Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Ramblings and Chocolate Dipped Banana Bread Balls.

Hi guys, thanks for baring with me, I know I haven't been posting anywhere near as much as I should be just lately. I have been so, so tired. I started a new job, which I love but seeing as I haven't worked in so long, it is kicking my butt! I swear I shouldn't be this tired, it's actually quite ridiculous! By the time little man's bedtime rolls around, I have been falling in to bed myself.

The doctor started me on some medication a couple of months ago too, which I am thinking has something to do with it... I might have to get it changed to something else :/ Has anyone had any experiences with Zoloft?

Tonight, I was actually going to write a post that I have been putting off for a really long time. A post about why I am in fact taking Zoloft in the first place and a post about some of the things my family have faced in the last year... Yesterdays events in Boston however, has put that on the back burner for now. I can't stop thinking about all those poor people that have been affected by the heartless bombings, especially those who awoke this morning mourning the loss of a loved one. :( I can't get over how much evil there is in this world, it makes me so sad. I really do wish that things were different. AND on top of all of that! The town that I live in had 4 bomb threats today!! Both of the court houses were evacuated for most of the day as were the middle school and the high school! Luckily, nothing was found, but seriously! What the hell is wrong with people!? I really don't want my Son to grow up thinking that all of this is normal :( Ugh!

So instead of my intended post, I am going to be posting a recipe for Chocolate Covered Banana Bread Balls that might just bring a smile to your face, it certainly did mine when I made them. I'll start with the picture:

Looks good?
I found the original recipe for these on Pinterest. The link led me back to an extremely yummy looking blog called Inquiring Chef, you need to take a dig around over there, some of her stuff made me drool on my keyboard!!

Here is how I made them:

I started off by making the Banana Bread, I have been using this recipe for a really long time and it always comes out so good!!


You will need:

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
½ Cup of Butter
½ Cup of White Sugar
½ Cup of Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
3 Very Ripe Bananas!

  • Pre heat oven to 350°
  • Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
  • In another bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars.
  • Stir in the eggs and the 'crushed' banana (I usually squish the banana between my fingers)
  • Combine both mixtures and stir just until you see no flour left! It is VERY important not to over mix!!
  • Bake for 1 hour

When cooked, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely!


For the Banana Bread Balls, you will need:
  • 1 8oz Container of Cream Cheese (I used Mascarpone)
  • Around 8 oz of Milk Chocolate Morsels and another 8 oz of Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels, you could even use white too if you wanted!
  • Shredded Coconut and Crushed Walnuts for the toppings (You can use whatever you want though!!

Now you need to grab a sharp knife and cut the  hard crust off the banana bread, you can discard this bit, or spread butter on it, which is what I did... I cannot let banana bread go to waste!

In a large bowl, crumble the insides of the banana bread with your fingers until it is in small pieces. Add the cream cheese and mix really well, until it all comes together.

Using a teaspoon, separate the mixture into roughly 40 or 50 balls. Roll the balls in your hands. The original recipe said that it made 60, but I think I must have made them a lot bigger because I only managed to get 40! Place them on a tray lined with wax paper. I didn't have any wax paper, so just put them straight on the baking tray) They should look like this:


Melt your chocolate in two separate bowls. I used the microwave. Just make sure you check it and stir it every 10 seconds until it's melted completely! And using two forks, roll each ball around in the chocolate until fully coated!

The messy bit!

Sprinkle some shredded Coconut on some of them and Crushed Walnuts on the others and leave them on the counter to set for about 10 minutes or so and then transfer them to the fridge until they harden.


My pictures are so not as good as The Inquiring Chef!
 

And there you have it. Chocolate Covered Banana Bread Balls. So good!!! My next ones will be the Brownie ones!!

Please let me know if you make these and how they turned out!

I hope everyone has a great evening. Hold your loved ones tight ♥

~ Tasha

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The BEST Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in the world, guaranteed!

Whew! Busy week in our household what with family visits, Easter, the hubs' forty something Birthday and one hangover from hell! I KEEP thinking that Jagermeister is my friend and am always very, very wrong. Why is it, the older you get, the longer the hangovers are? I didn't think I was ever going to make it back here!

We celebrated Easter a little early as Cole was heading to his Grandma and Grandads house so that me and the hubs could go out on Saturday night, the Easter bunny was very kind to Cole, a little too kind. So much so, that I think that candy is now banned until his 18th birthday. Please imagine a cross between The Energizer Bunny, Tigger and a VHS tape stuck on fast forward and you may have a slight idea of my day on Friday. Seriously. BANNED. He made me out of breath just watching him.

Anyway, during all the craziness, I did get time to try out a recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I have been searching for quite a long time to find a good one... They are never thick enough or chewy enough and whilst googling one day, I came across a recipe originally featured in Cuisine magazine that intrigued me. They were AWESOME. I do believe that I have found the best recipe ever!

I tweaked it a little bit and added a few extras and this is how they turned out:


Thick, soft, chewy and amazing. You should definitely try them out! Again, I think I'm on to a winner here!!!

Check out the recipe below and please, please let me know if you make them! I would love to know what you think!

Ingredients:

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon of Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
½ Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Cup of Softened Unsalted Butter
1 Cup of White Granulated Sugar
1 Cup of Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
3 Cups of Oats (Not Instant!)
1½ Cups Raisins
½ Cup of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (Totally optional)
½ Cup of Chopped Walnuts (Again, totally optional!)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350°F

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

In a separate, large bowl, combine the Butter, White Sugar, Brown Sugar and Eggs with a hand mixer set on low. Once combined, increase the speed to high and mix until fluffy.

Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture and incorporate it all together gently. You only need to mix until just combined! Do not over mix!

Add the Oatmeal and the Raisins (And any optional extras!) Stir gently to combine.

Drop about 2 tablespoons worth of the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick spray will work too!) around 2 inches apart and squish slightly.

Bake for around 12 - 15 minutes until they are starting to brown on top but still look moist! They will harden up slightly as they cool, but if you overcook them they are going to dry out and get crunchy! The BEST thing about these cookies is their chewiness! If they don't look done, they probably are! Take them out! Trust me!

Once you have removed them from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely (You won't be able to wait that long though!)

Your house will smell so good too!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter and I really hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I did!

As always, thanks for stopping by ♥

~Tasha