{Dash of Love} Banana-Granola-PB Smoothie

Another post so soon, you ask? Well duh, it is Lazy Sunday around here, so blogging and staying in my PJ's are the only things on my todo list! This morning I woke up craving breakfast, of course. Pancakes, sausage, gravy, eggs...yum! But, my dumb, or extremely smart, self didn't buy any of those sugary, fattening breakfast foods I love some much.

So, I got creative and whipped up something super delicious! This smoothie was the perfect breakfast smoothie. It was easy, filling, and would be really great for those mornings on the go. Must remember to make this for when I go back to school in the fall! Smoothies are so easy though, if you have some fruit, milk, or anything else that can be blended up, just throw it in and you'd be surprised at the yumminess that can occur! 

Ingredients

2 bananas, chopped

approx 2- 2 1/2 tbs peanut butter

honey, drizzled

1 tbs granola

1/2 cup milk

4 handfuls of ice, depends on how thick you want yours

*You could definitely make this much healthier using skim milk, low fat granola, honey, and natural peanut butter!

Directions

Put everything in a blender, minus the ice, and mix until well blended. 

Add the ice and blend until it reaches your desired consistency.

This made enough for about 3 servings for me, so I am storing the rest in the fridge! 

{Dash of Love} Strawberry Muffins

Good Morning, Puddin'! Can you believe the gorgeous weather TN has been having? It is amazing. We barely had a winter, I was like the only one ecstatic about that, and the spring was much warmer too. And now, the summer has been hot, which I LOVE, but also not too much of the overly humid 90 degree weather. Yesterday it was like 70 and perfect! Loving it so much, I even decided to type up this little post outside on the patio... :)

So, I have some more recipes for you! I am so proud of myself. I have whipped up so many yummy things lately...all with me just winging it in the kitchen. They all luckily were home runs and now I can share them with you all! I really enjoy cooking, especially baking. It has been such a stress reliever and the perfect way to just relax over this summer break. I hope you all have something like that to get lost in. I think that is really important in life. We all need a hobby, a break, a little getaway from reality. So if you don't have one, try experimenting in the kitchen! Even if it is just following recipes, I love being in the kitchen like a scientist whipping up some awesome concoction. I am more of a mad scientist though myself, I take handfuls of recipes and dissect them all, and then put pieces of them back into my own recipe. And at the end of all this madness, the place looks like a tornado came through. Like I always say, thank goodness I love to clean, or I would never cook!

Strawberries are perfect this time of year! They just scream summer! Those fresh, ripe, red beauties are so sweet and delicious. If that sentence just made your mouth water, then you'll love this recipe. Unfortunately when I whipped up this recipe I did not have any fresh strawberries. It was that point in the month where the groceries had ran just about completely out, and it wasn't quite payday. So, after 30 minutes of rummaging through my cabinets I found that I had all the makings of a yummy muffin. After finding a cup of frozen strawberries, I knew it had to be Strawberry Muffins!

 Isn't she pretty? They turned out so delicious! But next time, I will for sure get me some fresh strawberries! You could also add a tbs or two of cream cheese for an extra creamy muffin.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup plus 2 tbs milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup chopped strawberries

Directions: (pictures below) 

-Preheat oven to 375

-In a bowl combine to oil, milk, and egg

-In a mixer, or another bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder

-Add strawberries to the flour mixture and mix just until combined

-Pour in liquid mixture and mix until well combined together

-Fill a muffin tin, lined with paper or oiled

-Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on the tops of each of the muffins

-Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden and they spring back when you touch them

Enjoy!

{Dash of Love} Peach Cobbler

Hey folks! I know, I know. I always say I am really going to keep up with my posting. And I haven't even really been that busy. I have actually been such a lazy bum! :) I think I have deserved some lazy time though. But the time has come where I can no longer be lazy and don't really want to be. I function better on a slightly busy schedule and routine, anyway. So I wanted to share some recipes with you since I have gotten a chance to just experiment in  the kitchen...which I adore!

So, first up, Peach Cobbler. Peach Cobbler is MY all time favorite dessert. I could eat it everyday and never ever get tired of it. I am a peach loving girl to begin with, but add that crispy crust and bubbling juices... and I am in heaven!
This recipe is super easy and holds up so well. I ate it for like a week after, alone! I know, I really have made the right choice in a mate. He hates Peach Cobbler, leaving the whole pan to me and me only! I am pretty stingy with my cobbler, so this works out perfectly.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

Filling
-approx 5 cups of peeled, sliced peaches (you could use canned instead, just drain)
-1 cup sugar
-1 cup water
-approx 1 tsp cinnamon

Crust
-1 cup sugar
-1 1/2 cup self rising flour
-1 1/2 cups milk
-dash or 2 of cinnamon (I like cinnamon though so you can omit!)


Directions:

Preheat to 350
Mix peaches, sugar, water, and cinnamon in a pot over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
Melt the butter in your baking dish in the oven.
With a mixer, mix flour, sugar, milk, and cinnamon slowly until all smoothly incorporated.
Pour mixture over melted butter, do not stir!
Spoon peaches over the butter and crust mixture.
Slowly pour fruit syrup into the mixture.
Bake 35-40 minutes, or until crust has risen and it is a golden brown.

The crust batter will rise up and be nice and fluffy! You could use this recipe with many different fruits and flavors...it is so good!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and enjoy this summer weather! 

{A Dash of Love} Broccoli Salad

Wow! It has been forever!!! I so don't like it either. But, my life is so hectic this semester and crafting/baking/blogging are all at the bottom of my never ending todo list! There are only 5 weeks of school left though, so YAY! Then I will have the summer off from school and can spend my days swimming, crafting, and baking...ahhhh....that sounds so sweet. I did however want to take a moment to share a recipe with you I whipped up yesterday, it is so yummy! The baby I watch is napping away and so before I start on my large pile of homework I wanted to BLOG! :D

So, if you are looking for ways to enjoy this fantastic summer-like weather...you could use this recipe! As soon as the temperatures rise anywhere above 50 degrees I consider it spring and start eating all my favorite fresh foods. I LOVE sandwiches, salads, fruits, veggies, and anything cool and light for those hot summer months. This broccoli salad is one of my favorite things to make and it is just perfect!

Does anyone like Ruby Tuesday's as much as I do? Mmmmm... my mouth is watering just thinking about it! I really really love their salad bar. It is always so fresh and has SO many choices! They have a broccoli salad that is absolutely amazing. I mean I cannot compete with RT, but this salad is pretty darn close to theirs and just as yummy! :)


Broccoli Salad
-2 big bunches of fresh broccoli, rinsed, chopped, and separated
-1 medium red onion chopped
-1 whole bag of those "real" bacon bits, not the crunchy ones
-1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese
-1 1/2 cup mayo
-2 tbs balsamic vinegar
-2 tsp sugar

Mix mayo, vinegar, and sugar together until well blended.
Add in bacon, onion, cheese, and broccoli and mix well.
Chill and serve!! :)

Make this and enjoy it on your porch in the hot sun, yes!

It stays great for many days...it gets better as it sits in the fridge...

Have a fabulous day! 

Goodbye Raccoon Eyes

Happy Sunday, kiddos! I have a great little DIY for you ladies to try. I hate hate hate buying makeup remover. It is so expensive and runs out too quickly for me, especially the wipes! And when I don't have makeup remover I just use soap and water, which burns and smudges more than cleans.

So, when I came across this on Pinterest I knew I must give it a try, it would be worth it. This is a simple and cheap recipe that actually works to take all that eye makeup off! And you must clean your makeup off, you want a fresh clean face before bed (and a fresh pillow case) to prevent those nasty blemishes. Most people think that cleaning your face is enough, but if you don't change that pillow case regularly you are just putting all that dirt and oil that has built up on your pillow from your hair (and that one time you didn't wash your face) back onto your clean face!

If you are like me and want a clean face for cheap follow these steps:

Ingredients
-1 cup water
-1 1/2 tbsp baby shampoo
-1/8 tsp of oil (can be baby, coconut, olive, etc)

Directions
Mix ingredients all together and pour into bottles. This made about 3 travel shampoo bottles for me.

It works very well, as you can tell below! It will take you no time at all and very little money to have raccoon-free eyes, so whip this up asap. If you would like the original post that I found on pinterest, it is here!

Have a wonderful day!

{A Dash of Love} Ooey Gooey Caramel Cake

Hey Bloggarinos!

It has been a tad bit too long. I apologize and plan to keep up with Banana Pudding more, well, as much as I can. I should have some ultimate crafting and blogging time over Spring Break...well I should! Today I wanted to share with you an unbelievable recipe. I am always looking for new recipes and this one stood out. It is super easy and worth every single second of your time.

Now don't be swayed by my title, this is no ordinary breakfast. I'd like to think this would be served as Breakfast in Heaven though...with no worries of weight gain or teeth rotting. 

So the title to me is fitting. I found that most people consider this (and many other different recipes) the "Better Than Sex Cake." But, I actually know of a recipe with that title that is much different from this recipe and so I gave this one a new name. 

This ooey gooey dessert will knock your socks off!! Everyone will love it, and YOU for making it. It is sweet but not too sweet, and a nice change to the traditional cakes with heavy frosting. The cake is actually quite versatile too, but I'll quit rambling and get on with the recipe...you will want to go grab the ingredients...NOW! 

Ingredients:

-German Chocolate cake mix 

-1 can sweetened condensed milk

-1 jar Hershey's Caramel Topping

-1 container of Cool Whip

Directions:

Bake cake according to box, in whatever pan you like (I made two round ones)

Once cake is done, immediately poke holes all through the cake with a fork

Pour over condensed milk, and then the caramel 

(use the whole can and jar for a 13X9 cake pan, or half each for 2 round ones)

Let the cake completely cool, while it soaks in that yummy goodness

Once cake is cooled top with the cool whip

Enjoy! (store in the fridge)

This cake is AMAZING just the way it is, but you can mix it up in so many different ways:

-You could use any type of cake mix to change up the flavors, spice cake would be fun!

-With a yellow cake you could use strawberry topping instead of caramel, yum!

-Make it the way above and add a candy bar of your choice crumbled on top...Butterfingers would rock!

-Top with many other different things such as fruit, coconut, nuts, etc. 

-Maybe pour over some of your favorite rum, or any other liquor, instead of the condensed milk for a very adult version! 

I hope you make this as soon as you can, your life will be changed forever, and your belly will thank you! I plan to make this for myself for my Birthday! What a perfect grown up cake :)

I will be back soon, until then I wish you all a wonderful week! 

A Comic Book Love

Hey ya'll! I woke up a little earlier than usual this morning for work, so I thought I would use that time wisely...to ya know, blog! I hope everyone is having a good week. I know mine has been a super duper busy one. It is nice for us to take some time to really breathe and relax though, even if we think we can't fit it in. I actually allowed myself to relax and watch some television last night, and I am blogging this morning! I hate feeling so stressed, but soon enough this semester too will end and I will be that much closer to graduating, and it will be summer! I hope too that all of you are keeping up with your resolutions. Please take any of my ideas that I have posted and put them to good use, you can find them all on my pinboard here!

I wanted to take this time to share with you my Valentine's ideas for Ethan this year. He loves comic books, especially recently now that they have revamped all of them. He has started from number one and being the collector he is, he is loving it! He started out with Batman, and some others that I really have no idea about. (I am just learning all this comic book stuff). So, I bought him numbers 1-5 of both Aquaman and Justice League comics, which he has been wanting for like ever.

My big surprise plan got a little screwed up because I waited too long, of course. I planned to get him this huge Batman cardboard life-size figure at our local Disney outlet, but when I went they were all sold out! But I still made up for it with Lego Batman (shown below), candy, and the Batman video games.

Do you see a theme? Well to better portray the theme I made him a custom valentine. I wanted to share this most of all so if you have any comic book lovers in your life you can print this and use it for yourself!

Using picnik and other programs I made this awesome valentine, yes it is a little corny, but I just love it!

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week, and a Happy Valentine's Day...just in case we don't get a chance to chat again soon! :)

Hello There, Princess!

I apologize. I have been away from Banana Pudding too long. How ever did you all continue with your lives everyday? Well I hope you all got on okay without me. ;) I have been super busy, of course, with school and work. Oh how I wish I could just blog all day. With no other responsibilities but to craft, cook, and blog about it, always. But, in reality, I am on here venting about life even though I should be typing up my Ethics paper.

Anyhoo, happy super bowl sunday! I hope you all enjoy today as much as I will! My poor Peyton isn't playing, but it is still pretty awesome to have the game in the Colt's stadium. So, enjoy the game and all the yummy food I know we will all be indulging on...

And, lastly, I am gonna toot my own horn a little! I have kept up with my 2012 Get Awesome Plan. I have done a morning workout every day for over a month now. I have at least done crunches every morning, I am up to over 100 of them, but most days stick to my 30 minute work outs. I also have kept up with a better weekly schedule and stayed organized. I am so proud of myself! I feel so much better. I have been getting my tan back as well, feeling like my old perky self again! So, Princess Heather is back!
Watch out world, I will be taking you by storm in my pink heels and polka dots! :)

{A Dash of Love} Hosting

I love to host parties. I enjoy making cute little decorations and yummy food and serving it up to kind folks! I recently went with a friend to a Beauticontrol Spa Party, and I loved it so much that I had to sign up to host one at my house. There was also this awesome free neck wrap in the works if you did sign up, and it is the kind that you heat up, so that could be the real reason I did it.

I invited a good amount of people, but only a few were able to make it...it still worked out fabulously! I did the makeover party instead of the spa party.  The theme was GNO, in the summertime, of course. I put Breakfast at Tiffany's on the tv while we played with all the makeup and goodies! I think hosting parties like this, or any other kinds-like tupperware, which is probably my next one, is such a great idea. If you are the host you get so many great deals and free stuff. And, it is a perfect way to get all the girls together and take a break from the world.

I will be hosting more parties in the future for sure. I have always wanted to throw a sewing or cooking party, so I just might have to do that sometime soon! The only bad part about me hosting, is that I am a control freak. So if something doesn't go how I planned, I will have a mini freak out. But, I will get over it pretty quickly and host the heck out of the party.

So below is just a little peek at the foods and such that I served, also some recipes:

 On the menu: Cupcakes with buttercream/chocolate buttercream frosting, a strawberry-pear sangria, sweet tea, cheddar-bacon dip, cucumber sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, and my favorite: tatm sandwiches.

Yummy Cheddar-Bacon Dip:

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

16oz sour cream

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

bacon bits:the real bacon-like kind

Mix all together and store in fridge overnight!

Serve with chips or crackers.



Cucumber Sandwiches:

thinly sliced cucumbers

green onion and chive cream cheese

bread

Spread cream cheese on some bread,

top with cucumbers. The perfect summer sandwich

TATM Sandwiches:

shredded deli honey turkey

alfalfa sprouts

sliced tomato

mayo, not miracle whip!

Spread on mayo, top with other ingredients!

This is my favorite sandwich that I eat always,

the important part is mayo! :)

Strawberry-Pear Sangria:

2 BIG bottles of Arbor Mist Pinot Grigio wine, pear flavored

about half of a big bottle of Pucker's Strawberry Schnapps

2 cups of Dole Banana-Orange-Pineapple juice

1/2 cup sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water boiled)

sliced strawberries, lemons, and limes

Mix with ice and serve chilled.

This can be changed up in many different ways to your liking!

I hope you try out some of these recipes, they were all winners! :)

New Coffee Table: A Craigslist Journey

Hello, Cupcakes!

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I had a busy week and weekend, so I am spending this Sunday playing catch-up! I recently got a new coffee table, well on Friday, and I just had to share with you, the story.

I have always been a deal finder. I love saving money on quality items. I love love love thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales, you can find such great stuff at them. We don't have a great selection of thrift stores/flea markets around here...that I know of...and it is too cold to have a yard sale. So, when we finally decided we couldn't take it anymore and had to buy a coffee table, I started searching around for a steal. I looked in all stores that carried furniture, and online, and found nothing. I am pretty picky but I was willing to settle for a quality coffee table that I could later paint/stain to my liking if I wanted to.

We just needed one. We have such a big living room, and we had no where to put our feet up to ya know, truly relaxxx. So I thought I would look on Craigslist and give that a try. Although I have always been uneasy about dealing with people on there, maybe I would find a used one that has character but was sturdy...and hopefully not get murdered. I love to redo furniture, so I could fix just about anything up and make it pretty. While searching through many a pages on there I saw overpriced pieces of "you know what," beyond fixable-ugly-outdated furniture, and even someone trying to sell their body.

Somewhere amidst all that rubbish, I found a true gem. The post had pictures of beautiful farmhouse-style coffee tables and an in depth description, for once. It said something along the lines that he would custom make you a quality piece of furniture for a very reasonable price.
(the original post is here!)

This perked my interest of course! I emailed him immediately and we started on this awesome  2 week Craigslist journey. We talked over measurements and ideas and in the end I got a true piece of art. I would pay much more than I did for this coffee table. It is sturdy and lovely. I am mostly doing this post to get the word out about his work, people need to know that there are still true craftsmen out there that will take your ideas seriously and give you a quality piece of furniture.

The end result was fabulous and I have the pictures to prove it below:

I love it. I wanted rectangle, distressed, and unique, and that is just what I got. I am so excited to have it and hope that if you are in the area, you check out his work! Thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!