Banana Bread

Ingredients:

4 bananas

1 1/2 C sugar

2 C flour

2 TB shortening

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Pour batter into 1 greased loaf pan and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Mini Kisses Peanut Blossoms

Ingredients:

Bag of Hershey's mini-kiss

1/2 C shortening

3/4 C Creamy peanut butter

1/3 C Sugar

1/3 C brown sugar

1 egg

2 TB milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

*small bowl of sugar (to roll dough in)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees

2. Beat together shortening and peanut butter. Beat in 1/3 C sugar and brown sugar. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate dish. Gradually blend into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown. Immediately place chocolates on top of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Cool cookies on wire rack.

*I didn't have hershey's...but still YUMMY!*

Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

1 TB olive oil

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put all ingredients in a bag and coat. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake until easily pierced with a fork. Approximately 25 minutes. I usually flipped potatoes half way through the time to brown evenly.

*I use garlic salt instead of garlic powder and never put in the salt.

Southwestern Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen corn, thawed
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp oil
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1 tsp chili powder1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1-1 1/2 uncooked instant rice
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, saute the chicken, corn, green pepper and onion in oil until chicken juices run clear.
2. Stir in the broth, salsa, chili powder, and cayenne; bring to a boil
3. Add the rice. Cover and remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
4. Sprinkle the cheese; cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Good inside tortillas or as a side dish

Gravy

When it comes to gravy I struggle but this article helped me out soooooooo much that I thought I should share.

Crepes

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBS butter, melted

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

I sliced 1 lb. of strawberries, put them in a bowl and added 2 TBS of sugar. i let this sit while cooking the crepes. When the crepes were finished I spread Nutella Hazelnut spread over the crepes, topped with the strawberries and rolled them up. I then drizzled them with Strawberry Syrup, (recipe below), and topped with whipped topping.

Strawberry Syrup

Ingredients:
10 ounces strawberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup light corn syrup
small pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Place the strawberries in a blender and process until smooth.
2. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

Makes 1 1/2 cups of syrup
I use this on ice cream, pancakes, angel food cake, and crepes.

Cowboy Spuds

Ingredients:
3 large baking potatoes
1 TBS olive oil
1 tps salt

1/2 lb. ground beef
1 small onion
2 TBS taco seasoning
1 can chili
1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 large tomato, diced
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
5 cups lettuce, rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup bacon, diced and cooked
Ranch dressing

Directions:
1. Wash spuds. Rub potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. wrap in tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.
2. Brown beef and onion in a large saucepan. Drain.
3. Add chili, taco seasoning, and corn. Simmer 5 minutes.
4. When potatoes are done, unwrap and chop open on a plate. Add a little butter, salt, and pepper. Add the chili mixture, then top with the rest of the ingredients.

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 TBS cornstarch
3 TBS strawberry Jell-O
2 TBS butter1 (3 or 4 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 quart strawberries, sliced
1 deep dish pie crust
1 small container whipped cream

Directions:
1. Bake pie shell according to package directions. Let cool.
2. Boil sugar, water, and cornstarch until thick. Then add Jell-O and butter. Let cool.
3. Mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold into 1 cup whipped cream. Spread in baked pie shell.
4. Combine thickened sauce and strawberries. Put mixture on top of whipped cream mixture in pie.

Makes 1 deep dish pie.

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

• 16 slices firm white bread

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

• 1 cup blueberries (I used cubed strawberries)

• 3 cups milk

• 3 eggs

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used cinnamon)

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• • 
    
• • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 
  
• Directions:

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter. Cut 10 slices of the bread into 3/4 inch cubes. Spread cream cheese over one side of the remaining 6 slices of bread. Arrange the bread, cheese side up, in the baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the blueberries, then top with the bread cubes.
2. Whisk together the milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of sugar in a bowl. Pour over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Mix together the nutmeg and 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle over bread mixture. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
5. To make compote: Heat cornstarch, water and remaining 1 cup of sugar over medium heat and bring to a simmer, cooking until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and the remaining 1 cup of blueberries. Serve with the french toast.

If you use strawberries, make sure to sprinkle them on top when there is 5 mins left of cooking. The juices from the strawberries make the dish a little soggy. I also used the strawberry glaze (previous post) and pour that on top of the mixture as well (use as much to your liking).