Below you will find something good to start off another week of Quarantine...
I hope!
Joanna Gaines' Banana Bread
You will need the following:
Nonstick baking spray, for the pan
8 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled, plus softened butter for serving
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 to 5 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar as needed
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 x 8-inch pan with nonstick baking spray or line it with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add the bananas and mix until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat just until combined. Add the pecans (if using) and mix until combined.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the sugar over the top. I like to cover the whole surface completely with sugar; use as much as you’d like.
5. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the bread cool slightly in the pan on a rack. Slice and serve warm with butter.
6. When completely cooled, cover the pan with foil and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.
JOANNA'S TIP - I have a friend who replaces the pecans with a cup of chocolate chips, and she has declared her variation heavenly.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I love many kinds of bread, and this one is now on THAT LIST!
My Favorite Things RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE - Roxie and I love us some SGN (Some Good News). John Krasinski (from Office fame) does a weekly YouTube show from his home and highlights any and all "good news" stories he can find on social media, regular media, etc. He also has famous friends on the show for interviews and/or cameos. It's 20 minutes of sweet stuff, and I think you might like to watch it if you haven't already started.
Nana B Stuff
Let's Have a Ball
Okay. This particular set-up is for RT. He likes to kick, so this amount of balloons (big and small) and balls (also, big and small) are the perfect number on the deck for his personal ball pit. We move the furniture out of the way, and he has a very good time for 15 to 25 minutes.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - Not shown in this picture are two large empty boxes in a different corner of the deck.
One high and one low.
He throws and kicks and bounces as many of the balls and balloons into the boxes as he can...
Empties the boxes, reloads and does it again and again.
The set-up is a little different for Judith. She likes keeping the balloons in the air, so I add anywhere from five to ten more balloons, and I turn on the fans.
Little Eden likes to sit in the big box with about 75 of the smaller balls. She throws them out. We pick them up and put them back. (Balloons are not a good thing for this season of Eden's life, so we keep her off the deck when things are specifically for RT and/or Judith.)
She doesn't like it, but hopefully by the time she turns two she will have no memory of how angry Nana used to make her when I put the balloons away!
Let's Watch a REAL Movie
When my three kids were growing up, we would have Movie Theme Nights which included a new-to-everyone movie, theme food and perhaps some costumes.
We rented the new Trolls World Tour movie last week. (Don't ask me any technical questions. I don't understand how anything works since Blockbuster left the face of the planet. It's very frustrating when I'm home alone.)
But I digress.
Roxie took it upon herself to order the vivid pink hairspray.
Mikie found the Limited Edition Trolls World Tour Oreos.
I found some old Trolls Bandaids, and wore these on various parts of my body as tatoos…
But the kids (meaning Judith) kept asking why I had so many boo-boos, so eventually I took them off.
These Oreos were awesome.
I was originally an Oreo purist, meaning I didn't put any kind of Oreo in my mouth except for the original and the Double Stuff...
But these are seriously special!
Green filling with glitter AND Pop Rocks Candy!
Genius!
Let's Kinda Go Fishin'
RT loves to get in the boat...
Not only when it is on the water, but also when it is in the driveway...
On the trailer.
With his trusty Spiderman rod and reel, he practices casting from the front of the boat...
The middle of the boat...
And the back of the boat.
He casts his line into the baby pools, the bed of Pop's old pick-up truck and the top of two nearby trees.
It makes him happy.
And just so you know, it makes me happy, too.
RANDOMNESS #1 - A Little List Concerning Quarantine - If Pre-Quarantine Belinda was making this List, it would have 250 items on it...
Or more!
Heavy sigh.
Pre-Quarantine Belinda is becoming a fuzzy, blurry, faded memory.
1. When I recently realized I hadn't worn makeup in five weeks, I quickly started doing that again.
And when I say "I realized I hadn't worn makeup," I mean yesterday.
So that's two days I've worn makeup now, and I'm considering NOT wearing it tomorrow just to give my face a break.
2. I am cooking dinner about four nights a week. The other nights we eat leftovers OR we go somewhere to stimulate the economy. (Chick-Fil-A and Chicken Salad Chick have been our favorites thus far.)
3. Mike goes to the grocery store once a week, and I pick up the one, two or three things we may need in between at Witt's Market, a grocery store or a Dollar General that doesn't have a lot of cars in the parking lot.
4. Mike and I have ZOOMED with our Bible Study Group two times.
I really don't understand the ZOOM, and I'm not convinced anyone has ever really heard what I'm saying. However, Mike has finally found a way to get the computer (where ZOOM takes place) higher than my chin...
Which as we all know, is critical!
5. Roxie and I started binge-watching Friday Night Lights at the beginning of the Quarantine, and I am dreadfully sorry to report we finished it yesterday...
And both of us are feeling sadder than sad AND bluer than blue it has come to an end.
RANDOMNESS #2 - Grandtot Catch Up
I asked this one to turn around for a quick pic and she struck a pose...
And now I think I know what she's going to look like when she's 17 or 18.
I think this one will be able to help support me and Pop nicely with all of his winnings from Bassmaster Tournaments.
This one doesn't care who or what holds her as long as food is forthcoming.
This one is getting bigger and better with each passing day. Sweet, little girl!
I hope you and yours are doing well during this unprecedented time in our country. I am praying we can all get "back to normal" very, very soon.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
How is social distancing going? Yesterday I took a nap so I would stop eating.
Yesterday my husband thought he saw a cockroach in the kitchen. He sprayed everything down and cleaned thoroughly. Today I'm putting the fake cockroach in the bathroom!
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