What do you do with those yucky bananas???

My mother is so sweet, she comes every Wednesday to watch Ellie so that I can catch up on orders. Every time she comes she brings Ellie a bunch of bananas. Ellie LOVES bananas, but I always seem to have one or two left the following week and my mom ALWAYS comes with more. So I decided to mash them up and try to make something other than banana bread. I looked through a few recipes and one from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook caught my eye, but I didn't have oat bran nor did I have enough honey...so here is what I did, believe it or not, they came out great! I just had to share...

Makes 12 Banana Oat Muffins

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 cups of Quaker oats ground in a food processor

1 cup of all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1 egg, lightly beaten

About 2 1/2 or 3 whole RIPE bananas mashed

1/2 cup of fat-free milk

1/8 cup of pure maple syrup (I'm a sucker for the Vermont maple syrup)

1/8 cup of honey

2 tablespoons of veggie oil

and a hand full of chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly spray a muffin tin with the baking spray with flour.

In a bowl, stir together the oats you ground in your food processor(see picture), flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda and set aside.

In another bowl, stir together the egg, banana, milk, maple syrup, honey and oil.

Then add it to your flour mixture, just until moist, it will be lumpy and thick kind of like a cookie batter, fold in your chocolate chips (see picture).

Divide into your muffin tin and bake for 12-15 ,minutes...take it out when the tops are golden brown and a knife our toothpick comes out clean.

YUMMY!!! You have a fun healthy breakfast or brunch muffin. Ellie and Gene could not get enough of them, and neither could my neighbor!!

I hope you like them too!!!

My sick little girl…

We made it almost 15 months before she got sick, poor little thing. I must say though with her cute little red cheeks and her runny nose I gave her whatever she wanted today, and so did Daisy (the dog)! She gave me all I wanted today too, lots of snuggles, attempted smiles behind the teary eyes and she even fell asleep in my arms, that hasn't happened for months. I didn't want to put her down, it was so yummy! Of course I want her to feel better, but there is something really sweet and endearing about a sick child.

Boutique Burp Cloths

I’m working hard on getting The Ellie Rose website full of inventory, I have so much made as I stock up for craft shows. It was such a beautiful day to be outside taking pictures so I decided today was my day, however I had to snap the shots quick before either the wind or Ellie carried away the burp cloths…

The world really is a beautiful place...

Now that the sun is shining and I can feel the warm air after this LONG winter, I'm ready to share through a blog. I hope to share my inspirations, they may be my family, an awesome new fabric, a new design for http://www.theellierose.com/, a great recipe, and a budding wildflower or whatever comes to mind.

I find so much inspiration through nature, and I'm finding that my almost 15 month old daughter does too. I took Ellie to Warwick State Park yesterday, she just loves to be outside, and I love to watch as she discovers new things, such as a pine cone or a violet, the small things that most people walk right by are amazing to her. The eyes of a child remind us to take in every moment. The world really is a beautiful place.