Berry Pancakes with Riccota and Boysenberry Syrup

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs and have been dying to try it ever since. In fact, we tried them last night for brinner. They were delicious!

Berry Pancakes with Riccota and Boysenberry Syrup

• 1 lemon
• 1 pint fresh or thawed frozen raspberries
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 11/4 cup milk
• 4 large eggs, separated
• Maple syrup, for serving (I used boysenberry)

1. Working over a bowl, use a grater to zest the lemon, being careful not to remove any of the bitter white pith. Cut the zested lemon into wedges, and set them aside.
2. Add the raspberries to the bowl containing the lemon zest. Stir in 1/3 cup sugar, gently crushing the raspberries with a wooden spoon. Set aside while making the pancake batter.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, 1 tbsp. sugar and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the ricotta cheese with milk and egg yolks. Add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture, and stir until just combined. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.
4. Beat egg whites with a handheld mixer until they hold soft peaks. Next, gently fold the raspberries with their juices into the batter, and then fold in the egg whites. (You want little clumps of whites in the batter. The important thing is not to overmix it.)
5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over moderately low heat. Melt 1/2 tbsp. butter at the center of the skillet, where you will spoon the batter.
6. Spoon batter into the hot skillet, directly onto the melted butter.
7. Cook each pancake until the bottom is golden brown and the bubbles on the surface begin to break, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancake quickly. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute longer.
8. Serve finished pancakes with maple syrup and lemon wedges. (or substitute bacon for the lemon wedges. That's what I did.)

Strawberry Cake

Strawberries were super cheap at the Berkeley Bowl last week so I decided to make a yummy strawberry cake. Then I couldn't find my mom's recipe. So after many hours of blog surfing I found one that I was sure would be delicious (you can't go wrong with a Paula Deen inspired recipe, right?). It was the perfect addition to our Easter celebration.

Homemade Strawberry Cake

Adapted from Paula Deen’s Hummingbird Cake

Nonstick vegetable spray
All-purpose flour, for pans
3 cups self-rising flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup pureed strawberries, strained* (I didn't strain the strawberries and the cake turned out great.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 large eggs, beaten
red food coloring**

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.
- Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes. I used one large bundt pan and baked it for around 50 minutes. I didn't get an exact time but keep checking to make sure it is cooked all the way. A knife test works fantastic.
- Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting (recipe below); frost as desired and refrigerate until ready to serve.

* You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If you use frozen, let them defrost on a cookie sheet. Then place in a food processor and pulse until pureed. Run through a medium-sized strainer to remove the seeds. If you have some extra strawberries, try whipping up a quick batch of strawberry scones!

** While I did manage to avoid using red colored gelatin, I did add some food coloring to achieve that perfectly pink color. If you don’t care about getting the pink color, feel free to leave it out. I used about 5 drops, but you should add them one at a time until you achieve the color you are looking for.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
~ 3 cups (approx. 1 box) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
1 TBL milk (if needed)

Directions:

- Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
- Slowly add the sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness is achieved. You may need less than 3 cups if you like your frosting less sweet.
- Stir in vanilla. Add milk slowly if you need a looser consistency.

Baked Manicotti With Meat Sauce

Wow, 6 months huh? I'm a slacker! And to be honest, I haven't really been trying a lot of new recipes. But I have just gone through all my cooking magazines and I have pulled out the recipes that I want to try and so my goal is to try a new recipe a week. Probably won't happen that smoothly, but it is worth trying! So for the first one, from Cooks Country, 2009 {I have been holding onto these for a LONG time!}

This is the picture from the magazine, looks yummy huh?
Meat Sauce: I will put this up there, but I actually just used some of my homemade spaghetti sauce and it was great with that. But here is their recipe:

1 onion
6 oz sliced deli pepperoni
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 tablespoon tomato paste
5 garlic cloves minced {precut ones fine}
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cans crushed tomatoes

pulse onion and pepperoni in food processor until coarsely ground, add beef. Cook over medium heat until no longer pink. add tomato paste, garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Manicotti:
3 cups ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cup shredded provolone
1 large egg-beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
16 no boil lasagna noodles

I wanted to keep it as simple as I can, so like I said before, it worked great with my own sauce. Unless you are feeling ambitious, I would just use your favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce and add some ground turkey or something. The rest of it is so simple!
Combine ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, 1 cup provolone, egg, salt, pepper, and basil in a bowl. Pour 2 quarts boiling water into a 9x13 pan, soak noodles until pliable, about 5 minutes. Drain noodles on a towel, pour off water and dry baking dish.

Spread half the meat sauce on the bottom of the dish, then top each of the soft noodles with 1/4 cup cheese filling, roll it up into a nice "manicotti" looking roll, then place seam-side down over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over the top, cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Remove foil and add remaining mozzarella and provolone. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes then serve.

Cafe Rio House Dressing

Cafe Rio House Cilantro dressing

1 pack Hidden Valley Ranch (not buttermilk kind)
1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch cilantro
clove of garlic or garlic powder
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno

Put in blender and mix for delicious dressing.  So good, especially with the Cafe Rio pork recipe of Maren's.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I love this recipe from here. Of course I changed things up a bit for my liking. I hope you enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 whole Recipe For Pizza Crust (mine Makes Two Crusts) I bought a store pizza crust as I didn't have time to make one from scratch...it was a really good whole wheat crust. In so doing you only need about 1/2 of everything listed here.
  
• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ½ cups Barbecue Sauce
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling
• Salt For Sprinkling
• 16 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Thinly
• ½ whole Red Onion, Cut In Half And Sliced Very Thin
• Chopped Cilantro, to taste I don't like cilantro unless it is a little bit so you could add a little to the top or you could just forget about it like I did. The pizza is good either way.
  

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Salt chicken breasts on both sides, then place in an ovenproof dish. Pour BBQ sauce over the breasts and turn them over to coat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Remove from oven and cut into a fine dice. Set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.

Roll/stretch out one pizza crust. Lay it on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle a little olive oil on the crust, then sprinkle on a little salt.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons of extra BBQ sauce on the crust and spread it evenly. Top sauce with half the sliced mozzarella. Sprinkle on half the diced chicken and thinly sliced red onion.

Sprinkle again with a little salt, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle on plenty of chopped cilantro. Cut into squares and serve immediately. Repeat with other crust and other ingredients, or save for another time.

Here is how I changed it. I didn't buy my own crust as

Basic Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
• 1-½ cup Warm Water
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ⅓ cups Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Snickerdoodles

This Snickerdoodle recipe is dynamite. If you don't believe me, let me know and I will send you a dozen or so. You'll love them.

Cookies:
1 cup margarine, room temperature
1-1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

Cinnamon sugar coating:
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

prepare cinnamon sugar coating; set aside. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, beat together margarine, sugar, and eggs until fluffy. Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, beating until blended. Shape into 1-1/2 inch balls. Roll balls in cinnamon sugar coating. Place on cookie sheets. Bake 8 minutes or until golden. Don't overcook these suckers or they'll be hard and crunchy and no good. Remove from cookie sheets; cool on rack. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

Cat Head Biscuits

I know weird name, but they are called this because they are as big as a cat head. One of my favorite restaurants here, Hash House a Go Go, has these killer buttermilk biscuits that they bring out before your meal. They are huge, warm, and drizzled with melted butter and honey. Honestly, they are divine! So imagine my excitement when I opened this month's Cook's Country {fabulous magazine} and saw this recipe for Cat Head Biscuits. And they were crazy good, I may even say just as good as the Hash House ones! So rearrange your menu and make these suckers soon!

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup cake flour {they have a very long explanation why, just make sure you use both!}

1 tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces and softened

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Adjust the oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 9 inch cake pan.

Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Rub butter and shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in buttermilk until combined.

Use a 1/2 cup measure or a large spring loaded ice cream scoop to transfer 6 heaping portions of dough into the prepared pan. 5 on the outside and 1 in the middle.

Bake until puffed and golden brown 20-25 minutes. Cook in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack.

**I hate to buy buttermilk, you have to buy the huge thing of it and only use about 1 cup. So I have been using the SACO cultured buttermilk blend that you can find in the baking isle and it works wonderfully! I really can't tell the difference and it is really easy to use.

Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

These enchiladas are delicious. I probably make them every other week because we like them so much. Make them as spicy or as mild as you like. I usually use mild taco seasoning and medium enchilada sauce. I also use low fat cottage cheese and sour cream. They still taste great.

Ingedients:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (boiled, shredded)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 can chopped green chili peppers (7 oz)
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch of ground black pepper
• 12 tortillas (6 inch)
• 1 can enchilada sauce (10 0z)
• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
  

Directions:

1. Meat Mixture: heat oil in skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken, onion, green chili peppers. Saute until brown. Then add taco seasoning and prepare as packet instructions direct.

2. Cheese Mixture: in large bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Preheat oven to 350 F

4. Assemble: heat tortillas until warm. In each tortilla, spoon meat mixture, cheese mixture, and a bit of shredded cheese. Roll tortillas and place in lightly greased 9x13 inch casserole dish. Top with enchilada sauce and any remaining meat or cheese mixture.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Margarita Spaghetti

This is one of our favorite recipes. If you like spaghetti, you will love this. It makes a lot of food, so I generally half the recipe. Two of us can't eat a pound of spaghetti. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella
• 1/4 cup Romano cheese
• Fresh basil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs butter
• 10 Roma tomatoes (finely chopped)
  

Directions:

1. cook spaghetti
2. In sauce pan, mix and let simmer olive oil, butter, garlic salt, Roma tomatoes, salt, pepper,
sugar
3. Chop basil
4. Cut up mozzarella
5. Gate Romano cheese
6. In large bowl, combine spaghetti, sauce, basil and cheese

Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts

So, I really don't fry things often because oil kind of itimidates me. It splatters all over, is hard to keep at a consistent temperature, and is easily combustable. However, this recipe is so totally easy and delicious that it is worth the risk! Happy fall and enjoy!

Whisk together in large bowl until frothy

- 1 egg

- 1 egg yolk

Add

- 1 cup pumpkin

- 1/2 c sugar

- 1/2 c buttermilk

- 1/4 c brown sugar

- 3 T melted butter

Stir until combined then stir in

- 4 tsp. baking powder

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

Gradually fold in 3 cups of flour until a sticky dough forms. Cover in plastic wrap and freeze for 15 min. Meanwhile, heat 2 inches of oil to 370 degrees in an electric skillet or straight-sided pan over medium heat. Pat dough out on a well floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Dip a biscuitt cutter or rim of a 3" wide glass in flour then cut out your doughnuts transferring to a floured baking sheet using a spatula that has been dusted in flour. ( I use a glass to cut out the main doughnut and then cut the hole out of the center with a sharp knife). Fry doughnuts and holes in batches in the oil until browned, about 3 minutes, turning once. Drain on paper towel and finish with sugar or glaze.

Apple Cider Glaze

-1/4 c apple cider
- pinch of salt

- 3 c powdered sugar

Heat cider and salt in small sauce pan until hot. Off heat stir in sugar
until smooth. Dip cooled doughnuts in glaze and let stand about 5 min.

Cinnamon Sugar

- 1 c sugar

- 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small paper bag. Toss donuts and holes while still hot.

Hostess Cupcakes

So this is a fun one to bake, especially if you have fond memories of Hostess cupcakes like I do! I actually saw this recipe in the Food Network Magazine, but I chickened out and changed it a little bit. Here is what I did:

Cake: {Because I am leery of making cakes from scratch!}

1 devils food chocolate cake mix

1 cup milk

4 eggs

1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup sour cream

So mix the ingredients together and place into cupcake liners. This is a really thick batter, so don't be alarmed! Bake according to the box- careful not to overcook. Remove from oven and let cool completely

Filling:
4 tbs unsalted butter {room temp}

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbs heavy cream

1 cup marshmallow creme

Using a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy, beat in confectioners sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tbs heavy cream, beat until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 Tbs heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Bean in the marshmallow creme and set aside.

Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top. Fill the cupcake until it is heavier {this is tricky to know how much you put in, you may want to play with it a little bit}.

Ganache and Icing:

6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 stick plus 1 tbs unsalted butter

2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

For the ganache:

Place chocolate in a stainless steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tbs butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 tsp vanilla and let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid. {note: this will firm up the longer it sits, you don't want it to be too runny, so wait until it has a little bit of thickness}. Take the filled cupcakes and dip the top of the cupcake into the ganache. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

For the Icing:
With a mixer beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/4 tsp vanilla, milk and powdered sugar until smooth. Spoon into a pasty bag and with a small tip, pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.

Mo's Meatballs

I know that Meatballs are a strange thing, but I swear these are so delicious it is a must try. Thanks Kristen for the recipe! This makes quite a bit, so I halve the recipe for my little family

3 lbs ground beef
1 can evaporated milk
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal-slow cook
2 tsp chili powder- you can omit this if you don't like a kick!
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Sauce:
4 c. ketchup
1 1/2 c brown sugar
4 Tbs liquid smoke
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup finely chopped onions

So you will want to prepare the sauce first, saute the onions for a few minutes to help them tenderize, then add the other ingredients and let it simmer

While the sauce is simmering, combine the other ingredients and mix well. Add 1/2 cup sauce to the meat. Then form the meat into baseball {yeah you read that right, not golf ball- baseball} size balls. Bring the sauce to a boil then pour over the top. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Seriously, I know this seems like a man's meal, but they are FANTASTIC!

I think I may be giving away anceint chinese secrets here, but these are sooooooo good. Caramel, chocolate and goey. You can't go wrong! Click on the picture to see it larger and actually read the recipe!

Green Chicken Enchiladas

Shannon clued me into this recipe from Cook's Country {great magazine}. It is incredibly easy and very tasty, if you like cilantro

2 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite size pieces (approx 3 cups)
2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
Salt and Pepper
12 small corn tortillas

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 400 degrees. Use Pam on bottom of 9x13 baking dish

Puree enchilada sauce and 1 cup cilantro in a blender. Combine 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, chicken and 1 1/2 cup cheese in a large bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper

Wrap tortillas in a clean kitchen towel and microwave until pliable, 30 to 90 seconds. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken mixture and roll tightly. Arrange seam side down in baking dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray, then top with additional 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture and remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through, 15-2o minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and top with remaining sauce.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

So I think I'm going to start calling these the "Peacemaker Cookies" or the "Something for Everyone Cookies". I don't know, I'm still comming up with a good name! But it cracked me up when I read the comments before that said something like "Want to make some cookies, but don't know what kind you want? Try these, they have it all!" Totally true!

Ingredients
1 cup (1/2 lb.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation
1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
2. In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips, oats, and peanuts.
3. Drop dough in rounded 2-tablespoon portions, 3 inches apart, onto buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. With a lightly floured fork, flatten slightly into 2 1/2-inch rounds about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Bake in a 350° oven until cookies are golden and tops feel set when lightly pressed, 12 to 14 minutes (they will feel underdone but will firm up as they cool); if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.
5. Let stand 5 minutes on sheets, then, with a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Recipe from Sunset Magazine

Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

I am a HUGE bread pudding fan. I love finding great bread pudding {which if you ever are in Mesa, you just go to Cracker's Cafe and have theirs- it is to die for!} So anyway, the picture totally sold me on this and I had to try it. But it is kind of a mix of a couple of recipes so this is what I did!

Ingredients
1 loaf challah bread
4 large eggs
4 cups half-and-half
3/4 cup mashed overripe bananas, about 2 large
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate coarsely chopped

Directions
Cut bread into 3/4-inch slices. Trim away crust, then cut bread into 3/4-inch cubes, to make 8 cups.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs until well beaten.
Whisk in half-and-half, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.
Pour mixture over bread. Add chocolate.
Mix with rubber spatula until bread is well moistened. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Set rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Coat a 9x13 pan with butter or cooking spray. Scoop soaked bread mixture into pan, filling it to top.
Bake until top is browned and puffed, and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Pour warm vanilla Sauce over and serve, with dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Vanilla Sauce:
In a sauce pan melt,

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Take off heat and add 1 tsp vanilla.

**So I thought this was delicious, but there are a couple things I may try next time. . .

1st: I may not mash the bananas, but chop them into chunks so the whole thing is not overrun with banana flavor.
2nd: I saw this recipe that was essentially the same, but they cut the half and half down to 2.5 cups and added 1.5 cups maple syrup. How can you go wrong with that?
3rd: I may try this caramel sauce next time:

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
1.Combine sugar and water in medium saucepan; cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to boil, without stirring, 10 to 14 minutes, tilting pan occasionally to keep color even until Stir in evaporated milk (mixture will foam up); do not scrape sides of pan. One tablespoon at a time, add ¼ cup butter, stirring well after each addition. Stir in remaining butter and vanilla extract until smooth.

My New Favorite Salsa

Thank you so much to Sunshine for this recipe. It is so stinking easy and so delicioius, I think I will probably always have some in my fridge. I love that there is no chopping, and I love that it is not chunky {kind of like the salsa at Chiles Resturant}.

3 cans 14 ½ oz. Tomatoes (I use 2 cans diced and 1 can Ro-tel diced with green chiles)
½ bunch cilantro
½ onion
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. sugar
1 serrano pepper (You can add more if you like up to 4 but that would be crazy hot)
1 tsp. salt

Throw all the ingredients in the blender and blend it up. It tastes best if you make it and let it refrigerate for a couple hours so the flavors can blend. So easy and so delicious!

Asian Sesame Chicken Stir Fry

So I know how much a picture helps you want to cook something, so here is one I borrowed from some one's blog, it made me want to try this! So I made it for my cooking group using the original recipe with I thought turned out well, but when I ran out of the salad dressing {I have very poor math skills} I changed it up a little bit when I made the second batch. So I commented on the things I changed. . .

1/2 package of chow mien noodles {or you can use angel hair}

2 cups small broccoli florets

2 cups sliced carrots {I added this becuase I like them, I bought the ones already cut into butter slices}

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts - cut into thin strips

3/4 c. Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing (on the salad dressing isle)

3 Tbsp. soy sauce {I only used 2 Tbsp, it was too salty with 3}

2 Tbsp. sugar {This was my addition because I like a little sweetness}

1/4 tsp. each: ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper {I used less red pepper}

1/3 chopped dry roasted peanuts (optional)

Cook chow mien according to package

Steam broccoli and carrots until soft, but not mushy

Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with cooking spray and cook the chicken with salt/pepper, ginger, garlic powder and red pepper. Stir in dressing, soy sauce and sugar. Coat well, then add veggies and coat with sauce

Drain pasta and place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture and mix together (lightly). Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

**Recipe and picture from Shelley Brown blog

BBQ Chicken Pizza (the easy way)

A friend at work gave me this recipe. I know it isn't fancy but it sure is tasty.

Ingredients:
3 flour tortillas
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup mozzarella cheese
jar of your favorite bbq sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once oven is heated, place tortillas on a cookie sheet and leave in oven until crispy (about four minutes). While tortillas are baking you want to warm up your chicken on the stove. To do this pour 2 Tbsp. bbq sauce in a pan with shredded chicken until the bbq sauce coats the chicken.
When tortillas are crispy, take out of oven. They might have bubbles in them so flatten them out. Take one spoon full of bbq sauce and coat the top of the tortilla (like the tomatoe sauce on a pizza). Put chicken on top of the sauce and then cheese on top of the chicken. Put back in the oven until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!

If you are like me and have a husband that works crazy hours, just half the recipe and you will have the perfect, basically no clean up meal.

Easy French Dip Sandwiches

We probably have these once a month...it is definitely a favorite. This recipe makes at the most 3 sandwiches. The ingredients will be in terms of what I buy at the grocery store. Let me know if it is a little confusing, we altered it from a Rachael Ray recipe.

Ingredients:
3/4 diced onion
2 swirls in pan of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cans of beef broth
a package of sliced roast beef (or 3/4lb. roast beef from deli)
Sandwich rolls (we tried it last night with the Sara Lee rolls and they were tastier than baquettes)
1 package provalone cheese
1 package parmesan cheese

Directions:
Slice rolls in half, butter and sprinkle with parmesan. Put in oven on broil until cheese is melted or the bread looks toasted.
While toasting the bread saute onions in skillet with the 2 swirls of extra virgin olive oil. Once the onions are soft pour in the 2 cans of beef broth. Turn stove down to low-medium and start separating the roast beef and putting it directly in the broth.
At this point the bread should be toasted. Take out of oven but leave the oven on. Start taking the beef out of the pan and placing on one half of each roll. Top the beef off with the provalone cheese (it usually takes 2 slices). Put the rolls back in the oven, leaving the top of each roll off the bottom half so the cheese can melt. Once the cheese has melted remove from oven and start putting top of each roll on top of the cheese.
Now it is time to plate. Put some au ju in a bowl and slice the rolls in half. Enjoy!