Oatmeal Banana Muffins with Flax Seeds Recipe

Hola Amigos! Glad to be here a the blog today sharing  with you my first "from scratch" muffins!

You know me, I'm still yet to conquer my fear of baking sweets from scratch, the flour, the baking powder, the not over mixing, it's all a big headache for me and I tend to avoid those at any cost! But once in a while, with deep breaths and fire extinguisher at hand, I get enough courage to try something simple and safe.

Perhaps one day I'll do something more daring, for now, these muffins are just what I need.

I think I fell I little more comfortable because it was one of my mom's  easy recipes, designs for her baking impaired daughter. If something was to go wrong on the first try, I could always call her and ask for help. I know you must be thinking how could I mess up muffins...believe me I Can!

They have  a little extra healthy crunch with the Flax, but that's about it..I even put some glaze over because to my hubs it is not a muffin if it doesn't have glaze...that sounds more like a cupcake to me..but I'm here to please.

Thank goodness they came out perfect and I feel confident enough to share the recipe with you. If I can do it, You can too!

Thank You for your visit today! It's always a blessing when we have the chance to share our achievements with friends no matter how little they are. Keep in mind my friends, that everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Oatmeal Banana Muffins with Flax Seeds

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Oatmeal

3 Ripe Bananas, mashed
3/4 Cup Sugar
3 Eggs
3/4 Cup Butter or Margarine
1 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Honey
2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 -1 TBSP Flax Seeds
Directions:
Heat Up oven at 375 F and prepare your muffin pan with light oil . In a large bowl cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and mashed bananas, mix and add honey. 
In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and add them slowly to the wet ingredients mix. Mix only till ingredients are moist and integrated, in other words avoid over mixing it. Pour the mix on your prepared muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean! Remove from oven, let them cool and enjoy. 
Note: Glaze is not necessary, but if you want the extra touch of sweetness like the hubs did, these are the ingredients and directions for the glaze.
Glaze
1 1/4 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
1/4 Cup Butter, melted
1 tsp Clear Vanilla extract
2 TBSP Hot Water
Blend sugar and butter well. Add vanilla, stir. Add hot water until is smooth.If you want a thinner glaze add a little more hot water.

Prep Time 5 minutes                                Cook time 18-20 minutes                 Serves 12 muffins

Sharing my sweet glazed semi healthy muffins at these Fabulous Parties:

Rain on a Tin Roof, Huckleberry Love, The Chicken Chick, Watch Out Martha, Jam Hands, Feeding Big,Mad in Crafts, A Southern Fairytale, Pint Sized Baker, Hun...what's for Dinner?, Mandy's Recipe Box, The Gunny Sack, Nap Time Creations, Home Stories A to Z, Our Table for Seven, Between Naps on the Porch, Sugar Bee Crafts, Cozy Little House, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Made to be a Momma, My Girlish Whims, All She Cooks, Ducks 'n a Row, The View from 510, Hi! It's Jilly, Memories by the Mile, Fluster Buster, Creative Geekery, Lamberts Lately, Posed Perfection, Krafty Cards, A Glimpse Inside, Gingerly Made, Live, Laugh Rowe, Made in a Day, Saving 4 Six, The Crafty Blogstalker, Sparkles and a Stove, Simply Create and Design, Consider Me Inspired, The Mandatory Mooch, Artsy Fartsy Mama, What's Cooking Love, The Best Blog Recipe, Juggling Real Food and Real Life, The Girl Creative, The Inspiration Network, Sweet Haute, Jennifer Rizzo, The Answer is Chocolate, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Rattlebridge Farm, Tidy Mom, My Turn (for Us), Craft Dictator, Becoming Martha, Living Better Together, My Personal Accent, The Jenny Evolution, 504 Main, Liz Marie Blog, Not Your Ordinary Recipes, The Pin Junkie, Diana Rambles, The Thriftiness Miss, Today's Creative Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, The Wondering Brain, Angels Homestead, Too Much Time on my Hands, What's Cooking with Ruthie, SewLicious Home Decor, Made From Pinterest, Lemon Paper Designs, Suburbs Mama, Twigg Studios, Nifty Thrifty Things, 2 Crochet Hooks, Flamingo Toes, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Serenity You, Mail for Rosey, Everyday Mom's Meal, I Should be Mopping the Floors, My Mixing Spoons, Under The Table and Dreaming, This Gal Cooks, A Pinch of Joy, Lines Across, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Chef In Training, Lady Behind the Curtain, A Bright and Beautiful Life, Gina's Crafty Corner, The Brambleberry Cottage, Lamberts Lately, Katherine's Corner, A Glimpse Inside, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Nest

Bananas Foster Milkshake Recipe

Hola Amigos! You all know how much I am in love with chocolate, but I think I've just found the second best thing in life (well at least for this week). Bananas Foster!!! Oh goodness...that is the most decadent dessert not involved with chocolate in the planet...just think about it...buttery, fruity sweet, cinnamony spiced and spiked??? Oh Mama!!! lol...Well you know me...it had to be taken to the next level on  a milkshake!

This was fun to make but even tastier to drink! It has all the components of the bananas foster you love! Even the flaming part believe it or not! Banana Rum, Brown Sugar, Tumeric among other goodies!

I love mine topped with a few banana chips and sprinkle some extra sugar on top, and let's not forget cinnamon sugar in the rim of your cup just to give it that extra sparkle!

Too good to have just one I tell you guys, but we better because it's rich, like your triple thick 'restaurant" milkshake, only way better! 

Thank You so much for your visit today, before I forget you can make this kid friendly by skipping the ingredient that makes the bananas "flame"! It will still be delicious! Remember everything tastes better with your imagination and a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Bananas Foster Milkshake

Ingredients

2 Ripe Bananas

4 Tablespoons of Butter

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1 shot Banana Rum or any Rum you have

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

Pinch of Cinnamon

Pinch of Tumeric

1/2 Milk

1 Pint Vanilla Ice Cream

1 tsps Vanilla Butter

Cinnamon Sugar for garnish

Banana Chips for garnish

Directions
In a large skillet melt butter and sugar in low-medium heat to avoid burning, stir.

Add the bananas ( I prefer to add them  cut). Cook them for about 4 minutes. 

Very carefully add the rum and with a long match or lighter flambe your banana mix. ***Very important, make sure the vents of the stove are off while you do this, since the flames might shoot. 

Let the flame die down.

Add lemon juice, cinnamon and tumeric, cook for another 2-4 minutes.

Let it cool at room temperature and add to your blender with the milk and ice cream. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Prep Time: 8 minutes     Cook Time: 8 Minutes     Serves 4 (4oz) Glasses

Sharing some Fiery Spiked Bananas at these Fabulous Parties:

The Lady Behind the Curtain, Daisy Cottage Designs, All She Cooks, The Shady Porch, My Girlish Whims, Fluster Buster, The Shabby Creek Cottage, 52 Mantels, What's Cooking Love?, A Handful of Everything, Chocolate, Chocolate and More, Lamberts Lately, Live,Laugh,Rowe, The Mandatory Mooch, Real Coake.com, Posed Perfection, The Crafty Blogstalker, Consider Me Inspired, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Sparkles and a Stove, MommiFried, Somewhat Simple, My Turn (for Us), Home Maid Simple, Rattlebridge Farm, Blissful and Domestic, Do Small Things with Love, French Country Cottage, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Living Less Spending Less, The Brambleberry Cottage, 504 Main, The Pin Junkie, Jennifer Rizzo, My Romantic Home, This and That, The Best Blog Recipes, Love and Laundry, Chic on a Shoestring, The Shabby Nest, The Answer is Chocolate, Tidy Mom, One Tough Mother, A Simple Five, Craftionary, Liz Marie, Simply Designing, Becoming Martha, Simply Sweet Home, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, My Personal Accent, 4 Little Fergusons, Tatertots and Jello, Cooking with Curls, Happy and Blessed Home, Five Days 5 Ways, Just Us Four, Whipperberry, The Wondering Brain, Lovely Crafty Home, Dear Creatives, Dessert Now, Dinner Later, Angel Homestead, Classy Clutter, Too Much Time, Cheerios and Lattes, Serenity You, Flamingo Toes, Life on Lakeshore Drive, The Foley Fam, Spatulas on Parade, VMG206, Nifty Thrifty Things, Rain on a Tin Roof, Huckleberry Love, Still Being Molly, Cupcake-n-Bake, The Princess and her Cowboys, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, A Southern Fairy Tale, Mad in Crafts, Making the World Cutter, The Chicken Chick, Say Not Sweet Anne, Ms.enPlace, BoggieBoard Cottage, I Gotta Try That, Who Need a Cape, The Blackberry Vine, Ladybug Blessings, Our Home Away from Home, Pint Sized Baker, Kathe with an E, Mandy's Recipe Box, Chef in Training, Love Grows Wild, Home Stories A to Z, Nap-Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Feeding Big, Homemade Ginger, Memories by the Mile, Not Just a Housewife, A Peek Into my Paradise, Six Sister's Stuff

Other Banana Milkshakes you might like:

Choco Banana Shake

Butterscotch Banana Harvest Cake with Apple Butter Maple Sauce Recipe

Hola Amigos! Happy to have you join me and share a piece of this gooey cake with me! As you can see, I'm getting better with the "bundt' pan and so far no other accidents.
I have a hard time giving this cake a name..why..because it's really put together with all the things I love other than chocolate. It reminds me of fall because of some of the ingredients but you could actually have it all year long! It's good anytime and with everything.  Here is the recipe:

Butterscotch Banana Harvest Cake with Maple Apple Butter Sauce

1 Box Yellow Cake

1 box (3.5 oz)  Butterscotch Instant Pudding

1 (6 oz) Container Banana Yogurt

2 Ripened Bananas, Pureed 

1/2 Cup Butterscotch Chips 

Banana Chips for garnish (optional)

Heat you oven at 350 F or according box instructions. As a suggestion, substitute the amount of water called in the recipe for apple juice. Mix ingredients called on the box until moistened. Add yogurt, pudding and bananas. Mix for about 2 minutes as called in the recipe. Fold in the Butterscotch chips and bake according to the box instructions.

Garnish with Banana Chips and drizzle with Mapple Applebutter Sauce

 Apple Butter Maple  Sauce

1 Cup Apple Juice

3/4 Cup Maple syrup

3 TBSP Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Cinnamon Stick

3 Tablespoons Apple Butter

3 TBSP Butter

3/4 Cup Butterscotch  Chips 

In a sauce pan on medium heat, add Apple juice, Maple Syrup, brown sugar Lemon and Cinnamon and let this simmer for about 5 minutes without letting in boil. Remove Cinnamon Stick and add Apple Butter and Butter, simmer for another 2 minutes. Finally add the Butterscotch chips and bring to a slow simmer and boil until it thickens enough to coat a spoon. It is not going to be a thick sauce while it's hot, it thickens as it cools. 

Once it has cooled drizzle it liberally on your cake.

Listo,

The cake is delicious even without the Apple Butter Maple Sauce!

So good, my hubs couldn't resist having it sitting there waiting to be photographed and had a slice of it!!!

Needless to say I pretty much took it out of his mouth and send him to "blogger hubby retraining camp" LOL

I figured this would be the perfect cake to welcome the fist days of fall. You can find it's ingredients anytime of the year!

Thank you so much for your kind visit. Let's keep enjoying our summer...after all this cake has a good dose of bananas to take you back to your tropical summer vacation mood with every bite!

Keep in mind my dear friends, everything you do tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Sharing some Harvest Cake at these Fabulous Parties:

The Princess and her Cowboys, Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs, A Pinch of Joy, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Jam Hands, Boogie Board Cottage, Mad in Crafts, Making the World Cuter, Feeding Big, Love Grows Wild, The Blackberry Vine, Pint Sized Baker, Kathe with an E, Nap-Time Creations, Coastal Charm, Sugar Bee Crafts, Today's Creative Blog, Mandy's Recipe Box, My Mixing Spoon, I Gotta Try That, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Cozy Little House, Smart School House, Thank You Honey, Daisy Cottage Designs, Ducks'n a Row, The Lady Behind the Curtain, Ginger Snap Crafts, The Style Sisters, Twin Dragonfly Designs, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Worthing Court, Life with the Crust Cut Off, Rose Chintz Cottage, Trendy Tree House, The Mandatory Mooch, Real Coake.com, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Live Laugh Rowe, 52 Mantels, Saving 4 Six, House of Hepworths, Sew Crafty Angel, A Handful of Everything, Living Well, Spending Less, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Consider Me Inspired, The Best Blog Recipes, Craftionary, Naptime Crafters, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, The Answer is Chocolate, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, Becoming Martha, Happy Hour Projects, Rooted in Thyme, Home Maid Simple, One Tough Mother, Tidy Mom, 504 Main, The Pin Junkie, My Turn (for Us), Love and Laundry, Happy and Blessed Home, Chef Picky Kid and Me, The Wondering Brain, Lovely Crafty Blog, A Little Claireification, Homemade Ginger, 4 Little Fergusons, 30 Handmade Days, Five Days 5 Ways, Dessert Now, Dinner Later, 4 You with Love, Angles Homestead, Be Different Act Nomal, Too Much Time on my Hands, Cheerios and Lattes, It's Overflowing, Serenity You, Mama Gab, Spatulas on Parade, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Bowdabra, Titi Crafty, WCFS, Crate with Joy, Frugal Foodie Mama, Claire Justine oxox, Uncommon Designs, Alderberry Hill, Flour Me with Love, Keeping It Simple, Sew Can Do, Cupcake-n-Bake, Jembellish, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, The Chicken Chick, Craft-o-Maniac, Huckleberry Love, Under the Table and Dreaming, Ms enPlace, My Romantic Home, I Heart Naptime, All She Cooks, Six Sister's Stuff, Esskunst, Cheerios and Lattes, My Sweet Mission, Gina's Craft Corner

Depression Coconut Cake Recipe

Hola Amigos! Last week I saw tons of these cakes done on Pinterest, Lemon, Apple-Raisin and Spiced to name a few. Also the lovely +Dawn   at Spatulas on Parade has my favorite on her blog, Chocolate, check it out for some chocolate goodness. I've pinned them of course in case one of these days I would be brave enough to bake a cake from scratch...well little did I know the time came sooner than I thought out of desperation (Oh No! there's nothing sweet to have coffee with), laziness (I don't feel like going to the store)  and well....the prospect of being "depressed" if I didn't have my sweet fix for my afternoon coffee ritual.
I check through a few recipes and came out with my own version of this popular cake.

Coconut Depression Cake

1 1/2 Cup Flour

3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar

1 Tsps Baking Soda

1 Tsps White Vinegar

1/2 Tsps Salt

1/2 Tsps Almond Extract

3/4 Cup Applesauce

1 Cup Coconut Milk

Pre-heat your oven at 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, sugar and salt. Make a crater like indentation in the middle and add vinegar, applesauce and almond almond extract. Mix well all the ingredients above. Pour batter into a prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick in the middle comes clean (you know the drill)

Set to Cool

For the Topping

4 oz Marshmallow Cream

2 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 Melted Chocolate Candy

1/4 Cup Coconut Milk 

Toasted Coconut and your favorite Trail Mix ( enough to cover your cake with it)

Mix  the first 4 ingredients until a smooth and good enough consistency  to pour over your cooled cake. if it's too thick add more coconut milk. 

Top it all off with toasted coconut and trail mix (mine was tropical banana coconut raisin!)

Listo

 I like it! It is fast, fun and easy enough for a novice baker like me to make!

I can only imagine all the combinations you can make with this quick recipe.

I didn't add any oil because the coconut milk has enough in it, for the spongy consistency I replaced with applesauce. Also unlike the traditional I used brown sugar. It was just sweet enough to complement the gooey and crunchy topping.

Oh and in case you are asking why trail mix...well I didn't have any nuts use either...I think I needed to go grocery shopping soon, lol

Thank you for visiting the blog today. I encourage you to give this easy cake a try. Make it your own playing around with ingredients and flavor combination until you find one you can't live without.

Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love and lots of sweet imagination!
Besitos,
Lizy

Sharing some Trial Mix on a Cake at these Fabulous Parties:
I Gotta Try That
Rain on a Tin Roof
Serendipity You
Ms. enPlace
Sweet2Eat Baking
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen
twelve0eight
Rattlebridge Farm
Flamingo Toes
Food Done Light
Mom on Time Out
4 you with Love
Hungry Little Girl
I Gotta Create
The Mnadatory Mooch
Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Real Coake.com
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Life with the Crust Cut Off
Cooking with Curls
Oh My Creative
Twin Dragonfly Design
Worthing Court
Savvy Southern Sytle
Ginger Snap Crafts
Mom's Test Kitchen
Fluster Buster
Sugar Bee Crafts
Feeding Big
Pint Sized Baker
Our Home Away from Home
Love Grows Wild
Diana Rambles
Sincerely Paula
Sunny Simple Life
Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons
The Thriftiness Miss
Just Us 4
Call Me PMc
The Best Blog Recipes
Sew-Licious Home
Walking on Sunshine
VMG206
Spatulas on Parade
Dessert Now, Dinner Later
Life on Lakeshore Drive
Frugal Foodie Mama
Claire Justine oxox
Cupcake-n-Bake
Living Better Together
Under The Table and Dreaming

Tilapia Filets with Coconut Milk Recipe

Hola Amigos...I'm going a little exotic here! I'm exploring a new dish from an exotic nation in Africa. I'm talking about the West African country of Togo! According to my research, Republique Togolaise, got it's independence from France in April 27th. 1960and while french remains it's official language some other African languages are spoken as well. Togolese cuisine is a combination of French and African cuisine, with a vast use of  maize, rice with sauces, fish, plantains, cassava and spiced with chilli.

If you are wondering why am I exploring this multicultural cuisine today is because I want to introduce you to another great lady I've meet in my 6 months of blogging! Her name is +Marlys Folly , author and blogger at This and That.  A native Canadian, Marlys met her husband in Togo, Africa where she started her journey into African Cuisine. She is an awesome cook as you will see when you visit her blog, not only of African dishes but all kinds of Goodies! She is also a very given soul and always has words of encouragement for you! A great Photographer and host of Foodie Friends Fridays, Marlys is the kind a blogger you love no matter what is she writing about.
This is my first try at African Cuisine so Marlys I hope you and your hubs forgive me if I didn't get something right or misspelled the whole french part of the dish...lol...this recipe didn't give me to many specifics so here we go!

Tilapia Fillets with Coconut Milk

Filets de Tilapia au Lait de Coco

6 Tilapia Fillets

1 (14 oz) Can coconut milk

2 plantains peeled cut in little diamond shapes

1 TBSP grated fresh ginger

3 Cloves of Garlic peeled and chopped

2 onion peeled and finely chopped

1 small hot chilli sliced into thing strips

salt and freshly ground pepper

Season the Tilapia fillets  with salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil as to marinate. Set aside.

In a large skillet heat oil and fry the onions and garlic for 5 minutes at medium heat (not to burn), then add ginger and plantains, cook for about 5 more minutes. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
 In a frying pan or skillet,  fry  the Tilapia fillets until they are nicely brown on both sides.

Transfer the fillets to the pan with the sauce and cook for 5 minutes. A few minutes before serving add the chilli.

Serve with white rice and a side of greens.

Listo,

It was so good! We all had seconds!

The Plantains give the dish texture and an unexpected element of sweetness to play with the heat of the chilli!

For dessert we had Togo Bananas, super quick and easy to make just add 1 TBSP of butter, brown sugar, a bit of lemon and Tumeric! Put in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes and ready, add a bit of chopped nuts for crunch and have yourself a delicious sweet ending to a wonderful meal!

 Delicious! and that color...all natural thanks to the Tumeric! Wow!

Hope you enjoy my exotic dish today! I sure had a blast learning and exploring new flavors from a different culture and  remember no matter where you are from or where you are,  everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,
Lizy

Bringing Exotic Flavors to these Fabulous Parties:
Rate The Plate Utah
Nap Time Creations
Pint Sized Baker
A Humble Creation
Fluster Buster
Adorned from Above
Twin Dragonfly Design
Jennifer Rizzo
My Turn (fro Us)
The Best Blog Recipes
Food Done Light
The Home Girl
Rattlebridge Farm
Just Us Four
Not Your Ordinary Recipes
The Real Coake Family
Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Your Homebased Mom
Create with Joy
The Wondering Brain
Will Cook for Smiles
Under the Table and Dreaming