Author: Lois Houston

I'm a sweet tea drinkin' southern gal who loves to cook, bake, crochet, and read. Check out my blog for posts about parenting, faith, books, crafts, planning, baking, cooking, and life in general.

Saturday Sweetness

Every one needs a good banana bread recipe.

Seriously.

Everyone should have one.

It’s not rocket science to bake and it tastes so good.

And, it’s a great, easy to make, gift at holiday time.

My mom and I used to bake thousands (or so it seemed) during the holidays when I was growing up. She’d use these cute little mini-loaf pans and mini-muffin pans and we’d bake banana bread for what seemed like days. And then we’d give it all away.

Because that’s what we Italian women do. We feed people to show them we love them.

It’s how we do things.

Anyway, I had my great-grandma’s recipe that Mom and I had used for years – my whole life, I think – and I never strayed from that.

Then, I found a recipe somewhere browsing on the web that claimed it was the “best banana bread ever” and I thought I should at least give it a shot and see how it compared to Grandma’s recipe.

Well, all I can say is I hope Grandma forgives me.

It really is the best banana bread I’ve eaten. And when I bake it I can’t seem to keep it around long enough to give it away. My family gobbles it up.

So, if you want a really good banana bread recipe to add to your recipe book, here you go.  I’ve altered it just a teeny bit from the original with the addition of some flaxseed meal to make it a little healthier. I like the nuttiness it gives the bread, even if you leave out the nuts the recipe calls for (Big Girl doesn’t like the nuts so this is my compromise)

You can leave that out (the flaxseed) if you want. It doesn’t affect the texture of the bread if you do.

Best-Ever Banana Bread

4 whole, overripe bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

  1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
  2. Put the peeled bananas in a bowl and mash with a wooden spoon or potato masher.
  3. Add melted butter and mix together.
  4. Add sugar, egg, vanilla.
  5. Sprinkle baking soda, salt & cinnamon and mix together with banana mixture.
  6. Add flour and combine.
  7. Finally, add flaxseed and pecans.
  8. Pour into well greased loaf pan. (you can use one 4×8 loaf pan or 3 small loaf pans)
  9. Bake for one hour (the large loaf pan)
  10. Cool on a rack before serving.

(if it lives that long – mine always “mysteriously” has a slice cut out of it (or two or three) before it cools)

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20 Christmas Questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags as long as I can get away with it.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. Goes much better with my allergies.

3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving if we are home. If not, the very next week.

4. When do you take the tree down? January 6. The Feast of the Epiphany.

5. Favorite gift received as a child?  The sapphire ring my mom and dad gave me one year. I felt very grown up and special.

6. Hardest person to buy for? Mom & step-Dad.  They are like me. They already have everything they want (or they just go buy it) so it is hard to get them something new.

7. Easiest person to buy for? Little Princess right now. Barbie all the way and she is a happy girl.JYC2010

8. Mail or email Christmas cards? mailed traditional cards.

9. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Santa Clause series has become a tradition in our house in the last few years. I don’t really have a favorite myself, but I love watching the girls watch these.

10. When do you start shopping for Christmas? August/September – after I recover from Back-to-School shopping.

11. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? re-gifted? probably. but I will never admit it if you ask.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pizelles. Brings back memories of making them with my grandma and mom.

13. Lights on the tree (colored or clear)? clear all the way; although the girls have snuck a few colored light decorations in the house lately.

14. Favorite Christmas song? It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Harry Connick, Jr. – he can sing for me any time.)  I also love Oh Holy Night.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home? home

16. Angel, star or ribbon on top of tree? Angel – it’s actually a Boyds Bears angel bear. I used to collect them. I have all sorts of Boyds Christmas critters scattered around the house.

17. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? In the morning – the kids wake us up at some ungodly hour and we try to pretend to be awake while they open presents. I always try to sneak a nap later in the day.

18. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The cheesy holiday movies that Lifetime and the other chick cable stations try to pass off as specials.

19. What do you want for Christmas this year?  Time to do whatever I want.

20. Traditional colors (red and green) or other colors? Traditional, but in deep shades.

Want to play along? Post your answers in the comments or on your own blog and link back here and/or include your blog link in a comment.

Capturing the Holidays

More Journal Your Christmas pages…

Having SuperMan housebound really slowed our entire family’s pace down this past weekend. I was actually able to scrapbook and knit!

Here are some more pages I finished:

 JYC2010 - Page 004JYC2010 - Page 005JYC2010 - Page 006JYC2010 - Page 008JYC2010 - Page 009

More to come.

You can see the 2009 and the other 2010 pages on my JYC page on the blog.

Soup makes it all better

There’s something about chicken noodle soup that just makes everything feel better.

Whether it’s a physical ailment, emotional upset or just overall stressors of life, chicken noodle soup seems to be the fix.

Especially when it is homemade.

I am so happy that my girls actually prefer my homemade soup to that of the canned fame.  At least then I know that it is healthy and fresh and contains no unpronounceable ingredients.

I thought I’d share my pretty straightforward soup recipe – so that if there are any of you who have never made homemade chicken noodle soup you can see how easy it is and give it a go. I promise it will be worth your trouble (and it’s not really that much trouble anyway)

I usually have most of these ingredients on-hand so it is easy to whip up a batch when someone requests it.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I keep the flash frozen ones on hand all the time)
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
~1/2 cup onion, chopped (I use the frozen, already chopped kind)
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
1 box chicken broth
2-3 cubes chicken bullion
3-4 cups water
1/2 lb pasta (I use egg noodles, bow tie, etc. whatever I have on hand)
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder to taste (Houston House Seasoning)

  1. Begin by bringing the bullion, water and vegetables to a boil. Add your chicken and salt/pepper/seasonings.
    Boil on med-low heat until chicken is cooked through. (about 30-40 minutes)
  2. Remove chicken and shred, returning shredded chicken to the pot.  You may need to add some broth if you have lost some water due to the boiling. (I use the broth so my flavors don’t dilute with more added water)
  3. About 20 minutes before serving, toss in the pasta and cook on rapid boil.
    (Alternately, you could cook pasta separately and just add to the bowls just before serving)

If you cook your pasta in your soup, you may also have to add extra broth as the pasta will absorb quite a bit.

Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches or homemade bread for a hearty, filling and comforting meal.

Your kids will thank you. 🙂

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a Christmas Manifesto

I’m starting (finally) my 2010 Christmas album.

As last year, I’m following along with Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas class. Loving the prompts and finding that I really do have new things to write about this year, even though the prompts are pretty much the same as last year.

Although it appears they are mixed up a bit… or maybe I am wrong? Does anyone know if she rearranges the prompts from year to year?

Here’s my first page:

JYC2010 - Page 001

Journaling:

This year, my Christmas manifesto is this:

Don’t over do.

Keep it simple.

Do what feels right.

Slow down.

Enjoy things.

Stress less.

Relax more.

People, not things.

Do the things you want to do.

Let the rest go.

I’m hoping to find a way to focus on what is really important about the season – Christ’s birth and the celebration of our Savior – and not so much on the shopping and to-do lists.

And here is Day 2:

 JYC2010 - Page 002
The Journaling:

This year has been crazy with weather. An unseasonably warm fall which fell right into an unseasonably cold winter. It was as if we only had a few days of "fall" and then temperatures plummeted. After Thanksgiving, we had a rainy Friday which began the downward spiral of temps. This week, the first of December, has been bitterly cold. Temperatures are in the 20's at night and barely out of the 30's in the daytime. Rob is working outside this year and it makes for very uncomfortable working conditions. With my weight loss, I've been freezing as well, even keeping a space heater by my desk to warm me while I work (in the heated house!)The girls are hoping for snow this winter. I figure if we're going to freeze, we might as well get snow!

And Day 3:

 JYC2010 - Page 003

Journaling:

I addressed and sent 50 Christmas cards this year. That is about double what I have been doing in past years. I included all the folks from church, UpStreet, and a few new friends we've made in the past year. It was fun to send cards to folks we haven't sent to before, along with the usual cards to family. I didn't get them out the week of Thanksgiving, which is my goal every year, but they were out by the 10th, which was fine for me.

More pages to come.

Menu Plan Monday ~ 13 December

Oh, the weather outside is frightful…

…and that means I’m planning warm, hearty and filling meals for my family this week.  Especially SuperMan, as he recuperates from surgery and braves the frigid temps at work. Stubborn man refuses to stay home and rest.

So, I will keep the ‘home fires burning’ and have a hot meal waiting for him in the evenings.

Here is what’s on tap this week:

  • Sunday: Baked Chicken, fresh green beans with new potatoes, carrots, rice and gravy
  • Monday: Pork Butt BBQ, sticky rice, raspberry vinaigrette salad w/ pears & gorgonzola
  • Tuesday: Rotel Chicken Pasta bake (Big Girl’s request, made with leftover chicken)
  • Wednesday: Chili with all the fixins
  • Thursday: Beef Strognaoff w/ egg noodles
  • Friday: Rib Eye steaks, baked potato & salad (the steaks are on sale at Kroger this week!)
  • Saturday: leftovers or eat out

If you’d like the recipes, check out my Recipe page. They are all listed there.

Also, hop on over to orgjunkie.com for a whole bunch of other menu plans and recipe links.

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Sweetness

I promised a while back that I’d start sharing some cookie recipes for the holiday baking.

This is one of my favorites.

I made them several years back for a cookie swap party and they have been a permanent part of my holiday baking plan since then.

I’m thinking I’ll make them again this year, but try to make them with Splenda instead of sugar.

If you like eggnog, give them a try. I think you will love them.

Eggnog Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 1/4 cups Sugar
3/4 cups Butter ; softened
1/2 cup Eggnog
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 large Eggs

Instructions

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
In a second large bowl, cream the sugar & butter.
Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth.
Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until well blended.
Do not over mix.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. (1 inch apart)
Sprinkle lightly with additional nutmeg.
Bake 20-25 minutes until bottom turn light brown. Transfer from pans immediately to cool.

Sunday Silliness

It's coming…

Are you ready?

Bachelor

Premiers January 3.

Just after all the holiday gluttony and sloth, we get to indulge in a little brainless TV watching.
(as in no one on the show has a brain)

I am alternately ashamed and excited.

But I'll probably be watching.

At least the first few episodes.  

I watched Brad's last season. I was one of the ones who thought he did the right thing by not picking anyone. I'm interested to see how they play this season with him.  Especially since he's been around the block once already and knows all the sneaky tricks they use.

How about you?  Will you be watching? 

Saturday Sweetness: More Cookies for You

Happy Saturday, everyone. In keeping with what is quickly becoming a habit, here's another recipe for your weekend enjoyment.

It's another one of my favorite cookie recipes for you. I'm off today being nursemaid and SuperGirl to SuperMan as he recovers from his little surgical interlude. 

I'm not sure when I'll get around to baking this year… Hopefully sometime soon. It's not as big a priority for me this year, though, so I think I may take it easy on the baking and just make a few favorites and not go all-out like I usually do.  We don't really need the calories. I certainly don't need the sweets.

Here is one recipe, though, that I love to make and eveyrone loves to eat.

They're most commonly called Mexican Wedding Cookies. Or, just Wedding Cookies. Although I've never seen them served at weddings… well, except for the eighty-eleven thousand I made for my stepbrother's first wedding reception. But that was the only time. And after that, I was pretty sure I never wanted to see any again.

But, thankfully, I got over that pretty quickly.

Wedding Cookies

1 stick butter, softened
3 Tbsp sugar
dash salt
1 Tbsp milk (or cream)
1 cup flour (all-purpose)
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
Powdered sugar for dusting

Cream butter & sugar. Add milk and extracts, alternating with flour and salt. Finally add nuts.

Form balls from dough (about 1 inch in diameter)

Place on cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 25 min or until edges are golden brown.

Cool.

Roll in powdered sugar.

For an extra good coating, roll once, let sit and then roll again in powdered sugar.

Moving in the right direction

As I sang in church this past Sunday, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of joy. One of those moments when you feel you are going to burst with emotion – and mine was of contentment and joy.  It didn’t really have anything to do with the church service itself, though.

You see, I remembered another Sunday morning, a year or so ago, where I was sitting in that same seat, singing probably the same song, and feeling a whole lot different. I remember feeling miserable. Physically and emotionally.  It wasn’t anything specific that was making me feel that way. It was everything and nothing all at the same time.

Everything was a chore. Everything bothered me. Everything was difficult. 

I would wake up in the morning and couldn’t wait to go back to bed at night. At least when I was sleeping I was in another world where I didn’t feel so bad and life wasn’t so difficult.

Now, granted, there was a lot going on in my life last year – a lot of challenges besides my weight and health issues.  But the weight and health issues certainly didn’t do much to help me cope with the challenges in a positive way. In fact, they probably made it worse.

It was around this time last year when I made the decision to start exploring my options for gastric bypass surgery.  I had finally reached the point where I had had enough of feeling bad and wanted to at least find out what my options were.  I wasn’t entirely sure I would do anything but I wanted to know what choices I had.

So, flash back to this Sunday. A year later.

It was just incredible to me, as I stood there singing with joy and gusto, how much things have changed in a year.

I was sad for the girl of a year ago. Sad that she was in such a bad place and so unhappy.

The girl of today is so filled with joy and life that it is hard sometimes to even remember those feelings.

People told me before my surgery that my life would change in so many ways that I couldn’t imagine. They were right.  It is hard to describe and, like being a parent for the first time, unless you’ve walked that path, I’m not sure you’ll ever really know…

But I’m so grateful to that girl of a year ago. Who had the courage to explore her options and step out and DO SOMETHING about making herself feel better. 

It’s so easy for us to get stuck in the path we’re in – to keep doing the same thing day after day, even if we know it’s not what we really want. 

It’s hard to step out of the routine and do something different.

But that is when the changes happen.

When you have the courage and the determination to want something different and do something different. That’s when the magic happens.

People ask me all the time if I’m proud of my weight loss accomplishments. Yes, I am.

But not as proud as I am of the girl who started the process.  I’m really proud of her.