Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 mashed bananas
1/2 c. butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease loaf pan. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Mix together, just until moist. Pour into pan. Bake for 1 hr.

I love this recipe because it's easy, and yummy, and I like that it only makes one loaf. It's a great way to use up those last 2 bananas ( or 1 1/2 if that's all you've got) and it doesn't use too many ingredients ( if you're getting low on flour or eggs). Sometimes I do like to make a recipe that makes multiple loaves, but this is good for those times that you want a snack, but didn't really plan in advance. Another plus, Brendan will even eat this! (That says a lot, as he is an extremely picky kid).

Crock pot Chili

2 lbs ground beef 

1 large onion chopped

28 oz stewed tomatoes 

1 can dark kidney beans undrained 

1 can Hormel chili with beans

1 can tomato soup 

1 tsp BBQ sauce 

¼ tsp garlic salt

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼  onion salt

¼ tsp chili powder 

Pinch of sugar  

Brown beef in skillet. Sauté onion for last couple minutes. Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cover and cook on high 4 hours.

Frozen Fruit Salad

 Cream Together: 

1 (8oz) cream cheese 

¾ cup sugar   

Add:          

1 large Pineapple drained          

1 (10oz) Frozen Strawberry sliced with juice           

3 diced Bananas          

¾ cup chopped nuts           

1 large cool whip           

Mix together and place in 9X13 pan freeze.  Defrost 1 hour before serving.  

Smothered Steak

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds ground steak cut into strips 

1/3 cup flour 

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper 

1 onion sliced 

1 cup green pepper 

1 can diced tomatoes

4 oz mushrooms (optional)

3 Tbsp soy sauce 

1 can green beans or two cups frozen green beans  

Directions:

Cover the steak with the flour then put in the bottom of the crock-pot. 

Then add the remaining ingredients. 

Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. Serve over rice or baked potatoes. 

Holiday Mix

Ingredients:

3 cups Cheerios 

3 cups Rice Chex

3 cups Life 

3 cups Golden Grahams

1 pkg (10 oz) Pretzel Sticks

1 cup salted skinless peanuts 

1 pkg Holiday M&M’s 

24 oz pkg Almond Bark   

1. Melt Almond Bark in microwave. 
2. Pour over cereal mix in a large pan. 
3. Stir and mix. 
4. Spread on wax paper to dry. 
5. Store in zip lock bags.
   

This is the best to use up stored up WIC cereal.

Super Soft oatmeal cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening 

1 cup white sugar 

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs (5 if doubled) 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp baking soda 

½ tsp salt 

½ tsp baking powder 

2 cups quick oats 

2 cups flour  

2 cups chips of your choice

Directions: 

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs.

 In a separate bowl mix vanilla, soda, salt and baking powder.

 Add to creamed mixture. 

Mix flour and oats together. 

Mix with creamed mixture. 

Stir in chips of your choice. (We use half a bag of butterscotch and half of white chocolate)

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. 

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

This dish is pretty easy and it was good! Things I changed: took out diced tomatoes and put another can of crushed (making it more saucy, next time I'll just omit the diced w/o adding more crushed), and added more seasonings (Italian seasoning, garlic salt). And unfortunately I realized when putting things away after dinner, that I'd forgotten the heavy cream. And I think that having that would have made it a lot better and more creamy. I got this recipe from: http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/09/baked-pasta-with-chicken-sausage.html who adapted it from Martha Stewart

*Makes a heaping full 9X13 pan*
or
*2 8x8 pans*

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound rigatoni
10 ounces frozen baby spinach, thawed and drained well (can substitute 1 9-oz. bag fresh spinach)
12 ounces precooked smoked chicken (or turkey) sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick (I find this in the same section/aisle as the hotdogs next to the precooked kielbasa and chorizo - I use the Jennie-O brand and it is precooked in a U-shape. JoAnn, a commenter said she finds chicken sausage at Super Target)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces cut into 1/2-inch cubes and 4 ounces shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook for another minute.

Stir in tomatoes, oregano and basil; simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add cream; cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. (If using fresh spinach, add it to the pot of boiling pasta right at the end and cook until wilted.) Drain, and return contents to pot.

Add tomato sauce, sausage, spinach and cubed mozzarella to the pot; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Scoop pasta into lightly greased 9X13-inch pan (or divide evenly between two 8X8-inch pans). Top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20 to 30 minutes.

*Freezable Meal: Prepare recipe right up until the baking step and then cover with a double layer of aluminum foil. Freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. To bake, increase baking time to 1 to 1 1/4 hours. If baking from frozen, bake covered for 1 hour and 15 minutes, uncover and bake 30 minutes longer.

Apple Crisp

My mom got this recipe from the food network web site. I'm not usually a fan of apple crisp but this was awesome!

the apples:
8 to 10 med. to lrg. apples cut and sliced
1/2 c. sugar
1/2t. salt
2t cinnamon
1/4c. peacans (chopped)
1t nutmeg
2tbl orange juice
2tbl lemon juice
1tsp lemon and orange zest

Topping:
1/2c. flour
1/2 lb. butter (diced)
3/4c sugar
1c. oatmeal
3/4c. brown sugar

Mix all ingredients for the apples together and put into baking dish. Then combine all the topping ingredients together and mix until mixture is crumbly about peas size. Scatter over the apples evenly. Bake for 1 hr. at 350

Dragon's Breath Chili

I went to the Food Network website and looked through all the different chilis to find the perfect one to make for our ward chili cook-off, and this is the one I chose. It is really good, in fact it won me first place! I ended up only doing about 1/2 of the chilis it called for becuase I didn't want it to be super hot, and instead of hot paprika, I used regular paprika. I also decided to take out the chuck roast, because I didn't want chunks of meat. Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/dragons-breath-chili-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons bacon grease, or canola oil
2 red bell peppers, diced (about 2 cups)
2 jalapenos, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped (I did 1)
3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped (I did 1)
2 yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
1 head garlic, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 pound boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (I didn't use this)
2 pounds ground beef, coarse grind
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 teaspoons granulated onion
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons hot paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup tomato paste
12 ounces lager beer (did more chicken stock instead of this)
1 cup chicken stock
2 (15.5-ounce) cans pinto beans, with juice
2 (15.5-ounce) cans kidney beans, with juice
Double-Fried French Fries, recipe follows
Saltine crackers, for garnish
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Directions
In large stock pot over high heat, add butter and bacon grease. Add bell pepper, jalapeno, chiles and onion and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute longer. Add chuck and brown. Add ground beef and sausage to brown and stir gently, trying not to break up the ground beef too much. Cook until meat is nicely browned and cooked through, about 7 to10 minutes. Add in granulated onions, granulated garlic, chili powder, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add in tomato sauce and paste and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in beer and chicken stock. Add beans, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours.

*I also did 4 different types of beans, Navy beans, Pinto Beans, Dark Kidney beans, and Light Kidney Beans