Going Bananas

Dear friends, gather 'round. I'm going to tell you a story. A little bit closer. Okay, that's good. Ready? Here we go.

Once upon a time, there was a gal named Mary who had this dreadful habit of buying too many bananas from the grocery store. Every. Single. Week. Without fail, too many bananas. Well, this past week was no different. EXCEPT...Mary went bananas and bought even MORE bananas than her usual surplus. And since Mary is of the very strong opinion that there is a 12-hour window in which to consume a perfectly ripe banana (just descending from greenness), it became quite apparent that drastic culinary measures needed to be taken. And so...she went bananas.

First, there were New England Banana Muffins.

Do not let their rustic appearance fool you. They are delicious, hearty, and even healthy. We love them for a special breakfast treat.

And then there was the classic Banana Bread (I omit the candied ginger and the nuts) from my dear friend (who does not even know I exist), Molly Wizenberg. Somehow I managed to take absolutely no pictures whatsoever of the Banana Bread. No matter. I'm quite sure I've posted pics of the banana bread before. And lastly (but not leastly- HA), there were Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies from my new best friend (who also has not the foggiest idea who I am), the Iowa Girl from the Iowa Girl Eats blog. You know when you start a recipe by melting and browning and entire stick of butter, there's greatness just around the corner.

I must admit, I was a little leery of such a strong combination of spices- a teaspoon EACH of cinnamon, cloves, AND nutmeg- whew!!

But you know what? It was perfectly lovely. I LOVED the spiciness of these cookies. In fact, I loved it so much, I forgot to take pictures of the finished product. AGAIN. I'm such a responsible blogger. Well, you can click on the link and enjoy all of Iowa Girl's great pictures to go along with the recipe. A word of caution concerning these cookies: Do. Not. Underbake. Because of the cake-like texture, they need to be fully, fully baked. It's not like a chocolate chip cookie, where you actually want to ever-so-slightly underbake them, then allow them to set on the cooling rack. Nope. I had the misfortune of slightly underbaking one cookie sheet of these, and they were definitely a wee bit soggy on top. The second cookie sheet was perfectly done, and they were delicious; soft, slightly puffy, and infused with all of those wonderful spices. I didn't even make the frosting and they were still such a treat. AND GUESS WHAT? After all of my crazy banana-ness, I had only one rotting banana left, so I happily stuck it in the freezer for a future smoothie. No waste- YES.

The moral of the story is this: When you accidentally buy too many bananas at the grocery store, simply go bananas. Now what on earth am I going to do with those three overripe bananas sitting on my countertop...will I ever learn, dear friends? Probably not. Here's the recipe for the New England Banana Muffins.

New England Banana Muffins- adapted from "Mad About Muffins", by Dot Vartan

1 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. wheat germ

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. granulated (or brown) sugar

1/4 c. melted butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 medium bananas, mashed

4 tablespoons whole milk

4 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup (Keep it real here, folks. NO AUNT JEMIMA.)

-Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix in the sugar.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, beaten egg, vanilla extract, bananas, milk, and maple syrup and beat with a fork until well blended. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins. Bake 18-20 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned. Serve warm. Makes one dozen muffins.

We just love these, and I hope you do, too. :-)

What are your favorite ways to use up ripe bananas? Cakes? Pies? Bananas Foster? Do tell!

It's Pizza Night!

It's Friday night, and I couldn't be happier for a multitude of reasons, the top two being:

1) It's the end of Steve's work week. Although the last two weeks have been better as far as his long hours are concerned, it's still such a lovely feeling to know that the work week is OVER!

2) Friday nights mean...(drumroll) PIZZA NIGHT!!!!

And it's quite difficult to be sad on Pizza Night. I mean, who doesn't love pizza? The crust! The sauce! The endless possibilities!! Oh, pizza. I do love thee. Pizza is one of those rare foods that I could eat a few times a week, provided it's a slightly different pizza experience each time. This may or may not stem from the fact that I spent my youth living in a north suburb of Chicago with easy access to outstanding Chicago-style pizza, and let's face it: You simply cannot beat Lou Malnati's deep dish style pizza (with butter crust!!), topped with their insanely zesty pepperoni. It is worth the wait, every single time. Each time I sink my teeth into a Lou Malnati's pizza, I am overcome with the rich cheese...the oh-so-flavorful sauce...the spicy pepperoni...and the crust, people. THE CRUST. I find myself silent with adoration for a few minutes...and longing...oh, and the fact that I CANNOT talk because my face is completely stuffed full of pizza. Let's be real here. But really, if you haven't been to a Lou Malnati's pizzeria, you really need to add that to your culinary bucket list. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Get a babysitter, grab your I-Pass, and go HERE:

http://www.loumalnatis.com/locations/Details.aspx?ID=2

Please. Do yourself a huge favor and order the deep dish style with BUTTER CRUST. It's life-changing, my dear friends. It really is. And worth the wait- every single blessed second.

And now...

Because I cannot afford to eat at Lou Malnati's every week...

I present to you...

My take on pizza night.

Every Friday afternoon, I pull down the breadmaker from its shelf, gather the ingredients, and get the pizza dough started for our pizza night. The boys love to help, and I've been making pizza dough for so long now that I have the recipe completely and utterly memorized. May I suggest that if you do not have a family pizza night to please consider starting a new family tradition. It's such a comforting event to look forward to, and the kids absolutely love it. There is nothing quite like knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that dinner will be a hit with each and every member of the family. And so, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Homemade Pizza Dough- very slightly adapted from the Toastmaster Breadmaker recipe booklet that came with the breadmaker, and I'm sorry I have no other way of describing it.

Ahem.

3/4 c. warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon dry milk

2 1/4 c. flour (I use all-purpose, unbleached flour)

1 tsp. active dry yeast (not quick-rise)

Place all ingredients (in the order listed) in the breakmaker bowl thingie. Press the "Dough" setting, and go conquer the world! Just make sure you do it in one hour and twenty minutes. Well, that's how long the dough setting is on my breadmaker. When the blessed machine sends forth an obnoxious flurry of BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP, you know it's time to make some pizza, baby!

Homemade Pizza

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Grab your favorite pizza pan (I have a large, vented metal pizza pan that I really like), and spray it liberally with crisco spray or whatever floats your boat.

3) After spraying the pan, liberally sprinkle cornmeal over the prepped pan.

4) Do not skip steps 2 and 3. Please trust me on this.

5) On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough, and remember- it doesn't have to be perfect!! Throw that dough on the pizza pan, and gently stretch it/ press it to fit the pan.

6) Now for some fun! Spread approximately 1 c. of your favorite pizza sauce over the dough (I love Dei Fratelli pizza sauce), sprinkle a very generous amount of mozzarella cheese, then shake a bit of dried oregano over the cheese, then add as few or as many different toppings as you'd like! We love pepperoni, green peppers, onions, mushroom (well, I LIKE THEM), etc. You are only limited by your imagination. SO...be imaginative!

7) Place in oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.

8) Let cool for a couple of minutes before slicing. ENJOY.

And there you have a ridiculously simple homemade pizza recipe. So go forth! Start a delicious new tradition! Let's hear it for PIZZA NIGHT!

Do you have a weekly dinner "special"?

Have a lovely weekend! :-)

French Toast Fridays

Ahh, Fridays. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

French Toast Friday. It's been too long, my friend. Simply too long. We are now joyfully revisiting a long-neglected Friday morning tradition. The rich, custardy center. The delightfully chewy crusts. The glorious goldenness of it all. Yes, it certainly was time to bring this tradition back.

Sigh. Now just add fresh strawberries...

Sorry. I've been going a little buck-wild with my macro setting lately. But it's such a rarity to see such bright, lovely strawberries in the dregs of winter. Forgive me; I pray.

...And you've got three happy boys chanting,"Yay French Toast! Yay French Toast!" Which, of course, is a part of this complete breakfast.

*snort* haha.

Happy Friday to you, friends! Do you have a favorite weekly breakfast tradition? Does Dad take over on Saturday mornings? Do you bust out the old waffle iron? Do tell!

Enjoy your weekend!

On Mud, Evil French Fries, and Edible Freezer Meals

Well, it's February. No need to thank me for stating the obvious; I'm good. We've been very busy little bees here at the Johnson household...major transitions are being made to accompany Baby #4, and we are basking in the glow of things getting done around here. Hurray for productivity!! I've been working like mad on some craft projects for the nursery, and I am getting dangerously close to being done. It won't be too long now until I have some "After" pictures of the nursery for all of you charming readers out there. So yippee skippee for the Johnsons, and to top it off, we have been enjoying an INSANELY mild winter for southeast Wisconsin. Temperatures in the 40-50's! Almost no snow! No fussing with mittens and chunky snowpants! The sun is occasionally shining! People bursting into song nearly everywhere I go! Well, not really. But heck, I sure feel like bursting into song when I step outside and my lungs don't freeze and chip off inside of my body within 10 seconds. You just might burst into song, too, if that was the case for you. It's been great. EXCEPT.

Except.

All of grand mildness of weather is resulting in one vastly irritating condition:

MUD. MUD. MUD.

And mud.

Due to the wonderful weather, the boys have been playing outside ALOT lately. It's quite simple, really. Melting snow + mini heat wave + sustained mild temperatures + little boys playing outside like small, wild, beasts = An incredibly torn-up, distressed, muddy muddy yard. It's mud like I have never seen, I tell you! I feel like we're living on a farm with all of the scraping and clapping of shoes together I've been doing lately. We've also had a few incidents which involve a child (whom shall remain nameless) sprinting through the house and up the stairs with about 4.25 inches of mud caked on his shoes, me scrubbing stairs, sweeping on a daily basis, and finding that this same child decided it would be a great idea to climb into his bed with his shoes on. THANK THE GOOD LORD that the bed incident did not involve 4.25 inches of mud; just some dried dirt. And dried dirt is about as easy as it gets these days.

I think that's all I have to say about mud.

And now it's time...the moment you've all been waiting for...here it comes...wait for it...

It's time for the BAD MOTHER MOMENT OF THE WEEK!!!!

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...

Let's hear it.

Anyway.

Once upon a time, my two older boys were playing outside in a yard that most closely resembles a WWI trench, minus the lice, rats, and fleas. I think. I was industriously preparing this for dinner (very delicious, by the way. We all enjoyed it very much), and I could clearly see the boys from the kitchen window. I LOVE this about my kitchen. I also loved my fenced-in yard. I love it more than ever now, and I'll tell you why. I kept checking on the boys every minute or so by peeking out of the kitchen window, and things looked like they were going swimmingly. Like, swimming in mud. Can you tell I'm slightly obsessed with our mud issue at hand? Anyway, when I finished the casserole and plopped it in the fridge (make-ahead, folks. Key to sanity, survival, and long, flowing locks of hair. Um. Not the hair thing. But survival and sanity; yes.), the boys came inside and were bubbling with enthusiasm. The following conversation ensued:

D & D: "Mommy, a guy shared his french fries with us!!!!"

Me: "Um...WHAT?"

D & D: "A guy gave us some french fries!!"

Me: "Like, he reached over the fence and gave you french fries?"

D & D: (bursting with joy) "YES!!"

Me (to myself): "Breathe...breathe...breathe..."

Apparently I had not done an effective-enough job of instilling stranger awareness in the robust young hearts of my children as I thought I had. I curbed my intense desire to freak out and calmly explained to them that we never, ever, EVER take food or drink or anything from a stranger and then I explained why. I then proceeded to grill them throughout the day on why we don't take anything from a stranger, and I now remind them of "stranger danger" every time they get ready to play outside. I also spent the next 24 hours awaiting any effects of evil french fry poison to take place. Small vent ahead: WHY on earth would any person in their right mind give a child whom they do NOT know food over a fence??? WHY? I can't believe I was in my kitchen the entire time, checking on them every minute, and I MISSED THE EVIL FRENCH FRY. How?? How? I was ready for a commune after that. I was just about ready to lay down in our mud-infested yard and weep. But I didn't. And that's pretty much that.

Thus ends the BAD MOTHER MOMENT OF THE WEEK, brought to you especially by Mary J. Johnson, B.S. in French Fry Forensics.

And now for something completely different...

CALLING ALL HOME COOKS!! Who has a favorite freezer meal that is tried and true for you and your family? I have a decent handful of freezer meals that I love, but I am looking to add to that small handful! If any of you would be willing to share a recipe for a freezer meal, please share the wealth!

I think that covers it. Mud, Evil French Fries, and Edible Freezer Meals. Yep. Stay tuned for more adventures and more pictures, and enjoy your Thursday.

Nursery "Before" Pictures!

As all of my readers are (painfully) aware of, we are awaiting the arrival of our sweet baby girl in April. Now that I have officially entered my last trimester, nesting (another way of describing COMPLETE AND UTTER PANIC) has commenced full bore, and we've got some fun changes heading our way in the area of...*trumpet fanfare* NURSERY DECOR!!! Today I shall be sharing our "before" pictures of the nursery, and before I do that, let me warn you I have not touched our nursery in 5 years. Well, besides cleaning it, of course!! Goodness. Anyway, we chose a very gender-neutral theme for the nursery the first time around, because we chose not to find out what we were having (we assumed it was a baby). And since then, either finances or sheer lack of motivation precluded us from making any other changes...until NOW. :-) Thanks to Pinterest, I now have enough inspiration and ideas to last me 10 more babies. NOT THAT 10 MORE BABIES ARE IN THE PLAN. Just clarifying.

So here we go.

This is the view as you enter the room. I apologize for the blurry picture. One thing we are NOT changing is the paint color. I love this yellow. I'm taking it with me forever. It will also be a fun contrast to the quilt that my friend Rachel is making for the baby as a gift. Rachel is an amazing quilter. If I could acquire 1/10 the sewing skills that she possesses in my lifetime, I will count myself most blessed among women.

The window. Obviously. Worn-out roller shades and slightly fraying white cotton drapes. Big changes happening here, believe me!

A comfy chair for nursing, a very cute green nightstand (neither of which are going anywhere), a few toys, and some sparse and simple decor. This is what you would call a "low budget nursery". Significant changes on the decor front coming soon.

Another view of the room. I love that little dresser- it's always been the perfect size for this room.

Some very sweet wall hangings above the changing table. A lady in our church, who is a very accomplished seamstress, made these for our firstborn son. If you flip the little fabric squares, it spells out "DAVID" on the back. So cute! And I always appreciated that she made these double-sided so we could use them with subsequent babies, which, I may point out, we have! I will be putting these away *sniff sniff*, but I've got some new ideas for this little area that I've just got to try.

There you have it! I've actually already completed a couple of craft projects for the new-and-improved nursery, so now it's just a matter of waiting to move little Lucas out into the big boys' room (scared to death for this event) and finishing up a few other projects. Stay tuned! It's such a thrill to be able to share this with ya'll. Have a great weekend!

Where Does One Begin?

As I sat down to *gasp* blog tonight, all I could think of was:

1) I don't even know where to start.

2) See above.

So I suppose I shall cut myself some slack and use the ever-faithful, ever effective LIST.

I love lists.

I mean, really really love lists.

Like, I can't live without them.

As in, I panic when I don't have paper and a pen nearby. Yes, I know I have an iPhone, and I can makes myriads of lists on that glorious device, but for me, there is nothing as effective as physically writing out a list.

Besides, I have pretty fantastic handwriting. (Did I actually write that?)

So let's commence with the list-making already, shall we? (I shall try to ignore my sudden fierce craving for popcorn)

Item #1:

We spent Christmas in beautiful, breathtaking, and totally rad Colorado this year.

This is the view from my sister-in-law's patio. It drove me crazy that no matter how nice of a picture I took, it didn't even come close to doing the real thing any justice whatsoever. My sister-in-law and her husband (both totally lovely people) moved out to the Denver area last year, and they are really enjoying it. I. LOVED. Denver. My MIL and FIL also drove out to join in on the festivities, and I had the privilege of spending a girl's day out with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law in downtown Denver. It was such a cool city!! We had a delicious lunch at a wonderful cafe (linguini with broccoli rabe, toasted pine nuts, prosciutto, basil pesto, and goat cheese; anyone??)...

Enjoyed a stroll down Larimer street...

There was an actual MILLINER on this street. How incredibly endearing is that? Not that I'm a big hat person (I'm pretty sure I just might have the world's smallest head), but just the fact that it was there pretty much charmed my socks off. And then...

We saw a play at one of the playhouses in the Denver Performing Arts Center! The PAC was an amazing venue. It reminded me of an old-fashioned train terminal; almost European.

Love.

I haven't had this happen to me very often, but Denver was definitely one of those places that I visited and thought,"You know what, I could totally live here." It's true. I loved it that much. And the people were so nice! I even witnessed a man WHISTLING a happy little tune as he crossed the street. People were....HAPPY. And so, despite that fact that our poor David ended up in the emergency room on Christmas Eve due to an allergic reaction AND walking pneumonia (it's ALWAYS an adventure with that one), and both he and Steve had to spend the remainder of the vacation in a hotel due to the increasing severity of David's cat allergies (we made the best of it and brought presents and Christmas dinner to the hotel), we loved Colorado and enjoyed the time spent with family as best as we could. The drive was totally fine- I really do think the kids are becoming seasoned travelers. Now if we just avoid health catastrophes once we get to our destination, then we'd really be in business. In other news, I slept through most of Nebraska, and was pleasantly surprised with Iowa (I know!!). I experienced the best customer service EVER at a Subway restaurant in Urbandale, IA. Besides the fact that there were 20 people in front me and the line took only about 5 minutes, the employee at the front of the sandwich assembly line TIPPED HIS HAT AT ME AND CALLED ME MA'AM. Combine that with great roads, incredibly clean rest areas...Iowa; you're all right. ALSO...we actually got a great family picture during our trip! So all was not lost, and miracles DO happen!

Glasses Nerds Forever.

Thus ends Item #1.

Item #2:

In an effort to change things up around here, I've been scouring food blogs of a slightly different nature. I hate convenience foods, but I've been realizing I really need to add to my arsenal of SIMPLE, yet healthy meals. I think I've struck a balance with the Iowa Girl Eats blog. Tonight, I made this, and it was an indisputable hit. All three boys devoured an entire bowl of this delicious soup, and I must confess to having 2 bowls. It was just perfect; not too thick, not too soupy, and what flavor! All in about 20 minutes, so I think the Iowa Girl and I might have a groovy thing going, baby (Sorry. I've had a lot of Simon and Garfunkel stuck in my head lately). Check it out! I promise you won't be disappointed. Iowa Girl is also a runner, so she has lots of workout posts and fitness tips as well as healthy, delicious, and simple recipes. Sounds perfect for the New Year, doesn't it? I do so love a New Year. I am one of those freakish people who absolutely itches to break free of the Christmas shackles once December 26th rolls around. NO MORE. NO MORE. I LOVE a new year. It's so...pristine. I also love setting goals, and attacking said goals with a most ferocious vigor. Clear out, folks. Mary's got herself a new year! Roar!

*ahem*

Thus ends Item #2.

We've certainly covered a tremendous amount of territory tonight. Life has resumed its wonderfully familiar rhythm around here...

Soothing teething toddlers...

Re-heating Infusino's pizza for lunch on a Saturday...

Making French Chocolate Cake for friends...

Enjoying my little Sous Chef...

Ahh. Home Sweet Home.

What's your favorite aspect of a New Year? I'd love to know. :) Happy Almost-Halfway-Through-The-Week, ya'll!

Christmas Letter 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Since we sent out our Christmas cards earlier this week, I realized that it just might be a good idea to actually follow through and write our Christmas letter online as promised. And so, here we go: It's time for a most exciting update on the rapidly growing family of Stephen and Mary Johnson!

First off, we certainly hope you are enjoying this most blessed of seasons. I (Mary) am learning in particular how nice it is to step back from numerous activities, focus on the basics, and actually ENJOY the Christmas season. Enjoying Christmas! Imagine! While I may have stepped down from some music responsibilities at church, I have been completely immersed in a new adventure on the home front: Homeschooling our children!

David, who turned 5 in November, started kindergarten in September, and he is doing very well. He is now reading, writing a bit, and never ceases to amaze us with his ability to sit through a good story and his incredibly active imagination. He loves to create "giants" by drawing on numerous sheets of paper, then taping them together. We go through sketch paper and scotch tape like mad, but it's all for a good cause, right? David's absolute favorite literary figure right now is Paul Bunyan. To say David loves Paul Bunyan is a gross understatement. He regularly requests that we call him Paul Bunyan, and his goal in life is to be a lumberjack. It is not unusual to spot David playing outside, hacking ferociously at the fence with a small plastic bat/golf club, etc. He is constantly making us laugh with the funny things that he says.

Daniel, who turned 3 in August, is immensely enjoying doing preschool work at home. He loves discovering new favorite stories, building with Duplos, helping me in the kitchen, playing with trains, and pretending that our treadmill is a train, and he is the conductor. What else would you use a treadmill for? He also loves having races outside with David.

And then there's Lucas! Lucas, who is just about 18 months old, is walking (finally), trying to run, babbling constantly, and generally being adorable and hilarious. Some current words in his vocabulary: "Mama" "Daddy" "Uh-huh" "Brown Bear" "Nana" "Yummm!" "Daydid (David)" "Day-ull (Daniel)", and my favorite: "Seahorse". Why are kids so funny?

Other highlights: we are highly anticipating the arrival of our BABY GIRL in April! Hurray! Such excitement is among all of us- we can't wait to meet her! I have been incredibly blessed to have had an amazingly easy pregnancy thus far (chiropractors are wonderful people).

Steve is continuing to make us proud at work. He is now a Senior Business Analyst, and recently passed the CMA (Certified Managing Accountant) exam. Go, Steve!! Steve is also kept busy with "Daddy Duties" at home (someone has to wrestle with those boys) and is active at church on the missions board.

That just about wraps up the past year for us. We survived a road trip to Vermont in August, and are looking forward to a few more epic traveling adventures this coming year. We have been truly blessed, and we hope and pray that God may bless and keep you during the Christmas season and in the year to come.

God's Blessings,

Steve, Mary, David, Daniel, Lucas, and Baby Girl Johnson