Go Bananas... b-a-n-a-n-a-s!

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Banana Pudding...
2 cups of coconut (firmly packed)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks of butter

Mix above together until crumbly.
Place on a cookie sheet and backe at 300* for about 45 minutes.
Stir every 15 minutes to evenly brown.
Cool completely.

Prepare 3 packages of French Vanilla Pudding according to direction.

Place 2/3 of coconut mixture into bottom of a 9x13 pan
Spoon pudding on top of coconut mixture.
slice 3 large bananas on top of pudding. (I did 4 just to cover it all!)
Top with cool whip.
Sprinkle remaining coconut mixture on top.
Refrigerate.

ENJOY! :) This is GOOD STUFF! :)

You're so Cheesy...

Cheesy Mostaccioli
16 oz. Mostaccioli cooked and drained
1.5 lbs. Ground Beef (or 1lb. Groud Beef and .5 Sausage)
pepper (fresh ground to taste)
1 TBSP. Italian Seasoning
28 oz. Spaghetti Sauce (I use the Hunts cheap-y sauce and an 8 oz can of tomato sauce with it)
1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
2 c. Mozzarella Cheese

Mix above ingredients together and place into baking dish.
Top with an additional 1 cup of Cheese.
Bake at 350* for 40 minutes.

I can pretty much guarantee that your kids will LOVE this... unless they're Cole and they hate cheese... :)

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

I LOVE these potatoes. They're the best I've ever made or tasted... I'm just sayin'.
Hope you love them too! Best part? They can be made days in advance. Perfect.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
5 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed (I use Yukon Golds)
5 TBSP butter (divided)
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 c. Sour Cream
1/2 to 1 c. Milk
2 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender (20-25 minutes)
Drain well.
Mash with 3 Tbsp. butter.
Add remaining ingredients (except remaining butter) and mix well.
Spoon into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Melt remaining butter and drizzle over top.
Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.

Bake uncovered 350* for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Sprinkle with Seasoning Salt (or pepper in our case) before serving.
ENJOY! :)

Cracked Corn and Cheese Square

(Pict coming soon, but remind me if I forget. LOL!)

Cracked Corn and Cheese Squares
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray via Gabby

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 + servings
User Rating:
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix, mixed to package directions
Softened butter, to grease baking dish
1/3 pound Monterey Jack or pepper Jack, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with butter. Stir cheese, corn, and scallions into packaged mixed corn muffin batter.
Pour batter into baking dish and bake at 400 degrees F until golden, 18 minutes.

Pudding Bars...

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 stick butter
2Tbsp Sugar
1/2 c. Pecans

350* for 10-13 minutes
make sure it's just a tad brown.
You want it to be a bit crispy.

Layers:
8oz. Cream Cheese
1c. Powdered Sugar
1c. Cool Whip
Mix together and place on cooled crust.

2pkgs. Pudding
3c. Milk
Mix together and place on top of cream cheese layer

Top with remaining cool whip from a 16oz. container.
Let set up in refrigerator. ENJOY!

Broccoli Salad...

1 Bunch Broccoli- chopped
1/2 head Cauliflower- chopped
1/2 C. Craisins
1 lb. bacon crisply cooked and crumbled
1/2 sweet onion finely chopped
1/2 C. Sunflower Seeds
Dressing:
1 C. Mayo
1/2 C. Sugar
2TBSP Red Wine Vinegar

Stir together Broccoli, Cauliflower, Craisins, Bacon, Onion and Sunflower Seeds.
In a separate bowl stir together dressing ingredients and add to Broccoli Mixture.
Chill and serve.
YuMmY! :)

Heavenly Potatoes with Ham

These are super yummy... a great way to use up the leftover ham from Easter! :)
Ingredients:
5 lbs. red potatoes (I used golden yukons because the reds at Target looked yucky!)
16oz. sour cream
1/2 c. melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion (I used a yellow onion sauteed with some mushrooms in a little olive oil)
2 c. chopped ham
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese flavored bread crumbs
1/4 c. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350* and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish

Quarter potatoes and place into a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil until slightly tender. Drain and transfer to a lg. bowl.

Mix sour cream, 1/2 c. butter, crm. of chicken soup, cheese, onions, ham, salt and pepper with the potatoes. Spread into 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and drizzle with 1/4 c. melted butter.

Bake for 30 minutes and serve.

Pistachio Bread

Pistachio Bread
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
2 small pkgs. instant pistachio pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/8 cup water (may omit--but I always use it)
1 cup sour cream
pecans, optional

Mix all ingredients together on low with electric mixer. The mixture will be very thick & sticky. Grease the bottom of two loaf pans, then cinnamon & sugar them. Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. You can also do this in one bundt pan or in mini loaf pans or cupcake liners--bake until they're golden and cooked in the center.

Banana Pumpkin Bread...

This is a recipe that I found in a Midwest Living magazine... it's amazing. Not too pumpkin... not too banana... :) It's "just right"! Enjoy...

Banana Pumpkin Bread

2 c. Sugar
2/3 c. cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps. baking soda
1 1/2 tsps. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2/3 c. water
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1/2 c. mashed ripe banana (1 large)
3/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350* and grease the bottom and 1/2" up the sides of TWO 9x5x3 loaf pans.
In a large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with electric mixer on medium speed until combined.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; set aside.
In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger.
Alternately add flour mixture and water to the sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
Beat in pumpkin and banana. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Mexican Lasagna

I found this on the Pioneer Woman's blog, but when I made that version I had WAY more fillings than my lasagna dish could hold. So here's my modified version. Wilson said it was like a party in his mouth! LOL!

2 cups rice
3 cups chicken broth
3 tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 lb beef
2 8 oz bags shredded Mexican cheese
2 cans corn (drained)
1 can black beans (optional)
2 16 oz jars salsa verde
1 8 oz jar enchilada sauce
1 1/2 - 2 pkgs taco seasoning
12 (or so) tortillas
cilantro
sour cream
butter

Prepare rice using chicken broth.
Chop tomatoes, onions and garlic, and saute with 1 tablespoon butter.
Add 1/2 or 1 package of taco seasoning (or make your own seasoning with chili powder, paprika and cumin to taste).
Add black beans
Combine rice and tomato/onion/garlic mixture.
Brown beef and add taco seasoning.

Spread one container of salsa verde in the bottom of the casserole dish.
Layer on tortillas covering the salsa verde. (Some overlapping is expected.)
Spread 1/2 of rice mixture on top of tortillas.
Spread one bag of shredded cheese on top of rice.
Next add another tortilla layer.
Spread enchilada sauce on the tortillas.
Next is a layer of the ground beef.
Then add 1 1/2 - 2 cans of corn.
Spread the remaining rice mixture onto the corn.
Then add the remaining salsa verde.
Top with second bag of shredded cheese.

Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes
Serve with sour cream and cilantro garnish

and you and you...You're Gonna Love Me.

Trust me, you'll be singing Jennifer Hudson too when I give you this recipe.
Carrie sent an email late last week and I knew immediately I would share it here. I have NOT tried this myself but I'm anxious to..and now I'll need to try to make the rye croutons. Yummers.
Anyway--Carrie said she made a few adjustments but I assume those changes are reflected there.

You're welcome.
: )


Upstream’s Smoked Gouda Cheese Soup

½ onion diced
2 garlic cloves pressed
1 cup corn (I used frozen corn cut from the husk last summer… the creamy sweetness made the soup!)
½ red bell pepper (pureed in processor)
¾ cup carrots (pureed in processor)
2 bottles of Ale (I used one Blue Moon and one Boulevard Pale Ale)
2 cans chicken stock
2 cups chopped red potatoes
4 cups heavy cream
1 ½ lbs smoked Gouda cheese (shredded)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 teaspoons Beau Monde seasoning
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp (give or take) sea salt
¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper

In 2 Tbsp olive oil sauté onion until clear (I used a 7 ¼ qt Le Creuset). Add garlic stir in for one minute. Add pepper and carrot puree, and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with beer. Add stock, stir and add potatoes. Bring to boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.

Reduce heat to low, stirring constantly, add cream. Sprinkle cornstarch over cheese, toss to mix (starch will somewhat lightly coat cheese). Add cheese mixture in SMALL batches into soup stirring to melt. Do not overheat.

At this point use an emulsion blender to CAREFULLY puree potatoes and any large onion pieces that have yet to cook down.

If soup is too thick, add more beer. Next add Beau Monde, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

ENJOY!!!

Corn Casserole

Corn Casserole
12oz. Egg Noodles- perpared according to pkg directions
(cook while you’re mixing up the rest of the casserole)
2 pounds ground beef- browned and drained
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cans Corn
1 can Cream Style Corn
Mix soup and corn with ground beef and add in cooked noodles.
Pour into casserole dish (I use the BIG Pampered Chef Stoneware Bowl)
Melt one stick of butter and stir in one sleeve of crumbled crackers.
Spread on top of casserole and bake at 350* for about 30 minutes until
hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

My mom was the queen of the "one pound of hamburger to feed an entire family" meals when I was growing up. I've added an additional pound of ground beef to it since I need protein and an additional can of corn so there's enough liquid for the extra meat. It's a good basic meal. Nothing fancy but it's comfort food for me.

Sorry about the icky perspective on the photo. I was playing with the white balance and I should've also been paying attention to the composition of the shot. Oops!

Beer Can Chicken

So chicken's were on sale this week at Baker's (99 cents a pound!) so I decided I'd try to make the "Beer Can Chicken" my friend Mary was talking about. I'd also heard it called "Beer In The Butt Chicken", because...well...you put a can of beer in the cavity of a whole chicken and stand it up on the grill or in the smoker to cook. After a quick search online, I discovered that it's pretty easy to make in the oven, too. It's very moist and uses NO oil so it's pretty healthy for you too. Oh, and btw...HyVee has chickens on sale for 59 cents a pound this weekend so I guess my good bargain wasn't such a good bargain afterall. I'm going to stock up at HyVee after trying this recipe!

Beer Can Chicken
1 Whole Chicken (5-6 lbs)
1 Can of Beer
Seasoning of your choice

Rinse chicken, removing all the pieces and parts. Throw those nasty things away. : ) Pat the chicken dry and season to your liking--I used a poultry rub that I found in the pantry. Be sure to not only season the outside of the bird, but also underneath the skin. Reserve a little of the rub to mix into the beer.
Remove the top of the beer can with a can opener (stand back because it really squirts at you when it's punctured) and get rid of about 1/2 of the beer. Stir in the remaining rub mixture into the beer--it will really foam up so do this over the sink. Sit the bird right down on top of the can; put the beer-butted chicken in a baking pan to catch all the drippings.
Bake at 350 for 2 hours or until the juices run clear.
Carefully remove the can. Let stand ten minutes before carving. You can use the drippings to make gravy, if you know how to do that. I don't, so I just made stuffing and steamed some veggies instead. : )

Jody Ferlaak's Baked Caramel French Toast

The beauty of this yummy french toast, besides being totally easy, is that you make it the night before! : ) I got the recipe from Jody recently and while it says to bake it in a 9 x 13, next time I'll try it in a jelly roll pan--there was plenty of caramel sauce and not enough toast to feed a family.

Baked Caramel French Toast

Ingredients:

***Topping*** (which actually goes in the pan and is the bottom at first)

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup whipping cream or milk or whatever you have on hand

6 tablespoons butter or marg.

1 tablespoon corn syrup

Mix these ingredients in a saucepan over med/low heat until melted. DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

***French Toast*** (I would have needed to make double of the egg mixture to cover an entire loaf of french bread)

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 loaf of french bread- sliced into 1/2" pieces

Mix eggs, vanilla, milk and salt in a bowl. Dip slices of french bread into egg mixture, coating them well. Place them onto the mixture in your 9x13 pan- squeeze in as many slices as you can fit.

Cover pan and refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Don't overbake!

Serve the french toast with the caramel side up. Sift a little powdered sugar over the top.

Drizzle syrup on top if you like. (We did not add syrup...it was sweet enough!)

Add fruit if desired. Jody told me that in the fall she makes what I would call fried apples to go on top. I peel, core & slice apples and throw them in a skillet with butter and brown sugar. Cook on medium heat until the apples are soft. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon. If you're doing the apples on top of this french toast, I'd probably just cook them with a little butter and that's it...seriously, it's sweet enough!

Super easy and yummmmmmmMy!

: )

Grown Up Mac-n-Cheese

I love this stuff. I seriously do. I hope you do too. I found "non french" gruyere cheese at the store the other day and was able to keep this "reasonable" for cheese cost. :)

Grown-Up MacNcheese

16oz of corkscrew pasta cooked and drained
2Tbsp Butter
2Tbsp FLour
1 1/2 c. Milk (I use skim but you can use what ya got!)
1/2 c. half n half
1/2 c. (4 oz.) shredded white cheddar cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. (8 oz.) Gruyere Cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 stick of butter
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350*
Prepare pasta and set aside

Melt butter over medium heat.
Whisk in flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute
Gradually whisk in milk and half n half- continue to whisk constantly till slightly thickened (about 4-5 minutes)
Stir in Cheeses and salt and pepper until melted and smooth
Stir cheese into pasta and place in a baking dish (9x13 should work fine but I use a round baking dish from Pampered Chef)
Melt butter and stir in smashed up ritz crackers
Spread over the top of your Mac n Cheese and bake at 350 for 15 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Sometimes I serve this as the main dish and add a chicken breast or bits of ham to it or beside pork chops.
It's equally good all on it's own and it's got enough protein to be the "main dish" in my opinion! :)
Enjoy! :) And don't blame your spreading hips on me. This is probably not WW approved... but dang, it's good! :)

taco soup

1-2 lbs of ground beef
1 onion (diced)
1 can of ro-tel
1-4oz jar of taco sauce or packet of taco seasoning
a small can tomato sauce
1/2 pkg hidden valley reanch dressing
1 can pinto beans
1 can ranch style beans
water - as needed (i tend to add about 4 cups)

brown meat and onions, drain and put in crockpot. add remaining ingredients. simmer for an hour or more. garnish with cheddar cheese, tortilla chips (crushed a little) and/or sour cream.

Blonde Brownies!

Oh Becca! Bars

Trust me, you'll be screaming my name when you eat these little squares. Seriously. They are so good. I got the recipe from Becky Higgin's, who got it from her friend who got it from someone's Grandma...anyway. Sherri & Kimber make something similar and call them "Scotcharoos" and my brother's girlfriend Nanette makes something similar and calls them "O'Henry Bars". You call 'em whatever you want.

1 c. Karo syrup
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanuts (I got salted and I don't chop them)
1 c. peanut butter
3 c. Rice Krispies
1 pkg. (6 oz) chocolate chips
1 pkg. (6 oz) butterscotch chips

Stir together Karo syrup and sugar. Microwave for 2 minutes. Add peanuts and peanut butter to the Karo mixture. Microwave everything for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of Rice Krispies. Spread into a greased 9" x 13" pan.

Combine chocolate chips (on bottom) and butterscotch chips in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Spread over krispie mixture and cool in the refrigerator.

Remove and cut into 1-inch squares.

Apple Annie's Appetizer Dip

This is served at a cute little restaurant at Artisan's Alley in San Antonio. It sounds weird but it really tastes great!

Bean Soup and Cracked Corn and Cheese Squares

baked macaroni and cheese

preheat oven to 400.

1 lb elbow mac
1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
pinch of pepper
3 cups milk
4 cups (16 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
2 T butter, melted

1) cook macaroni as directed
- I always try to under cook the macaroni a bit or the noodles get a bit mushy.
2) melt butter, add onion and cook a few minutes. add flour, mustard, salt, and pepper, stirring well. gradually add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thoroughly heated.
3) add 3 cups of cheese to flour mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until melted. pour sauce over macaroni, tossing gently to coat well.
4) pour mixture into a buttered 2-qt baking dish. sprinkle w/ remaining 1 cup cheese.
5) combine breadcrumbs and melted butter, stirring well; sprinkle over cheese.
6) bake at 400 for 20 minutes. let stand a few minutes before serving.

carey cottage chocolate pudding

this makes an enormous batch!

2/3 c cocoa
2 c sugar
1/2 c cornstarch

whisk these three ingredients together and add

5 c milk
3 egg yolks & 3 eggs

microwave until it thickens.

take it out and add 2 T butter and a teaspoon of vanilla.

tomato basil soup

1 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 c tomato juice
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 -14 1/2 oz can of tomatoes
1/2 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
dash cayenne pepper
3/4 cup milk or half and half (i use milk)
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil
sour cream

in a large covered saucepan cook celery, carrot, onion and garlic in hot oil over medium-low heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. add tomato juice, broth tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme and cayenne. bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. cool slightly.
place half of soup at a time in food processor and process until smooth. repeat with the other half. stire about 1 cup of tomato mixture into the milk, to prevent curdling. return all of soup to pan, add sugar. heat through. stir in basil. top each serving with sour cream and fresh basil garnish. i also set homemade croutons out to use as a topping, and they were a pretty good addition :)

this only has 106 calories per bowl, if you use milk rather than cream.

Cranberry Chicken

This is a super-easy, super yummy chicken dish that cooks in the crockpot! :) I originally got this recipe from Heather D. White and usually serve it with long grain and wild rice.

Cranberry Chicken
3-4 chicken breasts (can be frozen)
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 cup barbeque sauce
1/2 medium onion, chopped

Mix together the cranberry sauce, barbeque sauce and onion. Place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker and cover with the cranberry sauce mixture. Bake all day on low.
I'll take a picture the next time I make this and come back to post it. : )