Banana Bread

Sunday afternoon as my friend Katie and I sat enjoying a slice of Apple Sauce Bread (waiting for the boys to get back from golf) we got on the topic of Banana Bread.  We both agreed that we had yet to find our perfect banana bread recipe, and we love us some banana bread!  We kept talking about how we wanted our banana bread recipes to be exactly like the Apple Sauce Bread (only banana)!  Then the thought came to us... why not tweak the  Apple Sauce Bread recipe just a little bit and add in some bananas!  The idea seemed perfect, so we tried it!  And the results we got were nothing short of amazing.  We got the moist banana bread we love, without all the oil!  

This recipe is to good not to share with you all!  

So here is Katie and my version of Banana Bread!

Banana Bread

Adapted from Eat Live Runs Almond Apple Sauce Bread

Dry Ingredients 

2 Cups Flour 

3/4 Cup Sugar 

3 Teaspoons Baking Powder 

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda 

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon - I left this in 

Wet Ingredients 

1 Egg Beaten  

3 Tablespoons melted butter ( I use...) 

3/4 Cup Apple Sauce ( I like Motts Natural) 

3 Over Ripe Bananas

Optional Toppings:

1/4-Small Handful Cup Granola of Choice (I like Bare Nakeds Fruit and Nut Granola, or Trader Joes)

A few Tablespoons Brown Sugar 

Optional Mix ins:

1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips

1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Directions: 

First spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and  pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

1-Combine your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. 

Mix dry ingredients well and set aside. 

2-Now grab another medium bowl.  Place your over ripe bananas in the medium bowl and mash with a spoon.  Add your applesauce in with your bananas and stir to combine, and set aside.

3-Grab a measuring cup and melt your 3 tbs of butter, once melted beat your egg into the butter.  

Now add your egg and butter in with your banana/applesauce mixture.  Stir well to combine.  

4-Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients, stir well until combined (but dom't over mix).  

5-Pour your bread batter into your greased loaf pan, and sprinkle with a handful of granola if you wish ( I like the added texture the granola provides, I believe Katie sprinkled the top of hers with brown sugar - Both are delicious)

6-Bake your banana bread for an hour-an hour and fifteen minutes.  Be sure to check the center of your bread with a tooth pick.  If your tooth pick comes out clean its done!  Mine took about an hour and fifteen minutes to bake! 

And there you have it, a delicious treat!

Enjoy! 

What I am Loving - July Edition

Happy Hump Day! 

I feel like Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week, well besides Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  This is because Wednesday represents the middle of the week and means you survived the first half of the week ( well work week)! And from Wednesday on things just seem to get easier, and the weekend is in site which is always a plus! 

So on this fine Wednesday I thought I would share with you the things that I am loving right now in July!  Starting with... 

...The Beautiful Weather!

Minnesota is finally over the hot muggy weather we experienced for the past week!  The weather here has been a perfect, comfortable, warm 80 degrees!  Oh and we have been enjoying lots of sunshine!  

This perfect weather is great for an outdoor rooftop brunch, 

(Uptown Cafeteria Rooftop!) 

or even a good 3 mile lake run! 

Both of which have been done this week, and I am loving both! 

I am loving huge summer salads, there are a million good inspiration recipes on Pinterest! 

Like.... 

Source: guiltykitchen.com via Kayla on Pinterest

(Caprese Salad)

And... 

Source: becauseimaddicted.net via Joanie on Pinterest

(Watermelon and Feta Salad)
And... 

Source: pipandebby.squarespace.com via Dee on Pinterest

(Grilled Vegetable Salad)

I am loving my new pitcher from Target!

I have been experimenting with different spa waters! 

So far my favorite has to be cucumber mint, it is so refreshing! 

I am loving the smell of fresh baked bread floating through a clean apartment! 

And finally I am loving that I get to see my family again this weekend! 

The Wolfe's are going to dominate the Color Run this weekend in Omaha! 

We are going to have a blast! 

What are you loving in July?

Weekend Recap-Basillica Block Party

This weekend was a blast, but it went way to quickly!

Going into the weekend we really had no set plans, but it turned out for the best.  We had a fun filled weekend with wonderful friends! 

Friday night I had an itch to go shopping!  

And that is exactly what we did!  I found some super cute dresses for work! 

Like this white dress from Loft.

I even scored this Sanctuary denim Blazer on sale! 

I am super pumped to rock this in the office! 

Friday was a low key night because Katie and her husband Richard were coming up Saturday to take on the city, and I wanted to be well rested for that!  

Saturday morning was my ideal morning! 

An early 7AM workout followed up with coffee and BRUNCH (my favorite)!

Katie and Richard picked us up around 10 am and we all headed down to the Uptwon Cafeteria for a sunny Rooftop brunch! 

(source) 

It was fabulous! 

We enjoyed some fabulous Banana bread, and I had the biggest fruit platter I have ever seen! 

I even enjoyed the Uptown Cafeterias Famous Bloody Mary Bar! 

(Source) 

Lets just say they don't skimp on the booze! 

I loaded my drink with olives and pickles, and tons of spices!   It was delicious! 

Katie, Derek and Richard order the French Toast Treasure Box.  

Which is 3 slices of french toast filled with a cream cheese filling, and topped with blueberry compote!  Of course I had a taste! 

We did a bit more shopping after brunch on 50th and France in Edina! 

Super cute little shops!

I picked this dress up from Athleta! 

Super Comfortable, I can dress it up for work with a sweater or wear it around town! 

After a quick lunds run it was time to start making a tasty dinner! 

I made the famous shrimp risotto for dinner!  A small group of us got together for dinner, before heading to the Basillica Block Party! 

(On my List of things to do in MInneapolis)!

It is a yearly fundraiser for the Basillica of St Mary! 

Such a great event! 

It is a 2 day music festival, with 3 out door stages! 

There were a lot of great bands this year!  The Avett Brothers, Train, OAR, the Luminers just to name a few! 

 It was everyone wear blue day! 

OAR!

It was such a beautiful evening to enjoy an outdoor concert, and the Basilica Block Party was one of my Must Do things on my To Do List!  I get to cross something off! 

Sunday was low key. 

A relaxing morning, a bit of shopping, and a lazy evening! 

Great way to end a fun filled weekend! 

So tell me what did you do this weekend?  Any big outdoor events going on around you?

A 4th of July Recap

Happy Friday Folks!

I have to say it was hard to go back to work after having the 4th of July off!  Having a day off in the middle of the week was a bit of a teaser!  But it was kinda nice having a day off right in the middle of the week!  It is almost like we have two Friday's this week!  

Since Tuesday was like a Friday we got our 4h of July celebration kicked off a little early!  My friend Katie and her boyfriend Ryan hosted a small get together to celebrate the 4th!  Katie planned a wonderful menu, and I immediately went home and pinned two of the recipes she had made! 

BBQed Chicken with a Spicy Peach Glaze, 

Source: delish.com via Katie on Pinterest

and a Summer Corn Salad! 

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Katie on Pinterest

Both were delicious, and perfect for a 4th of July BBQ!  Brittany of Well This Is Happening made some of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies (Go check out her blog and score the recipe).  I mean I am talking big, gooey chocolate chip cookies, like fresh from the oven soft (so good)!  She brought custard along to turn those mouth watering cookies into homemade chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches! 

(Source)

Holy cow were they good!  

Despite the scorching heat we all enjoyed good conversation around a lovely camp fire!  

Perfect way to kick of the 4th of July! 

Wednesday we had a low key day, but it was wonderful!  It was nice not to have an agenda and to be able to do whatever we wanted.   I enjoyed a relaxing morning followed by a bit of window shopping in downtown Stillwater

We grilled up some delicious Kebabs, 

(source)

relaxed some more and of course fireworks! 

I just realized I forgot to do my sparklers on the 4th!  I think I will need to bust those out this weekend! 

So tell me, how did you celebrate the 4th of July?

Have a lovely weekend everyone, Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday America!

Happy 4th of July!

Source: 24.media.tumblr.com via Darby on Pinterest

I think the 4th of July is one of my favorite Holidays.  There is so much pride that goes into celebrating the 4th.   We are not exactly sure what our plans are for the day, but I know sparklers, fireworks and grilling will be apart of our plans!  Have a safe and happy 4th of July everyone!

Pond Scum

Happy Tuesday loves!

I am back from a wonderful weekend in Omaha, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!!

We got in about 6:30 Friday night and headed straight to Pitch Pizza to meet my family for dinner and drinks!  I love the atmosphere at Pitch Pizza, darks wood, lower lighting, and long tables make for a casual yet cozy dining experience! I was careful not to stuff myself because my sweet tooth was ready for a huge piece of cake!

Nothing Bundt Cake!  Happy 21st Miranda!

After a quick wardrobe change and a small photo shoot, we were all out the door to party like rock stars!

We went to one bar where we had a drink called Pond Scum!  Think along the lines of a fish bowl! I feel like we must have hit every bar in Old Market (part of Omaha).  We ended the night dancing ad little butts off!

Saturday I feel like we did a lot of eating!  I of course enjoyed a Wheatfirlds cinnamon roll!

Yum!

Saturday night we went to Dixie Quicks for dinner!  Dixie quicks has been featured on Diners Dives and Drives, and is a on of my parents/sisters favorite places to go!

It was my first time dining at Dixie Quicks! And it was delicious!  The restaurant had an eclectic feel with exposed brick walls, and a small art gallery attached to the dining room! The menu was posted on a big chalk board, and we were given a smaller chalkboard with the daily specials!

The best part we didn't even order our own meal! Our waiter asked us what we liked and basically told us what he was going to brings for dinner! Our waiter was hilarious, and charismatic! And he didn't steer us wrong in our dinner selections!  I ended up with one of the specials a Shrimp Chilequiles

Wow was it good,spicy and full of flavor.

At the table we also had blackened salmon,

Texas Chile Pepper Steak for the guys

And an asparagus and pancetta pasta!

Everything looked delicious!

To say I was stuffed after dinner may be an understatement!

After another photo shoot it was time to enjoy some jazz in the park!

 Just Adorable! 

We parked our selves at an outdoor table at Crave and enjoyed live Jazz music by my sisters apartment!  Our evening ended with Farkel and a spectacular fire works show!

Sunday was low key since we had to drive home.

As we left Omaha we had to stop and take a picture of Mr. phelps!

The Olympic swim time trials were being held in Omaha over the weekend! It was neat to see everything the city had set up for this special event!

Such a great weekend!

And just think we will be back in Omaha in just 2 weeks for the color run!

Now on a completely different note can you believe it is already July?  I can't! I am excited though to celebrate the 4th of July tomorrow!  We are kicking off our 4th of July celebration tonight with a good old American BBQ!, Friends and grilling sounds like a perfect night to me! 

How are you going to celebrate the 4th?

Happy Tuesday All!

A Weekend of Events

Happy Friday Loves! 

I am officially Omaha bound in about 5 hours, I can barely contain my excitiment! 

Can you blame me?  I am so close to seeing my family and celebrating my lovely sisters 21st birthday!  I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend!

She has loads of activities planned for us.  Like dinner at our favorite coal fire pizza place-

Pitch Pizza, an out door concert, my favorite cinnamon rolls from Wheatfields! 

And of course a few Omaha bars to celebrate her big birthday! 

Can I leave right now?  Its going to be a weekend of laughs, celebration and good quality family time! 

Now lets talk about this weeks pin recipe! 

Major success! 

Grilled Burschetta Chicken - From the Girl Who Ate Everything! 

Super easy!  I did not grill my chicken, I baked it.  However the end result was still delicious!  I let my chicken marinade all day, and I thought the tomato/burschetta topping on top was delicious! 

A quick and easy meal that won points with my taste testers!  This recipe will be made again!

Well folks I am out! 

Have a fabulous weekend, I will see you Monday with a little recap from our Omaha weekend! 

Happy Friday!