Never thought I'd do this!

Well...here I am, writing a BLOG entry! I never thought I would do this, but I actually think it is kind of a fun way to record some memories and share with friends and family...hence the title of the blog :)

It's summer!!! I am so excited to be working at a local restaurant as a hostess this summer...it has been a blessing in disguise so far - at first I wanted to quit! If you know me, you know I am...well a little on the quieter side haha. Let's just say my first few days were a little intimidating. It's wonderful now and I'm loving it, it's almost a break in my day to go and serve people and just smile and greet people. Hospitality, I'm finding, is one of my strong suits :)

Among other things, my wonderful, darling sister is getting married this summer! Sooo exciting!!! She is my best friend and I love her so much.....this is her and I at a friend's wedding:



Anyways...I also love to cook. I love both baking and cooking, and I have an extremely well-thought-out plan of going to culinary school one day....hehe :) So anyways, I thought it would be fun to post a recipe that I have made lately with each blog....so here is one:

Banana Nut Muffins...YUM!
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cupcake pan or line with cute liners.
2. If you want to use nuts, put about a 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans on a baking sheet and toast them for about 8 minutes in the oven (totally optional, just makes them more tasty!). Set these aside for later.
3. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a medium/large bowl and set it aside for later:
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (just grind some flax seeds in a coffee grinder)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
***(instead of using the three different flours above, you can just use all whole wheat or all-purpose flour!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 HEAPING teaspoon cinnamon (looove cinnamon!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4. Next, in a separate medium bowl with a hand mixer, mix together the following ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (you caaaan do more if you'd like!)
1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar (or granulated sugar, I like brown sugar better though)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil (or melted butter)
5. This part is important...you do not want to overmix the muffin batter! Pour all of the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Fold until JUST combined...then fold in the nuts (if using). Spoon even amounts of batter into the 12 muffin cups.
6. Now make the crumb topping! This is also optional...but it tastes great! Mix together with a pastry cutter, fingers, or fork until it resembles cornmeal:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon COLD butter
7. Sprinkle the topping evenly over muffins. Put in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean...about 16-18 minutes! They are sooo yummy!!

Enjoy :)