yeah!! to good health and fall weather

We are all pretty much well. Cristian is exhausted, but healthy. He has his Fundamentals of Engineering License exam coming up on October 26th, so he has had training sessions every weekend for the last 3 weeks. Today is the last one. Yeah!!

I love fall. I think, besides Christmas it is my favorite time of the year. I don't like to bake much, but I love the smells of fall....cinnamon, pumpkin, sweet potato etc...

Now that Adrian is eating mostly table food, I try to make things that he can eat also...no nuts yet.
So I looked on every box and bag of banana bread mix or cranberry bread mix and everything said "main contain nuts" so I kept looking and found an oatmeal cookie mix.
I did find a recipe for banana bread later that evening, but since I don't bake, I didn't even have baking soda. I don't want to drag a 14 month old back to the store for baking soda.

I have also joined a vegetable co-op in my neighborhood. Everyone gives $5 or $10 for a half or full basket of fruits and vegetables. One guy goes to the wholesale market, buys bulk and then some of us sort the goods into all the baskets. It great to be a sorter because then you get extras:)

So I still had 3 very ripe pears and 3 very ripe bananas I had put in the freezer already from the last co-op. We do it every 2 weeks. I hate wasting food, so I figured I could use them to 'bake' something...some sort of bread or cookie that Adrian can eat.

This is my recipe for what I have named
Fall Fruit Oatmeal Bread Squares with streusel topping

1 bag of oatmeal cookie mix
3 very ripe pears pealed and squished (you want it to be the consistency of apple sauce)
3 very ripe bananas
1 handful of dried cranberries
1 egg

Mix ingredients together. Put in greased pan. I used to small casserole dishes. I don't know if it would fill up a 13x9, but 8x8 would work.

Topping
2-3 tbsp melted butter
2-3 spoons of sugar
2 spoons of flour
3 handful of crushed golden graham cereal
ground cinnamon

For topping, mix ingredients into melter butter. Scatter over cookie mix in pan and bake at 375 degrees until golden and toothpick comes out clean...I think it was about 25 minutes, but I never keep track:) After seeing the consistency of the final product, you could also use a loaf pan and make slices of bread.

Enjoy!
I'll post pictures when they are cool enough to cut.

Set out on a pretty plate for guests

Piping hot, right out of the oven