Okay guys, after I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter Boozy Brownies (like literally, right after - I was baking for hours), I saw two spotty bananas in my fruit basket that just had to be eaten, and I created this Chocolate Porter Whole Wheat Banana Bread. It's a little bit healthier than my brownies, but still freaking delish. 

This Chocolate Porter Whole Wheat Banana Bread is insanely moist, fluffy and delicious without all of the refined sugars and fat! The beer gives the bread a light and airy feel, while the peanut butter, whole wheat flour and banana adds some hearty nutritional value. The bread is topped off with some semi-sweet chocolate chips, of course, to satisfy that sweet tooth. 

Again here I used DuClaw Brewing Co.'s "For Pete's Sake" Imperial Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter. Yes, this is my third recipe with beer - what can I say, I LOVE BEER!

[yumprint-recipe id='12']Now that I've gone a little overboard with the baking lately, it's time to start thinking about my goals for the new year - I've got so many and I can't wait :)

I hope everyone has a great day - I'm off to Florida this afternoon after work and could not be more excited to RELAX with family and friends for several days. Much needed! 

P.S. - I finally figured out how to fully utilize my profile on Yummly (I'm still learning) so if you use that platform to browse recipes, you can find me there and also use the Yummly button on the right side of my site to add recipes straight from my blog! 

Enjoy!! 

XO- Rach

Starting to think about your New Years resolutions?

Have you ever tried baking with beer?

Favorite holiday tradition?

Now that it's officially October, let the pumpkin craze commence. Actually, let's be honest...when Starbucks released the Pumpkin Spice Latte on September 8th is when the craze commenced. So I guess I'm even LATE to the game! However, today I'm Sharing a Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake & Beer Caramel Sauce recipe that is going to make your taste buds go crazy.  DuClaw Brewing Company, based in Baltimore MD, sent me two awesome seasonal brews to test out - 31 Pumpkin Spice Lager and 62 Imperial Pumpkin Ale. You can imagine just how excited I was when this package came in the mail...

Don't get me wrong, pumpkin brews are amazing enjoyed as a beverage, but include them in a recipe and your taste buds will scream.  I had several ideas of what I wanted to create with my new brews, but I decided on a pumpkin cheesecake. It's the perfect spicy, saucy, sexy desert (did I just describe my food as sexy??) to share with friends and family during October...but I'm thinking that I'm totally going to make this when Thanksgiving rolls around to replace boring ole' pumpkin pie. I'm eating a slice right now as I write this post. Can't you hear my taste buds screaming?

About the beer: 

Both the 31 Pumpkin Spice Lager and the 62 Imperial Pumpkin Ale are delicious, especially if you like a lot of spice. In the words of DuClaw Brewing Co., the 31 is your "grown up pumpkin spice latte." It has a dark amber color and it's very drinkable at 5.7%. 

I favored the 62 Imperial Ale, not only because it's ABV is 8.2% (8.2%!!), but because I figure that if you're going to drink a pumpkin ale, go big or go home, right? The flavors are intense, and it's one of the most hop-loaded beers to date! I'll be honest, I can only drink one of these because the beer is very strong, but the infusion of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg make me feel so warm inside. This is the type of beer I would want to sip on a chilly night by a fire place - washing down this cheesecake I'm about to share...

62 Imperial Pumpkin Ale has a dark brown/reddish color and is made with grains including Munich, CaraRed, CaraAroma and Flaked Oats. The CaraAroma is a caramel malt - so I definitely wanted to build on the hints of caramel. Hence the beer caramel sauce. 

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[yumprint-recipe id='4']You guys, this recipe is outrageous. Please go do yourself a favor: get your hands on some DuClaw Brewing Pumpkin Ale and whip up this decadent desert. I dare you not to eat the caramel by spoonful. 

About DuClaw Brewing Company:

DuClaw Brewing Company is a leading craft brewery founded in 1996, and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. Driven by the company motto “craft be cherished, rules be damned,” founder Dave Benfield took DuClaw from a home-brewing operation that sold beer through his dorm room window to a state of the art brewery. DuClaw Brewing Co. has released more than 65 brews. Today, Benfield and DuClaw brewmaster Jim Wagner work to continuously release more than 25,000 barrels of high-quality beers per year. DuClaw is available in select liquor stores, restaurants and bars throughout MD, DC, NJ, DE, VA, PA, NC, WV, and most recently, Cleveland, OH. I can't wait to visit the brewery next time I'm driving through Batlimore! 

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Disclosure: I’m proud to partner with DuClaw Brewing Company as part of their DuClaw Pumpkin Brew Blogger Campaign! I am being sponsored by DuClaw Brewing Company for this post, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared can be verified at http://duclaw.com/. I greatly appreciate your support surrounding this post! Thank you!

Let's chat:

Do you prefer a pumpkin spice latte or a pumpkin beer?

XO- Rach

Hey there! How was everyone's Labor Day weekend?

Mine was great - considering the awesome protein pancakes recipe I'm about to share with you :) On Friday evening, Michael and I headed up to the Poconos to stay with a couple of our friends at their house. I had never been up there before and it was just beautiful. So peaceful, quiet and we couldn't have gotten more lucky with the weather. I don't have many pictures because I wanted to disconnect a bit this weekend from technology. On Friday night we sat on the porch and had a few too many drinks in the cool weather. We had intentions to get in a workout Saturday morning, but instead we slept in and drove up the road for a diner breakfast - you know, the greasy kind that cures all feelings of a hangover? So great.

After getting some food in our bellies, we geared up for a full day at the lake with a huge cooler filled with LOTS of beer and snacks. We got to the lake and headed into the water for a full day of floating - with our floating cooler. We swam (floated) all the way to the other side of the lake and back, and didn't get out of the water for a good 3-4 hours. 

Obviously in Gator gear for an awesome Gator win on Saturday night! Full of beer and all sunned out, we headed back home to relax and grill a delicious dinner of chicken, asparagus and zucchini. 

We headed back to Philadelphia yesterday late morning. Today has consisted of lots of relaxing! I got in a great workout earlier, mostly because I had all the time in the world and didn't have to rush! I love that, don't you? I'll post my workout later this week - it was a sweaty one! Now we're just enjoying being lazy (aka blogging + watching Arrested Development the rest of the day) before getting back into a busy working routine tomorrow.

Before working out, we woke up slow and I wanted pancakes, but after a weekend full of not the healthiest meals, I wanted a healthier version - cue the homemade protein pancakes! These are easy to make and if you're one of those "ew cottage cheese!" people, I'm sure greek yogurt would work just as well :) 

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