Recap Of My Uber-Productive Day and Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Cutest pumpkin

 What better way to start the day off than with the cutest pumpkin that I know. Isn't my nephew so handsome??

 

Yesterday, I had the entire day off and vowed to be uber-productive and I absolutely was.

 

 

I started off with some chores around the house: laundry, dishes, and quick general cleaning and picking up of the dining area, kitchen, living room and bedroom.

 

I headed out for some errands and knocked off three items on my Ten Things Tuesday list:

• Post office
• Staples to get some Velcro for my file-folder projects (more on that later)
• Bed Bath and Beyond: returned some things (they have the best return policy ever) and used the merchandise credit to buy an iron. I texted Ryan immediately to tell him that we now own an iron and I officially feel grown-up
• Ran to the consignment store to pick up a check (wahoo-$17.00 and some change-free money!) and bring a few items in
• Deposited the whopping $17.00 check at the ATM
• Used a gift card to snag an iced coffee (thanks Leah!)

• Quick/cheap trip to the grocery store. I tried to keep things to a bare minimum this week and declared the next few weeks as the "empty out the cabinets and pantry and use what we got" sort of weeks.

Once I came home, I immediately got to work and unloaded the groceries, emptied the dishwasher, made and cleaned up lunch, and swept the main floors.

 

Once that was all done, I broke out my pink mix-master and baked a loaf of Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips. But before I get into the recipe, I wanted to brag for a minute.

 

 The teenager has been a rock star in school/home the past week or so and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he is FINALLY coming to his senses. Something must have clicked because he is putting in effort in his studying/homework, reading the directions and actually following them, helping out with chores with a less-sucky attitude. And it has made a world of difference around here.

 

 Ryan and I are fighting less (it's actually of the only things that cause us to fight), there is practically no yelling at all in our house....and ever since he started listening to us parents (yes, I am tooting our own damn horns here), he has NAILED all of his tests/quizzes.

 

case in point: 100% on his science quiz

 

 

 

 So, check out this recipe:

 

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

with Chocolate Chips

 

 

Here is what you need:

 

• 3 overly ripe banana's (I froze these from a while ago and took them out of the freezer about half an hour before I started baking)
• 1/3 cup melted margarine or butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• dash of salt
• cooking spray
• cinnamon/sugar mixture
• chocolate chips

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To:

• Preheat oven to 350

• Grease loaf pan

• Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla

• Sprinkle baking soda and salt on top

• Gently stir in flour (don't over mix)

• Add half of batter into loaf pan

• Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture followed by a handful of chocolate chip 

 

 

• Add remaining batter to cover chocolate chips

• Sprinkle more cinnamon/sugar mixture and chocolate chips on top

• Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

 

Enjoy!!!!