Lovin' From the Oven

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread made with Greek Yogurt

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I don’t remember if I told you guys, but I took a little time off work this month and next. I was originally planning on doing some traveling, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to go anywhere too far since my DB has a pretty strict school schedule. Can he be a 3L already so we can travel?

It’s okay, though. I’ve been able to get a lot of Ebaying done. I haven’t Ebayed in months because it’s so time consuming and I’m away from home a lot, but now’s the perfect time to get all of it done.

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Not only that, but now I have time to do things that I didn’t have time to before. I can try new things in the kitchen: working with yeast, cooking fish, and my favorite.. making ice cream! My DB’s mom gave me an ice cream maker and I’ve already started brainstorming all the possibilities. I’m currently freezing my bowl now so that I can use it in the machine tomorrow.

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You guys will be the first to know on how my first ice cream attempt turns out. Do you have any tried and true recipes that I can add to my list? I have no experience whatsoever when it comes to making ice cream. Actually, I take that back. I think I might have made it in first grade classroom with a ziploc bag and some salt and ice, but that’s a little different.

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But banana bread– that’s something I’m used to and have made plenty of times in my life. There are always brown bananas on my counter that are waiting to be used up. If I can’t use them in before they turn to complete mush, I’ll peel, slice, and freeze them to use in smoothies at another time. That way, no banana goes to waste.

This recipe uses greek yogurt to get that moisture everyone craves instead of the usual oil. To me, this bread wasn’t anything special. It was definitely moist, though. It didn’t rise as much as I would have liked and was a little too dense. I’ll have to experiment baking with greek yogurt more often. Maybe I’ll add that to my list for this month, too…

From No Sugar Sweet Life

Oh yeah, I got a little fancy (thanks to WordPress)! Now you can print and save recipes from my blog. Hope that helps some of you out!

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread made with Greek Yogurt

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 1⁄2 cup plus 3 tablespoons Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1⁄2 cup Brown Sugar (or 1/4 cup agave nectar)
  • 1⁄2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips
  • 2 Ripe Bananas, smashed
  • 1 Egg
  • 3⁄4 cups Greek Yogurt (I used Chobani)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large loaf pan.
  2. Mix together bananas, egg, greek yogurt, vanilla, and sugar.
  3. Gradually stir in the pastry flour, baking powder, and salt. Add in the chocolate chips.
  4. Evenly pour the batter into the pan about 3/4 full. Bake for 45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before removing and cutting.
https://lovintheoven.com/chocolate-chip-banana-bread-made-with-greek-yogurt/

Puppy Chow Brownies

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I was just at Lake Tahoe this past weekend with my family and DB, and it’s crazy to think how much of a different lifestyle it is. I only live about three hours away from Tahoe, but the amount of snow they get is incredible.

I’ve lived in Southern California for 24 years of my life, so I have no idea what it means to wake up early to de-ice your windshield, shovel the driveway, or put on chains.

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The closest experience in SoCal that I ever got to snow was hail. Let me tell you, those things are definitely not the same. Instead of little snow flurries nestling upon your nose, you get mini cue balls aiming for your eyeballs and denting your cars.

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I used to think that I’d love to retire to Lake Tahoe when I’m older, but this past weekend made me change my mind. I’m terrified of driving on a road where one side says “Caution for falling rocks” and the other side says “Caution for 4000 feet cliff.” That’s pretty much the only way to get in and out of Tahoe, too.

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Not only that, but snow makes everything so dang dirty. Sure, it looks pretty when it’s freshly fallen, but after a couple of days with no snow, everything turns black and runny.

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Snow gets everywhere— your house, your car, your shoes. Once it melts, you’ve got water everywhere. It’s truly a pain to deal with.

All in all, I still love going to Tahoe for a week or two out of the year. Nothing beats the view, the people, and the experience. Just as long as I’m not stuck there, I’m a happy camper.

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The best part about snow is having lots of desserts to enjoy the serenity. These brownies would go great with a cup of hot cocoa, cause you know, you can never have enough chocolate.

I thought the cereal would get soggy from baking, but the puppy chow pretty much kept its consistency. The brownies have a nice fudgy texture and create a wonderful base for the puppy chow. Don’t skimp on the powdered sugar; it completes the look and the taste. These brownies are another winner in my book and I’ll be making them again throughout the year.

Recipe From Sugar Plum and makes about 16 brownies.

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Puppy Chow Brownies

Yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided use
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter + 2 tablespoons
  • 2 cups rice chex cereal
  • Confectioners' sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8x8 pan.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, completely melt the butter. Add in the sugar, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil.
  3. Remove pan from heat and stir in 1 cup chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Beat together eggs and chocolate-butter mixture for 8 minutes, or until well combined and doubled in volume.
  5. Turn the mixer speed to low and carefully mix in baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.
  6. Add in flour and 1/2 cup chocolate chips until just combined. Evenly spread batter in pan.
  7. Using a butter knife, swirl 3 tablespoons peanut butter through batter. Bake 10 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, prepare the puppy chow: Melt together the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons peanut butter in a saucepan over low heat.
  9. Once that is completely melted and smooth, carefully fold in cereal until well coated.
  10. Place cereal on top of brownies. Lightly cover pan with foil.
  11. Put the pan back into the oven for an additional 20 minutes, or until well risen and set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
https://lovintheoven.com/puppy-chow-brownies/

Day 12: Oreo Pudding Cookies

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Day 12 of my 12 days of cookies: Oreo Pudding Cookies. We have reached the end of the list! I figured I’d get my last post up today because the next couple of days are going to be a crazy whirlwind for me. I even prepped all the dough already last night, since I know I won’t have any time to today or tomorrow.

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So far, I’ve made seven different types of dough. I’m still pondering if that’s enough. That’s the motherly instinct inside me. Will 20 dozen cookies feed four families? I must seem crazy.. right?!

Christmas is the only holiday of the year that I’ll actually take requests from my DB’s cousins. The rest of the year, they get whatever I end up baking. For Christmas, I’ll give them their plain ol’ chocolate chip cookies and their white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Gosh, I’m so mean…. but I can’t make the same cookies all the time! I can’t post recipes of the same cookie over and over on my blog. I’d win the award for the worst blog ever.

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But in all seriousness, I hope you spend the holidays with your loved ones, regardless of what cookie you’re eating. That’s why I’m signing off until after Christmas. I need to soak in my time of being at home with my family!

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So, from the bottom of my heart, happy holidays! Thanks for following my 12 days of cookies this year. Be safe, stay warm, and keep your bellies full!

These cookies are from The Girl Who Ate Everything and make about two dozen. The pudding in the mix makes these cookies like every other pudding cookie— they melt in your mouth.

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Day 12: Oreo Pudding Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla.
  3. Slowly stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add in the cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips until just combined.
  4. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for a little bit before removing them onto a cooling rack.
https://lovintheoven.com/day-12-oreo-pudding-cookies/

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