Sort of a Recipe for Banana Cupcakes

I whipped up some banana cupcakes the other day. I usually just make banana bread with my ripe bananas, but I wanted something a little different.


Here is the recipe I used:

Banana Cake


1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1C (3medium) ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/2 C sour milk

2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla


I didn't follow the directions, so I'll just tell you what I did. I wanted a light cake and the directions said to separate the eggs and whip them first. Ha! Too much work.

I creamed my butter and sugar, then I added the eggs and beat the heck out of it.Then I added the bananas and whipped it until it was fluffy like whipped cream. (this was pretty fun!) Then I added all the rest of the stuff, but not the milk. I always do that last in case I don't need it all. I got a little worried because I am too lazy to mix all my dry in a different bowl and add slowly so I had dumped it all into a big heap on top of the batter and the baking soda reacted to the vanilla. There may have been a mini volcano-like effect in the batter bowl, but who can say?
Then I added in the sour milk and beat it all up for a good 2 minutes or more till it was creamy and fluffy.

Bake @ 350 till it's done. I really don't remember how long.



Aren't I a great recipe writer? 


What's that you say? I should stick to mixes?


LOL



For the frosting, I chose a Maple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese. (it was so good I had to capitalize it!) I don't usually use recipes for my frosting because I am the kind of baker who tastes and adjusts as she goes. But for the sake of sharing, here is what I did, roughly:

4oz cream cheese softened in the micro, but not melted
1/2 tsp maple flavoring
about 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 C powdered sugar

Normally I would have added more powdered sugar and splashed in some milk until it was the right consistency but I didn't need much since didn't frost the entire batch. I just added the powdered sugar until it was thick enough to pipe on. This makes for a very rich, very hard-to-resist frosting. The left-overs are awesome on graham crackers...or sucked straight from the piping bag (not that I would know anything about that, mind you.)



I hope you like them.

My kids told me to knock it off with the frosting, by the way, so I am going to have to come up with a new way to make my cupcakes "pretty" without making everyone sick. (not that I mind eating the extras)


What do you use? Do people eat it or pick it off?


Oh well! My father told me I can't please all the people all the time. He was right.

How to Make a Recycled Headband Holder

My daughter loves headbands. One thing I noticed as soon as she started collecting them was that they are hard to store. I tried tossing them in a drawer, but they got tangled up. I tried stacking them on the dresser but they got knocked over. I thought about hanging them on the wall, but I just wasn't happy with that solution either. So I put my thinking cap on and came up with this:

A can of oatmeal is the perfect size! Here are the steps I took. I apologize for not having pictures of each step, but this was SO simple, I know you can do it too!

1) empty out oats. ;)

2) Spray paint can lightly inside and out to increase durability.

3) I used two 12x12 scrapbook pages and Mod Podge to cover mine. (you wouldn't have to)

I just folded the paper over the bottom edges and glued it down to make the bottom smooth. It is not perfect since the seam of the can shows through, but you will never notice it because soon it will look like this:

And the best part? The can also makes a great storage spot for rubber bands, which I also had trouble keeping neat!

I am linking up here:

Fix-it Friday

It's Fix it Friday again over at iheartfaces, which means I have a SECOND post for you today. Oh My!

Here is the original photo:

and here is my edit.

I really love this shot SOOC, so I didn't want to do too much to it (and I was feeling lazy) so I ran a Coffee Shop action in Photoshop, adjusted the layers and...tah-dah! In fact, this was so quick and easy, I almost feel guilty. Except that I don't. That's what actions are all about, right? Quick and Easy.

This was Johnna's Tea Party. I did not use either of the optional layers and I adjusted most of the others down pretty low. I also masked off her skin in one of the pink layers because she was starting to get a "sunburned" look. That's it!

Please be sure to check out the other edits this week.

Easy Editing in Picasa

I just discovered something great and I wanted to share it with you. 

I recently installed Picasa 3.8 (I had never gotten around to re-installing it since I got the new computer.). If you are not familiar with Picasa, do yourself a favor and learn about it. It is a free software application from Google that helps you easily view and organize your photos. It also includes some basic editing options such as adjusting exposure and cropping.

You all know I love Picnik for my {quick and easy} photo editing. Well, since Google acquired Picnik earlier this year, I have been waiting patiently.... And yes! now you can edit your photos in Picnik through your Picasa account! I love it. One of the big drawbacks to Picnik (IMO) was that you had to upload each file in order to view it, which is pretty s-l-o-w when you are processing a ton of pictures. ...ahem. Picasa's viewing capabilities are the reason I love it so much...it just makes my life easier, so now that I can view and edit all in one place, I am a happy camper photographer. :)

If you go to the Picasa website, you can upgrade your existing account to version 3.8, (or open a new account)  which includes the Picnik editing app, plus a few other new goodies.

You can also access your Picasaweb albums right from the Picnik website!





I'm linking this tip up to I'm loving it Fridays at Tidymom.net.

Sharing Photos from Picasa to Facebook

Now that you know how to edit your pictures in Picasa using Picnik, I thought I'd share another little tip with you.

Did you know you can install an application that will connect your Picasa account directly to your Facebook account? This makes photo sharing a snap!

You won't believe how easy this is to do.

First, go to the Picasa Uploader Application in Facebook. Then, follow their super simple directions.

You will get a little Facebook icon on your Picasa "desktop" like this:

When you select a photo, a little window will pop up.

Click "start upload". You will be asked what folder to put the picture(s) into. Then click "Upload to Facebook".

Don't worry, all the windows pop up for you and all you have to do is click, pretty much.

You will be asked to log in to FB, then to approve the request to transfer the photo. Once it is transferred, you will have to go to your FB to approve the photo. I feel better having that added security feature, so I am happy to click on both accounts. I've clicked for less. ;)

Save yourself some time and upload several photos at once. Pour yourself a glass of Iced Coffee and relax. The only hard part will be deciding who to share all your cute pics with, but the rest, well, it's easy as pie.

What pictures will you share?

Click here to "like" my facebook page and keep up to date on Ain't She Crazy!

Iced Coffee: Better, Cheaper, Lower Calorie

Aren't we all looking for ways to have our cake (or in this case, coffee) and eat it too?

I LOVE iced coffee and, during the hot months, am too often willing to pay for it...except that it's pretty expensive and takes a pretty big bite out of the budget if you drink it regularly.

I don't like making it at home because the ice just waters it down so much that I end up tossing it out after a few minutes.

Then I started this whole dieting thing....  

I have been trying to find ways to cut calories, fat and carbs without really suffering (I'm not a fan of suffering. :)

So recently, I was in the Starbucks drivethru and ordered an iced coffee with Splenda, which I am pretty sure is bad for me, even though I am saving on calories. It occurred to me that I could order it with no sweetener and then use my own Truvia pack to sweeten it, which would be healthier, right? All natural and what-not.

I am not getting paid for this, just sharing the process.

See: cake, eating...

;)

Well, agree or disagree, this is the path that led me to a discovery.

You already know I am a Keeper.

Every morning I make hot coffee, then I drink most of it, but not usually all of it.

and I hate wasting it!

(insert lightbulb moment)

I started pouring my extra coffee into ice cube trays and freezing it!

...and

you 

guessed

it

!!!

these cubes got a little frosty waiting for me to get the camera out, but you get the idea, right?

It doesn't water down my iced coffee now!!

add fat free 1/2 and 1/2................................................pour cooled coffee on top.

enjoy!

I would have taken a cute picture with whipped cream and sprinkles, but let's face it: that's not on my diet either and it won't be for a while.

(not that my cupcakes are either, but whatever.)

I'm linking up here:

Naked and Taking Pictures

Well, I am back from vacation and I am shaking things up a bit. Just a bit, though.

First of all, you may have noticed the blog is getting "naked". Stay tuned for more to come in that arena. While I was on a writing vacation, I was shooting pictures right and left as well as designing some new (and hopefully cool) stuff. I swore I would let go and let someone design for me, but, well, it would just be so hard to give up the control! :)

I would like to say that I am back full of brilliant writing and fantastic tales, but that is just not true. In fact, I was in a bit of a panic last night because I have nothing baked for tomorrow's recipe party (and you know how much I LOVE to party...and bake...and eat!)

So for this morning, I will show you some snaps of an awesome opportunity I was given during my hiatus. I took the kiddos to the old downtown area of a nearby town for some time at their "Children's Science Center", which is essentially an old theater that has been converted to a children's museum. You'd better believe I had my camera in hand!

Have I shared with you that I once had a love affair with architecture and that I married a man who was, for a time, involved in the restoration and preservation of (stone) historic buildings? Well, it's all true, so when I was invited to take pictures of this theater, which is closed to the public, I jumped at the chance. Thank goodness I have vibration reduction lenses on my Nikon because I am sure my hand was shaking! :)

I hope you enjoyed the tour, Happy Monday!