Frozen Chocolate Bananas

Doesn't this look just  divine? My husband is trying to loose some weight (okay and I am to) and he normally goes through a carton of ice cream in a week so I thought I would try these to see if they would help his cravings. I would love to say they did but, um, he never tried any because i ate them all (blushing). Did I mention it has coconut sprinkled on top... so there, it wasn't my fault.

I found this recipe HERE but I am never great at following a recipe. I am the girl who just eyeballs and tries to use just whatever I already have in the pantry. I also put a popsicle stick in it because let's face it, everything is more fun to eat when it is on a stick.


So here is my version compared to the original recipe:

What you'll need . . .

• 2 large bananas
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips Hersey milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• Unsweetened coconut flakes
• one spoonful of Nutella :)
• Popsicle sticks

(okay so not so healthy lol... And this is why I need to loose weight)

Method . . . 

1. Set out a large plate or bowl with a piece of parchment or wax paper on it.
2. Cut up the bananas into good-sized chunks. Each banana should give you around 5 to 6 pieces 2 pieces.
3. Heat the peanut butter, nuetlla and chocolate chips in the microwave on high for about a minute. Then stir until smooth.
4. Stab the banana with the Popsicle stick as if you were letting out some anger. Then dip the banana pieces in the chocolate-peanut butter and Nutella mixture. Lay them out leaving some space between them on the parchment/wax paper. Then when you've "covered" them all, use the remaining mixture to spoon over the tops (for even more chocolate-y goodness).
5. Then sprinkle the sweetened coconut flakes on top.  Transfer to the freezer for about an hour until hardened.
6. Enjoy. I don't like them when they are too frozen but when they are a little soft on the inside... mmmm delish!

Coconut Chicken

I am loving all things Coconut right now. I saw this recipe on Pinterest courtesy of Pennies On A Platter and HAD to try it that night. I must say it was Delish with a capital D. but I changed it up a little due to lack of all the ingredients in my fridge and I already went to the store twice, each time forgetting something else on this recipe. GRR

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (instead of mustard I used Honey Dijon salad dressing and used about 1 tablespoon)

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside.  Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.  Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture.  Place on the baking sheet.  Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway.

To prepare the apricot sauce, mix the apricot preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl.  Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Freezer Friendly:  After baking the chicken, let cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month.  To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F for 20 minutes.

Source:  Jamie MacDonald, friend of Pennies on a Platter

TRUST me you cant go wrong. I won't lie I ate it so fast the first time I forgot the sauce in the fridge and it was still amazing. I served it with asparagus and some brown rice.

PB&O cookies

Peanut Butter and Oreo cookies:



I found this yummy recipe on Pinterest.

Eating an Oreo is bad enough. But with this recipe you wrap peanut butter cookie dough around each Oreo. Did your heart just stop? If not it may after you eat a bunch of these I know BUT you have to try at least one right from the oven. You will never be the same because it is "uh"mazing!


Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar , packed
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
28 Oreos (1 package)

Directions:
In a mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and both sugars until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully mixed in.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Slowly stir in flour mixture, 1/3 at a time until completely incorporated. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place 1 tablespoon of cooking dough on top of an Oreo cookie. Place a second tablespoon underneath. Gently press the dough down around the Oreo, sealing the cookie dough edges together so that no Oreo shows through. Transfer the cookie to a prepared baking sheet and repeat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies have just started to brown around the edges. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack

IF you don't want to try these sinful treats then I suggest these rolo cookies.

Cute As A Button: baby shower

"AS CUTE AS A BUTTON AS SWEET AS CAN BE A NEW BABY GIRL IS JOINING THE HATCH FAMILY"

(sorry the lighting is horrible and this was before I had a nice camera or knew how to even take good pictures)

On Saturday I helped throw a baby shower with two of my other cute girl friends. Wow it is so much easier to do a party when you have two other helping hands. I will be the first to admit that lately I have been stressed doing parties and I have been putting my family on the back burner to get all my little projects done so this was not stressful at all. I loved it.

Here is the cute invitation that set the theme:

 obviously not with a lightening bolt on it :)


some decorations:

The food:

 
I reused some of my baby Jax's baby food jars and made mini parfaits

A fun and different way to have fruit.

 Button cookies. (click here for tutorial)

(sorry again my external flash wasnt working right so lightening is awful)

The party favors:

All for this girl:

Happy Fathers Day

My first attempt at a fondant cake!

Happy Fathers Day to all the wonderful men in my life. Especially my wonderful dad, father in law, brothers (who sometimes act like my dad) and my amazing husband.

Ice cream party featured.

My ice cream party is featured today on "thebirthdayblog" go check out this cute blog for a lot of other fun kid parties.

Button Cookies

(image from bakerella)

Today I am helping two other friends throw a baby shower. The shower theme is "cute as a button" and one of the treats I am making are these button cookies. . .

I got the idea here so go check it out to see the fun tutorial (which I recommend following and do not try to use a box mix like me because they don't turn out as good) I did sugar cookies because I like them better then peanut butter but mine lost their form in the oven. So if this happens to you then when you pull them out of the oven and they are still soft, mold them then again with a bottle cap and a straw.

to see what party I used them for click here.