Banana Cake

I had bananas and they needed to be used!!!  Of course, I could have made banana bread or our favorite banana drop cookies, but I decided to try something new, Banana Cake.  I found this recipe through Pinterest, of course, which led me to keyingredient.com.  It was a huge hit at our house!

Banana Cake

3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3-1/2 cups confectioners sugar (powdered)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.  In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. 
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time then stir in vanilla.  Add in baking soda and salt.  Alternately mix in flour and buttermilk.  Stir in banana mixture and pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes.  This will make the cake very moist.
Frosting:  Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in vanilla then add powdered sugar until combined.  Beat on high until frosting is smooth.  Spread on cooled cake.

Spaghetti Casserole

This is a family favorite!  Definitely a comfort food...a recipe from John's sisters that I've modified just a bit:

Spaghetti Casserole
1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage
1 large jar spaghetti sauce
16-24 oz. spaghetti noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Brown ground beef or sausage then drain.  Add cream of mushroom soup and spaghetti sauce and mix well.  Simmer.  Boil noodles.  Pour cooked noodles into a 9x13 pan, top with meat/sauce mixture then sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Berry Vanilla Pecan Oatmeal

It's been a chilly spring so far... I woke up the other morning and just wanted something warm.  As I was going through my memory banks trying to think of something good for breakfast, it hit me - oatmeal!  It couldn't be just plain oatmeal though, it had to be exciting or I'd get the eye roll from Taylor for sure!  I started to dig through my pantry and fridge...moldy strawberries (bummer), pecans, almonds, dried apricots, craisins, frozen berries.  Hmmm...I've got it!  So here's my version of oatmeal:

Berry Vanilla Pecan Oatmeal
1-3/4 cup water
1-3/4 cup milk
dash of salt
2 cups quick oats
1 cup Kirkland frozen berry mix
1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 tsp vanilla
brown sugar

Boil water, milk and salt.  Add berries and bring back to a boil.  Add oats and pecans, cook for about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Dish into bowls and top with brown sugar.  This was enough for 4 good size servings.

Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes (taken from The Pioneer Woman)

This recipe was taken from The Pioneer Woman.  I made these for breakfast one weekday morning.  I specify weekday because they were so simple and delicious that it wasn't a "chore" to make breakfast.  It made enough that me and each of the girls had 3 pancakes each - it was the perfect amount!  I highly recommend trying these!  One thing I might do next time I make them is add some ground flax seed.  Enjoy!!

Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes

Prep Time:  10 Minutes

Cook Time:  10 Minutes

Difficulty:  Easy

Servings:  2

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 7 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 whole Large Eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Butter, For Frying And Serving
• Warm Syrup, For Serving

Preparation Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
In a separate small bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream with the dry ingredients until just barely combined (don't overmix.) Whisk in the egg mixture until just combined.
Heat a griddle over medium-low heat and melt some butter in the pan. Drop batter by 1/4 cup servings onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles start to form on the surface and edges are starting to brown. Flip to the other side and cook for another minute. (Pancakes will be a little on the soft side.)
Serve with softened butter and syrup.

 

Please note:  Taking pictures of food is NOT as easy as it may seem.

Enchurritos & Spanish Rice

We have some really good friends that invited us over for a Super Bowl party earlier this year.  We enjoyed Enchurritos and rice while watching football.  They were amazing!  We've talked about them ever since, so I decided it was time to make our own.  Taylor keeps referring to them as Bob-urritos, so call them what you like, but they were delicious!!

Enchurritos Bob-urritos
2 lbs ground beef
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp chipotle seasoning
1 tsp onion powder (or 1/2 cup finely chopped onion)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
12 flour tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 large can red enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese (pepper jack would be good too)
sour cream, optional

Place ground beef in skillet and season with garlic salt, chipotle and onion powder.  Brown.  Drain any excess grease off meat.  Add tomato sauce and mix well.  Lay out flour tortillas, top with about 1 tablespoon of refried beans, hamburger meat and shredded cheese. 

Roll tortillas burritos style and place in 9x13 baking pan (sprayed with cooking spray).  Pour enchilada sauce over the top of the burritos and then top with more shredded cheese.

Spanish Rice
2 cups brown rice
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water, warm
1 tsp chicken bouillon
2 tsp cumin

Heat oil in frying pan on medium heat.  Add rice and cook until golden brown.  Add bouillon to water.  When rice is brown, add tomato sauce, salt, garlic, cumin, cilantro and water to pan.  Stir and cover, simmer for 45-60 minutes.
This recipe was modified from Spanish Rice on Lil' Luna.

Watergate Salad

We recently had this salad at a family gathering.  My family absolutely loved it!  So, I got on Pinterest, searched and found it:

Watergate Salad

 

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding

1/2 cup JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows

1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for 1 hour.

This was on Kraft Foods web site.  They also had a "light" version.  We didn't add the pecans, but I think it would be good with them.

 

 

Banana, Coconut and Chocolate Chip Muffins

We love, Love, LOVE muffins for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack at our house!  This is a recipe I found through Pinterest originally, but I have modified it just a bit from the original:

Banana, Coconut and Chocolate Chip Muffins
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, divided
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin pay with cooking spray or line.  In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.  Add the eggs, bananas and vanilla then continue beating until well combined.  Add baking soda and salt to egg mixture, then add flours until just combined.  Add 3/4 cup of coconut and most of the chocolate chips, mix gently.  Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups.  Sprinkle remaining coconut and chocolate chips on the tops of each muffin. This recipe usually makes 18 muffins.
Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

**My picture is very blurry, but it'll give you an idea at least.

Quick 'n Easy Ravioli

Don't let the name deceive you...  I didn't make ravioli from scratch, although I would like to try that some day.  There are always those night when you need a quick and easy meal ... something that will reheat well when your family is eating in shifts ... that will make a fast lunch.  One of my favorite go-to-items is the fresh ravioli at Costco!  They always have a wide variety of "flavors", from cheese to butternut squash to chicken and mozzarella to spinach.  Choose one of your favorite sauces, be it alfredo, marinara or pesto; add some mix-ins, toasted nuts, cheese, sauteed vegi's, olives, etc. and voila - dinner is served! 
So, here's our quick mix up with a quick salad and garlic toast on the side:
Chicken and Mozzarella Ravioli
Pesto Sauce
Toasted Pecans
Sauteed Mushrooms
Parmesan Cheese

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I love the lettuce wraps at PF Changs, but I wanted a lettuce wrap that took a lot less work.  I had some leftover chicken that I really needed to use, so I decided to let the creative side in me take over.  We'll call these, Citrus Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

2-3 citrus chicken breasts, cubed (small bite-size pieces)
1 avocado, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
1 yellow/orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced (I used a handful of grape tomatoes that I quartered.)
1/4 cup feta chees, crumbled
3-4 Tbl. olive oil
1 head butter lettuce

Combine all ingredients except for lettuce, if possible refrigerate 1 hr to let flavors blend. Serve chicken mixture in lettuce, wrap and eat!

It was a quick and light meal that everyone really seemed to enjoy!

Chocolate Lasagna

This recipe was found on Pinterest (yes, the vortex that sucks you in and you lose hours of your life):

Chocolate Lasagna favorite desserts of all time

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) – about 36 cookies
• 6 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cold milk
• 1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided
• 2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding.
• 3 1/4 cups cold milk
• 1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.
2. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
3. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
4. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
5. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving

Taken from http://www.pincookie.com/chocolate-lasagna-each-layer-perfectly/

Breakfast Tacos

Who doesn't like breakfast tacos??  They come in all mixes, makes and models... You can use sausage, bacon, brisket, hashbrown, eggs - you name it!  The simplest process, warm a tortilla, add some eggs, bacon and/or sausage, hashbrown, some salsa and/or guacamole and voila!  They are definitely one of our family favorites!!  John decided to make some for breakfast and we had no eggs (yes, we've been out of eggs for a week, I guess it's time to go to the store).  He used sausage, bell peppers, mushrooms and hashbrown, topped with cheese, salsa and some impromptu guacamole!  It was a superb breakfast!

 

 

The only problem we had with the tacos this morning...John fills them a little too full, but whether the filling was in the tortilla or on the plate it was very tasty!

Citrus Chicken Salad with Strawberries

This is one of my favorite salads!!  I haven't made it in such a long time...

Citrus Chicken Salad with Strawberries

Citrus Chicken, directions below
Strawberry Dressing, directions below
1 lb. spring mix
1 head Iceberg lettuce, washed and torn into small pieces
1 cucumber, washed and sliced thin
2 stalks celery, washed and diced
1/2 lb. Swiss cheese, sliced then cut into julienne strips (or try smoked gouda)
1 lb. strawberries, sliced
mandarin oranges, optional
1 cup roasted pecan, directions below

Toss all ingredients together and serve.

Citrus Chicken
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 chicken breasts

Put all ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag and marinade for 6 hours to overnight.  Turn bag occasionally.  Grill.  Chill.  Slice on a diagonal.

Strawberry Dressing
1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 tespoons grainy mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup olive oil

Clean berries and cut into quarters.  Put all ingredients into a blender and puree.  Refrigerate in a pint jar until ready to make salad.  This will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Roasted Pecans
1 lb. pecan halves
2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces

Spread pecans on cookie sheet and place pan on center rack of oven.  Roast at 250 degrees, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown and become aromatic, about 35 to 45 minutes.  Stir in butter until pecans are coated and all butter is melted.  Return to oven for 5 additional minutes.  Let cool.  Store in air-tight container.

This was originally taken from www.thetablerunner.blogspot.com.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

My mom makes the most amazing chicken cordon bleu...  That's what we are eating for Easter this year.  I hope it turns out as well as when she makes it!  (Side note:  It did turn out very good!  I got Mom's stamp of approval!)

Chicken Cordon Bleu
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 thin ham slices
4 slices Swiss cheese (about 1.5 x 0.5" thick)
Lemon Pepper
Salt
1/2 cup Cornflake crumbs
1/4 cup Butter, melted

Pound chicken to 1/8-inch thickness.  Season each chicken breast with lemon pepper and salt.  Roll ham and cheese jelly-roll style, then roll each chicken breast with ham and cheese inside.  Tuck in ends and seal well (with toothpicks).  Dip each roll into melted butter, then roll in cornflake crumbs, turning to thoroughly coat each roll.  Place in 9x13 pam.  Bake, uncovered in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with sauce.

Sauce:
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. lemon juice

Blend ingredients and heat.

Fruit Pizza

Taylor requested Fruit Pizza for her birthday this year.  I figured it was a great change from the normal birthday cake or cupcakes!  We used the recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, which you can find here.