Monday, August 24, 2009

Caroline's Blueberry Muffins

2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar (can use Splenda/brown sugar)
1/2 cup olive oil or melted butter
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1/2 ts. vanilla
1/2 ts. almond flavoring
2 1/4 cups flour (1 whole wheat, 1 1/4 white)
2 ts. baking powder
1/2 ts. cinnamon
1/2 ts. salt

Mash bananas.
Combine bananas, eggs, sugar, and oil till blended.

Stir in blueberries and flavorings.

Mix dry ingredients together, then stir into banana/blueberry mixture until well blended.

Spoon into greased (PAM) muffin pans. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Makes 12

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Darth Vader Bean Lasagna

The first time I served this I told Max the "black things" were Darth Vader Beans and he promptly ate it up! This is a good way to get beans in those that don't like them and a great meatless dish to help save money.

9 lasagna noodles(cooked according to directions)
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves minced
2 (16oz) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans of tomatoe paste(6oz)
1 cup of water
2 TBS of fresh cilantro
1/4 to 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
4 egg whites beaten
1 (15oz) carton of reducedfat ricotta cheese
1/2 up of grated parmesian
1/4 cup of fresh parsley minced(I used dried)
2 cups of shredded reduced fat Mexican blend cheese(I like mine cheesy and used more than this)
1. In a large skillet over medium heat cook onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the beans, tomatoes, paste, water, cilantro and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened.
2. Combine egg whites, ricotta cheese, Parmesian cheese, and parsley
3. Spread 1/2 cup of bean mixture in bottom of 13x9 baking dish. Layer with 3 noodles, a third of ricotta cheese mixture, a third of remaining bean sauce and 2/3 cup of cheese blend. Repeat 2 times.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 longer or until bubbly. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.


***
I use no cook whole wheat lasagna noodles from Super Target(Archer Farm brand). I don’t use the cilantro or red pepper and only use a can and half of black beans(because Lee doesn’t like them) I use whatever cheese I have so sometimes it is cheddar and mozzarella and sometimes the blend or just one or the other. I also use a lot more than 2 cups.

Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

2 cans black beans, drained, about 30 onces
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup diced pineapple
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of ground cumin

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour

Steak Bites

Ben loves these steak bites! I don't know how healthy they are considering they are sauted in BUTTER, but they sure do taste good! Here's the link from Pioneer Women.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/01/steak-bites/

Corn Chowder

1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage
1 medium onion, diced
5-6 red potatoes, quartered
1 Tbs basil
2 cups water (enough to cover potatoes)
1 can cream corn
1 can whole kernal corn (drained)*
1 can evaporated milk (the larger can, maybe 10 1/2 oz)
salt/pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook sausage until no longer pink. Drain, leaving a little less than a tablespoon of fat in bottom of pot, set sausage aside. Saute onion in sausage drippings until translucent. Add sausage, potatoes, basil and water to the pot. Cover and cook until potatoes are done. Once potatoes are cooked through, add cream corn, whole kernal corn, evaporated milk, salt and pepper. Simmer until warmed through.

*If you have it, fresh corn tastes the best. The times that I've used frozen corn, it's comes out a little chewy.

Tiffany's Curried Chicken Salad /Kim's Aunt

1 box Ricearoni (chicken) cooked/cooled
2/3 cup green onion -chopped fine
1/2 cup green pepper- chopped
1 can water chestnuts- chopped
1 jar artichoke hearts- chop and use juice
1 stalk celery- chopped
chicken breast-cooked-use 2-3 breasts depending on size- chop

Mix the above with:

1/4 cup mayonaise
1/2 ts. lemon juice
1/4-1/2 ts curry powder depending on taste.
Chill overnight. Add salt and pepper to taste. It can also be served hot. Bake @ 350 until warmed/hot. Serve with green salad, etc. for main meal.

Nana Rich's Forgotten Cookies

Preheat oven to 375

Beat 2 egg whites , then add 3/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of cream of tarter; this should stand up. Add 1/4 package chocolate chips-fold in. Place by teaspoon on greased cookie sheet. Place in oven-TURN OFF oven. Check after a couple of hours. Ideal to do overnight.

Danish Casserole


2 cans crescent rolls (large)
filling:
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg
icing:
1 cup pwd sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 T milk

Roll out one can of crescent rolls in the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. In a seperate bowl, mix all the filling ingredients until well blended and "fluffy." Spread filling mixture over crescent rolls. Roll out remaining can of crescent rolls on top of filling. Bake @ 350 for 30 mins. While casserole is baking, mix all ingredients together for icing. Drizzle icing over casserole and ENJOY!

Peanut Pie

Peanut Pie
1 9 inch pie crust baked
1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 ts. salt
2 cups of milk
2 egg yolks (slightly beaten)
2 ts. butter
1 ts. vanilla
1 container Cool Whip
Mix peanut butter and confectioners sugar till crumbly; spread over bottom of baked pie crust saving some to sprinkle on top when pie is complete.
Place flour,sugar, salt, milk and eggs in a sauce pan. Whisk together; bring to rolling boil at moderate heat till thick. Remove from heat and add 2 ts. butter and 1 ts. vanilla. Pour over peanut butter mixture-cool. Spread Cool Whip over top, then sprinkle with peanut butter/confectioners sugar crumbs that were saved. Can be doubled and placed in 9x13 pan if Ben is coming to visit.

Pancakes














Basic Pancake Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour or other flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3 or 4 eggs
2-3 cups of milk ( I have used water or a combination)
4 tablespoons of melted butter or oil (I always use oil)
2-3 teaspoons of vanilla extract( the original recipe didn't call for this but I think it makes a big difference)
Blueberries-frozen or fresh

Mix together the dry ingredients.
Beat the eggs into the milk and then add the oil.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, enough to moisten the flour. If it's thick, add more milk.
I pour the batter into the hot pan and then add a few blueberries to the individual pancakes instead of dumping them in the batter. Keeps the batter from getting bluish and cold since I mostly use frozen berries.
This recipe is double the original recipe and at the beach I doubled this. It makes a ton of pancakes which you can refrigerate for a few days or freeze-if there are any left:) !

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

No Fail French Bread

prep time: 10 minutes (then stirring every 10 minutes for another 40 minutes) bake time: 20-25 minutes Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:½ cup warm water
4 ½ tsp yeast(I buy SAF instant yeast)
2 cups of HOT water
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup oil
6 cups flour (I used all whole wheat at the beach but you can use half wheat and half white or all white)

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup
2. In a large bowl, combine hot water, salt, sugar and oil. Let stand until warm.
3. Add yeast mixture and 3 cups of flour. Beat until smooth.
4. Add remaining flour to form soft, stirrable dough. (add a little more if it's too sticky--sometimes the humidity in the air can affect this)
5. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for ten minutes. Stir again. Repeat this step 5 times.
6. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead enough to make dough workable for easy handling.
7. Divide dough in half and use hands to form into an oblong loaf shape. Fold in sides, push through the middle and seal seam.(I have made 4 smaller loaves as well.)
8. Arrange side by side on a large cookie sheet
9. Brush with beaten egg white. Slash diagonally 3 or 4 times.
10. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

This bread freezes well after it is baked and makes great garlic toast the day after!

I got this recipe from my friend Stephanie.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Burnt Bottom Casserole

Ingredients

2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 16 oz package of sausage (crumbled and cooked)
Sliced deli ham or ham cut from the bone
6 slices of swiss cheese
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Place 1 package of the crescent rolls on the bottom of a 9x13 pan (unrolled)
layer ham, then swiss cheese, then cooked sausage, then cheddar cheese
Place second package of rolls (unrolled) on top

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or till brown on top