Coconut Banana Bread {Guest Post}

This weekend me and the hubby are off to San Diego for his companies retreat.  This has been quite the month of trips for us and I am just about tripped out.  I just barely finished unpacking a few days ago from our last trip.  Now it is time to leave on another one!

I am so thrilled to have Bakerette over for a visit!   We attended the same church building a couple of years ago and we were reunited at the Build your Blog conference.  It is so fun that we have food blogs and that we both share a love for cooking! I absolutely adore her and her cute blog, and I know you will too!

 Aloha! I’m Jen at Bakerette.com where I share really cool recipes, trends, insights, and ideas I come across every day. I'm thrilled to be guest posting on the Recipe Critic. Thank you, Alyssa, for inviting me! Winter has managed to sabotage my fitness regimen and I've fallen into a lazy slump. I don’t even remember the last time I exercised or picked up the dumbbells staring at me next to the TV. Not to mention all of this cooking I've been doing to keep me busy indoors! My once chock-full-of-fresh-fruits-and-vegetables diet now consists of junk food. Lots of it. As if you couldn't tell with all of the fattening junk food I've been posting at Bakerette. So, I’m getting my groove on today. I’m determined to eat my fruits all disguised in this coconut and banana bread. I've got an idea...let's go to Hawaii and pick coconuts and go bananas...

Do you want to hear something embarrassing? It's embarrassing AND hilarious (well, I think it's hilarious!)...I had been driving around running errands for the better part of the day and my last stop was the grocery store. I was pushing the cart down the aisle and went to turn left when I reached up to turn on my BLINKER. Ha-ha. I had been turning my blinker on all day long that I automatically reached up to turn on the blinker...ON. MY. CART! Now THAT, my friends, is going bananas (or blond).

Now onward to this amazing banana bread recipe made with coconut. I'm talking AMAZING. Seriously. This quick bread was devoured within a couple of hours in my home. Each of us kept going back for more. Next time I will make TWO loaves instead of one. You might want to do the same if you want any leftovers for the next day! The coconut really makes this recipe. It adds a neat texture that tickles your tongue and the bananas make it ever so moist. Oh, I almost forgot, the added coconut milk gives it an OMGosh wonderful flavor. This is a quick bread recipe that you don't want to pass up! So who's been to Hawaii and can I stow away in your suitcase next time? I'll bring the coconut banana bread. I hope you'll stop by and say Aloha! at Bakerette, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour 15 mins Yields: 12-16 slices

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup bananas, mashed
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup coconut, shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. With an electric mixer, beat together the oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs mixing well after each addition until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. In a third mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or pastry cutter. Stir in the coconut milk.
4. Alternately add the dry ingredients and banana mixture to the egg mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Recipe adapted from FatGirlTrappedInASkinnyBody.com

If you liked this Coconut Banana Bread, you might also like these recipes found at Bakerette.com:

White Chocolate M&M's Pudding Cookies

My hubby brought me home a surprise last week.  A handful of white chocolate m&m's!  I just about died.  I was in heaven.  Being that I will take white chocolate over milk chocolate any day, he knew I would love these.   All I got was a handful.  I immediately went out the next day and I was on the hunt for a bag of these.  I found the source at a local Target and stocked up with six bags.  This is the first thing that I wanted to make.  Oh.my.goodness.  These were the bomb.  You need these in your life!   They were loaded with amazing white chocolate m&m's and this was the chewiest softest cookie that I have ever tasted.  My picky five year old even quoted, "Mom, you aren't a good cook at dinner, but you are a good cook at these treats!"  See, even my five year old loved them.  I promise you will too!

Rating: Definitely 5 stars   Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars
Review:  I made a batch of these in about 10 minutes.  They are quick and easy and absolutely amazing!  Love all of the fun bright colors for spring.  Being that I now have 6 bags of these, I will definitely be making them again!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3.4 oz package white chocolate instant pudding mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups white chocolate m&m's

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

2.  In a large bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and white chocolate pudding mix. Set aside.

3.  In your mixer cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and mix together.  Add your bowl of dry ingredients.  Mix together and lastly add the white chocolate m&m's.

4.  Scoop out cookie dough and roll into balls.  Place two inches apart on baking sheet.

5.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until slightly golden.  Let cool and enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from here

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Slow Cooker Chile Colorado Smothered Burritos

I have had quite the busy week.  I am starting to realize that my life will always be busy and I should just embrace it!  So I love when I can throw something into the crockpot before I take my boy to school.  It literally took me two minutes.  I couldn't believe how incredibly easy this was.  But the result was fantastic!!  It tasted like my favorite dish that I order from a Mexican restaurant that we love.  It had such an amazing favor and the beef was perfectly tender and just melted in my mouth.  And it was smothered in sauce and cheesy goodness.  I have had this on my list of things to make for a long time now.  It became an instant family favorite and I can't wait to make it again!

Rating: 5 stars Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars
Review:  I had read some reviews that there wasn't enough flavor in the sauce.  They suggested to reserve half of the enchilada sauce for the end. I added an extra bouillon cube to the crockpot and everything turned out fantastic.  The flavor was awesome, but if you would like to reserve half of the sauce you can if you would like and pour on burritos at the end!  This really is excellent!  It will be made again and again at our house!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed
• 1 large (19 oz) can mild red enchilada sauce
• 2 beef bouillon cubes (I used 3)
• 1 can refried beans (optional)
• 5-7 burrito sized tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Put the stew meat into the crockpot.  Put beef bouillon cubes on top and pour the enchilada sauce over the meat and cubes.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4.  Cook until meat is very tender.

2.  Assemble burritos by spooning refried beans and spreading them on the tortilla.  With a slotted spoon, put about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture on top.  Roll up like a burrito and place seam down in a 9x13 pan.

3.  Pour remaining sauce from the crockpot on the top and sprinkle heavily with cheese.

4.  Broil in the oven until cheese is melted and bubbly for about 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from Food Pusher

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Time to Sparkle Tuesday Link Party #1

Hello friends!  And welcome to the party!  I am so {excited} for my first ever link party. Link parties have been such a awesome part in helping my blog grow and meet new blogger friends.  It is also so fun to be able to share what you have been working on.  I love being able to see all of the talented blogs out there and I am so excited to see yours!  

Welcome to Time to Sparkle Tuesday Link Party, where you can find all the newest creative ideas from around the web! Stop by every Tuesday, link up your posts, and check out what others are sharing! You'll discover some amazing new blogs and find inspiration for projects, recipes, and more! This party is hosted by four lovely ladies, so your projects will be shared on ALL FOUR blogs! Each week we will pick our favorite links as features, and share them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! 

- Make sure to follow our Time to Sparkle Pinterest Board to see all the amazing features starting next week! -

Let's see what your hosts have been up to this week:

Stacked Egg Floral Arrangement by Love Grows Wild / Dessert in a Jar: Chocolate Mocha Pie by The Gunny Sack / Banana Cream Fudge by Inside BruCrew Life / Mini Key Lime Pie by The Recipe Critic

Since this is our first Time to Sparkle Party, there are no features this week. But I cannot wait to see what you link up to feature here next week!

<center><a href="http://lovegrowswild.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Love Grows Wild" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhydSFcJrxcv3ITnAqWteL7z75u5ZnjQoGTkDkMae9JRR7fmEqrJuGYrIpyzj2Z1cvcwr-v1m72N7mHtFoosJh2a779fUI-22YHN0WZw-NyZvpMnDMgkovneGQvFFA8BPkRKuPidGhL1lgA/s1600/Feature+Button.png.png"/></a></center>

Now let's party! It's Time to Sparkle!

BBQ Chicken Salad with BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing

When I was growing up I hated salad.  I would totally gag if I even would taste it.  It wasn't until I had had my first baby that I forced myself to start liking it.  I would wrap chicken up in a lettuce leaf and then hurry and eat it!  I knew it was good for me and I wanted to start eating better.  So, if I like a salad, then it HAS to be amazing!  If you are ready to experience the best salad ever, then start with this one!  Since I made this a month ago, I have made it every week.  It is the most delicious mouthwatering salad, and with the salad dressing on top it is out of this world.  I promise.  This is amazing!

Rating: 5 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars
Review:  I absolutely loved this salad.  All of the ingredients combined were so fresh and delicious.  The salad dressing is definitely a must to make with this.  It is truly amazing!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• 2 cups BBQ sauce, homemade or storebought (Highly recommend Sweet Baby Ray's)
• 2 romaine hearts, chopped
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 cups corn
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (cubed or shredded)
• 2 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese (cubed or shredded)
• tortilla strips

Salad Dressing:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/2 tespoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1.  Cook and shred your chicken.  I always throw it into the crockpot with some chicken broth and let it slow cook all day.  Then I will drain the juices and shred it.  Once you shred your chicken, add the 2 cups of BBQ sauce to the chicken.  Set aside until ready to use.

2.  If you are making the salad dressing, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, chopped cilantro, lime juice, white vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cumin and BBQ sauce.  Set aside until ready to use.

3.  In a large bowl, toss the romaine, red onion, cilantro, corn, and black beans.  You can either add about 1/2 cup of the salad dressing to this, or serve it on the side.

4.  Top salad with the cheese and tortilla strips.  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: Mel's Kitchen

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Thin Mint Muddy Buddies

Hi.  My name is Alyssa and I am addicted to Muddy Buddies.  Ok phew.  The first stage is admitting it.  Unfortunately I have also accepted the fact that I will always be addicted! What is it with these that are so delicious?  I even had to get a bag on our most recent road trip.  They weren't the same as a fresh batch made at home, but they still were great! Someone told me a few weeks back when I posted the last muddy buddy recipe that I should make a mint kind.  I gladly took on the challenge.  Holy yum!  I loved the mint flavor in these!  And the tiny thin mint cookies that coated the outside made them extra amazing!  So fun for St Patricks Day, girl scout season, or really any time of the year!

Rating: 5 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars
Review:  I made this with mint chips but wonder if using white chocolate chips with some mint extract would work as well.  I loved the minty flavor in this and the fact that they had my favorite girl scout cookie in them made them a win!

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces Guittards Green Mint chips (or green candy melts, the thin mints will still make them minty)
• 5 ounces milk chocolate chips
• 5 cups Chex Cereal
• 1 tsp shortening
• 9 Thin Mint Cookies or Keebler grasshopper cookies
• 1 cup powdered sugar

1. Divide the chex cereal into two bowls.  2 1/2 cups in each.  

2.  In a food processor crush 8 thin mint cookies until fine.  You can also crush in a gallon size bag with rolling pin.  

3.  In two gallon size bags, add 1/2 cup powdered sugar into each bag with 1/2 of the crushed thin mints into each bag. (It was about 1/2 cup of crushed thin mints.)  Set aside.

4.  Melt the mint chocolate chips (or green candy melts) and milk chocolate in separate microwave safe bowls.   Melt 30 seconds at a time with 1/2 tsp shortening in each stirring after each 30 seconds until melted.  

5.  Once melted, stir in the chocolate into the separate bowls with Chex cereal until the Chex are coated well with the chocolate.

6.  Add the mint chocolate and milk chocolate separately to the gallon sized bags with powdered sugar and crushed thin mints and shake until they are coated. 

Recipe Adapted from another recipe that I did that hasn't been posted. :)

You might also enjoy:

Skinny Muddy Buddies

Funfetti Muddy Buddies

Pumpkin Spice Buddies

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White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Pudding Cookies

I am obsessed with snickerdoodles and white chocolate.  So when I found this recipe on pinterest I had to try it right away!  This is taking snickerdoodles to a whole nuther level my friends.  I am not even kidding when I say that these were probably the best cookies that I have made to date.  Have you ever made a pudding cookie?  They are the softest, chewiest, most tasty cookies created.  And these had all of my favorite things rolled up into one!  This is a recipe that I hope that everyone tries.  When I was taking pictures of these, I originally had a cookie leaning on the side.  But then bite by bite, it suddenly disappeared.  They were amazing!

Rating: 5 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars
Review:  I had to give these away because I would have eaten all of them.  Everyone absolutely loved them and the hubby agreed that these are the best.  This is one of those recipes that you never want to lose and make over and over again!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3.4 oz package white chocolate instant pudding mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

2.  In a large bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and white chocolate pudding mix. Set aside.

3.  In your mixer cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and mix together.  Add your bowl of dry ingredients.  Mix together and lastly add the white chocolate chips.

4.  Mix in a small bowl the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Scoop out cookie dough and roll into balls.  Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place two inches apart on baking sheet.

5.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until slightly golden.  Let cool and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Something Swanky

You might also enjoy:

Snickerdoodle Bars

Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake

Snickerdoodle Blondies

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