Oh Christmas Tree & Cranberry Banana Bread

I think we've got this Christmas tree shopping thing down.  We had a super busy weekend; three nights in a row of parties or outings, tree shopping, more decorating, house cleaning and 4H Cooking meeting at my house, so we had to save time where we could.  Before arriving at the tree lot {no we don't go to a tree farm} I gave Bryce and Paige the run down of what to look for.........a tall, thin Christmas tree.

First row, second tree, we're done!  Back home to decorate some more.

Decorating went pretty smoothly as well.  Dominic did the lights, the kids put the balls and decorations on the tree and I followed behind them to spread out the clusters of 20 they hung on the bottom 1/4 of the tree.  Pretty soon we were completely finished.

I found these mini ceramic, holiday loaf pans at Michael's for $1 each.  Perfect for 4H cooking class that we had going on this weekend.  I found a recipe for a festive Cranberry Banana Bread online at Channel3000 that I thought would work for a group of 10. 

Everyone was really pleased with their creation and happy to be able to take home the ceramic loaf pan to bake something else in after their Cranberry Banana Bread was gone. {recipe below}

I received a Tasting Box from Foodzie in the mail and wanted to give you a peek of what was included.
Alfajores Cookies, Heirloom Cranberry Beans, Bacon Peanut Brittles, Parmesan Flatbreads and Fleur De Sel Caramel Popcorn.

How was your weekend?  Are you finished decorating and Christmas shopping yet?

Cranberry Banana Bread

Makes one 9 x 5-inch loaf

Ingredients:
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2-3 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries, chopped*
• 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar; beat until light. Add egg and beat well. Add baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, bananas, milk, and flour; beat until well blended. Fold in cranberries and walnuts; stir until well mixed. Spoon batter into baking pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour, or until lightly brown on top and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan; then remove from pan and cool on rack.

* Note: It works best to chop the fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries in a small food processor.

Happy Sunday!


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