Banana Crumb Muffins

Mix:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix in separate bowl:
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup melted butter

Stir both mixtures together. Do not over mix.
Spoon into muffin cups.

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
Mix to coarse crumbs

Sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 375' for 18-20 minutes.

These are great for breakfast or am afternoon snack! My kids gobbled them right up!!

Enjoy!

A Weekend Getaway

OK, its been awhile again! Hehe! But ya know, that's life right?! Last weekend our family went away for the weekend to Erie. It was so nice to get away. We booked a hotel room and crashed for the weekend. And of course, with our family of 8, it had to be a big room! The highlight of the room was the whirlpool tub! 

It was a nice break away from things. 

My mornings looked like this....

We also did a few activities while we were out. We visited the Erie Zoo for the first time. We really liked it! You could really see all of the animals! Some of the animals were right by the glass!

A little scary being that close to a lion!

My littlest Minion called everything a "kitty"!! 

....and our getaway wouldn't have been complete without a stop at the beach! We chased seagulls, splashed in the waves, found some seaweed, and gathered smooth glass, stones and shells!

All in all it was a great weekend! We are already wanting to go away again soon!

Did you do anything special this summer? 

-Tiffany

Gluten Free Cheesecake with Pecan Crust

The cheesecake recipe I'm sharing with you today was a HUGE hit at a recent volleyball practice and I received many requests for the recipe. Thanks for your patience ladies! ;)

Anyway, this cheesecake recipe is so easy. And totally worth breaking your diet to have a "small" piece!

Like I've said many times before, I like to keep things simple and easy and that is exactly what this recipe is! Ready for it? Here it is!!

Actually, I forgot to tell you a few things... This recipe will make either 2 9 inch cheesecakes, or 1 9x13 cheesecake. So, if you make 2 9 inch cheesecakes, then divided the crust evenly amongst the 2 pans and you will do the same with the filling. Also, make the crust first, so it can cool while you are mixing the cheesecake.

Gluten Free Cheesecake with Pecan Crust

(Start with the crust first)

Pecan Crust

 2 1/2 cups ground pecans

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup sugar

4 tbsp melted butter

Mix together. 

Press into bottom of pan(s).

Bake @ 350' for 10 minutes.

Let cool.

Now onto the cheesecake filling!!

Cheesecake

4 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.

2. Add eggs one at a time. 

**mix thoroughly until smooth, but do not mix at a high speed. if you do, too much air will get incorporated into the cheesecake and cause it to crack when baking.

3. Pour over crust.

Bake 9x13 cheesecake @ 325' for 45 minutes or until center is set.

Bake 2 9 inch cheesecakes @ 325' for 35 minutes or until center is set.

Once cheesecake is done, open oven door and shut off oven. Let cheesecake sit for 5 minutes.

This will prevent cracks.

If you do get a  crack in your cheesecake and want to cover it up, fruit toppings, cool whip or chocolate will work perfectly and taste great!!

Allow your cheesecake to cool on the counter for about an hour and then chill in refrigerator.

So, are ya gonna make one?!

If you do, let me know how it went!

What toppings do you like on your cheesecake? 

I'm a plain jane kinda gal! That was even my dinner time nickname growing up! I like my food simple!

-Tiffany

Life Lately....

This little guy loves the outdoors... Especially all of the edible things he finds!!

Well, as you can see its been awhile since I've last posted. Probably the longest gap in between posts yet. Well its been a crazy time for me and my family. Lots of ups and a few downs. Projects. Gardening issues. Volleyball practice. And, sadly... a death of a close family member.
I started to recieve requests for blog posts, so I figured I better get back at it.
So, where to start....

A Peek into our Week! Freezer Cooking, Gardening and my New Coffee System!

Well, some of these pictures are a few weeks old , but I figured Id share them any way! The above pic is a layered fruit cheesecake dessert I made for the 4th of July.

My oldest Minionette and I went out for a short shopping trip and stopped off for a few minutes of one on one time.

Evening garden pic. I love to take a walk in the cool evening. 

Tomatoes are coming! I can't wait! A home grown tomato tastes wwaayy better than one bought in the store!

Cucumbers are off to a good start as well. I sense a pickling post coming soon!

And pickles need dill, of course! It's so easy to grow! Most years it just comes back by itself.

I recently purchased organic coffee beans, a french press and a manual coffee grinder. Why? Well, organic coffee, because why not?! French press? Well, I've heard it makes better coffee and no waste compared to the Keurig that I wanted. Manual coffee grinder? My husband didn't understand why I just didn't buy an electric one either! Well the way I pictured it was sitting around a campfire with no electric around, perhaps in a mountain cabin somewhere and I could grind my coffee beans and brew them without electricity! OK, OK, so its a stretch, but I love it!

A friend and I did a freezer cooking session! We made 20 dozen meatballs, 56 hot pockets, and 5 batches of cookie dough! It was a great success and it only took us 4 hours!

So, what have you been up to lately? Leave me a comment below!

Be sure to keep coming back to see what we have been doing!

Psst... I've been working on a new section to the blog! Hopefully I will get it out soon! :)

Hope your summer is going great! 

-Tiffany

Best EVER Baked Mac n Cheese!

I don't know how lunchtime is at your house, but at my house with 6 kids, lunch isn't made, its found! And by found, I mean, when your hungry, find some leftovers or some sandwich makings and eat up! On a typical day, I don't stop to cook lunch. So, the other day, my oldest minionette, found a recipe she wanted to try out. It was for baked mac n cheese. 

I am not much of a mac n cheese eater, but i tell ya what... it was DELICIOUS!! And....it was easy! And.....it only used one dish! And.....you have got to try it!!  

Our Week in Pictures!

We had a busy week...or two! Lots of gardening and.... CAKE! Oh boy! We had so much cake, we are a bit tired of it! But when you look through the pictures you will see we didn't only have cake! I kept busy not only in the garden but in the kitchen as well! And after selecting the pictures for this post, I realized I had a pretty productive couple of weeks! 

The above picture collage is of our garden and my helpers pulling weeds around the beans. The tomatoes are doing great! I can wait to make a salad! There are lots of flowers blooming around our yard. Including our elderberry patch, which is in full bloom! I will make elderberry syrup again this year to use during the winter cold season. 

Check out some more pictures .......