Oatmeal Banana Coconut Cookies

So the other day I needed to use up some banana's and didn't have chocolate chips handy to make my standby Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies (http://attempsatedible.blogspot.com/2013/02/banana-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies.html)..so I improvised.  The result came out so well that the kids (and I, if I'm being honest)at the whole batch within 24 hours.  I figured that was worthy of a share here.

 

 

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup softened salted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Beat sugars with butter, cream until smooth and creamy, add in mashed bananas and egg in a large bowl. Sift together the dry ingredients, I just add it all to a bowl and stir it with a whisk. Pour into butter mixture, mix till combined and add in coconut. Drop by spoonfulls onto un-greased parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 10 mins or until light brown at 400 degrees. Remove cool on wire rack, and enjoy!:)

The original Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip cookie recipe was from  www.momwhats4dinner.com. 
 

Marinated Baked Pork Chops

This recipe and the photo are from allrecipes.com. 

These were pretty good.  I like the balance of tangy and sweet. 

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 6 servings.        

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

1 tablespoon soy sauce                                                                     

2 tablespoons vegetable oil                                                                     

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce                                                                     

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ketchup

6 pork chops

 

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup.
3. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with 1/2 the sauce.
4. Bake pork chops 30 minutes* in the preheated oven. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chops has reached 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

 

*I amended the baking times to suit the thickness of my chops.

Shepherd's Pie

I'm finally posting again...and it's for shepherd's pie.  My teenage self would find that comical as I loathed Shepherds Pie growing up.  I like it more now (acquired taste?), and as a mom I also like that it recycles leftover mashed potatoes and is made with things I typically keep on hand.

This recipe and photo are from About.com and can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/lhgg4yb

Both the image and (most) of the text will be borrowed from there.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic

1 tsp. dried marjoram leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups refrigerated mashed potatoes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In heavy skillet cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown and onion is tender, stirring to break up meat, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Stir in vegetables and soup and cook until hot, about 4 minutes, then add marjoram and salt and pepper to taste.
Place in 9 inch pie plate. Spoon mashed potatoes over hot meat mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and pie is bubbling.

Berry Patriotic Pie

This image and recipe are from:
http://www.reddiwip.com/recipes-Berry-Patriotic-Pie-2648.html

I was looking through a coupon flyer at the Commissary and found this recipe in with coupons for some of the key ingredients.  Seemed like a pretty easy recipe, and heaven knows we always have strawberries and blueberries on hand these days, so I decided to give it a shot.  Mine didn't come out as pretty as the one pictured above, but it still was decent.  This would be a relatively easy chilled pie to throw together for a Memorial Day gathering.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons water, divided
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 baked pastry shell (9 inch), cooled
• Whipped topping (obviously the original source recommends Reddi-Wip)
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Slice enough of the strawberries to measure 2 cups. Halve remaining strawberries; set aside. Combine sliced strawberries, granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons of the water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 3 minutes.
2. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons water and cornstarch until blended in small bowl. Add to strawberry mixture; mix well. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in strawberry halves. Cover and cool 30 minutes without stirring.
3. Beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and milk in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread onto bottom of pastry shell. Top with strawberry mixture; cover. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
4. Cut pie into 8 slices. Completely cover each slice with whipped topping and blueberries just before serving.

Crockpot Honey Apple Pork Loin

Recipe and photo from:
http://mycrossfitpaleojourney.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/crockpot-honey-apple-pork-loin/

Ingredients:
Pork Loin, 2.5-3 lbs.
Red Delicious Apples, 3 sliced
Honey, approx 4 T
Cinnamon, 2 T
Process:
Lay the apple slices (from two of the apples) in the bottom of the crockpot.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Cut slits in the pork loin (approx 1/2″-3/4″).
Drizzle some honey into the slits.
Then place apple slices into the slits.

Place the pork loin into the crockpot.
Drizzle the top with the remainder of the honey.
Place the rest of the apples on top.

Then sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon.

Cook on low for 7 hours.
For more flavor, you may poke holes in the pork. Then place the pork loin in a bag with honey and cinnamon and marinate it overnight.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tried this one 2/25/13.  Delish!

This entire recipe is from the website shown above

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup softened unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Beat sugars with butter, cream until smooth and creamy, add in mashed bananas and egg in a large bowl. Sift together the dry ingredients, I just add it all to a bowl and stir it with a whisk.Pour into butter mixture, mix till combined and add in chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfulls onto un-greased parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 10 mins or until light brown at 400 degrees. Remove cool on wire rack, and enjoy!:)

Mint Chocolate Delights

I first found this recipe on a bag of Mint Chocolate Chips that I found at the Commissary. Yum! I'm c&p it from a place I found it online

(http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/143925/mint-chocolate-delights/detail.aspx)

Mint Chocolate Delights

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoonvanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 325° F.

COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

FOR MINI MINT CHOCOLATE DELIGHT COOKIES: Prepare dough as above. Drop by well-rounded measuring teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Makes about 7 dozen mini cookies.

Chicken Marsala

(image from http://www.kinnelonpizza.com/, recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour for coating

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, diced

4 tbs butter

4 tbs olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup diced green pepper

1/4 cup diced onion

3/4 cup Marsala wine

1/2 box Linguine (8 oz)

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish, mix flour, salt, pepper & oregano. Coat chicken pieces in the flour mixture. Put pan of water for linguine on to boil.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan and brown lightly. Turn over chicken and add peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add wine. Cover skillet; simmer 10 minutes, turning once. Once skillet is covered, add linguine to other pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear. Cook linguine as directed on box.

Southern Red Velvet Cake

(photo courtesy of www.mccormick.com, recipe from www.foodnetwork.com)

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 30 min

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Oil Spray for the pans & cooling rack(s)

2.5 cups flour

1.5 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1.5 cups veggie oil

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tbsp (1 oz) red food coloring (this is a lot more than I thought it was, so have a lot on hand)

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil and flour 2 round cake pans (I used 9x1 inch).

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.

Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating pans halfway through cooking, until cake pulls away from edges of pans and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cakes cool 10 minutes on cooling rack in pan, and then remove from pans. Cool completely on cooling rack.

Make cream cheese frosting (see below)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 oz butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat ingredients with electric mixer until good and fluffy.

Place one of the two cakes on a plate and frost top liberally. Place second cake on top and frost top and sides. Decorate as desired after that.

Cake should be stored in refrigerator

The Verdict: Cake was good, but a little dry. Need to think up a way to moisten it some...or keep looking for a recipe we like more.

Chicken Rice Casserole

(photo credit to http://www.deliciouscheapmeals.com/)

Got a little experimental with some leftover chicken last night.

Ingredients

2 cups rice, uncooked

10 oz frozen peas

4 cups water

4 tsp salt

4 tsp butter

~2 cups diced cooked chicken

4 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup & can of milk

1 cup shredded cheese (mild cheddar/American) or bread crumbs

Directions

In a medium saucepan combine rice, water, and 1 tsp salt. Heat to boiling. Cover and simmer 8 minutes. Add peas and cook an additional 8-10 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Saute chicken for about a minute. Stir in flour, pepper, and remaining salt. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, just until bubbling. Add in soup and milk. Continue cooking until sauce thickens and gently boil for about a minute.

Pour sauce over rice mixture in a shallow buttered baking dish (I used 13x9), sprinkle with cheese or bread crumbs. Bake dish at 375 for at least 30 minutes.

Roasted Chicken

(photo and recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com, key words: juicy roasted chicken)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hr 15 minutes (for 3 pd bird)
Ready 30 mins after done cooking
Serves 6 (3 pd bird)

Ingredients
1-3 pound whole chicken, giblets removed
salt & black pepper to taste
1 tbs onion powder, or to taste
1/2 cup butter, divided

My additions to make a meal of it:
Chicken Stove top Stuffing
potatoes
carrots
chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place chicken in roasting pan and season generously inside and out with salt & pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. I placed some Stovetop Stuffing in the bird at this time as well (prepare as per directions on the container). Melt butter and coat the exterior of the bird with butter. At this time I also cut up some potatoes and carrots and placed them in the roasting pan with the stuffed bird. In hindsight, I should have added some chicken stock to the pan at this point as well to keep the veggies moister.

3. Bake, uncovered, an hour and 15 minutes or until the minimum internal temperature of the bird is 180* (go by temp for a bird of a different weight). Remove from heat, baste with drippings in pan. Cover with aluminum foil and allow bird to rest for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Turkey Tetrazzini

(photo courtesy of www.examiner.com)

This recipe is another one out of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. The original calls for chicken, but we had some leftover turkey in the freezer, so I went with that instead. I've added in peas and would also recommend some breadcrumbs in the final step so I've added those to the ingredients list as well.

Prep: 20 mins

Bake: 15 mins

Makes: 6 servings

Oven: 350*

Ingredients

8 oz linguine or spaghetti

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1.25 cup chicken broth

1.25 cup milk

2 cups chopped chicken or turkey

2 tbs dry sherry (optional)

1 cup peas

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

breadcrumbs to taste

1. Cook spaghetti or linguine according to directions. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, in large saucepan cook mushrooms and green onions in hot butter until tender. Stir in flour, pepper and nutmeg. Add broth and milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chicken and sherry. Stir in peas and half the Parmesan cheese. Add cooked pasta; stir to coat.

3. Transfer pasta to a 2 qt baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 350, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Nutrition (w/o peas and crumbs): 379 cal, 14g fat, 2 g fiber

"Best-Ever" Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting

We had some leftover baby carrots, so I gave this one a whirl. I think it came out pretty good. I added the nutmeg in on a whim to the original recipe. The recipe is from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.

The frosting seemed a little too sweet for my taste, not really cream cheesy, if that makes sense. I'm on the look out for a better recipe for that. In the meantime...

Carrot Cake

(photo courtesy of http://www.reallynicerecipes.com/)

Prep: 30 mins

Bake: 30 mins

Cool: 2 hours

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

4 beaten eggs

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups finely shredded carrots* (lightly packed)

3/4 cup cooking oil

(see recipe for frosting below)

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour two 9x1.5 inch round cake pans. Set pans aside. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg & baking soda.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, carrots and oil. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until combined. Pour batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake in a 350* oven for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans (cookbook had an excellent tip to sandwich the cake to get it out of the pan smoothly). Cool thoroughly on racks.

4. Frost tops and sides with Cream Cheese Frosting. Store cake in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

5-6.25 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating well. Continue to add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

This frosting will cover tops and sides of two 8 or 9 inch layer cakes. Halve the recipe to do a 13x9x2 inch cake.

Cover and store frosted cake in the refrigerator.

Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken & Broth
1 3-4 pound chicken, cut up
3 qts water
1.5 tsp salt
1 small onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
Chicken stock (if not cooking a whole bird)

Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1.25 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp milk

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 tsp of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley to the pot. Reduce heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for two hours. The liquid will reduce by about a third.

2. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the veggies and such. Keep the stock and the chicken.

3. Pour 6 cups of the stock back into the pot (keep leftover stock for another recipe, it can be frozen). If you started this recipe w/o the stock, add in store bought instead. Add pepper, remaining salt, and lemon juice. Reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.

4. For the dumplings, combine flour, baking powder, salt and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth. Let dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll dough onto a floured surface until 1/4 inch thick (originial recipe says 1/2 inch, we found that too thick).

5. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all the dough. Dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often. If you started with pre-cooked chicken, it can go in now too.

6. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat into bitesized peices. Discard skin and bones. Simmer another 5-10 minutes.

7. When gravy has reached desired consistency, serve hot with veggies (if desired).

*We both really liked this one. Ate up every last bit of the leftovers.

Italian Bread

Makes: 1 loaf

1 packet dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
2-3 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
handful of corn meal

Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups flour, oil and salt to bowl. Beat until mixed in using dough hook if available. Continue to add flour. Dough will take on a soft and smooth appearance when enough flour has been added.

Increase speed to medium and beat 5 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in warm place (85 degrees) for 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Punch down and let stand 10 more minutes..

Turn dough out onto floured surface. Sprinkle corn meal on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Shape dough into 12 inch loaf and place on top of the corn meal. Cut 3 slits across top of the bread.

Bake at 400 for 16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

*Make sure the temp in the area for it to rise is adequate. Mine wasn't when I tried to make this and the bread didn't rise well.

Baked Ziti

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Feeds 10

Ingredients:
1 pd dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pd lean ground beef (ok if a little less or to sub in a little sausage)
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 cup sour cream
6 oz mozzerella, shredded
2 tbsp grated parmesean cheese

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain.

2. In a large skillet, brown meat over medium heat. Brown onions too. Add sauce and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Preheat over to 350. Butter a 9x13 pan. Mix ziti, sour cream and a little shredded cheese. Pour into baking pan. Top with rest of cheese.

4. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 mins or until cheese is melted. Remove foil for last 5 minutes.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

Place pork (roast, shoulder or butt) in the crockpot. Pour a cup of water over it. Throw salt & pepper on the pork. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Separate liquid and remove any fat peices. Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and shred. Let that heat up. Serve with rolls.

*Tried this one. The pork came apart really easily. Recipe got a thumbs up from both of us.

Honey Cornbread Muffins

Hands on Time:10 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Makes 12 muffins

4 TBS (1/2 stick) butter, melted plus more for the pan
1.25 cups flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/5 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup honey

Heat oven to 375. Butter muffin tin.

In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, honey and melted butter. Add the flour mixture, stir to combine.

Divide the batter amongst the muffin cups and bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

*Can store at room temp for up to a day. Warm in foil if desired.

**Tried this one. Got a so-so rating from both of us. Good, but a little sweet. Must do as muffins, consistency isn't right and its too sweet to be cornbread.

Machine Shed Applesauce Sweet Bread

This recipe is from The Machine Shed, a restaurant in Iowa (http://www.machineshed.com/)

1.5 cup + 1 tbsp butter

3.5 oz evaporated milk

3.5 cups applesauce

2 tsp salt

3 cup sugar

5 eggs

1 tbsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

5 1/3 cup flour

Topping

1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

With mixer, cream sugar and butter for 3 mins on medium speed. Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Add salt and baking soda. Mix 3 additional minutes. Add applesauce and mix for 2 more minutes. Add flour until fully blended (Do Not Overmix).

Place batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake at 300 until toothpick comes out dry (Approx 1.5 hrs).

Brownies

This one needs to evolve some, it needs to be chewier, but its a start.

1/2 cup butter
3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate*
1 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate*
1.25 cups sugar
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp dark rum (optional)
3 eggs
1.25 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375. Grease bottom of 8 inch square pan.

Melt both chocolates with butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly and watch scorching. Heat until smooth. Remove from heat.

Stir in sugar. Add eggs. Mix in flour, salt, vanilla, rum and nuts. Stir until just combined.

Spread mixture into pan.**

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until they shrink back from edges of pan. Cool before cutting.

Recipe can be doubled by putting twice the ingredients in a 13x9 pan and baking for 35-40.

*When I tried this one I didn't have the exact combo of chocolate they asked for. My improvisation of chocolate chips and chocolate powder worked fine.

**When I did it I sprinkled some extra chocolate chips on the top. I think it would also be good with Hershey's Syrup swirled in.