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Hands in the air if you’re equally excited to be back in a routine, but also lamenting the end of summer. We are officially back in school, back to the dance-horses-homework extravaganza, and while I thrive on a schedule, things are busy, as I’m sure many of you can relate.

I’m here trying to make the week as streamlined as possible, and here are some of the things that have helped:

– Doing anything I can the night before. This means packing lunches, setting out uniforms (including hair accessories and shoes), packing snacks, and setting out water bottles to be filled. I also make a mental note of what the kids are having for breakfast, so I can make anything in advance.

– Start dinner in the afternoon. Many nights, Liv is finished with dance late, so I have dinner waiting for the crew when they’re done with their activities for the day. I’ve found that late afternoon, before school pickup, is the best chance to get some veggies chopped, and make anything I can before pickup.

– Snack prep! I try to make snack staples at the beginning of the week, so that the kids have lots of options.

Here are two favorites that they’re loving lately!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins and Chocolate Coconut Energy Bites

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

These lemon blueberry muffins have a bright and zesty flavor. P says they taste like pancake muffins! I also like that they’re not too sweet. You can absolutely increase the sweetness by adding more coconut sugar or maple syrup. Make a batch and freeze to have on hand for the week. I’ll heat them up and serve with pre-boiled eggs for a quick school morning breakfast.

Chocolate Chip Banana Zucchini Bread [+ Video]

This easy zucchini banana bread is studded with chocolate chips and packed with flavor! Enjoy it warm from the oven, or freeze a loaf for later!

Recommended Equipment

• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Bread Pans

Before You Begin…

Spray your bread pans with cooking spread and then take a paper towel and wipe the spray off the top inch of the pan, all the way around. This will help the batter “catch” the side of pan and then poof up in the middle. Your loaf will be both gorgeous and delicious!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread Recipe

Did you ever play school when you were growing up? I totally did and I was pretty darn sure I was going to grow up to be a teacher. I didn’t. But I did grow up to be a banana bread lover. Not sure what that has to do with being a teacher, but it’s the truth.

Zucchini bread on the other hand, gross. I did not like the texture as a kid at all. I refused to eat it, which must have been so much fun for my parents. And then I slowly forgot about it until I became a food blogger. If there’s one thing pinterest doesn’t need more of it’s quick bread recipes, so obviously I chose to give you all one.

Not true? Well, either way I decided it was high time I tried this whole zucchini bread thing again and guess what, I was a total chicken about it. I mean, I couldn’t just jump in right? I’m a toe dipper in the pool for heaven’s sake! I needed a slow start so what better thing to try than a chocolate chip zucchini banana bread? And guess what? It’s so blasted delicious I’m going to try a zucchini bread tomorrow. All by myself. If I hate it, I’ll give it away to the neighbors, ha!

Zucchini Banana Bread Ingredients

As with most quick breads, this chocolate chip zucchini banana bread requires mostly pantry staples:

• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda and baking powder
• Cream of tartar
• Salt
• Canola oil
• Granulated sugar
• Egg
• Mashed banana
• Grated zucchini
• Chocolate chips

How to Make Zucchini Banana Bread

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the egg, sugar, and oil.
3. Whisk the grated zucchini into the egg mixture.
4. Add in a little of the flour mixture, followed by some of the mashed banana. Continue alternating between the two until everything is added to the batter.
5. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Turn the batter into a loaf pan and bake until done.

How to Store Zucchini Banana Bread

To maximize the shelf life of banana zucchini bread, cover with foil or plastic wr

Easy One Bowl Banana Muffin Recipe

This banana muffin recipe is so easy it can be made all in one bowl and creates the most tender and tasty banana muffins! You can keep them simple or pile in delicious add-ins.

Using heavily freckled bananas and never blackened bananas is the key to the most soft and moist banana bread muffins you’ll ever devour. All you need to make these banana muffins recipe is 30 minutes!

Last year we were visiting with my brother-in-law’s family post baptism for his 8 year old daughter when his mother-in-law busted out a tray of banana bread. It was so, so soft and moist and I loved the hint of coconut oil.

We are obsessed with banana bread recipes here, but there is something so convenient and portable about a muffin. I decided that this new banana bread recipe would make the perfect muffins and the rest is history!

Ingredients for Banana Muffins

Making this muffin recipe is so easy, and the ingredients list almost all comes from the pantry. That makes it so easy to whip up for breakfast or an after school snack. Here is what you will need:

• Coconut Oil: I love the little hint of coconut flavor in that coconut oil adds, but you can use canola oil if you need a substitute.
• Sugar: just granulated sugar
• Brown Sugar: adds a deeper rich flavor
• Eggs: Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. They add structure to the muffins.
• Flour: just all purpose works great
• Baking Powder and Soda: both are leavening agents to give the muffins their rise and fluffiness
• Salt: enhances all the flavors
• Bananas: be sure to use ripe bananas for the best flavor and natural sweetness
• Buttermilk: helps keep the muffins and moist, can be substituted with plain milk and 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• Optional Add-ins: chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, macadamia) or chocolate chips (I prefer mini chocolate chips)

This is just an overview of the ingredients and information about why they are added or a tip for substitutes. Scroll down for the measurements.

Coconut Oil Substitutes

You can use vegetable oil, melted butter, shortening or canola oil. If you’re using shortening, beat the shortening and sugars together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

How to Convert Loaves into Muffins

Originally the banana bread recipe was to be baked at 325 for 50-60 minutes or convection oven for 40-50 minutes, but because they are muffins I needed to pump up the heat to create more of a rise. So this recipe bakes at 350 for just 20-25 minutes and you get 2 dozen muffins.

Can I Make These Jumbo Muffins?

You can take any muffin recipe and make them into jumbo muffins. Keep the baking temperature the same but increase the baking time to 30 minutes. You might need up to 35 minutes, but I would start checking at 30.

Possible Additions

I mentioned at the beginning that you can load these up with add-ins of you want. You can mix them into the batter or just

Pina Colada Hawaiian Pulled Pork Nachos Recipe

Hawaiian pulled pork nachos…crispy tortilla chips topped with tender pulled pork, loads of melty cheese, pinto beans, sauteed peppers and a creamy pina colada sauce! It’s what every nachos recipe should be!

Whether you eat them as an appetizer on gameday or a quick weeknight meal, these nachos will get devoured by all the people. My kids think they’ve died and gone to heaven when they get to eat chips for dinner!

This pork nachos recipe will knock your boots off. In fact, they will probably knock you naked. And it will be worth it. They are the best dang nachos I’ve ever had. EVER. And that’s saying a lot because I really thought we loved our Italian nachos with chicken, wontons, and that yummy alfredo sauce…mmmmmm. Seriously though, these rocked our world.

Ingredient for Pulled Pork Nachos

Here is what you will need to make this nachos recipe:

• Pork Butt: 3-4lbs, if you have leftover pulled pork from the night before, that works perfectly
• Pinto Beans: drained and rinsed, and heated through in a pan on the stovetop
• Colby Jack Cheese: you could really use any cheese you want, but colby jack has such a delicious flavor for nachos and gets so creamy and melty
• Tostitos Scoop Chips: I love using scoops because they make the perfect nacho bites, but you could us any type of tortilla chip you prefer.
• Mini Sweet Peppers: I like to chop them into thin strips and then saute them.
• Olive Oil: helps saute the peppers
• Pina Colada Sauce: see recipe below…so creamy with the perfect blend of pineapple and coconut!
• Other toppings: You can load these up as much or as little as you want. Feel free to add more toppings such as tomatoes, diced red onions, fresh pineapple chunks, chopped cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, black olives, jalapenos, etc.

For the Pina Colada Sauce

• Crushed Pineapple: Be sure it is crushed and not the tidbits or chunks and no need to drain it. You want that yummy juice in there for flavor!
• Cream Of Coconut: You can find this by the margarita mixes and alcohol. It is usually in a can.
• Sour Cream: creates the creaminess for the sauce, you could substitute plain Green yogurt if you want

The measurements for all the ingredients and the instructions for making this recipe can all be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can also save or print the recipe from there. If you save it, it will be saved in “My Recipe Box” which you can access from the top right corner of any page on the blog. So convenient!

What is the Best Pulled Pork?

These nachos, are super easy to make, and I love that you can make a fresh roast or just use leftovers from dinner the night before. BOO-YAH.  We’ve include a recipe for making the pulled pork here, b

Strawberry Fluff Fruit Dip [+ Video]

This strawberry fluff fruit dip is one of the first recipes I fell in love with as a kid and I still can’t get enough of it. All you need is two simple ingredients!

When I was a teenager, I had this marshmallow fluff dip for the first time and while I think it’s from Shannon Mattson —one of the sweetest, spunkiest and most tender hearted people I know — I could also be totally wrong. Either way, this easy fruit dip is pure heaven and I’ve got three kiddos over here licking their bowls clean in order to not miss out on a single bit.

And the very best part? It uses just two ingredients. Boo-yah. There’s literally nothing easier than buying two things at the store, whipping them together and serving with a platter of fruit. 

I’ve actually mentioned this a few times, but in case you are new on this blog, fruit and I are the best of friends. I’d actually take it over chocolate most of the time. Most of the time. (I mean, who could ever turn down a hot, homemade chocolate chip cookie?).

Strawberry Fluff Fruit Dip Ingredients

Like I said already, this is such an easy fruity dip recipe! To make this strawberry dip, you’ll need: 

• Marshmallow Fluff – the jarred stuff you can buy at the store, Jet Puffed makes one called marshmallow creme. I’ve also heard you can buy strawberry flavored marshmallow cream, so if you can find that, go for it!!
• Strawberry Cream Cheese – Philadelphia is my preferred brand, it’s a 7.5oz container

Seriously, that’s all it takes to make this incredible cream cheese dip! The exact measurements for each ingredient and instructions for the making the dip can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Fruit Dip 

This strawberry marshmallow dip is so simple to make I think it takes less than 5 minutes to prepare! Here’s how to make fruit dip: 

1. Beat the marshmallow fluff and cream cheese together until smooth. 
2. Spoon into a serving dish and serve alongside your choice of fruit. 

Couldn’t be easier, right?! My kind of appetizer! It would be so cute at a baby shower for a little baby girl! Or a bridal shower! It is always a hit!

What to Serve with Fruit Dip

This is one of those fruity dip recipes that works best with strawberries and bananas, but really any fruit will work. Think: apples, pineapple, or even peaches and pears.Read more