Blueberry Banana Bread

Servings: 12 slices

 

15 minutesPrep Time

45 minutesCook Time

1 hourTotal Time

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups blueberries
• INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a large bowl and hand-held mixer), cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Beat in vanilla extract. Mash ripe bananas and add to mixture, mixing until combined.

  3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined. Slowly add flour mixture to banana mixture until just combined. Don’t over-mix.

  4. Toss blueberries in a coating of flour and stir gently into the batter.

  5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan (greased or lined with parchment paper). Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Ovens vary so watch carefully.

  6. Allow to cool and enjoy!

   

  Nutrition Facts

  Amount Per Serving

  Calories 239  Calories from Fat 72

  % Daily Value*

  Total Fat 8g 12%

  Saturated Fat 5g 25%

  Cholesterol 47mg 16%

  Sodium 267mg 11%

  Potassium 89mg 3%

  Total Carbohydrates 37g 12%

  Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

  Sugars 19g

  Protein 3g6 %

  Vitamin A 5.9%

  Vitamin C 3.6%

  Calcium 2.6%

  Iron 6.7%

  * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Hello 2019

 

It’s a new year which means a new chance for changes in your life. I don’t always set them on the first of the year as that is such an arbitrary day to do it, but it is good to sit down and intentionally think about how you want the next week, month, and year to go. It’s so easy to just live day to day and not really think too much about how we live our lives. Last year I wanted to say ‘no’ more, live simply, and focus on the new baby.

1. READ MORE BOOKS. This last year has really been different with a baby in the house. Gone are the days when I could just sit and spend an afternoon reading. More planning needs to happen for me to make it through a book now and I have to find a few minutes here and there to get through a book. I’ve gotten into a rut of reading ‘fluff’ books; books that are easy beach reads which don’t take too much thought or effort of mind while reading. I want to read more intentionally this year focusing on books that make me think or pull at my heart strings.
2. A SIMPLE LIFE. This intention covers a few different things. I want to focus less on material possessions and cost of items, making our home a simple, clean, relaxing place to be and come home to. The last few years I have been switching over to more natural products and reusable items which has gone pretty well I think. My husband is mostly on board, at least enough that he puts up with it, although he does bemoan the loss of paper towels in the house every once in a while. Every change I have made has been so natural and easy and when I see people who still use so much chemicals and throw away items I can’t even imagine.
3. FITNESS AND HEALTH. I feel like a whale right now being 8 months pregnant which I know will go away once the new baby arrives, but I really want to be intentional about it this year. Nursing will help in the first few months as will daily walks. With Jackson I was able to get back to my pre pregnancy weight pretty quick, but I never really got any muscle tone or really ‘in shape’ after. I want to make that more of a priority this time around. Not so much because I want a perfect figure, but I do want to be healthy, in shape, and the longer you put it off after having a baby, the harder it is to do.
4. BLOG. I have tried doing one off and on for the last few years but have never really been focused on it. I would have spurts of creativity and would spend a lot of time on it, but then would forget it for months. I want to really try and get a good blog going.

Hello October…

Oatmeal. Cinnamon. Cozy Sweaters. Salted Caramel Lattes. Crisp air. Apples. Pumpkins. Blankets. I can’t believe it’s already October. It feels like its still summer in some ways, although that might be because I am living in El Paso and it is still 90 degrees in the afternoons. This morning was one of the first days it was actually a little cool in the morning on my walk with Jackson. Constant warm weather is nice, but there are days when I miss having a little bit of crispness and clouds in the air.

Goals for October:

1. Walk/Workout at least 4 times a week.
2. Read a full book that is on my to read shelf.
3. Finish the dining room table (restaining and painting)
4. Drink enough water every day
5. Write down 10 things you are grateful for each day

 

Homemade Chicken Stock

Chicken stock is an extremely useful thing to have for home cooking, for soups and other dishes as well. This versatile kitchen staple is great to have in large quantities in the freezer so it can be on hand when needed. The best chicken stock is flavorful and fresh tasting allowing it to complement and enhance dishes you make. Homemade Chicken stock is a lot more flavorful that store bought and uses a lot less sodium.

STOCK VS BROTH

Stock has more body from the collagen extracted from the bones over a much longer cooking period.

Broth has more flavor. Even if you are using bones with meat on them, a shorter cooking time means more of a broth instead of a stock. The flavor is taken out of the chicken, but there is not enough time for all the nutrients to come out all the way.

To make a broth one would use a rather quick cooking time in which the meat and bones are simmered for up to two hours in total whereas a stock would be cooked to the point where the bones begin to disappear and a thick gelatin is extracted.

Bone broth is the point beyond stock when the bones are cooked beyond 24 hours and all the collagen and nutrients are extracted.

TIPS FOR MAKING BROTH/STOCK

1. Chicken backs and chicken necks are great for making broth and stock. I often use the bones and leftover pieces from a rotisserie chicken we get every once in awhile.
2. Different Chicken Parts Have slightly Different Flavors. Mixing different chicken parts or using leftovers from a whole chicken are best.
3. Do not add organs to the pot, as they will make your broth bitter.
4. Start your broth with COLD water, bringing the heat up SLOWLY.
5. Use salt from the beginning, but carefully, as stock concentrates, so does the salt..
6. Never boil your broth (it will turn cloudy); only bring to a simmer.
7. Never pour your broth when straining; ladle to avoid bottom sediment.

 

STORAGE:

Freeze for up to 3 months.

 

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• Bones and leftovers from 1-2 chickens
• 4 quarts cold water
• Bay leaf, parsley, Thyme to taste (If I use an herbed rotisserie chicken I dont add any additional spices)
• 1½ cups carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1½ cups onions
• 1 cup celery
• Sea salt, pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place chicken pieces, celery, onion, and carrot in large stock pot, with just enough cold water to cover by about an inch. Put on a low heat, bringing to a simmer very slowly. Do not allow to boil.
2. Continue to simmer for 40 minutes. If broth is too light for your taste, you can concentrate by cooking longer remaining at a very low temperature.
3. This is where broth become stock, highly concentrated in body.
4. If you want bone broth, transfer on low to a crock pot and continue to cook for the next 12 hours, up to 24 hours until the bones begin to almost disappear.
5. When using chicken necks, you will see more collagen and get that jelly like substance that covers the broth.
6. Once you are finished simmering, allow to sit for 10 minutes before straining.
7. Strain out all bones and vegetables. Discard.
8. Store in refrigerator no longer than 3 days. Store in freezer up to three months.

NOTES

Bone Broth: Continue cooking on a very low simmer for 24 hours until the bones nearly disappear.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton