Banana Cream Pie

Plan ahead! You have to refridgerate this pie!

Crust - I've used a graham cracker and a shortbread and both were good - pretty nuch whichever crust floats your boat :o)
1 box Vanilla instant pudding
1 box Banana Cream instant pudding
2-3 bananas
1-2 C. whipping cream separated
sugar to taste(for whip crm on top of pie) optional
milk - however much the pudding calls for, for preparing 2 boxes - i think it was 1 & 3/4 c.

Slice 2 bananas - put in pie crust - I just sliced them right into the crust- didn't even try to even them out. Whip up 1 cup whipping cream to form soft peaks. DO NOT over whip. no need to add sugar here. Mix milk with both boxes of pudding. Once pudding is done fold in whipping cream. pour into pie crust. Refridgerate!!!! I did one overnight and one about 4 hrs before we ate it. Over night worked best but the 4 hrs still did the job.

Optional: When ready to serve: whip up other cup of whipping cream to form soft peaks, adding sugar to taste as you go. coat pie. Slice up other banana place on top of whip cream to make it pretty :o) Enjoy! Delish and EASY!!!

Pumpkin Cake

This is recipe that I found on a crafty blog that I frequently visit. (Frequently being practically everyday!) Dana has an amazing blog that you should all check out!

Here is the link for the pumpkin cake!
www.dana-made-it.com/2010/12/pumpkin-cake.html
I haven't tried it but I am dying to! It sounds delish!

cinnamon swirl pancakes

theidearoom.net

Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

Tis the season for baking...and CINNAMON! I LOVE Cinnamon. I also love eating breakfast foods for dinner. So the other night we whipped up some yummy Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes for dinner. Ummmm....Hello! This should not be legal. It was practically like eating a big cinnamon roll for dinner. Probably not a great habit to get into, but they were a hit with all! I also ended up using wheat flour...does that cancel out the bad?



Cinnamon Roll Pancakes:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon honey

Cinnamon swirl:

2 tablespoons melted butter (Instead of butter we used a little milk to thin it out)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon flour

1. Mix all the ingredients together to make the pancakes and set aside. Preheat your pan or skillet and lightly grease it.

2. Make the Cinnamon Swirl mixture and place it into a a small bottle with a squirt nozzle (the name is escaping me...I used one)or a small baggie with a snip in the corner.

3. Spread your batter into small pancakes on the griddle. Immediately add the cinnamon swirls.

4. Cook the pancakes until small bubbles form on the topside of the pancake and do not fill back in with batter.

5. Flip over the pancakes with a turner and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute.



Buttermilk Syrup

4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, and buttermilk. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. Take off heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Stir, and the mixture will become thick and bubbly.

mango salsa pizza

Mango Salsa Pizza

Source: Mayo Health Clinic

1 (12-inch) thin crust
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup red or green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup fresh mango, chopped
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits
1 tablespoon lime juice

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll out dough to approximately 12 inches.

To prepare mango salsa, mix together cilantro, peppers, onions, mango, pineapple and lime juice in a bowl.

Cook pizza crust in oven for approximately 15 minutes.

Take the crust out of the oven, spread the mango salsa over the entire crust and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the crust is browned.

Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe

3/4 cup apple cider

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp seasoned dry breadcrumbs

4 4oz chicken breasts

1 Tbsp Canola oil

2 small peeled apples, cored and cut into large chunks

1 cup chicken broth

Fresh parsley

Whisk cider, cornstarch, mustard, honey, salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl. Set aside.

Spread bread crumbs on a piece of wax paper, lightly coat chicken with crumbs.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil and add the chicken breasts. Cook over medium heat until golden brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn chicken, add apples, and cook until browned on the other side.

Add chicken broth, cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 15 minutes.

With slotted spoon, remove chicken and apples to serving plates. Whisk cider mixture again and add to skillet. Cook and stir over high heat until lightly thickened and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon over chicken and apples, sprinkle with parsley.

found here:

http://stuffachicken.blogspot.com/search/label/Recipes

found these here.....

http://tonia-thenotsocraftycrafts.blogspot.com/2010/02/whats-for-dinner.html

Cheese Muffins

1 1/3 C flour

1/4 C sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 well beaten egg

3/4 C milk

1/3 C oil

4 oz cheddar cheese (I use Colby Jack because I like it)

Sift the dry ingredients and add cheese. Make a well in the center. Combine the remaining ingredients and add all at once to the dry. Stir quickly just until moistened. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake 400* 20-25 minutes. This will give you about 10-12 muffins. They are really good with plain butter or honey butter.

potato soup and cheese biscuits

found this here and thought i'd post it so i don't have to search the internet for it when we want to make it
http://kojodesigns.blogspot.com/2010/02/friday-fun-finds-copycat-dinner.html

Copycat Panera Bread Potato Soup
4 c chicken broth
4 c peeled and cubed potatoes
1/4 c minced onion
1/2 t seasoning salt
1/4 t white pepper
1/4 t ground red pepper
1 package cream cheese (8 oz, we used light), cut into chunks
Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.Reduce to low heat.Add cream cheese.Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.
***Two notes
1- We added a couple cups of broccoli as well because Burke loves it.  I'd recommend it.
2- Before we added the cream cheese, I pureed some broth, about a fourth of the potatoes and the cream cheese in the food processor (something we thought to try after we made this soup last time and the cream cheese melted a little unevenly).  Very creamy.  Again, I'd recommend it. :)


Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits
2 c bisquick (I used the healthy kind)
2/3 c milk
1/2 c cheddar cheese
1/2 c butter, melted (umm, I think we used about 2 tablespoons of butter... I think they'd be tastier with more, but I couldn't bring myself to melt a whole stick of butter to use on our dinner biscuits)
1/4 t garlic powder

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix bisquick, milk and cheese until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.Mix butter or margarine and garlic powder. Brush mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.

Beef and Bean Burritos

Recipe: Sixteen Minute Beef and Bean Burritos

Prep Time: 5 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 11 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 6

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• ½ whole Medium Onion
• 1 can (7 Ounce) Mexican Tomato Sauce Or Enchilada Sauce
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Cumin, Oregano, Chili Powder, Garlic To Taste
• 1 can (28 Ounce) Refried Beans
• ¾ cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 12 whole Burrito-sized Flour Tortillas
• Extra Grated Cheese, For Sprinkling
• Extra Sauce, For Drizzling
• Cilantro Leaves, Optional
• Optional Filling Ingredients: Mexican Rice, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Green Chilies, Pico De Gallo

Preparation Instructions

Brown ground beef with onion and season to taste. Pour in sauce and simmer over low heat. Add water if mixture gets too dry.

Heat refried beans in a saucepan. Add cheese and stir in till melted. Keep warm.

Heat tortillas in microwave for one minute.

Spread a small amount of beans on each tortilla. Add meat. Fold over ends, then roll up. Place two burritos on a microwave-safe plate. Drizzle red sauce over the top and sprinkle with more grated cheddar. Microwave for one minute, or until cheese is melted and burritos are very hot. Serve immediately.

OPTIONAL: Fill burritos with any optional ingredients you like. (I love them full, but my boys like them very plain.)

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/brown-hot-and-plenty-of-it-vol-i/

grilled chicken pineapple quesadillas!!!
Go there for pretty pictures!

Ingredients

• 8 whole Flour Tortillas
• Butter Or Margarine
• 2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
• Cilantro
• 3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce

Preparation Instructions

(To grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.)

(To pound chicken, place inside a Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or large can to flatten to uniform thickness.)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.

Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.

To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You’ll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)

Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.

Savory Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• MUSTARD SAUCE:
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Dredge pork chops in flour mixture. In a skillet over medium heat, brown chops in oil on both sides, about 8 minutes. Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over chops. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, about 20 minutes. Spoon sauce over chips when serving.

From Allrecipes.com

Sparkling Cranberry Gems

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sparkling-cranberry-gems-recipe

Very easy and super yummy and somewhat healthier for you.  The only disappointing thing from this recipe is that I only got 18 cookies using my cookie dough scoop, not ~3 dozen.  :o(  Also trying a batch with dried cherries since I ran out of cranberries and didn't even get 2 dozen.

Cookies
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur White  Whole Wheat Flour, organic preferred; or  King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) dried cranberries,  packed
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into pats
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) milk

Coating
scant 1/2 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) coarse white sparkling sugar
Place the flour and dried cranberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the cranberries are coarsely shredded. Imagine a single dried cranberry cut into about 4 pieces: that’s your goal.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

Whisk together the flour/cranberry mixture, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the vanilla and butter, mixing until the butter is thoroughly distributed, but some pea-sized chunks still remain. Dribble in the milk while mixing; the dough will become cohesive.

Place the coarse sugar in a plastic bag; about 1-quart size should do.

Using a teaspoon cookie scoop (or a spoon), scoop the dough by 1 3/4-teaspoonfuls (about 1 ¼" balls) into the bag, 6 or 8 at a time. Close the top of the bag, and gently shake to coat the balls with sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, and use the bottom of a glass to flatten them to about ¼" thick (about 1 ½" in diameter). Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake the cookies for 16 to 17 minutes, until they’re set and barely, BARELY beginning to brown around the very edge; the tops shouldn’t be brown at all. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan.
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies.