Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Today we just had a relaxing day at home! This was prompted because it has been really hot, I'm 23 weeks pregnant, and yesterday I had to go to 3 different grocery stores to get everything we needed for the week. (do not ask.) So yes, I'm feeling a little tired today!


Luckily, I had a fun activity planned - Making Chocolate Chip Banana Bread! Oh my goodness, this was SOO yummy. We had it after lunch today and I had to use a LOT of self control not to eat the whole loaf. I kept thinking, "William will want some.. William WILL want some!". So you are welcome, hubby.



My happy helper!  (ignore trash can in background!)
Tracie - she finally wore the apron!!!



She really enjoyed the "stir in chocolate chips" step!


"I'm so CUTE in my apron!  Thanks LK!"

"Oh my goodness, I LOVE chocolate mommy! What, nap time is next?"

The finished result.. Yes, it does look as good as it tastes!


If you like chocolate and bananas, I highly recommend this recipe! Maybe it is somewhat healthy as it is made from whole wheat and bananas!


Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (from "money saving mom" website)
Makes 1 loaf


2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup raw sugar (I just used normal sugar)
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 cup to 1 cup chocolate chips or chunks


Stir together dry ingredients. Beat together remaining ingredients.


Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Sprinkle chocolate chips in and stir.


Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean.


Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Homemade Pizza

I absolutely L-O-V-E pizza. It may be my favorite food. A friend gave us a recipe for "Homemade Pizza Dough" using whole wheat flour so I wanted to give it a try to help my favorite food be a little more healthy for me! It uses yeast, which I'm not too familiar with, but the recipe was really easy and it turned out really well. It helps to have 2 super cute pizza toppers adding their sweetness to it! Oh and if one of those cute pizza toppers used to work at "Papa Johns", that helps too!  (I'll let you guess who used to work at PJ's)








Cora had a hard time NOT eating the cheese so William had to take over!


She did better with the pepperoni!

The yummy result!  It tasted great!!

Pizza Dough Recipe

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1-1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2t salt

2t sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

Dissolve yeast in water for 5 mins.  Add all other ingredients using only 1 cup of all purpose flour.  Stir until the mixture forms a firm, but sticky lump.  Using the remaining 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, knead dough on a floured surface 8-12 times or until lump is thoroughly mixed and of an even consistency. 

Place dough in a bowl that has been oiled or sprayed with Pam.  Cover with towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour or until lump has doubled in size.  Turn out on a floured surface and shape into desired pizza crust shape.  Top as desired.  Bake at 425 for 18-20 mins. 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Pancakes

While looking on the internet yesterday, I came across a yummy looking recipe for pancakes. We are a pancake loving family so I figured we would give it a try! William is actually the pancake maker of the family so he woke up this morning ready to whip them up! They tasted pretty good, especially with some powdered sugar and strawberries. I think we decided they would be even better with a fruit syrup! Yum Yum!!



Master chef William



Helping Cora sprinkle the sugar.



Strawberries are good too!

My breakfast!  Yum Yum!  Charlotte seemed to like them!



Whole Wheat Chocolate Pancakes Recipe (from "money saving mom" website"
Makes 12-16 full-sized pancakes
(we halved everything and it still made 12 pancakes!)


2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
4 Tablespoons brewed coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, coffee and vanilla.


Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula until just combined. Allow the mixture to set for a few minutes to thicken.


Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt a teaspoon of butter in the pan. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and cook pancakes until small bubbles begin to form on the surface. Flip and cook one to two minutes more. Transfer to a serving plate and repeat for the remaining batter.


Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Muffin Wednesday

Today we made "Banana Nut Muffins"! This was really the first time I had Cora "help" me in the kitchen and she really enjoyed mixing and stirring and putting the brown sugar topping on the muffins. I really enjoyed cooking with my sweet daughter!



mixing up the eggs, milk, and oil.



making the brown sugar topping! I may have helped her look messy!



yummy snack time!

The finished product. Very tasty!

Let them eat Cheesecake!!

For Thanksgiving, William's mom asked if we could bring a dessert to share! So after some discussion, it was decided that we would make a cheesecake. We've never attempted one before - this was our first! and I must say, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Sure, there were a lot of steps but it was mostly waiting. After baking in the oven for 1 hour, we had to crack the door to the oven, turn it off and let it cool for another hour, like that. We assume this is to prevent the cake from cracking. We chose a "Turtle Cheesecake" so it had an oreo crust, and a chocolate, caramel and pecan top. It was very yummy and everyone praised the cheesecake!



Did you know this is what is in a cheesecake?


Mixing it up!


William preparing the pecan and caramel topping!


The final result. Yummy!