Cooking Thursday: An Easy Banana Recipe & Summery Goodness

 Hey Friends!

How are you this lovely Thursday? 

It's a lovely day in the northwoods - sunny and breezy and mild. 

We had some recent summer fun with Annie's bf, Kris ... we went on a pontoon ride, played cornhole ("bags"), played board games, had treats and just soaked up the time with him. He had to head back to FL early this morning. And my Annie heads back there to college next week (hold me please 😢) 

But on a happier note, I thought I'd share a few cooking related things with you. 

First of all, here is some summery goodness for you. 

We have been able to pick some cukes and lettuce from our garden. We grilled burgers the other night along with some veggies skewers.  I made a big salad with some of our garden veggies. And we had also picked up some fresh sweet corn and grilled that up too. We also had some summer melon and cherries, and some fun chips. It sure was a yummy dinner!  

But what I really wanted to share with you today is the brand for these mixes I found when I did my monthly order through Thrive Market. If you are not familiar with Thrive - it's an app/subscription I have been using for years. It's a yearly fee and then you have access to tons of products that need to fit Thrive Market's standards (organic, healthier, etc) They have everything from frozen food, pantry things and snacks...to beverages, makeup and cleaning products. I find some of the best goodies on there and it all gets shipped to my door. I don't have to order every month - just when I want to. 

I found these mixes that are a wonderful solution for using up your bananas that are going bad. You add mashed banana and a few other ingredients and you can make a quick bread or muffins. The base is gluten-free oat flour. I had gotten the cinnamon roll one and the fudge brownie one. The other day I made the cinnamon roll one and you can have the option of what ingredients you want to add (see the pic with the back of the package below). I used healthier ingredients and made mine with mashed banana, coconut oil, and protein milk. Also just a tbsp of maple syrup (there is a tiny bit of brown sugar in the mix). They turned out SO good!! They truly tasted so much like cinnamon roll and they weren't too dense - just moist and fluffy. I think the little white chips in them gave them the cinnamon roll flavor. The kids loved them! I think Matt & I each only had one and there's only 2 left. Lol 

They are only about 100 calories per muffin or slice of bread. I think next time I'll make the fudge brownie one in a loaf pan. I highly recommend this mix - great to keep on hand for when you want to use up bananas. 

*And I am not affiliated with Thrive Market or the Go Nanas mixes or receive anything from them. Just sharing something we found and loved.

I feel like this is me. I am making out my grocery list and there are things I want to grill and summer fruit I want to get etc. But it's also been cooler here at night (50's and 60's) and Annie is talking back to school things - and I did pick up a few fun Autumn things recently. So basically my mood keeps switching 😂:

Blessings to you 

xoxo

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

Hello and happy new week to you my Friends!

Did you have a lovely weekend? I sure hope so. I can't believe it will be September next week! I'm excited for Fall and yet letting go of summer is always bittersweet. 

We had a busy weekend and visited a few places. It was cooler this weekend and definitely had more of a Fall feel. 

Friday we headed to where my son lives and we dropped Ruby off at his apartment. So we could go to a video game event that Matt and Aaron wanted to check out - I was just tagging along. Lol Aaron is more of a gamer person and Matt loves the nostalgia and collects games consoles and games. He does like to play a bit - but it's more how it all brings him back to his childhood. We all had fun checking it out. And then we took Aaron out for an early dinner (poor Jill had to work) Then we took Aaron home and grabbed Ruby and headed right to the lake to help Matt's folks out. His Dad just had a hip replacement so we were there helping out with several things over the weekend. 

There were definite Fall moments over the weekend. Some tips of trees starting to change color already. It was only in the 60's for temps and windy and chilly both days. And we watched some football movies. My Hubby has 2 top movies - one is the Shawshank Redemption and the other is the move Rudy. Well we watched Rudy all together this weekend as I hadn't seen it in forever. I forgot how good it is. And then it reminded him of another true story football movie he likes called Invincible with Mark Wahlberg....so we watched that too. Also a good movie. And then we watched preseason GB Packers on Saturday.  I made a cozy slow cooker soup that was yummy comfort food we all enjoyed. 

Then on the drive home Matt & I chatted with Annie all about her being back in FL for college and settled into her new apartment. 💗 She was giving us the scoop on her roommates, meal planning, decorating etc. She definitely takes after her Momma. Lol 

It was also in the 40's here this morning - very nice and chilly! And Annie has her first day of her sophomore year today! So yep, definite Fall in the air as we get ready to say goodbye to August. 

*on a sad note: I found out over the weekend that my Aunt had died. It was truly a blessing though. She was in her mid 80's and couldn't leave her home and had been home bound for about a year.  She would say she was very ready "to go home" as she put it. She died peacefully in her sleep in her own home - which is what I think most folks hope for in this life. I know she's in heaven with her hubby now, and her parents and other family. I have no doubt she'll still be cheering on the Packers from up there 💚💛

 

 

 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

iced pumpkin spice coffee (tis almost the season so I couldn't resist), half of a bagel

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

time with my Mom, haircut, errands & groceries, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT: 

How blessed I am to be a part of this community and to make such amazing Friends here. 

One of those wonderful Blogland Besties is my dear friend Jules over at the blog Along the Way  She lives in such a beautiful part of England and shares gorgeous photos of some of her excursions. She had recently spent some time in the Yorkshire Dales and I shared how jealous I was and how very much I love that area and adore the show All Creatures Great and Small. It's on my bucket list to get there on day. And I had heard that parts of York were some of the inspiration for Harry Potter. Specifically "the Shambles" as being a lot like Diagon Alley. (I've read all of the books and I've seen all of the movies and love them too)

Well that tremendously thoughtful Sweetheart sent me some treasures from those areas in a very surprise package I found when I got home last night. I was blown away and I just can't thank her enough for thinking of me!! From the sweet tote, to the cozy tea moments, and of course the nod to All Creatures Great and Small. Thanks again Jules - your'e the best! :) 

This community is such an amazing place to meet and connect with so many and I'll forever be grateful to share here...but especially to get to spend time visiting and getting to know friends like Jules...and all of you. 

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

😊😊😊

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

Surprise packages that touch my soul. 😉

CURRENTLY READING

I've decided to finish all the Dream Harbor series before moving on to my other books

ON THE TV TODAY:

 Americas Got Talent, The Office, Big Brother,The Last Kingdom, American Pickers

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY -  might do dinner with my Mom & step Dad tonight (or may need to be another night depending on some things in their schedule)

TUESDAY -  leftover Italian veggie & meatball soup I made this weekend (maybe a sandwich for Matt too)

WEDNESDAY - I froze the chicken from last week so will thaw them and finally going to make slow cooker honey lime chicken tacos with fixings

THURSDAY - leftover honey lime chicken lettuce cups or nachos

FRIDAY - not sure?... out for dinner or clean out anything left in fridge

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

go for walks with Matt & Ruby, read, work on an ongoing scrapbook project

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

At the convention with my gamer Boys. :) 

This adorable car was parked next to us in the lot and I had to take a picture. Look at those hubcaps. Lol And the bumper stickers cracked me up.

Lake life beauty....

Lake life food and fun. BLT's made from crispy bacon, farm stand tomatoes, and wild rice cranberry bread. The sweet corn was also from the farm stand. And some homemade Italian veggie & meatball soup in the slow cooker. Perfect football food. 😋

Driving down the road with the one you love while the sunset puts on a show out the window - does it get better? 

Missing my Girl already 😢...a polaroid selfie she took before she headed back to school. 💝

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace.  For Annie to have a great start to her school year. For my fellow family that will be missing my Auntie and the light she brought to this world. For Matt's Dad's continued healing. 

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

I hope you get to enjoy these last days of August to the fullest my Friends. 

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Cooking Thursday on a Friday: Italian Grinder Sliders

 

Hello my dear lovely, wonderful, beautiful, blogging Besties!

August is here! Up in the north it's such a dual month. The first few weeks still feel a lot like summer - but by mid August, some kids go back to school and it begins to feel more "pre"Fall than summer.  More signs of this include: the geese start showing up on the bay again (to work on their practice runs), pre season football begins (we actually watched the first game a bit last night!), nights start getting cooler, and things in the garden really start producing and even fading. August becomes a true glimpse at the change of season ahead. 

Speaking of seasons, we had such a fun moment yesterday!! My Mom came over and along with Annie & I, had a girlie Christmas in July day. :) We squeaked it in just in time! We had a fun lunch, listened to Christmas music and colored in Christmas coloring books, and we talked a lot about the seasons ahead and Annie going back to school etc. 

I even had little gifts for everyone (including Matt - who sneakily got me something too). It was such a fun day and reminded me of when we used to do it every summer when Annie was little. Back then we'd bake cookies, do a Christmas craft and watch a Christmas movie. Love time with my girls so much and appreciate how they humor my love of Christmas. ❤️💚 

Today, however, I wanted to share these delish summer sub kind of sliders. You cut a pack of Hawaiian buns in half. You layer cheese and meats inside and put the tops back on. Then brush a yummy Italian garlic butter concoction over the tops and bake. While they bake you make up a yummy grinder salad with veggies of choice(I did lettuce, tomato & onion), some mayo, red wine vinegar and olive oil and seasonings. When the sliders are done baking you take them out...take the tops back off and put the cold salad inside. They were absolutely scrumptious!! Matt said they were his favorite sandwich he's ever had. High praise indeed! 

They would be perfect to take for a beach picnic or on the pontoon. We just enjoyed them on the deck as a lovely summer dinner. Truly they would be good any time of year...but for my summer lovin' friends - I don't want you to think my love of Fall has me skipping out on summer just yet. Still enjoying all the fruits of summer! 

Including breakfast this AM: frosted mini wheats with amazing sweet strawberries & raspberries. I promise I continue to soak up these summer days. 

We went golfing with Annie a few days ago

And there are still a lot of pontoon rides, summer walks, lounging and reading on the deck, and yard games to play yet.

Are you a summer lover? Or ready for Fall to begin?  I'm enjoying summer fruits, but I need to honestly admit that a little part of me feels like this:

Whether you cling to summer, or can't wait for Fall - you will love these sliders! They can be found under my pinterest board "sliders" you can find if you click here.

But here's the recipe for you:

Enjoy! And have a blessed weekend ahead. 

xoxo