BANANA BREAD BARS

Barry is always teasing me when I make something for us to eat that is NOT homemade.  If I make a cake out of the box, he asks why there isn't any flour all over my face from slaving in the kitchen to make the cake or why there isn't any flour left on the kitchen counter.......... he just has to tease me about it.

Well tonight he got a BIG surprise, I actually made a homemade dessert and was it ever D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S..................YUMMY!  He ate three bars fresh hot out of the oven.  Not only did they taste great, they smelled so good while baking.  I DEFINITELY recommend trying this one out.  Barry also says to tell the men out there that like bananas........."THESE ARE GREAT!"  It's another WINNER from Pinterest.

BANANA BREAD BARS WITH BROWN BUTTER FROSTING
from Pinterest from lifessimplemeasures.blogspot.com

Banana Bread Bars:
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:
1/2 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk

1. Heat oven to 375F. Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute. Stir in walnuts.

2. Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.
***NOTE***
When browning the butter, make sure to pay close attention. The 'turn' happens quickly and before you know it, you'll have extra burnt butter, which is not good...

4. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting). Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).

Yield: 2 dozen large bars

Campbell's Farm

Today we headed out for our yearly Pumpkin Patch ritual with our bet friends, Dan, Angel and Katie.  We first stopped at Steak-N-Shake to eat lunch and kiddos were acting silly(of course).

Next, we were off to Campbell's Maze Daze for all of us to play and look at pumpkins.

The first thing the kids wanted to do were jump in the inflatable dragon.  They had lots of fun.......

Once they were finished there, Colton was off running to the kiddie train ride and Katie was off to the playground equipment.

Uh-oh...............another swing set and slide is spotted............we are off again and fast.............

We actually ended up getting to sit down for a little while to watch the Magic Show.

The kids really enjoyed it................who would've thunk it?  This picture was just too cute to pass up.  Look at these two little ones actually sitting STILL watching the show on hay bales...............

Next we thought we would stand in line for the hay ride, but we adults got a little impatient for that and the kids too..........so we were off again.  Dan and Angel found this mama and her chicks.......too cute!

We then saw the wooden teeter totter that Colton wanted to try out with Katie.............

This only lasted a little while and we found ourselves off again to the kiddie train ride.

And what is this that I caught Angel trying to steal?  Yes.......................a corn cob...............

Barry began teasing her, so she told him just to eat it......................silly BIG kids.................

Finally we were off again to try to get on the hay ride because we heard the tractor coming..............

Don't we all just look thrilled?

 

Last, but not least...........Katie and Angel being silly.............and Dan trying to act normal............

LOVE IT!  We had a great time.  Glad we went, I wouldn't miss our yearly tradition, we always have fun.

Chile Colorado Burritos

Tonight I tried another recipe I saw on Pinterest.  It turned out pretty good or so mom and I thought.  I was hoping Barry would make it in on time to eat some with us, but he called to say he'd be arriving late.......go figure.......he'll be in later tonight though, so all is good.  It should make good leftovers though!

I'll share this one too, hope you enjoy!

Chile Colorado Burritos
from Pinterest from food-pusher.blogspot.com

1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)
1 large can mild (red) enchilada sauce* (at least 19 oz.)
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 can refried beans (optional)
5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce into a crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours**, or until meat is very tender. (Can also cook on high for maybe 3-4 hours.) I've also cooked it in a dutch oven for about 4 hours at 325 degrees. More meat, more time. A third option is to cook it in a large heavy saucepan--bring it to a boil on high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. If you go with a method other than the crock pot, make sure the pot is covered and pretty well sealed to minimize evaporation of the liquid.

When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired. Heat up refried beans in the microwave (covered and in a microwave-proof dish, of course)and put your oven on broil. On an oven-proof plate, or cookie sheet even, lay out a tortilla. Place on tortilla about 1/2 cup of the meat, drained by using a slotted spoon, and a spoonful or two of beans. Roll into a burrito (hopefully you know how to roll these). Pour some of the remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over the burrito to cover it. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.
Makes 5-7 burritos, depending on how full you make them

My Little Spiderman

Well Colton and I were talking about going to the zoo later this week with our good friends, Angel and Katie.  Kids get to dress up in their Halloween costumes and can get candy and also see some of the animals at the zoo.  He is really excited to go and asked me what he was going to dress up in and I told him his Thomas the Train outfit.  Oh my goodness......you would've thought the world had come to an end.  He didn't want to even hear of that!!  He informed me that he wanted to be Spiderman this year.  He went on to tell me where he even saw the Spiderman costume that he wanted.......of course it was at..........Wal-Mart.  Next, he proceeded to tell me he knew exactly where it was if I could just drive him up to Wal-Mart he would show me.  Funny boy.  We then called daddy to tell him what he wanted and of course Barry told me to go get it for him.  If he wanted to be Spiderman for Halloween, then that's what he would be.  This is what we came home with today.......

My Little Spiderman!

He wore that outfit all day long...............then he turned into my sleeping Spiderman.................

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

I decided to finally give my new found love of Pinterest recipes a try.  I made the Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chile tonight.  It was really good, a little spicy, but not bad at all.  I like easy recipes that taste good and this is definitely one of them I'll be making again.  You might was to try it out.  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
from pinterest at http://rita-may-recipes.blogspot.com/2011/11/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html

2 chicken breasts, still frozen
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, do not drain
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 T cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t onion powder
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
salt

Put the chicken in the crock pot.
Top with the tomatoes, corn,
the drained and rinsed beans,
ranch dressing, cumin, onion and chili powders,
stir to combine then top with the cream cheese.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring one or twice
to blend in the cheese.
Shred the chicken into large pieces
and serve over rice.
Can also serve in tortillas or taco shells.
Serves 4

The Optimus Prime Visit

The night all the family was over at our house with the kids sword fighting, Gabe decided he'd put on Colton's Transformers Optimus Prime Helmet and suprise the kids.  With this helmet you are able to talk through it in a robotic sounding Transformer voice........which is somewhat scary sounding.  He thought the kids would get a kick out of getting a visit from the well-liked Transformer Optimus Prime.

Turns out...................they didn't find it so funny.  They were scared to death when he began to talk.  I wasn't fast enough to get any other pictures of the kids reactions, because they were running scared, crying and screaming...........he had to take the helmet off fast and show them it was just Uncle Gabe.  Then Colton and Noah wanted to try the helmet on themselves, so here are their pictures with the helmet on.

Noah

Colton

My Sister's Visit

Colton has been awaiting my sister and her family coming to visit us.  He loves his cousins, but they live in Oklahoma and we don't get to visit them very much at all.  However, when we do get together, Colton has a blast playing with them.  He particularly talks about his older cousin Patrick.........ALL THE TIME!  He loves Avery, his smaller cousin and Victoria, his older cousin, but there is just something about "HIS PATRICK" that holds a special place.  I think it is because Patrick takes time to listen to him, play and interact with him.  He just eats that attention up!

Everyone came over ot the house Friday night and the kids were putting on a show with their sword fighting.

Victoria was like the rest of us......she just sit back, took it all in and watched them have at it.

Then later we went back to mom's house where the kids were more calm and actually sit down in the floor and played with their toys and each other.  Avery and Colton even hit it off better this time........

After playing all day, Avery decided he'd lay down, watch Colton play and just chill out to relax for a while............CUTE!

They had a really good time together.  The next day when we had to take them back, Colton cried for the rest of the night and part of the next day for "HIS PATRICK".................and all I've heard for the last three days has been, "I love my Patrick...........when are we gonna see Patrick next?"

Day With Daddy

Today Colton and daddy finally finished all of the items that were on the check list.  Last night they wrestled, boxed and had a nerf gun fight.  After daddy chased Colton around and finally caught him......................

..........he then rode his bike around.  Daddy had to help him get on it first of all.

Then off he went, with daddy right by his side in case of any crashes.................

Then love and squeeze hugs at the end!

Next we were off to Bass Pro to see the fishies and turtles.................

and I took a picture of Colton with Daddy and the BIG bear..............................

and we just had to stop and check out their hats and guns..............................

 ..............................then we finally went home.  We had a wonderful day with daddy!