A Couple of Shout Outs!

Oh yes, busy as ever around here.... pink eye and ear infections top the list for this week! ;P But before April slips by with the least amount of posts ever, I thought I'd give a shout out to a couple of gals...

First one is for the infamous Teresa McFayden... Oh, a few posts ago on her blog, she posted a "new" kind of Chicken and Rice Casserole recipe. I thought it sounded different, and the ingredients sounded all yummy to me, AND I hadn't fixed chicken and rice casserole in a l-o-o-o-n-g time. So I thought I'd give it a try. Holy CHICKEN AND RICE! Let me just say, it's by far, hands down, THE BEST chicken and rice casserole EVER!!! You simply must try it sometime. Go HERE for the recipe. Mmmmm..... good. Thank you, T!

For the next one, I want to give a shout out for a new bloggin' friend, Celita. She is a part of the Christian Paper Artists group I belong to. She is celebrating her 1 Year Paper-Cutting Art, and is hosting a little give-away on her BLOG, "Days Ease" to celebrate. Go check it out, she is quite the paper-cutting artist! I love her creativity in the themes of her art. Simply amazing and fascinating!

So there ya go. I haven't been very crafty lately... too many outside things going on at this time of year, as well as another (part-time) job. Paper Cowgirl is right around the corner though.... so there's bound to be some "Rootin' Tootin' Cowgirl Fun" involved!
Stay tuned....

And The Winner Is....

Did you think I forgot? Let me tell ya~ yesterday was a bummer... ( I kinda think I like being unplugged!)
First, McKenna woke up with, well, let's just say her diaper exploded (she never goes THAT early in the morning?)... So, it was a bath, changing of the sheets, laundry and such to start the day! Then, Blogger would not publish my post for whatever reason, and my computer decided to have a "hay day" and keep freezing up on me.... Thankfully no crash, but I finally gave up, and decided it wasn't meant to be... I finished the laundry, went through mail, and baked some banana bread instead... Speaking of which, I simply must share with you the best banana bread recipe eva! It's from Martha Stewart (go figure). ;) There are some really great baking recipes in her book.

BANANA-NUT BREAD

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups ripe mashed banana (about 3 medium)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (opt) (try chocolate chips!)
1 cup (about 4 ounces) walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped (opt)
1/2 cup buttermilk

Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat two 9x5 inch loaf pans with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

With an electric mixer (using the paddle attachment), beat the eggs, sugar, and vegetable oil on medium-low speed until combined. Beat in the flour mixture. Add the vanilla, banana, buttermilk, coconut and nuts (if desired), and beat just to combine.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans; smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 60-65 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and let cool completely. Bread can be kept at room temperature, wrapped well, in plastic, for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months.

**Makes two 9x5 inch loaves or 6 mini loaves (Reduce baking time to 45 minutes if using mini loaf pans)

I had never had coconut in banana bread before, it sounded strange, but we tried it and even the kids liked it! YUM! I hope you give it a try!


NOW.... what youv'e been waiting for, right? The winner (who's name was randomly chosen) is:

TARA! (CoNgRAtuLaTiOnS!)

Let me know your information, and I'll get your surprise off to ya! I will post a picture of your surprise later (my husband took the camera to New York and I didn't think of taking a picture) Doh! Thank you all for your comments and a fun unplugged day (week, in Tara's case)!
Do come back and "see" me again!
HUGS! ;)

(Update 3/2/08): Finally! Here's what coming to you in the mail, Tara! Hope you enjoy it! ;)
An Easter ornament and 12 springtime tags to use for gift-giving, scrapbooking, projects or whatever!