Who KNEW doing a wedding gift registry would take more than 2 hours! My idea of making homemade lean ground beef minestrone soup today was kicked to the curb after spending 2 1/2 hours inside of Bed, Bath, and Beyond! I'm so not complaining, because we had a blast, but WOW! I will say I was slightly thrown off when the Wedding Registry Sales Associate escorted us around the store the entire time, and even held onto the scanny-gun thing. I know Shaun was disappointed because on the way there, I surely told him I'd let him have full control of it! ha!
We didn't even finish the entire store... we stopped when we got to bedding because not only was my tummy grumbling for some nurishment, but I could tell Shaun was done. To be honest, I was done too. I didn't have the best shoes on and my feet were starting to hurt!
So, what exactly did we register for? Well, some of our favorites include:
Oh yes, a Keurig Special Edition B60 Gourmet Single Serve Coffee Maker!
KitchenAid® 5-Quart Artisan™ Stand Mixer... my dream!!!
Ha, you know I'm in the kitchen a lot when I get excited about storage containers!
There's tons of other things we registered for, but those are some of the ones I'm most excited about! :) We plan on registering somewhere else too, but we're not sure where. All I know is, it won't be at Target. I've heard some bad things about Target's Registry! Any suggestions? :)
While being at Bed, Bath, and Beyond took HOURS, I did get some other things accomplished today. I baked a loaf of Oatmeal Banana Bread this morning that was good. I say that with reservation because over the holidays, I sampled some *outstanding* banana bread that one of my mom's students parents baked for her, and that was so much better than mine.... probably because it included a gluttonous amount of sugar and butter/oil. But, for being a healthy recipe, mine was good.
First you'll want to get out the ingredients!
I know, the bananas look grossly over-ripened! :)
In a bowl, combine all the wet ingredients - mashed bananas (I used 3 small ones that just so happened to equal to one cup), unsweetened applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla extract.
Stir together until it's mixed thoroughly.
Now you'll need to put the dry ingredients into a separate bowl. You'll need whole wheat flour, oatmeal (I used the Quaker Multigrain), baking powder, walnuts, and cinnamon). After I combined everything, I gave it a stir to make sure it was all mixed together.
You don't have to add cinnamon, but I think it gives it a good flavor.
Let's talk walnuts. If you're like me, chopping walnuts seems like a waste of time when you can get a bag of "walnut topping" from the store. Surely it costs a little bit more, but to me, it's worth it!
I measured 1/4 cup...next time I'll add more!
When you're done mixing the dry ingredients, it's time to add them to the wet ingredients. Add the flour mixture slowly to make sure that everything blends together. I did this with a large spoon and when I was finished, I pulled out my hand mixer and gave it a few spins.
Looks delicious!
Throw the batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan (next time I think I'd use a 8x4) and put in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, pull it out and insert a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it's done! Oh, I topped mine with more cinnamon and more walnuts... just eyeball it!
It didn't rise too much... I blame my expired baking powder.
It's very dense because of the whole wheat flour and oatmeal!
Now, since there's no sugar in this baby, it's not sweet. I topped mine with some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Tomorrow morning I have every intention of lathering on a layer of peanut butter! I'm sure it'll be wonderous! Enjoy! :)
Oatmeal Banana Bread Loaf
3 totally overly ripened bananas (smallish-medium)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cups of oatmeal (I used multigrain)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (if you want to make it sweet, you could use sweetened applesauce)
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (I would add more next time)
1. Mash bananas. Add wet ingredients and stir.
2. In separate bowl, add the dry ingredients, including the walnuts. Mix well.
3. Gradually add flour mixture. Be sure it is mixed well. Use handheld mixer to ensure all ingredients are evenly combined.
4. Pour batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Top with extra walnuts and cinnamon.
5. Put in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.
6. After 20 minutes, check to see if it's done - if a toothpick comes out clean, you're good to go!
7. Cool for 5 minutes in loaf pan. After 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack.
8. Enjoy! I couldn't wait to cut into mine, so I didn't wait long!
Suggested toppings: Butter, Peanut Butter, even jam! :)
Wow, this was a lengthy post! I'm off now to relax... which I guess involves watching the Detroit/Saints football game since Matty has taken over control of the remote! Perhaps I'll just spend the rest of the night "pinning" ideas on Pinterest! ;)
Sweet Hugs,
Lauren
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