Lovin' From the Oven

Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting & a Giveaway

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Festive plate, don’t you think? I was actually busily snapping away when my mom came up to me, very excitedly may I add, going on about plates. Huh? I had no idea what she was talking about. She went to cupboard and pulled out these rooster plates. Apparently, she bought them just for me for the sole reason of taking blog pictures. Hahaha– My mom’s the best! And apparently a rooster lover? Who knew?

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Thank you so much for your kind comments and support about my previous post! It’s overwhelming— in a “I can’t believe it, I love you guys!” kind of way. Not only that, but we’ve also just hit 1,000 fans on the Lovin’ From the Oven Facebook page! wahooo!

One of my wonderful followers, Ashley, suggested on the FB page that we celebrate by giving everyone free baked goods by yours truly. As much as I would LOVE to do that if I could, there’s just no way I could do that physically or financially.
Then I got to thinking… well, although I can’t bake for everyone, why not three lucky winners, instead? Perfect!
So here it is, another giveaway to celebrate all the goodness that’s been going on. Just leave a comment on this post with your favorite baby name (boy or girl) and an email for me to reach you by 11:59 PM Pacific Time, Friday, October 15th, 2010. This giveaway is only for US residents since mailing cookies overseas isn’t the greatest idea. The winners will be picked via random.org.
You might be wondering why a baby name? Well, my DB’s sister just had her first boy earlier this week (after having two girls), so I’m in a baby mood! They’re just the sweetest little things.
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These bars are unbelievably moist and a hit at work. To me, they were a bit on the sweet side so I’d adjust the sugar next time I make them. The bars would have tasted fine without the frosting, but cream cheese frosting is my weakness. These bars are adapted from Betty Crocker.

  • 4 mashed very ripe bananas
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.
  2. Mash the bananas and then mix in the sugar, oil, and eggs.
  3. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Pour into the pan and bake, uncovered, about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  5. While the bars are cooling, make the frosting.
  • 5 oz cream cheese, at room temp
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla
  • 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
  1. Cream the cream cheese and butter together.
  2. Mix in the vanilla and powdered sugar (slowly).
  3. Spread on cooled bars.

Banana Bread with Walnut Streusel

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I just got back from Vegas, yet again, from a girls’ trip! This time, there was a lot more relaxing and plenty of shopping. We had no set schedule and rented a car so we didn’t have to walk five miles a day. The whole trip was a lot of fun, being able to hang out with my mom, her favorite sister, and my favorite cousin! My cousin and I were basically looking into a time capsule as we watched our moms interact. It was going to be us thirty years later.. and we couldn’t love it any more! I would be thrilled to even be half the woman my mom is.

Oh, this is my 200th post! HOORAY! Thank you to everyone for following along and pushing me through everything. I wouldn’t be here without you guys! I have a story to share with you all for my 200th post:

I went to Vegas with hopes of buying the Speedy 30 with strap monogram idylle limited edition in fusain (since I saw it two weeks ago) as a birthday present to myself, only to find out that it was sold out in ALL of Vegas! I was SO disappointed. I told my dearest boyfriend my story and asked him to make my day better. What did he do? He sent me this picture:


With the caption “It’s Bo!” (Bo is our dog, for reference). Of course, on my little phone screen, I had to squint to see what was next to Bo. I just about had a heart attack.. “Is that a Louis Vuitton bag I see?! He couldn’t have.. could he? He did?! What the heck is in the bag?! When did he get this?!” I had to show my mom to see if she saw the same thing I did. Yup, it was confirmed.. there’s a definitely a Louis bag in the picture. The more I asked him about it, the more he kept saying how I was crazy and how he had no idea what I was talking about.

I was seriously dying for the next 24 hours, waiting for my plane ride home. When I finally did come home, I had an hour left of my birthday and spent it with my boyfriend. That’s when he gave me this not so little brown bag. I sat myself down on his stairs and just held it. You guys might call be crazy, but I may or may not have cried a little bit from happiness. I untied the ribbon, pulled off the tape, and opened the box. What did I find? This!

The Monogram Speedy 30!!! I still cannot believe this just happened. This. Just. Happened. Apparently he went shopping by himself to the Louis store on Rodeo, only to see that they were sold out of all their Speedys. If you know him, you’d know that this was well out of his comfort zone. Since they didn’t have it at the store on Rodeo, he went to another store and picked up the last Speedy 30 they had there. He wanted to get me the Damier Azur Canvas one (He knew that that was the print I sold my old Speedy to buy), but since they were sold out, he took this one so he had something to give me in time for my bday. My bf told me I could exchange it for the Damier one if I wanted, it’d just take two weeks for me to get it. But of course, how could I give up something that my boyfriend picked up himself for me? I don’t have the heart to exchange it— I love it SO much.
So basically, I’ve just been dying in heaven ever since and in shock of how lucky I am to have such an amazing boyfriend. Seriously. Oh, and apparently there’s a Speedy shortage on all of the West coast, if you were curious. They sold all of their winter supply already and won’t be getting more til Christmas.
Well, that’s my little story. Sorry if I bored you, I just had to share! This beautiful bread is adapted from My Man’s Belly. Haha I just laughed out loud reading that sentence. Nothing comes from my man’s belly, everything just goes in it. So maybe it’s a little too late and I’m cracking myself up; it happens sometimes. Somehow, I have a list of three banana breads I turn to, and this one is one of them! Simplicity at its finest. No chocolate, no add-ins, just bread. I even made it three times in one week once; it’s that good!

Banana Bread Recipe

  • 2 2/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 12 Tablespoons (1 and a half sticks) Unsalted Butter
  • 2/3 Cup Sugar
  • 2/3 Cup Honey
  • 3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 2 Cup Bananas – Mashed (6 bananas)

Streusel Recipe

  • 1/2 Cup All purpose Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (packed)
  • 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

Banana Bread Recipe

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
  2. Butter and flour two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pans.
  3. In a medium bowl, blend together the first four ingredients.
  4. In a large bowl, beat on high speed, the butter; sugar; vanilla; and honey. Beat for 2 – 3 minutes or until light yellow in color and lighter in texture.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in thirds. Blend until combined (the texture will be grainy, like sand).
  6. Slowly add in the eggs and beat to combine.
  7. Fold in the bananas.
  8. Once thoroughly combined, pour into the buttered and floured loaf pans. Spread the batter evenly.

Streusel Recipe

  1. In a small bowl, add all ingredients.
  2. Blend with the back of a fork until a coarse crumb forms.
  3. Sprinkle the streusel topping on top of the banana bread.
  4. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  5. Let cool for 10 – 15 minutes before removing from the pan to further cool.

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Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

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I have a confession to make. I, Kim, am a TravelZoo addict. I don’t know if you’ve heard of this website before, but it’s basically deals on airfare & hotels.. kind of like expedia or travelocity. I spend hours browsing through the website imagining what my next destination will be. I’m currently eyeing a 3 night vacation to Hawaii in May and am SO tempted to book it. It’s such a steal! I’ve been there twice before, but my boyfriend has never been. I would book the vacation in a heartbeat– it’s just a matter of convincing the boy to go with me (he currently just got re-hired at Apple so asking for so much vacation already is kind of nonsensical). Well, I also don’t have all the money in the world and really should save it, so we’ll see.

In other news, my parents graciously gave me a two year membership to 24 Hour Fitness! Thank you Costco for having that package for $299. It comes out to $12.50 a month for a gym membership. Yeah, believe it!! I’ve never really worked out before, except for last summer when I became a gym rat (well, I really only went to swim laps), so having a gym membership is big news to me. My goals are to get toned. I know what you’re thinking.. how am I gonna fit that into my already busy schedule? I’m hoping to get up at 5:30 AM or so and be able to go to the gym before work. I’m really determined right now since it’s all brand new. Hopefully it stays that way!

This… is the most amazing banana bread. No nuts required! Although, you can add them if you prefer. You can even add chocolate chips! It’s very flavorful and moist with a bit of a slight crunch from the topping. If you’re a fan of cinnamon sugar, I’d highly recommend it! I already made it twice in a week. My dad just had oral surgery, which means he can’t really eat much. I made this for him to keep him from being bored to death eating solely mashed potatoes and soup. Make sure to use overly ripe bananas– it makes a difference! Recipe is adapted from Sandwich Hoss.

 

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Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Ingredients

    For the bread:
  • 3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • dash of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
    • For the swirl:
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbs cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and four a loaf pan. Mine was 9 x 5, but you could use any sort, I suppose. Just keep a close eye on it in the oven, and adjust the time as needed
  2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!
  3. In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.
  4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.
  5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, but remember, if you’re using a different-sized loaf pan, be careful and keep a close eyeball on it!
https://lovintheoven.com/cinnamon-swirl-banana-bread/

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