Hello Made From Pinterest fans! I’m Jen and I blog at Bakerette.com where I share daily recipes, gardening tidbits, and a smattering of DIY projects. I’m excited to be guest posting this month for the three sisters! I met Debbie several years ago at a bloggers’ lunch and we connected instantly. She’s very down-to-earth, so easy to talk to, and a delight to be around. And since then, I’ve become acquainted with Sherri and Tracy. They are ALL amazing women.

Well here’s a twist on banana bread for you…

Banana bread made in a jar. Wuh??? Pretty darn crazy, huh? Why would anyone want to make banana bread in a mason jar?

Well, for a couple of reasons: I love making these beauties as gifts. I can make a bunch at a time and send them over to neighbors as a nice gesture, pass them out as party favors, give them as gifts at Christmas, as teacher gifts, or store in my pantry. If sealed properly, they can keep up to a year! Think food storage people!

You can decorate the jars with a circle of batting and fun fabric under the jar ring and add a pretty label. So darn cute!

And guess what? They slide out so easily! Just give them a slight shake and out they come.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started…

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Yields: 1 dozen half-pint jars

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup shortening
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups mashed bananas (approx. 4 medium-sized bananas)
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2/3 cup pecans, crushed
• 12 half pint (8 ounce jars) mason jars

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare the mason jars by greasing the insides of the jars with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening and sugar with an electric mixer until well incorporated. Beat in the eggs, bananas, and water until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves and pour into the banana mixture a little at a time mixing well with each addition. Fold in pecans.
4. Spoon batter into mason jars filling 1/2 way full. Wipe off any spills on the jars before baking. Do not add the lids. Tip: You can also pour the batter in a gallon-size bag with a hole cut in the corner and pipe the batter into the jars.
5. Line the jars on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes of until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Note: You can also line the jars up in the oven without the baking sheet. Some people have mentioned they cook more evenly that way. You might want to experiment. I’ve never had a problem.) Meanwhile, sterilize the lids and rings in boiling water.
6. Remove the jars from the oven and screw on the lids and rings to the jars while the bread is cooling. The jars will seal as the bread cools down. You will hear a light “ping” when the jar seals itself. If you don’t, press down on the lid to see if it is firm. If it doesn’t “give”, it is sealed. Also, if the bread bakes above the rim of the jar, no worries. Just gently press the top of the bread down with the lid and seal.
7. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or eat when cooled!

Note: You can forgo making this bread in the jars and bake it in two 9 x 5-inch bread pans for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Linda Jean at Allrecipes.com

Thank you, Debbie, Sherri and Tracy, for allowing me to guest post today! And I would love it if you stopped by Bakerette.com for a bite to eat! You can also find me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Stumble Upon. I hope to see you around!

If you liked this recipe, you might also like these other recipes at Bakerette:

Thanks Jeni for a great recipe and a super cute idea!

If you are an Oreo lover like me, I think you will like these Oreo Cream Cheese Popsicles that I pinned from My Baking Addiction. Don’t these look decadent?  Maybe as good as a Magnum Bar?  I think maybe!

No matter how you eat your Oreo’s – if you twist, crunch, scrape, dunk, lick or eat them with your pinkie in the air,  add this one to your list.  You won’t regret it.

This Pin Rocks! 

Tomorrow we are excited to have one of our monthly contributors share a post on our site.  Watch for Jeni from Bakerette.com tomorrow!

You can also find us on  Pinterest │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Instagram │ StumbleUpon │ Hometalk

Link Parties Today!

The Mandatory Mooch - Easy Living Mom - Katherine’s Corner - A Glimpse Inside - LIfe with the Crust Off - The 36th Avenue - Glued to My Crafts - Gingerly Made - 52 Mantels - Real Coake

Isn’t that the truth?  When your day doesn’t go as planned, but you still need dinner, you can always make spaghetti.

When you have carved out enough time out of your day to prepare a meal for your family, but then a friend calls and took up that time, you can always make spaghetti.

Lucky for you, today’s post is about spaghetti.

Oh.

But not ordinary spaghetti.

Million. Dollar. Spaghetti.

What if you didn’t have to make just spaghetti but could make Million Dollar Spaghetti?  Even though your kids might call it ba-sketti, they might nominate you for mother of the year award – if only you made Million Dollar Spaghetti.  Your husband might pick you up and twirl you around and plant a kiss on your forehead – if only you made Million Dollar Spaghetti.  Neighbors would want you to join their garden club, card club and Junior League Society – if only you made Million Dollar Spaghetti.

Well, here’s your chance to become all you’ve ever dreamed you could be, because now you too can make Million Dollar Spaghetti pinned from Being Grown Up.

Here we go with the ingredients lineup:

*1 lb of ground beef

*1 jar of spaghetti sauce

*8 oz of cream cheese

*1/4 cup sour cream

*1/2 lb cottage cheese

*1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

*1 pkg spaghetti

*Grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350°. Boil your spaghetti noodles until al dente (firm).  Drain and set aside until ready to assemble.

Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese until well blended.

Brown  your hamburger and when done, drain well.  Combine the hamburger with your spaghetti sauce.

Ready for assembly?

1.  Put a few slices of butter into a 9×3 pan then pour half of your spaghetti noodles on top.

2.  Take your cream cheese mixture and pour on top of the noodles. Spread well over noodles.Okay, minor confession here.  If you look closely, you will not see any noodles underneath my cream cheese mixture.  That’s because I messed up and poured this  in first before my noodles.  AACK!  Don’t you hate when you do that?.  Yeah, so I scooped it out, put my noodles in and then spread the cream cheese mixture on the noodles.

AGAIN.

Alright.  Now we can proceed.

3. Pour the rest of the noodles on top of the cream cheese mixture.  Put a few more slices of butter on top of the noodles.  And no, this is not a Paula Deen recipe!4. Pour your spaghetti and meat sauce on top of your noodles:Now it is ready to put into the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pour the desired amount of grated cheese on top and return to the oven for 15 minutes to allow cheese to melt.So when your day is crazy and all else fails – make spaghetti.

Million. Dollar. Spaghetti.

Your family will think you slaved away in the kitchen all day.  It will be our little secret.

This Pin Rocks!

Today’s Link Parties:

Lady Behind the Curtain - Lil Luna - Ginger Snap Crafts - DIY Craft Projects - And Sew We Craft - HIgh Heels and Grills - Made in a Day - Kitchen Meets Girl - seven thirty three - Adorned From Above

I pinned this beautiful Fruit Pizza from Weddings Illustrated  to share on this blog but was a little leary about making it because I already have a fabulous Fruit Pizza recipe.  You know how there are maybe 3-4 things in your recipe arsenal that whenever you bring it to a function that you will be asked for the recipe?   One of the recipes that I am always asked for is for Lipton Onion Potatoes which actually is being featured over at Bakerette.com today!  Another recipe that I am asked for is my Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies, which you will have to wait for as it will be in an upcoming post!  The third recipe that I am always asked for is for this Fruit Pizza!

Well, when I clicked through to the pin that I had pinned, there was no recipe attached so…. DARN….I am just going to have to use my own recipe.  Woot!

And right now is the perfect time to make this Fruit Pizza because so much of the fruit is available fresh.  Isn’t this gorgeous?How could you resist this baby?  Plus this is good for you…right?  I mean look at all of the fruit packed on top of this!  Let’s just forget about the whipped cream, cream cheese and cookie crust below it.  We’re supposed to accentuate the positive, aren’t we?  {{wink wink}}

Make sure you try this soon.  Your family will love you for it!  And… I’ll bet that you get asked for the recipe!

Today’s Link Parties!

Craft-o-Maniac - Mad in Crafts - Artsy Fartsy Mama - Keeping it Simple - DIY Showoff - A Pinch of Joy - I Should Be Mopping the Floor - Flour me with Love - The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen - Lines Across - This Gal Cooks

While there you can create a clipboard and clip things that you might be interested in.   And another great feature that Hometalk has  is that you can ask questions and get responses from experts in that particular field.

One clipboard that we recently created was Easy Home Remedies for Common Household Problems.  Check it out here!

You will love seeing what they have to offer but be prepared…..you’ll probably end up spending quite a bit of time there because it’s so addicting!

Here’s to a happy weekend in your home!

 Your clean shower doors will “clearly” help you come up with some great ideas!

These Pins Rock!

For a perfectly clean shower or tub you may also like to check out Easy Shower Mold Solution

We are pleased this post is linked with: Chase the Star – French Country Cottage - Craftberry Bush - Romantic Home - Simply Designing - Shaken Together Life - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Shabby Nest - Serenity Now - What’s Cooking With Ruthie - Tatertots and Jello - Be Different Act Normal - It’s Overflowing - Cheerios and Lattes - I am Only 1 Woman - A Bowl Full Of Lemons - Six Sister’s Stuff

When it comes to lemonade recipes, everybody has their own opinions as to what a perfect recipe is.  I like my lemonade sweet and tart. This pin  from High Heels and Grills caught my attention because they named their recipe Chic-Fil-A Lemonade. I don’t know if you have Chic-Fil-A in your area, and if you don’t, I am sorry for you. It is my all time favorite fast food place.  And part of the reason I love it is their lemonade. It is THE BEST! So I really had to try this recipe. This recipe is a perfect base recipe that can be tweaked to your preference. Since I love Chic-Fil-A, I just had to make a trip and get their perfect lemonade to compare. This is a great match. Any lemonade stand would do well with this recipe, given the price is right and it is well advertised!

This Pin Rocks!

If you love the taste of lemons, try Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake or Lemon Rice Krispie Recipe

We are happy to link this post with these sites: House of Hepworths - 36th Avenue - Live, Laugh, Rowe - Gingerly Made - 52 Mantels - Real Coake - Life with the Crust Off - Easy Living Mom - A Glimpse Inside - Chocolate, Chocolate and More - Chase the Star - French Country Cottage - Craftberry Bush - Romantic Home - Simply Designing - Shaken Together Life - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Shabby Nest

All you have to do is put your iron on a low setting. I had to wait for mine to cool off! Put down a towel or other fabric to protect your ironing board from your iron, and possibly your iron from your ironing board if you got sticky stuff all over it. I need a new iron cover now. Next, get a dryer sheet and iron over it until all the sticky stuff is gone. Your iron will have an oily residue that needs to be wiped off with a clean cloth, and you are good to go! This is a great tip from Make It Do.

For other magic cleaning tips that require zero elbow grease try Easy Shower Mold Solution, Cleaning Barbeque Grills the Magic Way or Clean Stove Burner.

This Pin Definitely Rocks!

Today we are linking up with these lovely sites: Lady Behind the Curtain - DIY Craft Projects - Printabelle - Someday Crafts - The Life of Jennifer Dawn - Adorned From Above - 733 Blog - Kitchen Meets Girl - Daisy Cottage Designs - A Bowl Full of Lemons

That girls knows her food. She is not kidding. Meat does love salt. Especially beef. And this recipe for pot roast has just the right amount of salt and seasonings. Crock pot meals are so nice aren’t they? When I walk in the door after a busy day to the smell of something in the slow cooker, it is such a relief. This is the type of meal you can count on to satisfy. Better than a Snicker’s bar. Although that would make a great dessert if you are in a hurry. This terrific recipe from You’re Too Crafty is a busy day lifesaver.

Show your family you love them like meat loves salt by making this easy 5 ingredient pot roast. They will understand when they taste it.

If you love Crock Pot cooking for tender meat you should also try Mississippi Roast or Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork Roast.

This Pin Rocks!

Linking with these fun sites today: Tatertots and jello - What’s Cooking with Ruthie - I am Addicted To Recipes - The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen - Salt Tree - Flour Me With Love - Chef In Training - The Recipe Critic - Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms - Jam Hands - Hun What’s For Dinner? - Mandy’s Recipe Box - Homework - A Bowl Full of Lemons - The Rustic Pig - Cornerstone Confessions