I have been searching for ways to get more protein in my breakfasts as I feel like I am lacking it in the early mornings. So when I saw this recipe I figured I should give a try.

The peanut butter gave this a different texture, but if you can get past the texture the banana peanut butter combo is a good one.

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie (From:Chiquita)

• 2   whole frozen Bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1   (6-oz.) carton non-fat Vanilla yogurt
• 1/3   cup creamy Peanut butter
• 1/2   cup non-fat Milk

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately.

Septembers What’s Baking was family favorite. It took me a while to come up with what to make for this. Most of my family recipes that are favorites have already been posted. But then it dawned on me, one of our families favorite things to do late Sept early October is to go apple picking. We always have to have an apple crisp right after picking, it’s just a must for our family.

I love crisps because you don’t have to fight with crust, chop apples mix topping add and bake. Nothing can be simpler. Top with a big old scoop of ice cream and it’s perfect. I hope your family enjoys this as much as we do.

Apple Crisp (From: Betty Crocker)

• 4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

Lately I have fell head over heels in love with smoothies. I honestly can’t remember ever eating a “healthy” good normal breakfast. I gave these a go the other day and loved them and have had one every day since then. SOOO yummy. I buy all my fruit in bulk cut and freeze in bags and then in the morning I pop the frozen fruit, milk and yogurt in the blender and call it good.

So where do I buy this bulk fruit you ask? Sam’s club, they have Great prices. I recently went and got a pineapple, 3lbs bananas, and 2 lg packages of strawberries for $13. How can you beat that? So thanks to MyBlogSpark I am giving away a $25 gift card to a lucky reader to stock up on fruit, school supplies or whatever else is your favorite thing to buy in bulk.

To enter leave a comment sharing your favorite thing to buy in bulk and why.

*You have until August 3rd at 8am central time to enter. The winner will be announced shortly after. Must leave a valid e-mail address, winner must reply back without 48 hours of being announced. If not a new winner will be selected.

**The Sam’s Club gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Fruit Smoothie (From: Myself)

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 6 strawberries **you can sub ANY fruit you want!**
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup pineapple

Put all ingredients into blender and blend until desired consistency. Pour into glass and enjoy!

We recently went to a pot-luck birthday party. Normally I never go back for seconds, but this salad had be going back. It was a bigger party and I couldn’t find who brought the salad to ask for the recipe. But it tasted so simple I decide to give it a try and have to say I seem to have hit it dead on. This salad is really good, and takes normal fruit salad to a fun new level.

Pineapple, Orange Cookie Salad (Inspired From: Potluck)

• 2 (20 oz) cans pineapple
• 1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges
• 1 (3.4 oz) box vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 (16 oz) cool whip
• 1 pkg fudge stripe cookies

Mix pudding and cool whip together until pudding has dissolved

Mix in pineapple and orange. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Crush cookies and mix in just before serving.

Adam loves strawberries so I knew these were a must make for him. Since I don’t like them I didn’t even try these. But everyone said these were really good.

Stuffed Strawberries (Adapted From: Amber’s Delectable Delights, Originally From: Allrecipes)

• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon almond extract

Cut the tops off of the strawberries and stand upright on the cut side. Make a cut 3/4 of the way down from the tip of the strawberry towards the bottom.

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and liqueur until smooth in a mixer or a food processor. Place into a piping bag with a star tip.

Pipe into each strawberry and arrange on a serving platter.

I bake something at least once a week. It kind of depends on what or why I bake. More often then not I make something and give it away to others as to not eat it all. I just need the stress relief of baking… yes baking is stress relief to me! This reason for baking was a little different. I had 4 bananas sitting on the counter that really needed to be used up and since I believe they are one of the nastiest things to be eaten plain and both Adam and Maddy were sick of them they had to be baked.

This recipe popped up on my google reader on Saturday, I also happened to have 3 tubs of sour cream in the fridge… I am not really sure how that happened. I was able to kill one of the sour creams, all of the bananas and came out with the best baked good I have made in a while… this will NOT be shared with others

Banana Chocolate Upside-down Cake (From: Pink Parsley, Originally From: David Lebovitz)

For the topping:

• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbs packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 2-3 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4-inch slices

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 bananas)
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs low fat sour cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the topping, place the brown sugar and butter in a 8-inch square baking pan.  Set the pan over a burner set to medium-low heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter melts and the brown sugar is thoroughly moistened.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Arrange the banana slices over the bottom of the pan, overlapping them slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.  In a small bowl, mix together the butter, banana puree, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add pour the wet ingredients into the well.  Stir until just combined, then gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the cake pan, being careful not to disturb the banana slices.  Smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake until the center is just set and firm to the touch, about 40 minutes.  Allow to cool 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the cake pan, and invert onto a serving platter.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I just hate when I have bananas going bad on my counter, just a reason to bake. I found this while browsing for another recipe in the cookbook and decided to give it a go as it was a little different.

I am pretty sure this will be our go-to recipe now as it is excellent. The chocolate gives it a new flavor.

Black and White Banana Loaf (From: Dorie Greenspan)

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1½ ripe bananas, peeled
• Squirt of fresh lemon juice
• Grated zest of ½ a lemon
• 1 tablespoon dark rum (I omitted)
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup whole milk

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with the lemon juice and zest, then stir in the rum.

Melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the butter together in a microwave oven or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the remaining stick (8 tablespoons) of butter at medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes, until light and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. The batter will look curdled, and it will continue to look curdled as you add ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the flour mixture, mixing only until it is just incorporated. With the mixer running, pour in the milk, and when it is blended, add the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the mashed bananas. The batter will look even lumpier.

Pour a little less than half the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and stir to blend. Drop alternating spoonfuls of both batters into the prepared pan, then, using a table knife, swirl the batters together, taking care not to overdo it.

Bake for 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes and if the cake starts to brown too much, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for about 15 minutes before unmolding, then cool the cake to room temperature right side up on the rack.

It was Adams birthday this week, I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he couldn’t really decide, this recipe popped up in my google reader early on in the week and I showed him the picture, he instantly wanted it. He said “You know if you could do strawberrys instead that would be awesome.” Well since it was his birthday and I all I decided I better use strawberries instead.

This cake was AMAZING, I am normally not impressed with my homemade cakes as they feel too dense and heavy. This one was far from that it was nice light and very spring/summer feeling. DELICIOUS!!!! Although the orginally recipe called to double the frosting I didn’t I used about 1 1/4 recipe and it was plenty. Please try this recipe soon, really soon!

Strawberry Curd (From: Baking Bites)

• 15-oz. fresh strawberries, stems removed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 5 tsp cornstarch

Combine strawberries and sugar in a food processor and whizz until very smooth.

Whisk together lime juice and cornstarch in a small bowl and add to strawberry mixture. Puree until mixture is as smooth as possible, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Strain mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until it comes just to a boil. Stir very frequently.

Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly, until somewhat thickened. Strain again into a heatproof container and let cool to room temperature.

Store in the refrigerator until cold before serving.

Lemon Cake (From: Beantown Baker)

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp table salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool

Set oven rack in middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add cake flour, baking powder, and salt to mixer bowl and mix at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer.

Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.

Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

Buttercream Frosting (From: Beantown Baker, Orginally From The Way the Cookie Crumbles)

• 20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups Confectioners’ sugar (10 ounces)
• 1/8 tablespoons table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.

Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds.

Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Assembling the cake

Once cake layers have completely cooled, use a large serated knife to slice each layer in half horizontally.

Scoop about a cup of frosting into a piping bag with a large round tip (you can also use a ziplock bag and snip off the corner. I wouldn’t recommend doing that if you are piping swirls on top of cupcakes, but in this situation, it’s ok. No one will see what you’re piping).

Place strips of waxes paper around the plate or cake disk that you will be using for the cake. Pipe a small amount of frosting onto the center of your cake disk. This will serve as glue to hold the cake in place.

Place your first layer of cake, cut side up, on the disk. Pipe a thick ring around the edge of the cake. This will serve as a dam to keep the filling in the cake and prevent the layers from sliding around.

Spread ~1/3 to 1/2 cup of strawberry curd onto the cake. Add the top half of that cake and repeat. Add the bottom half of the other cake, cut side up again, and repeat. Place the top layer on the cake.

Apply a very thin layer of frosting on the cake. This will serve as a crumb coat and will help the final frosting to be smooth. Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Frost the rest of the cake after chilling.

Happy 28th Birthday Babe!

Since I made pumpkin I had to make a pie that I would like as well. Since I was making the pumpkin pie from this book I decided I would do the apple pie too.

Sadly I was less then impressed with this recipe, it just wasn’t as good as the other dutch apple pies I have made. Adam said it was much better cold then it was warm. I can’t really say what we didn’t like about this, just wasn’t a favorite.

Sour Cream Apple Pie (From: Pillsbury Thanksgiving Book Nov. 2008)

• 1 regriderated pie crust
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 egg
• 6 cups sliced peeled baking apples (6 medium)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping

• 3 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• dash of salt

Heat oven to 400. Place pie crust in a 9 inch glass pie plate.

In large bowl, beat all filling ingredients except apples with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in apples. Pour into crust-lined plate. Cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.

Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350and bake 30 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix all topping ingredients except butter. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or ford, until mixture looks like coarse crumbs refrigerate until ready to use.

Sprinkle topping over pie; bake 20 to 25 minutes long or until topping is golden brown cool completely on cooling rack, about 2 hours, before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

Adam came home with a paper bag full of pears and apples last week from a customer that had apple and pear trees in his backyard. I knew I wanted to do some baking with them as there was NO way we would be able to eat all the fruit before it went bad. I wanted to do something different then apple pie. Muffins are so simple to grab and go and also easy to give away and with all the baking I was going to do I planned to give lots away.

I made these into mini muffins for no reason other then I ran out of regular size paper liners and didn’t want to fuss with spraying the pan. But these are cute and yummy.

Apple Muffins (From: Ellie Krieger)

• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown  sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry  flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup natural applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-capacity muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, the pecans and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and oil until combined. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the applesauce and vanilla.

Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined. Gently stir in the apple chunks.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pecan mixture. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.