{super delicious} Banana Pineapple Muffins

I stumbled across THIS RECIPE for "moist pineapple banana bread" and just had to try it.

Perfection! This bread is really, truly, unbelievably amazing, and the BEST part is Kenzie and John love them! I made muffins, because it's easier for "on the go" purposes, but still, we all love it!

I did, of course, change a little, but make this bread! You'll never make banana bread without pineapple again. I swear.

The Recipe -

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2-3 medium banana, mashed

1/2 cup crushed pineapple with juice

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

The Directions - Preheat oven to 350, line cupcake pan with wrappers

In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars; add in eggs one at a time. Once combined, mix in banana and pineapple.

Slowly add in dry ingredients until well combined.

Scoop approximately 1/4 cup of batter into muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

{best ever} Chocolate Chip Cookies

I perfected the chocolate chip cookie years ago, thank you mom and Nestle, but they (of course) had room to be better.

I spend a good chunk of my day, when I'm not drowning in work (at work), looking up new recipes and figuring out ways to tweak my own. Well on Sunday afternoon, I finally came up with an award winning recipe. It hasn't won an award, but it will. I'll make one.

The Recipe -

1 cup butter, room temp

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoon corn starch

1 teaspoon salt

Milk chocolate chips

Semisweet chocolate chips

Or dark chocolate, or white :)

The Directions - Preheat oven to 350


In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, corn starch, and salt; mix well and set aside.

In stand mixer (or large bowl with electric mixer), cream together butter, oil, and sugars. Add in vanilla and eggs, one at a time. When wet ingredients are mixed well, slowly add in portions of flour mixture. Once all ingredients are starting to combine, stir in chocolate chips. This will be hard, so I hope you are strong!

On baking sheet, scoop one scoop of dough with small ice cream scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) and top with another scoop. Keep it tall so it's nice and thick!

Bake for roughly 8 minutes.

I notice that different kinds of chocolate make it so much better than just one! They are so soft and chewy, I love them!

You guys, I'm not even kidding. These cookies are the best ever!

Recipes!

I share family pictures, outings, and fun on here, but rarely do I share what Kenzie and I love doing together without John, and that's baking! I've been baking for a long time, and I may be biased, but I'm pretty dang good.

I remember always helping my mom in the kitchen every chance I could, and all tips and tricks she shared with me then, are still in my brain and help me make delicious masterpieces! I try and bake anything and everything. Cookies are my favorite, with brownies rounding in a close second. Cakes, pies, bars, and candy are fun, but my heart lies with cookies and brownies.

This blog will not only keep you smiling with cute pictures of Kenzie, but it's now going to make your  mouth water and yearn for a bite of something delicious!

Stay tuned for many recipes you'll want to try over and over again :)

February Part 1

So far, in February, we've kept somewhat busy. As far as jobs and living is concerned, nothing much has changed since January. But, like always, Kenzie keeps growing into such an incredibly smart and beautiful little girl.

She still loves going to school, playing with all of her friends, riding her bike, going to the mountains for a hike and/or picnic, playing barbies and dress up, and a new favorite, playing with make-up. Yes, I bought her real make-up and yes, I'm kicking myself for it! I'll teach her to apply it properly, otherwise she looks like a sad clown.

John and I are doing well. Keeping very busy with work and life. We love being so active on the weekends, so I'll share some pictures for you now!

Another hike, and much more to come ;) This round was in North Scottsdale, McDowell Mountain. It was, so far, the best trail we've been on! Besides Sedona and the gorgeous red rocks.

A family bike/skateboard ride around the neighborhood! She loves it!

Of course, these two cuties. Kenzie picked up a virus at school, a high fever and upset tummy. She's a champ, though. Still all smiles and laughs!

One of Kenzie's favorite shows is Kipper the Dog, and because it's a BBC show (British), you can't really find merchandise around here. So, I made her a Kipper the Dog stuffed toy! Be nice, it was my first time sewing a stuffed animal. She loves him so much, she wants me to make the rest of the characters! 

Kenzie loves her cousins, and we had little Aubree over (with my brother and sister-in-law as well) for dinner this past weekend. These two girls are way too cute for words!

Stay tuned for more, we have more fun planned!

January Recap, Part 2

With January nearing its end, I am ready to share final bits of fun we squeezed out this month!

For my mom's birthday, we decided to go bowling. It had been 10+ years for John and I, and we thought Kenzie would have a blast, so we went and was right! Kenzie had the time of her life! It was so exciting to hear her cheer everyone on, and give them hugs when we knocked down pins (even if it was one lonely pin). She is such a sweet heart!

A few weeks ago I bought myself a mountain bike. John has one, and Kenzie has one, so it was time for me to buy one. I'm so glad I did, we had an amazing time riding around together. We went to an elementary school parking lot because I needed practice. Yes, me. It has been 15 years (maybe more) since I've ridden a bicycle!! You never forget, but you get wobbly. Turning was hard, and I hit the curb a few times, but Kenzie loved it. We used our imaginations to pretend we were cars and dragons and more! Such a thrill!

Stay tuned for some fun February pictures!

January Recap, Part 1 {Edited!}

January was a very exciting month, we did a lot of fun things! Pictures are much more fun than reading text, so here you go!

First up, New  Years Eve! I am finally getting around to uploading some pictures. We had a great time, it was a nice quiet evening with my sister, brother in law, niece and nephew, and of course my 2 lovelies.

Sparklers!

These 3 kids are the definition of happiness!

Balloon drop, happy new year!

Next up, Disney on Ice: Rockin' Ever After with Grandma Karns! Kenzie was in awe the entire show, while I sat in tears. I adored watching the magic light up in her eyes, and the excitement fill her smile. She was dressed as Princess Anna from the new Disney movie, Frozen.

Anxious to go!

(Not so) patiently waiting for the show to start!

She couldn't look at the camera, because she was looking everywhere else!

So excited! 

Here we GOOOOO!

Under the Sea!

Next round of pictures, a beautiful hike up McDowell Mountain Park in Fountain Hills! We love taking Kenzie and Max out for hikes, and when the weather is as beautiful as it has been, there aren't any excuses! Kenzie was a trooper, she almost lasted the entire 3.1 mile loop.

Gorgeous weather!

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Who's Your Superhero?

I just had to share my recent conversation with Kenzie, because she is just too sweet!

Somehow the topic of superheroes started, so I asked her who her favorite superhero was, expecting to hear Batman or Spider Man, but instead she says "daddy is my favorite, he's the best and I love him so much." 

I melted! I was amazed and so impressed. Kenzie is truly one of the most genuine, caring little girls on the planet. She has the biggest heart, the best smile, contagious giggles, and an incredible little imagination. I'm so lucky to have her, and John. She loves her daddy SO much!