Homemaker Monday: One of the best ideas I've ever had...SERIOUSLY!

Welcome to the 76th weekly edition of...

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YOURS:

Today's "YOURS" goes to Single Mormon Chick at "The Law of Chasitiy and the Modern Mormon Girl. Am I the only one?" Here's a unique tip from a unique chic, and not only did I want to share it with you, I wanted to introduce you to Single Mormon Chic's blog, because she is so cool!

So her tip is a trick on how to destroy a zit before it becomes unsightly. I loved this it because with all of these weird pregnancy hormones coursing through my body, sometimes a nice big zit on my already gargantuan nose is the way they manifest themselves. I am SOOO going to try this. Check out her post HERE.

Thanks so much, Single Mormon Chic, for linking up with us and please feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button from my left sidebar!

MINE: When I was pregnant with the twins, although my dream of 20 years had come true, to be receiving the gift of two babies at once, I was also filled with trepidation and anxiety, wondering how I would care for two newborns and 6 older children with a husband who was out of town on business most days.

When a good friend offered to give me a baby shower, I was flattered, but since we had already purchased most of what we needed for the twins, I developed the brilliant idea that instead of gifts, each invitee could bring a frozen dinner I could store in my chest freezer in preparation for the long-awaited births. I was to have a c-seciton, and since I knew it would take longer to recover, I had no doubt that this would be the most valuable gift my friends and family could give me.

On the day of the shower, my friend prepared for the freezer fare by having a huge ice chest set up in her kitchen, and as each guest arrived, she placed the food in the chest. We then sat in her living room, partook of the delectable delights she had prepared, someone shared fun facts about twins and multiples, and we had a wonderful time. During the shower, my son and his friend came over to pick up the ice chest, took it to our home, and unloaded the contents into our freezer. When all was said and done, my chest freezer was completely filled with pre-prepared homemade meals and when the twins arrived, we didn't have to cook for over two months. The kids were quite saddened when we had consumed the last casserole, and so was I, and I will never forget the generosity of my friends and family for providing for us in this manner.

Now that I'm expecting only one baby, due in 7 weeks, I'm just a regular person with regular problems, so perhaps no big freezer food shower. However, I'm taking matters into my own hands and have begun to prepare and freeze food in preparation for the big day. Even though I won't be caring for twin newborns, I now have twin toddlers, a 3-year-old who acts like a toddler, still 6 older kids and with even just one newborn to care for, I could begin to feel overwhelmed.

With that introduction, here is the first dish I've prepared to welcome the arrival of our new little boy...

Spiced Banana Cake

(Yes, I know, this is a dessert, but dessert is my favorite, so why not start out with the best? This recipe has been quadrupled from it's original version. If you'd like the regular-family recipe, go to this link at allrecipes.com.)

Ingredients:

* 2 cups butter, softened
* 4 cups packed light brown sugar
* 2 cups white sugar
* 5 teaspoons ground allspice
* 4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
* 8 eggs
* 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
* 5 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 cup rolled oats
* 1 tablespoon baking soda
* 1 tablespoon teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/3 cup sour cream
* 4 cups mashed bananas
* Your favorite frosting or icing recipe

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, then, in a large bowl, cream butter until fluffy.

Step 2: Add sugar and beat until smooth.

Step 3: Add in spices, eggs and vanilla, and beat until well-blended.

Step 4: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Step 5: To this mixture, add the butter mixture.

Step 6: Add smashed bananas and combine. We used a 20 quart restaurant-style mixing bowl for the job...

Love this bowl!

Step 7: Pour into prepared pans, bake for 20 to 35 minutes, depending on your pan size, let cool, then frost or glaze. Here's how many pans we filled with the batter...

One quick note: Did you know you can freeze overripe bananas for later use? We did and here's what they look like when you remove them from the freezer...

My kids are often appalled that I am actually going to put these in our food, especially when they see how they look after I let them thaw and squeeze them out of their peels...

...but they certainly don't complain when I serve them the final product...

Enjoy!

The following are links to products I used in this recipe...

(As per the new FTC blogging regs, I'm letting you know that if you click on any of these icons, and purchase anything at all from Amazon.com, you are helping to send my 10 kids to college, so thank you!)

OURS:

Can't wait to see what all of our wonderful homemakers have for us today! Have a happy Homemaker Monday!