at home with ann

You knew that I, queen of the muffins with muffin monsters to feed, could not let zucchini season pass by without making muffins one or twelve times.  Some questionable looking bananas on the counter were begging to be added in, and Zucchini Banana Muffins were born. We made these to snack on at a play date this morning. The batter comes together quickly, and thanks to their mini size, they bake in about 15 minutes.  I had just taken them out to cool when it was time to put James down for his nap.  While I was upstairs I heard what I could only guess to be many, many small items being hurled across the floor.  After leaving the baby's room I knew there was some frantic picking up to be done, but also delicious warm muffins as my reward.  By the time I got downstairs Colin had sampled a few, of course, and confirmed they are great. Zucchini Banana Muffins Ingredients: 1 cup banana, mashed (I used two bananas) 1 cup zucchini, shredded, squeezed to remove...

I gave these cookie mixes in a jar for Christmas presents this year along with some homemade bourbon vanilla extract.  Vanilla extract is the easiest thing in the world to make, aside from my having to explain to Jon how I used up an entire bottle of Makers Mark in one day.  Anyway, layering things in mason jars looks adorable, and everyone likes an excuse to bake cookies.  Somehow I managed to miscount the number I needed, because it's hard to count to...5, so I had an extra jar.  Oh well, cookie baking is a good snow day activity. While it's easiest and certainly works to add the mix all at once, I roughly separated the ingredients for mixing.  I emptied the white chocolate, cranberries, oats and flour mixture into a bowl before pouring the sugars into the butter and egg mixture.  Once the sugar and butter was mixed, I added the remaining ingredients. Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies in a Jar Ingredients: 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar 3...

Welcome new readers, I hope you like what you find!  Follow At Home With Ann on Facebook for even more photos and kitchen adventures. In the wonderful world of toddlerhood, you can be cruising along and then suddenly your three year old announces that everything you cook smells gross.  This does wonders for your confidence, and is only improved when he requests that flowers on the table be placed in front of him so he can't smell whatever you're eating.  Baked goods rarely disappoint, however, and this one has the benefit of being quick, easy, healthy and delicious.  We've been eating them for afternoon snack treats, but in a pinch I'd have a few for breakfast. Mix this up to suit your tastes and dietary needs.  Gluten free oats can be subbed for old fashioned, sunflower seed butter for peanut, or dried fruit for the chocolate. No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls recipe from Gimme Some Oven   Ingredients: 1 cup dry old fashioned oats 2/3 cup c...

Thank you so much for all your sweet comments and notes from my last post.  It really does help to know Sarah has so many people in her corner! These cookies are so healthy, you can eat them for breakfast.  Plus, they only have four ingredients and come together in less than five minutes, so you could even bake them in the morning.  I made them with the help of my trusty kitchen assistant one very cold morning last week who ate handfuls of batter straight from the bowl.  By lunchtime we had nearly finished off the batch, but it's ok, because they are good for you! Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal Cookies recipe from Skinnytaste 2 ripe bananas, mashed 1 cup uncooked oats 2 Tablespoons peanut butter ~1 Tablespoon jam Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet, either  by spraying or lining with a baking mat or parchment paper. Mix banana, oats and peanut butter together. Drop heaping tablespoons (I like my little cookie scoop for this) onto ...

This week we made applesauce with our friends Sarah and Brycen.  Sarah generously provided the apples from her parent's trees, and Brycen and Colin helped in the way only 1 1/2 year olds can.  We used our giant applesauce stash to do some baking together and made muffins, amazing waffles, and this bread.  Sarah said things like, "all these things will freeze really well, that's why it's ok we made so much."  Meanwhile, I was thinking, I hope these last until the weekend.  Apple Oatmeal Bread modified from Stonyfield Farm 1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt 1 cup oats 1 egg 1/2 cup applesauce 1/4 cup brown sugar 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 2/3 cup whole wheat flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup diced apples Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and oats. In another bowl, mix together egg, applesauce and brown sugar. In a third bowl, whisk together flours, bak...

I make these recipes for Colin, but grown up people might like them too! Colin was never big into baby food purees.  I fed him one jar of food back when he first started eating solids, mostly so that I could have the cute mini jar to use for lotion.  I think those "complete meals in a jar" are kind of creepy.  Chicken dinner puree?  No, thanks.  For the most part he has eaten fruits and vegetables, either raw, steamed, roasted or sauteed.  A few things have been big hits and I use them as staples: broccoli and roasted sweet potatoes.  He's big in picking things up himself.  We can get into ruts, however, one of which resulted in his eating an entire roasted butternut squash over a two week period. He likes to help in the kitchen, which means he wants to see everything that's going on and touch it.  Cooking with one hand while holding him with the other can be a bit of a challenge.  Sometimes I can convince him that the view from his c...

This is yet another Pinterest find.  I spend far too many hours on Pinterest while wearing Colin asleep in his sling. I should be reading.  Or bettering my mind.  Or doing something other than looking at recipes that make me hungry all the time.  While I've gotten pretty good at cooking and eating with him in the Baby K'tan, it's not always ideal, and I don't want to be smashing pots and pans and waking him up.  That's why the food I eat during the day is mostly whatever can be eaten quickly, usually while standing up in the kitchen, and without utensils.  That's where these cookies come in.  They are nutritious, made with whole grains, fruit and some spices.  More like a breakfast bar than a cookie, except without preservatives and added sugar.  They are perfect for snacks, and I'll also keep the recipe for Colin's breakfasts and lunchboxes once he gets teeth.    Strawberry Banana Breakfast Cookies makes 14 cookies recipe in...

That recipe title is quite a mouthful.  Get it?  A mouthful?  I make myself laugh. You probably all think I'm weird. In any case, I had a craving for pancakes last weekend.  The baby and I were on our own for the weekend while Jon went on a ski trip.  It was freezing cold and windy so we stayed cozy and warm inside the whole time.  Such occasions call for pancakes.  Unfortunately, we were out of eggs and I wanted to skip the butter (more on that to come).  I did a few google searches for ideas and came up with Oatmeal Banana Whole Wheat Vegan Pancakes.  Hardly more ingredients than a bowl of oatmeal, but so much better.  No added sugar or fat make these healthy pancakes perfect for any day.  Or every day, in my case.  Oatmeal Banana Whole Wheat Vegan Pancakes yield: 6 pancakes I'll let you decide how many people that serves.  Ingredients: 3/4 cup milk (I used almond and rice milk- I've made these 4 times in the pa...

Colin had his first play date yesterday, so I made some cookies to bring along.  He's lucky enough to have two cousins within 5 months of his age (he's the youngest), and I'm lucky to have two other girls in our family to have mom chats with. This is one of my fail safe cookie recipes. I almost always have all the ingredients on hand, it only takes about 20 minutes start to finish, and is always delicious.  Borrowed from the lid of the Quaker Oats canister, it's also available online . Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies recipe from Quaker Oats 1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened 3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2  cup granulated sugar 2  eggs 1  teaspoon vanilla 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour 1  teaspoon baking soda 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2  teaspoon salt (optional) 3  cups Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked) 1  cup dried cra...

I had a couple of bananas on the counter just begging to be baked this weekend.  I made banana muffins last week and we had no trouble polishing them off in a few days, but I wanted to try something a little different, and marginally healthier.  A little internet searching and I came across a couple of good ideas.  These snack bars are a great alternative to store-bought cereal bars, and you can even get away with eating one for a sweet breakfast. Banana Oat Bars Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats 1/4 cup white sugar (Mushy bananas are pretty sweet to start with, so I would try cutting this out next time) 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 medium mashed bananas (about one cup) 1/4 cup milk 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Whisk together oats, sugars, bakin...

It is no secret that I love pancakes.  Blueberry, strawberry, banana, chocolate chip - all pancakes are good in my book.  While pancakes are a frequent menu item on weekend mornings around our house, it's hard to justify filling up with flour, butter and sugar on a weekday.  Not exactly a breakfast of champions to give you energy.  Yesterday I had a major craving for blueberry pancakes, and came up with this oatmeal bowl as a slightly healthier alternative.  If you read any of the "healthy living blogs," oatmeal is no new thing to you, but I feel like it's sometimes forgotten and considered an unglamorous breakfast (I'm not sure what a glamorous breakfast is).  Old fashioned oats have many great benefits.  They come in that old school canister, they are full of fiber, and have a low glycemic index, which means you digest them slowly and your blood sugar remains steady.  Instant oats, while convenient, taste like glue, so if you have the time, go o...