Banana Bread Snack Bars*

I was looking for a healthier kind of "early morning" snack-- something to get our little guy from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. when he gets to school for his Monday-Friday breakfast.   I wanted something not toooooooo loaded with sugar.  First off, I hope you understand that he doesn't eat breakfast at school because of there not being a breakfast option right here at home--  it is because the school offers the breakfast program and students are encouraged to take part in it, so he does. 

My "google-search" took me to these Chocolate Chip Banana Bars--  BUT!, because I think they taste more like a slice of banana bread, that is what I am naming them.    (IF these were just for me, I'd load them up with nuts!  The way it is, I did change the original recipe just a bit--  the first time I made these, I used all coconut oil; this time I used butter as the shortening, and I added three tablespoons of ground flax seeds.)  

 Since our little one gives me a "thumbs up" on these, I am posting this recipe here so that I don't lose it.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 5-6 very ripe bananas (1 and 2/3 cup mashed banana, total).  RIPE bananas add more        flavor and sweetness.
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted  (OR 1/4 cup warmed coconut oil; OR 2 Tbsp warmed coconut oil/2 Tbsp applesauce; OR 1/4 cup all applesauce.)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 and 3/4 cup flour (or substitute with whole wheat flour if you don't mind these ending up a little "heavier")
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips (put half in batter, spread other half on top just before baking).

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350-degrees.  Spray a 15x10.5" pan with non-stick spray.
2. Peel bananas and mash well.  Stir in brown sugar, oil, milk and eggs until combined.
3. Add in dry ingredients and stir.  Stir in the ground flax seed (optional.  Fold in 1/2 of the             mini chocolate chips.
4. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chips on top.  Bake 18-              22 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
5. Cool completely, and cut into squares.

*Adapted from a recipe from the recipes posted at butterwithasideofbread.com

Jell-O with Cool Whip

Looks like more work than it is-- 
in fact it ISN'T work at all!

I don't use Cool Whip® too often, but... 

every now and then,...  I do.

Ingredients:

• ONE of the 6 oz. size (8 servings) boxes of Jell-O
  ®
   of your choice.
• 3 cups boiling water.
• ONE of 8 oz. container Cool Whip
  ®
  , thawed.*

Directions:

• Dissolve the Jell-O 
  powder in the 3 cups boiling water.  Stir for at least two full minutes to make sure every grain of sugar is dissolved.
• Stir in the thawed Cool Whip  (stir until it is thoroughly dissolved and mixed in).
• Pour into serving cups/dishes.  Refrigerate for a minimum of four hours.  On its own, the Jell-O 
  mixture separates into what looks like two layers.
• Because I planned to leave these in the refrigerator overnight, I covered each with a piece of Saran Wrap after a couple of hours.   If I would have covered them while still warm, I'm sure a lot of condensation (water droplets) would have formed and I didn't want that to happen.

 *  If you haven't let the Cool Whip® thaw ahead of time, you can put it in right from the freezer-- you'll just have to stir it longer while/until it totally dissolves.

This time I used STRAWBERRY 

flavored Jell-O®.   Next time, maybe 

on a HOT Summer day, I will 

use LEMON Jell-O®... and I 
will like that, too!

Our Super Bowl Feast!

The NFL Super Bowl was held on Sunday -- for about two weeks leading up to it, food programs and food blogs focus on foods to be served for that kind of celebratory party. 

 I'm all for spending a whole lot of money and slaving in the kitchen for a cause like that (sometimes)-- after all, it only happens once a year, right?   Because of that thinking, I went 'all out'!!!!

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Well,... maybe I didn't. 

Saltines and Herring!  (That's it!)

If I make the picture bigger, will this look more impressive?

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How about this?

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Maybe THIS one will do it?   Yes?

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Well, I tried.  You can't say this 'feast' didn't take some planning.  Because I didn't make the crackers nor catch the fish, I had to find them in a store, pay for them and bring 'em home.  The jar had to be opened, and the stack of saltines, too. 

None of this should be a surprise to those who really know me--  I'm a whole lot about simplicity.  Can you tell this was simple?  And easy?  So, folks, this was the extent of our big 'hoopla' kind of Super Bowl party and...now, for the most exciting part... we liked our simple no-fuss kind of 'party'!!!

For no really huge reason, we hoped the New York Giants would win, and they did.  Afterall, the Giants were the ones who took our Green Bay Packers out of the playoffs-- because of that, we were hoping they'd be 'that serious' all the way to the end, and they were!