Eggless Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

So I wanted to make dessert today and needed to figure out what I could make with what I had on hand. I had three bananas* in the freezer (which kept falling out every other time I opened it), so I decided to make banana bread. But everything is better with chocolate, especially bananas (my roommate and I used to make banana-chocolate chip pancakes in college all the time, but I haven't had them in such a long time because of Jeffrey's strange and unfortunate aversion to bananas -- except in banana bread, because he doesn't think it tastes like bananas). Anyway, I found a recipe for chocolate chip banana bread and started making it before I realized I didn't have any eggs. So I used unsweetened applesauce as a substitute. I also used whole wheat flour for a third of the flour called for. Anyway, it came out so moist and delicious! In fact, by the end of the day there were only two slices left (and we would have probably eaten all of it if we hadn't eaten so very much for dinner).

*Note: I let the bananas thaw a bit, peeled them, chopped them up, then let them continue thawing. Some of the liquid separates when you have frozen the bananas, and I know a lot of people drain it, but I just mash it all up with the liquid because I figure it came from the banana and getting rid of it might affect the taste and texture.

Here is the recipe I based it on.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C white sugar

1/4 C unsweetened applesauce

1 T mayonnaise (I actually used the Kraft mayo with olive oil, because that's what we had on hand)

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 C all purpose flour

1/2 C whole wheat flour

1/4 t salt

1/2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9"x5" loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the applesauce, mayonnaise, and bananas. In a separate bowl, stir together the flours, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Blend the flour mixture into the banana mixture; stir just enough to evenly combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Bake at 350F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 75 minutes. Cool loaf in the pan for 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

St. Patrick's Day Granny Square

So I only had one skein of Caron Simply Soft in dark sage, and I really wanted to make something for St. Patrick's Day. So I decided to make a mini-afghan, or I guess you could call it a chair back. Anyway, I wanted to make something to drape over our beat-up, kind of yucky couch to make it pretty and festive. Anyway, the pattern for the squares is below. I hope it makes sense; I often write patterns in my own special short-hand, so it might have some confusing parts. I made 9 (the skein could have made 10, but I thought a 5x2 would look weird), then whip stitched them together. If you had two skeins of the green, you could definitely make 20 and do a 5x4, which might actually serve to keep someone warm. For the white, I used a big skein of baby sport weight, and just crocheted a little loosely. It would probably work better if you had the Caron brand of white, or at least a similar soft, acrylic worsted weight.

CLOVER SQUARES (the center is based off this pattern, but I made some adjustments)

Using an I (5.5mm) hook

1) w/ green MR8sc, slst
2)ch3, 2dc S, ch3, sk 1sc; {3dc in next, ch3, sk 1sc}3times, slst 3rd ch of beg ch3
3)ch3, dc S, dc, 2dc, {ch3, 2dc in next dc, dc, 2dc} 3 times, dc in 3rd ch of beg ch3
4) (slst, ch1, slst) around joining dc, sk sc, 5dc, slst, 5dc, sk sc { (slst, ch1, slst, ch1, slst) in ch3sp, sk sc, 5dc, slst, 5dc, sk sc} 3 times, (slst, ch1) around joining dc, insert hook in joining dc-sp, YO w/ white and complete slst
5)ch7, tr same sp, ch3, sc top 1st shell, ch3, sc 2nd shell, ch3, * (tr, ch3, tr) in ch3 sp, ch3, sc top 1st shell, ch3, sc top 2nd shell, ch3**; rep * to ** 2 more times; sl st in 4th ch of beg ch7
6)sl st into sp, ch3, (2dc, ch3, 3dc) in space, ch 1, {3dc in next ch3 sp, ch1} 3 times; * (3dc, ch3, 3dc) in corner sp, ch1, {3dc in next ch3 sp, ch1} 3 times**; rep * to ** 2 more times; sl st in 3rd ch of beg ch3
7)slst in next 2 dc and corner sp, ch3, (2dc, ch3, 3dc) in sp; work around square (3dc, ch1) in every ch1 sp, (3dc, ch3, 3dc, ch1) in every ch3/corner sp; slst 3rd ch of beg ch3
8)work as R7
9)slst in next 2 dc, insert hook in corner sp, YO w/ green, complete slst, work as R7 beginning with first ch3, FO

Headband Holder

I've been trying to organize things around the house and couldn't figure out what to do with the big pile of headbands spilling over the bathroom counters. I finally found this tutorial for a clever headband holder made out of an old can of oatmeal. So guess whose whole family had oatmeal for breakfast this morning. After clearing it out, I picked out some cute paper to wrap it.

 Forgive the sloppiness. In all my unpacking, I have yet to find my most important crafting supplies -- proper adhesive. But since I was impatient to make this, I went ahead and did it with packing tape (the only other alternative was duct tape, and that just wasn't the look I was going for). I figured it would mostly be covered with headbands anyway, and it's not like anybody will ever see it (except Jeffrey who would never notice something like tape anyway). I had just enough of that pink grosgrain ribbon to go around the bottom and the edge of the lid (I also cut out a circle of the solid pink paper to cover the top of the lid).

And in about half an hour, I had my brand new headband holder! I only put my most used headbands on (I would have put more if there was room!) and the rest of them I packed nicely into an old shoebox that tucks away at the back of a shelf in the bathroom. I hate wasted space, so I also put my clips, hair jewels, and hair sticks inside the container. And now it all fits on a shelf and is easily accessible!

Crocodile Stitch Purse

Oh my gosh! I love, love, love how this purse turned out! I used this pattern for the Crocodile Stitch Purse. I used an H hook with a soft acrylic worsted weight. I used the explanation for the crocodile stitch from this site because it didn't require me to watch a 30 minute video.

I lined it with some plum-colored satin that I had in my stash, and finished it off with a snap using my new KAM pliers!

Crochet Instructions (from pattern):


Rnd 1: ch 38, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 35 chs, 5 sc in last ch, working on opposite side of ch, sc in each of next 35 chs, 4 sc in last ch, join (see Pattern Note) in beg sc. (80 sc)

Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in each of first 37 sts, 3 sc in next st, sc in next st, 3 sc in next st, sc in each of next 37 sts, 3 sc in next st, sc in next st, 3 sc in last st, join in beg sc. (88 sc)

Rnd 3: Ch 1, sc in each of first 38 sts, 3 sc in next st, sc in each of next 3 sts, 3 sc in next st, sc in each of next 39 sts, 3 sc in next st, sc in each of next 3 sts, 3 sc in next st, sc in last st, join in beg sc. (96 sc)

Rnd 4 start crocodile stitch ch 1, dc in same st, ch 1, sk 2 sts, *2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip 2 sc, dc in next st, ch 1*, repeat to end, ch 1

Rnd 5: Without turning work over turn your work 90 degrees *5 dc around post in second dc, Flip work around and put 5 dc around post of other dc, Sl st around single dc*; repeat * to end

Next round: ch 1, put 2 dc in each single dc and 1 dc in space between 2 dc

Make 9 rows of crocodile st (and 9 rows of dc)

Sc in each crocodile st (6 sc) - you will have 96 sc in this row
Do 2 more rows of sc
Fasten off

Straps (make 2)
Chain 101 sts, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each chain to end (100 sc), ch 1, turn
Row 2: SC in each st, ch 1, turn (100 sc)
Row 3 and 4: Repeat Row 2
Sl stitch down both sides and sew strap to purse
Cut lining to fit inside and sew lining in to the purse.

Ranch Chicken

Forgot to take a picture... but we'll be making it again soon because it was so yummy! The chicken was moist and flavorful, and the breading was the perfect combination of flavor and crispiness. This was a combined effort, with Jeffrey's great idea and my know-how in the kitchen.

INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken breasts (4-6oz each)
1/3 C ranch dressing
1 egg
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1/4 C parmesan
3/4 C bisquick

PREPARATION:
1. Place chicken breast in good-sealing ziplock (or between two pieces of plastic wrap) and pound to 1/2-inch thickness. Repeat for each piece of chicken. Marinate chicken in ranch dressing for a couple hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a 9"x13" baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. In a shallow dish, beat egg. In another shallow dish, combine ranch mix, parmesan, and bisquick.
3. Coat chicken in bisquick mix, dip in egg, then coat in biscquick mix again; place in baking dish. Repeat for remaining chicken. Bake 20 minutes; turn and return to oven for 10 minutes.

*Note: This technically serves 4 people (we had mashed potatoes and salad with it), but if you're cooking for someone like my husband, you might want to make extra. He was so disappointed that he only got one piece!

Lemon-Apricot Chicken

Not sure why the picture got turned, but here it is. I used this recipe, but just used normal Bisquick and an egg instead of the water/egg white combination. It came out sooo good!

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken:
1 egg
1/2 C Bisquick
1 1/2 t grated lemon peel
1/8 t garlic powder
1/2 lb chicken breast

Sauce:
1/3 C apricot preserves
1 T lemon juice
1/4 t soy sauce
1/8 t ground ginger

PREPARATION:
1. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In shallow dish, beat egg product and water slightly. In another shallow dish, stir together Bisquick® mix, lemon peel and garlic powder. Flatten chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper to 1/2-inch thickness.


2. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then coat with Bisquick mixture. Place in pan. Spray chicken with cooking spray.


3. Bake uncovered 20 minutes. Turn; bake 10 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink in center.


4. In small microwavable bowl, stir together all Lemon-Apricot Sauce ingredients. Microwave on High 1 minute; stir. Cut chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Pour sauce over chicken. Garnish with lemon slices.

Cupcake Bag

I made this for my little sister's 6th birthday. Here's the pattern: Cupcake Bag Crochet Pattern. Instead of the dots and hearts, I just repeated the scalloped pattern with different colors. I stitched down the bottom of each scallop so that it would rest flat.