Sour Cream Banana Muffins

1 c. sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 very ripe bananas, mashed

Mix together. Put in greased muffin pans, filling 2/23 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes about 18-20 muffins.

*I've tried several different banana bread/muffin recipes and have never been that impressed. These however, are to die for!

Helen's Cinnamon Milk

2 cups powdered milk
1 cup non-dairy creamer
1 cup sugar
1/2 tbs. cinnamon

Mix everything together. It's that simple! To drink just fill your mug about 1/3 of the way full with mix then add warm water to fill the rest of the mug. You can also add a little bit of vanilla if you would like.

Old Fashioned Lemonade

4 ½ cups water
1 cup sugar
1 ¼ cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (approx. 5-7 lemons)
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Using a juicer, juice the lemons and set aside. Mix together 4 ½ cups water and 1 cup sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add in the fresh squeezed lemons and 1 tsp. lemon zest. Mix well and refrigerate until chilled. This makes a GREAT summer treat!

Heather's Breadsticks

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tbs. Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tbs. Yeast
1 1/4 Cups Warm Water
1/2 cup butter
Garlic Salt
Parmesan Cheese

Mix together water, yeast and salt. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add flour and sugar and mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.

Melt butter and pour half onto the bottom of a cookie sheet. Roll out dough and lay on top of butter, streching it until it touches the sides. Cut into slices and top with remaining butter. Sprinkle with Garlic Salt and Parmesan Cheese if desired. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes.

I have also made this with about half the butter and it still turns out great. I have also substituted some of the flour for wheat and it worked great as well.

Rocky Road Fudge Bars

Rocky Road Fudge Bars
 
Base:
 
1/2 C. butter or margarine
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate cut up (I use 1/2 C. Choco. chips)
1 C. flour
1 C. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
 
Filling:
 
1/4 C. butter, softened
1 8 oz. cream cheese softened
1/2 C. sugar
2 T. flour
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
1/4 C. chopped nuts
1 C. choco. chips
2 C. miniature marshmallows
 
Frosting:
 
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. milk
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut-up ( use 1/2 C. choco. chips)
Reserved cream cheese
3 C. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
 
Heat oven to 350.  Grease and flour 9x13 pan.  Melt 1/2 C. butter and 1 oz. chocolate over low heat in microwave, stirring until smooth.  Stir in remaining base ingredients and spread in pan.
 
In small bowl combine 6 oz. cream cheese, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and egg.  Beat until smooth and fluffy.  Stir in nuts.  Spread over chocolate mixture and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 25 to 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with marshmallows.  Return to oven and bake an additional 2 minutes.
 
Meanwhile, combine 1/4 C. butter, milk, chocolate and 2 oz. cream cheese and microwave on low heat, stirring until well blended.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla; mix until smooth, immediately pour frosting over marshmallows.  Refrigerate 1 to 2 hour or until firm.  Cut into 48 bars.  Store in refrigerator {they are SO yummy when they are cold!}

Ashby's Homemade Pot Pie

2 uncooked pie shells
1 whole roasted chicken
2-3 stalks celery
1/2 white onion
1 Tbls. butter
3 red potatoes
2 large carrots
15 green beans
1/2 bag frozen corn
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take your roasted chicken breast (which can be found just about anywhere, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.) and peel the skin off the skin of the chicken and shred the meat; set aside.

Chop the celery and onions into small pieces. Melt butter in a skillet and saute the celery and onions together until onions are soft and translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

Chop the remaining vegetables and place in a pot of water. I like to chop the vegetables in order of what needs to be boiled the longest. I start with the potatoes and put them in the water, then the carrots and put them in the water (.....are you seeing a pattern?), then the green beans, add the corn, and then the peas. Boil until potatoes are slightly tender. Drain water from vegetables.

Place one of the pie shells (I like to get the refrigerated Pillsbury shells that are rolled up) in the bottom of a pie dish and form the edges. Sometimes I have to cut off some of the edges because they are too big.

Now, mix the soups together (in a large bowl because you'll be adding all the other ingredients to it) and add desired amount of milk to thin. You don't want to make it too runny, or it'll spill out of the pie. Add the chicken, celery and onions, and vegetables. Mix together until everything is covered. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour into uncooked pie shell. Cover with the remaining shell, form sides, and cut a 1-inch slit in the top. You may want to put foil around the edges so they don't burn.

Place pie on cookie sheet because the insides sometimes drip out. Bake for 40 minutes, and remove foil around edges. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the top crust looks a golden brown. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes and serve!

Stove Top Chicken Casserole

1 pkg. Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
2-3 chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on box, set aside.
Mix together soup and sour cream. Add chicken and mixed vegetables and mix until covered with sauce. Place in 13x9 inch pan then top with prepared stuffing.
Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through!

So easy, and so good!

ENJOY!

Best Ever Pot Roast and Gravy

I used to make my roasts in my crock pot and they were ALWAYS dry, until my sister-in-law taught me how to do it in the oven. And I will never go back! This seriously is the best, most tender, and easiest to make roast you will ever eat!

ROAST
3-4 pound Chuck Roast (Safeway and Costco have GREAT chuck roasts)
Meat Tenderizer
Mrs. Dash Original
Pam

Sprinkle the roast with the meat tenderizer on all sides and let sit for 5-10 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 250 degrees, and spray a large (oven safe) pot with Pam. I use the largest one I have but make sure it has a lid. If not, foil works too. Sprinkle the roast again with a desired amount of Mrs. Dash. Place roast in large pot on the stove and sear all sides over medium-high heat. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Let it cook for 5-6 hours.

GRAVY
Juices from roast
1 cup cold water
1/2 to 1 cup COLD water mixed with 3 tbls. flour (shake well to mix)

After roast is done cooking, remove from oven and poor juices into a sauce pan. Be sure to keep the roast covered while making the gravy so it doesn't dry out. Bring juices to a boil over high-heat and let it boil down almost to where you think it is about to burn. At that point pour 1 cup of water into the sauce pan and mix with a whisk. Then add the water mixed with the flour (this keeps the flour from clumping, but you have to make sure you mix it again before adding to the gravy). Mix together until it begins to thicken. There's no need to add salt, the Mrs. Dash keeps the gravy well flavored.

And Voila! Enjoy!

Magic Cookie Bars

1 package graham crackers
1 cube butter or margarine
1 can sweetened condensed milk
chocolate chips
coconut
walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in 9x9 baking dish in microwave. Finely crumble graham crackers. Add crackers to butter to make a crust. Pour sweetened condensed milk over crust, then layer chocolate chips (the more the better, in my opinion!), coconut and nuts over the milk. Bake for 25-30 minutes (more gooey at 25, that's the way we like 'em!)

Coconut Cream Cake

This recipe is so good (thanks to Alyssa Frost!), and even if you don't care for coconut, it hardly has that flavor at all. It is just yummy, cold and delicious!

1 white cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can cream of coconut (found in the liquor section, but contains no liquor!)
1 tub whipped topping
coconut flakes, if desired

Mix sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut in bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour. Mix and bake cake according to directions on box. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, use the stick end of a wooden spoon to poke several holes throughout. Take mixture out of the fridge and pour over the top of the cake. Spread the excess mixture into the holes. Refrigerate cake for at least 3 hours to let it cool and soak up all the mixture. When ready to serve, spread one tube of cool whip over the top and garnish with toasted or raw coconut flakes.

Creamy Artichoke Dip

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1 can diced green chiles (do not drain)
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
6 oz. DiGiorno shredded parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients together in a microwave-safe dish. Heat one minute in microwave, stir and continue to heat in 30 second increments until parmesan cheese is melted and dip is heated through. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with diced tomatoes and olives (if desired) and serve with shepherd's bread or tortilla chips. Quick and delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight

1 tube (16.5 ozs.) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 carton Cool Whip
3 cups milk
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
Chopped nuts and chocolate curls, optional

Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Press into an ungreased 13x9 in pan. Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in 1 and 3/4 cup Cool Whip. Spread over cookie.

Whisk together milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes; let stand for 2 more minutes or until soft-set. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with optional nuts and/or chocolate curls.

Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight until firm.

Mini Cheese Cake Baskets

These are so easy and everyone in our family loves them at Easter, the kids especially.

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
12 NILLA Wafers
1-1/2 cups BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut, tinted green
36 small jelly beans
12 pieces shoestring licorice (4 inch each)
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat just until blended.
PLACE wafer on bottom of each of 12 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over wafers.
BAKE 20 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Top evenly with coconut and jelly beans just before serving. Bend each licorice piece, then insert both ends into each cheesecake to resemble the handle of a basket. Store leftover cheesecakes in refrigerator.

Chipotle Tamale Pie

When I saw this on our local news one morning I couldn't resist. I love chipotle and found this to be easy and tasty.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound, lean ground beef or you can use turkey
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 chipotle chiles from the can, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, from can chipotle in adobo
1 cup grated Cheddar
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves 1 (8.5-ounce) package cornbread mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Grease an 8-inch baking dish with the butter and set it aside.
Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef or turkey, the onions, green peppers, and garlic and cook until the meat is no longer pink and is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain off any excess fat and sprinkle the meat mixture with the cumin.
Add the beans, tomatoes, chiles and adobo sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until heated through and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cheese and cilantro.
Spread the meat mixture in the prepared baking dish, pressing down on it with the back of a spoon to make an even, compact layer.
Combine the cornbread mix with milk and egg. Spread the cornbread batter over the turkey mixture and bake until the cornbread is golden-brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the tamale pie stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Bean Corn Salsa

2-3 Roma Tomatoes
2-3 Avacodos
2/3 c green onions
2/3 c cilantro
1 can shoepeg corn
1 can black eyed peas

Dressing
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin

Chop ingredients to desired size and combine in bowl, mix dressing and pour over top and mix. This is super yummy and I hope Lexie doesn't mind I borrowed it.

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 up shredded cheddar cheese

1. Stir soup, water, rice, onion powder and black pepper in 12X8X2" shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Season chicken as desired. Cover.

2. Bake at 375 for 45 min or until done. Top with cheese.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I found this recipe on the Picky Palate blog and decided to give them a try. I made them for my company and they really enjoyed them. She used unsalted butter but all I had was salted so I used that and didn't add any additional salt. She also used Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder but I just used what I had and they worked out great! I would suggest adding a little more flour than it calls for.

½ Cup chocolate chips
1 stick unsalted butter
1 ½ Cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ Cups flour
½ Cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 bag chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place ½ Cup chocolate chips and stick of butter in a heat proof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

2. Place cooled melted chocolate, sugar, eggs and vanilla into the bowl of a stand or electric
mixer. Mix on medium speed until well combined. On low speed, slowly mix in flour mixture and chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until cookies begin to crack on top and edges look slightly crisped. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Doctored Cupcakes

I found this recipe on another blog, Dinner on a Dime, and made them yesterday for my Achievement Day girls. They were a huge hit! They call for LOTS of butter, so be prepared!

1 white cake mix
1 C. whole milk
1 stick butter (melted)
3 lg. eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Combine, mix on low 1 min, scrape sides of bowl, mix on medium 2 minutes. Use temps and times on cake mix box.

Fluffy Frosting:

3 C. salted butter
6-8 C. powdered sugar
vanilla to taste (around 4 tsp)
1-2 TB milk

Mix everything together well, spread on cupcakes.

**I suggest making only half, or even a quarter of the frosting. I made half and still have lots left over.

(Also I stole the picture, my cupcakes were certainly not that beautiful!)

Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls

I have two really yummy cinnamon roll recipes, but this one was requested- so this one's for you Ashby!

Dough:
1-1/2 packages dry yeast (about 3-1/4 tsp.) yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 shortening (I use butter flavored)
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
4-5 cups sifted flour

Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon
(you may substitute brown sugar for the white sugar)
raisins (optional)

Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2-4 tbs. milk or cream

Preparation:
Add the warm water to the yeast and soak for 10 minutes. Scald milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid (lukewarm). Add the dissolved yeast and beaten egg. Add 4 cups four, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle.
Knead on floured surface until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.
Press dough down and divide into workable size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cover with melted butter, leaving about one inch on ends. Layer generously with filling. Roll up jellyroll fashion. Using a knife or piece of string, cut off slices about 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. Place slices in a pan. Press rolls down to even out. Let rise until rolls fill the pan generously- about another hour.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. If rolls begin to brown too fast, cover with a piece of tin foil until the end of baking. Do not over bake.

For the frosting:
In a medium bowl, place sugar, butter and vanilla. Then stir in enough milk or cream to reach a consistency you like. Spread over warm rolls.

Meatloaf

I don't like to measure things so these are all estimates.

1 lb. Hamburger
1 egg
5-7 Saltine Crackers crumbled
3 Tbs. Ketchup
2 Tbs. Mustard

Mix together and divide in half, take one half and press into bottom of loaf pan. Top with 1 cup grated cheese. Then top with remaining half of hamburger mixture and press edges together. Spread about another 3 Tbs. Ketchup on top. Bake at 350 about 30-45 minutes until center is no longer pink. I like to eat it with baked potatoes on a cold day.