Bakin' and Bloggin'

I've been pinning lots of recipes lately on Pinterest and thought I'd share a few of them.

For some reason I've been in a "baking" mood lately. Every once in awhile this mood strikes me and I just go with it. Sometimes I do a lot in one day, other times I do a little each day for a week or so.

Here are the recipes I've been enjoying lately:

1. Strawberry banana streusel bread that I found at All Day I Dream About Food. The name of the blog had me intrigued even before the name of the recipe! I have never even baked with strawberries before but everyone in this house loves them so I knew it could stand a good chance of all thumbs up! And it turned out great...perfect for breakfast with your morning coffee. Here is a pic of my finished loaf:



2. Key lime yogurt coconut bread from ellysaysopa. The recipe calls for key limes, but since there are no key limes in this area, I used regular limes and it was really good! I will add this one to my recipe binder and will definitely be making this again. Here is a pic of my finished loaf:



3. Black bean brownies! A friend of mine brought these over one night and had us try them before she told us what the secret ingredient was. We all loved them and didn't notice anything different. I couldn't believe they were made with black beans! I looked up several black bean brownie recipes online. I was thrilled to learn that you don't need ANY ingredients besides brownie mix and a can of beans! No eggs, no oil! So if you're looking for a way to add some extra fiber and protein, while cutting back on fat and calories, I highly recommend these! I was a little scared with my first batch so I did sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips on top before baking. Both kids and the hubby devoured them! And if you do taste the beans slightly (which I did but maybe just because I baked them and knew the secret), just spread on some frosting and you're still getting the extra benefits from the beans. I snapped this picture before the frosting but they were much more enticing afterwards.

4. Berry Oatmeal Cups from Greenlitebites. These muffins are perfect for any of us on a busy school morning. And with hubs working from home, they are perfect for him to come upstairs and grab for a quick breakfast or snack on his breaks.  . I just made these tonight and he actually said "I could sit and eat a whole handful of these!" SCORE!! Yay me!! I did add chocolate chips on top of about half of them to help entice the kids. Hey, if it takes a few chocolate chips to get some oatmeal and berries in their systems, I'm all for it!

...And since I needed something to wash all these carbs down...

5. Green smoothie. This recipe is also from Pinterest. I used strawberry banana yogurt and added crushed ice and it tasted like a strawberry banana smoothie! Hubs and I liked it, the kids not so much, but they are accustomed to my basic peanut butter banana chocolate smoothies and nothing tops those...yet.

So that's what I've been up to lately in the kitchen.