits and vegetables from Bountiful Baskets and I thought I would start there for two reasons: 1. It's affordable. $15 a week and you get a variety of vegetables and fruit. 2. It's fresh produce and I can use it this week in meals or as a healthy snack.

The picture above is the basket I received this morning. The first thing that made me excited was how colorful it looks! My mouth watered. I've allowed myself to get into the brown foods and stay there (breads, meats, cereals, etc).

There were a few items (specifically, figs) that I didn't know what to do with. So I searched out some recipes that will use the spices and proteins I have on hand (which isn't much) and made a menu for the week. The last time I had figs was in Ecuador and it was prepared as a fermented dish....and it was grody! (and I was a hungry missionary who learned to eat everything, but couldn't down that dish.) So it should be interesting.

As it turns out, this is a busy week for us, and a lot of the meals I thought I'd be making for dinner, will end up being our lunch.

Once I have made the recipe, I'll attach a link to the recipe, but here's what I've come up with so far:
1. Harvest Salad, Grilled Steak, and Mushroom Bread

2. Almond-Crusted Halibut, and steamed Broccoli & Cauliflower

3. Baked Chicken w/Gorgonzola & Red Pear Risotto

4. Chicken Walnut wraps, and Figs w/Goat Cheese, Pecans & Bacon

5. Salmon with Pineapple Tomato Salsa

Not Feeling It

No Friday Night videos tonight....The ones I've found will have to wait until next week.

Wasatch Roller Derby

On June 26, two coworkers (Bonnie and Lisa) and I went to see the Wasatch Roller Derby bout. We had been given the tickets by a trainee who had attended our training session weeks earlier.

We didn't know the rules, so I spent some time on my phone looking it up on wikipedia. Here's what I learned:
1. Two start lines are marked on the track: a jammer line, and 30 feet ahead of that, a pivot line.
2. two pivots may stand on or behind the pivot line; all blockers must line up behind the pivot line, in any order they choose.
3. The eight pivots and blockers together are called the pack. The two jammers start 20 feet behind the pack on the jammer line.
4. The referee signals the jam formation by blowing a whistle. During jam formation, the pack moves counterclockwise. When the last person in the pack has passed the pivot line, the referee blows the whistle again, signaling the jammers to take off.
5. A jam is a 2-minute period, during which the jammers attempt to score points. passing the pack the first time, jammers earn one point each time they lap an opposing skater. Only jammers can score points.

There are other rules, and I got confused a few times, but it was really fun and I will probably go again soon.

Here are some of the pictures I took. A few minutes into the game, there was an injury on the opposing time. I was pleasantly surprised to see all participants go to one knee and wait.




The final score: (The Utah team, Wasatch, won the bout.)

Tuesday's Thought

I got this thought from my friend, Katie Wiscomb's facebook as one of her favorite quotations. I babysat Katie when she was three years old and now she's in school for social work....she's a beautiful young lady and I am so proud of her.

here's the quote...it wasn't attributed but it's touched by heart:

"As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken, probably more than once, and it's harder every time.You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose somebody you can't live without. You'll fight with your best friend, and lose friends you thought you would always have. So take too many pictures, laugh too much and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend angry or upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back! You're Whole Life Can Change in Just One Moment... In the end, it will all be okay. Remember, it's not the end."

Friday Night Videos

I had a very mellow week. I love that the weather has finally cleared up and we have sunshine!! I love sunshine - even if I hide from the sun constantly. I love summer! The smells and leaves and people out in mass enjoying their families and friends.

Here are the vids I found this week.

You know I love Adele. Linkin Park did a cover or Rollin' in The Deep. A very nice version. Chester is amazing!!!

I found a video earlier today of this boy, Brenden Macfarlane. Here are two videos of him. I posted this on facebook:

Money:


A brilliant video of the world that didn't come to an end on May 21:

Very excited for Pottermore: