Crabby Pants

In my classroom at school when someone arrives with a scowl or responds in a less than polite manner, I might as them if they have their crabby pants on. What that has to do this this recipe is really a stretch, but there is crab meat in the recipe!

Anyway....

Here is a crab Rangoon recipe that was quite tasty. Better for you because it's baked, but still has that oh so good flavor I crave.

BAKED CRAB RANGOON

1 can 6oz white crab meat, drained

4 oz cream cheese (could use Neufchatel) soft

2 green onions, thinly sliced & include some of the green

1/4 cup light mayo or regular

12 won ton wrappers

Heat oven to 350*.

Mix first 4 ingredients.

Place 1 won ton wrapper in each of 12 mini muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. The edges will stick up, that's OK. Fill with crab mixture.

Bake 18-20 minutes of until edges of cups are golden brown and filling is heated through.

I had a few minutes left when I though the edges were the right color, so I took them out and gave them 30 seconds in the microwave to firm up the middles. Be sure to cool them a few minutes before digging in.

If you prefer a crispier texture bake the wrappers for 5-7 minutes before filling them, then another 6-8 minutes or till filling is heated through.

Birthday Salutations

For the last couple of days I kept asking Mike what kind of cake he'd like for his birthday. He just had trouble making a decision. James and Sarah are here from Lincoln, so we've been doing fun stuff instead of the usual ho hum. Shopping, eating out, etc... Today i flipped through some saved recipes I put on the back burner, and found these cupcakes that I wanted to try. He agreed -thank goodness! Before we went to Panda Garden I mixed up the cupcake batter, baked them and left them to cool. After we arrived home I quickly mixed up the frosting.

THEY ARE GOOD!!! Heather reminded me that James could bring some home for them, so I have their batch tucked away in a container ready for the road. I'm so glad Mike couldn't make up his mind. :-)

PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES = yum

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup peanut butter morsels

2/3 cup marshmallow fluff

Preheat oven to 350*

Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and eggs and beat together until fluffy. Add vanilla and mix for another minute or so.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients mixing just until combined. Add the milk, and once mixed add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in peanut butter morsels and marshmallow fluff by hand.

My recipe said it would make 12 cupcakes, but I got 15 out of the batter.

Pour into cupcake tins with liners and fill 2/3 full. I use an ice cream scoop so they bake evenly. Bake for 18 (ish) minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

MARSHMALLOW BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

1 stick butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup marshmallow fluff

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until creamy. Add in fluff and beat for 2-3 minutes. Add in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly, then beat on medium-high speed 2-3 minutes. If it seems runny add more pwd. sugar, if it's thick, add a bit of milk or cream 1 tbsp at a time. I needed to add liquid, but I think it would depend on the humidity level in your home.

After I frosted the cupcakes I warmed up some leftover genache, this step is optional.

The recipe said that the frosting will get hard, so make them the same day you are going to serve them. Okie dokie!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. MULLEN!!!!

I'm Thankful

So much in our lives we take for granted. Each and every day we have more than we could ever deserve, even on our worst day. Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I was blessed to spend it with family that I love. My parents, brother, husband, children, and for the first ever Thanksgiving.... my granddaughter! It was fun, even though Lucy was not the best sleeper, ahem. Some day we will remind her of how she kept us awake at night. :-) Love you Lucy!

Here's the recipe I used for sweet potatoes, or yams? They reminded me of a German chocolate cake!!

Praline Sweet-yam-tatoes

40 oz can yams

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place drained hams in a 2 qt. baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam.

Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the top.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

I was also thankful there was leftover pecan pie!!! AND Cool Whip!!! wink wink

Back to the Basics

I never grew up eating a variety of foods. My mom was a good, but basic cook. We had chicken - fried in bacon fat by the way. We had fried hamburgers, plenty of pot roasts on Sunday, frozen pizza when I got older, and eggs. Not all at once. I don't remember a lot of other meals, oh but I do remember cinnamon rolls and chocolate cake. But, I think I made the cake. Anyway....

I don't have a memory of mac and cheese. We probably had it, but I'm sure it was from a box. It wasn't until recently I cooked homemade mac and cheese. It was super easy, and I kind of liked it! I know it's not a healthy offering, but sometimes you just have to have a bowl of mac and cheese.

Velveeta's 75th Anniversary Recipe

Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups (8oz) elbow macaroni, uncooked

3/4 lb (12oz) Velveeta cheese product, cut up (pretty sure I used 1/2 lb)

1/3 cup milk

1/8 tsp pepper

Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain well and return to pan.

Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Cook on low heat until prepared cheese product is melted, stirring frequently.

Yup, that's it.

What would you like for your side?

Whenever we go out to eat my husband has a terrible time deciding what to order, he just has trouble making decisions. Once he has labored over the list of choices, then comes the dreaded next question: "What would you like with that???? soup, salad, potato, rice, sauteed veggies" etc.....

I always feel like I need to have a meat, potato, veggie, salad at most meals. Who do I think I am, June Cleaver? AND I like different colors to be represented! Nothing makes me more distressed than sitting down to a meal and realizing everything is a shade of beige/brown. Well, almost nothing makes me more distressed. I may be exaggerating a little.

Here's an offering for a salad that combines a couple of food groups. Maybe this will make suppertime a little easier. :-)

COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD

1 tub small curd cottage cheese

1 can Mandarin oranges, drained

1 small can crushed pineapple, drain very well

3 oz box orange or apricot Jell-O

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 small container Cool Whip

Mix all together and keep in refrigerator.

This salad will start to get watery in a couple of days, so eat it up!!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

December is hours away, and my mind is beginning to race for new appetizer ideas for Christmas. I was reviewing a few recipes on my iPad and found this pizza roll. I made it for a football game and it was pretty tasty. I think I found it on a blog, maybe Pioneer Woman?? Not sure.

Pizza Rolls

2 cans refrigerated pizza crust

garlic salt

Italian seasoning

1 cup sliced and chopped pepperoni

1 cup shredded cheese, whatever kind you like

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

spaghetti sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 425*.

Dust a large cutting board with flour and roll out each pizza crust.

Season each crust with garlic salt and Italian seasoning, as much as you like.

Top with cheese and meat.

Start with a short end and roll crust into a tight log.

Slice into 1" sections.

Place on lightly greased pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Serve with spaghetti sauce for dipping.

Food Groups

Anyone who knows me very well, will tell you that I'm campaigning to get chocolate accepted as one of the four food groups. I'm sure one of those others is completely expendable.

I recently made a layer cake that had a very unusual frosting, I found it on the Kraft Foods page. My kids thought it was special enough for a birthday cake, I just thought it was good enough to be a food group-as usual. I substituted Bakers chocolate for chocolate chips.

BEST-EVER CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

(that's Kraft's title not mine, but it's pretty good)

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips - divided

1 pkg chocolate cake mix, 2 layer size

1 pkg 3.9 oz Jell-o chocolate instant pudding

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 tub (8oz) cool whip topping, do NOT thaw

2 Tbsp sliced almonds

Heat oven to 350*. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour into 2- 9" round pans sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Loosen cakes from sides of pans, invert onto wire racks; cool completely.

Microwave cool whip and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips in microwave on high 1 1/2 min or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 1 minute. Let stand 15 minute to thicken.

Stack cake layers on plate, filling and frosting with cool whip mixture. Sprinkle with nuts, keep refrigerated.

RE MIX

I'm posting a do-over. I have made this ranch cracker mix for a long time, it's actually posted 2/23/2008. When my family was here last weekend, they asked for my mix recipe. It was the same mix, but I switched up the ingredients a little. Instead of using 2 bags of oyster crackers, I used 1 and added some pretzel rods (broken up a little) and a box of nutty crackers. Experiment!

In case you don't want to look back here it is again:

Ranch Cracker Snack Mix

2 - 12-16 oz pkg plain oyster crackers

1 envelope hidden valley buttermilk ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3/4 - 1 cup salad oil

Whisk together the ranch dressing powder and oil. Add the rest of the ingredients mixing well and pour over crackers; stir to coat. Place in a 250* oven for 20 min stirring a couple of times. Cool completely and store in an air tight container.

Brunch n Football

Saturday the Huskers played early, 11AM. I decided it would be fun to do a brunch thing instead of the usual game fare. I looked and looked for an egg recipe, then realized how short of time I was. I had to make a decision, fast! I fell back on a quick recipe, Breakfast Burritos. I was zooming to HyVee to pick up a prescription at 10AM and still didn't have eggs ready...stress! I hit the sausage aisle and found a new Jimmy Dean precooked sausage crumbles, awesome! I then headed for eggs and saw the egg beaters on sale too! I got one with seasonings already in it, so when I got home it was super fast, no eggs to crack. Nancy brought caramel rolls and cookies, I had apples and caramel dip. Of course we had a mimosa or two. By the way, the Huskers WON! GO BIG RED!!

Breakfast Burritos

flour tortillas

eggs, scrambled

sausage or bacon cooked and crumbled

cheddar cheese, grated (or any blend you like)

diced green onion-optional

diced green pepper-optional

salsa

Be sure to warm the tortillas so you can fold them easier. I just put them on my smooth top stove to heat them up on a burner. Microwave is good too. Down the center spoon eggs, cheese and sausage. Anything else you like can be added. Be sure to leave some room at the bottom to fold it up or you'll have a real mess on your hands. We like ours with salsa, they were delicious! Nancy and Bill liked them too!

Ba-nanas

I found a new banana bread recipe and it's really really really great!!!

My poor bananas have been waiting patiently 3 days now, crying out to me to make them into something. Why is it that as soon as you get bananas home from the grocery store, they already seem to be getting dark? I buy green bananas, really green ones, but they still ripen at the speed of light.

I have tried different bread recipes and often they turn out dry and without much flavor. I googled the Pioneer Woman just for fun to see what she had, and voila there it was. This was a large recipe, and the kicker?? You bake it in a bundt pan of all things! The were two things I didn't like about the recipe, no vanilla extract and no walnuts. I of course, fixed that. Please give this one a shot, I loved it.

BANANA BREAD

2 sticks butter (I used Imperial margarine)

1 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

3 whole eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

4 cups + 2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cups walnuts

Preheat oven to 350* Grease and flour bundt pan or use a spray for baking and coat it generously.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and vanilla, beat together.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all is combined, then stir in walnuts.

Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with softened butter.

Nuts!

Speaking of nuts.....

About 4 or 5 years ago I realized I had gotten stuck on a phrase when things weren't going well. I'd say, "Nuts!" thinking it was far nicer than many other expletives I could be saying. Until one day, a preschooler heard me say it, looked me straight in the face and said, "Mrs. Mullen, that's a BAD word." I thought about it for awhile. His mom is a friend of mine, so I told her what he had said. She replied, "Well, when you live in a house full of boys, you can just imagine what that means at our place!" I was so embarrassed, I broke myself of that word very quickly. Well, I digress....

When we were leaving Lincoln a few weeks ago, my favorite son-in-law sent a Food & Wine magazine with us for the ride home. I found several recipes in that one book that peaked my curiosity. I really enjoyed this pecan recipe, this would be a great neighbor or co-worker gift for the holidays. FYI, I did a half batch and probably would again. Just half everything, the egg is tricky but you can do it!!

MAPLE PECANS

4 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper(use 1/2 tsp if your not afraid)

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg white, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Spread the pecans on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast until they are fragrant, about 10 min. Let the pecans cool. Lower the oven temp to 250*.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the pecans with the maple syrup, butter, salt, cayenne and black pepper. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add the egg white to the pecans and toss well.

3. Spread the pecans on the lined baking sheets in a single layer. Bake for 40 minutes until the nuts are golden brown. Immediately loosen the pecans from the paper with a spatula. Let cool completely on the baking sheets before serving.

The recipe said you can store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. I kept ours for about 3 weeks and they were fine. I did keep them airtight.

Cheese Head

Tonight it is supposed to freeze. Therefore, we have entered into the soup season. There are so many great soups, one of my old standbys is this broccoli cheese recipe. While Mike ate it, he told me 3 times how good it was. No sense reinventing the wheel, when you already have a winner!

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

1 16oz pkg frozen chopped broccoli

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup onion, chopped (I used more)

2 cups chopped potatoes

2 141/2 oz cans chicken broth

3 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

3/4- 1 lb Velveeta cubed

Simmer vegetables in broth 15 minutes. Mix flour into milk and add to cooked veggies. Cook and stir to thicken slightly, about 10 min. Add cheese, turn off heat, stir and cover till melted. Stir again and serve. So good.

Hot Dog!

This picture has nothing to do with anything.

I just think it's funny!

Bacon is even good on EV-ERY-THING.

When I read this recipe, I had to give it a lot of thought. It seemed like it would be greasy and gross. However, I'm such a big bacon fan that it finally got my motor runnin'. This is not a last minute thing to throw together, it takes 2 hours to bake. I even liked it leftover/cold out of the frig. Bacon = happy!

BACON CRACKERS

1 pkg club crackers

1# thin sliced bacon, cut slices in half

Grated Parmesan cheese or Parmesan Regiano (sp?) combined.

Lay crackers face up on a cookie sheet. Scoop about 1/2 tsp of grated Parmesan cheese onto each cracker. CAREFULLY wrap each cheese covered cracker in a half slice of bacon. This part takes some coordination, I completely spilled all of the cheese off of my first cracker. Hang in there, it will get easier. Completely cover the cracker from one end to the other, making sure it fits snugly.

Place the bacon wrapped crackers onto a baking sheet that has a cooling rack on it so the grease will drip away from the crackers.

Place in a 250* oven for about 2 hours. :-)

Olive Juice

Does anyone remember a movie that talked about saying OLIVE JUICE? The idea was that from across the room, or just mouthing the words it looks like you are saying I LOVE YOU. I'm not sure why that's relevant, except that this recipe has a lot of olives in it. I've always loved olives. Green, black, sliced, stuffed, marinated, right out of the jar, you name it. This baked bread was pulled out of my hat for the last Husker football game. I think it was from the Pioneer Woman's blog. Tomorrow is a BIG game with Wisconsin, I better put my thinking cap on to find some other yums.

OLIVE CHEESE BREAD

1 loaf French bread

6 oz stuffed green olives

6 oz black olives

2 green onions

1 stick butter, room temp

1/2 cup mayo

3/4 pound Monterrey jack cheese, grated.

Roughly chop both black and green olives. Slice green onions into thin pieces.

Combine butter, mayo, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl. Stir together until combined, spread onto French bread that has been sliced lengthwise. Bake at 325* for 25 min or until cheese is melted and golden.

This mixture can be refrigerated up to 2 days and used as a dip also!

quickgetsomerecipespostedbeforeseptemberisover

It's a Friday. It's the last day of September. I haven't paid any attention to my blog all month. That can only mean I must be in the throes of the first month of preschool. Argh! Yes, it's true. Getting 42 preschool age children into a routine takes a lot of work. Therefore, when I come home, I've been taking it easy, a little too easy.

Here we go! I'll do this in reverse order. Tonight I have put together a crock pot breakfast that I'm hoping will be wonderful. I've really been enjoying my crock pots lately, this is one of many reasons. I'm going to post the original recipe, but I cut it in half and used my little crock. Much better for just two of us. :-)

Crock Pot Egg Casserole

12 eggs or 2 cartons of egg beaters

1 (32 oz) bag frozen hash browns, any kind

1 lb cooked and cut up bacon, ham or sausage (or mix it up)

1/2 - 1 cup diced onion

12 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp dry mustard

salt, pepper and anything else you love

Spray a 6 qt crock pot with nonstick spray. Put in 1/2 of the hash browns, meat and onion. Sprinkle with half the cheese; then repeat.

Mix together eggs, milk, sour cream and seasonings. Pour over the top of ingredients layered in crock pot.

Cook on low for 8 hrs.

Can't wait for the morning to eat this.

Did I mention that I like granola?

I have made a few different kinds of granola, but this is the one people! I am so happy with the taste of this one, it's j-u-s-t right. I eat it with yogurt, parfait style. I have it for breakfast with milk. I've seen Mike grab a handful of it and chuck it right in his mouth. It. Is. Good.

Homemade Granola

6 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup walnuts, broken into pieces

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup coconut

2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup honey

1/2 cup oil

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 cup dried fruit, soaked in water (craisins or raisins)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix liquid ingredients in a 2 cup measure and warm slightly in the microwave, then pour over dry mixture. Stir until well coated.

Put in two greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes; stir and add dried fruit. Bake another 20 minutes or until evenly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Have any Key Lime?

I was watching Paula Deen make a pound cake. She used about a hundred stick of butter in it, and I'll admit it looked good. I went in search of a recipe that would imitate hers, but be a little kinder to those I love. This one was in Southern Living Magazine and it was a winner! Since I could not find any key limes, I was forced to buy a bottle of key lime juice. I always like to use fresh when possible, but I think this was probably a good alternative.

Key Lime Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lime zest (used a regular old lime)

1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice

Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10" (12 cup) tube pan.

In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating just until blended after each one.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Combine at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into tube pan.

Bake at 325* for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Prepare glaze, and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Key Lime Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoons fresh Key lime juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together powdered sugar, fresh key lime juice, and vanilla until smooth. Use immediately.

HURRY UP, AUGUST IS ALMOST OVER!!!!!!!

I guess I'll start at the end of the month, and work my way back. I kept thinking I had time to get some posts in for August, guess what? That leaves today! Let's get crackin'

Speaking of 'crackin'.... here is the latest brownie experiment. I took this to Lincoln yesterday for the fam to review. It received 3 thumbs up! I found this on another blog, give it a try!

Better-Than-Crack Brownies

1 brownie box mix (9x13 size)

1/2 cup salted peanuts

1 cup chopped peanut butter cups (I found minis , they were perfect)

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Mix Brownies according to directions and bake for 20-25 min in a 9x13 baking dish. Remove and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups and bake for 5 minutes more.

While they finish baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly spoon chocolate mixture over top. Carefully smooth out.

Refrigerate for 2 hrs. before serving.

TuhmAte-o, TuhmOtto.

It's been a pretty good summer for our tomatoes. For some reason the ones thriving are the smaller varieties. I have an heirloom green stripey that is soooo cute and delicious! Lots of cherry or grape size in both yellow and red. One variety is about the size of a tennis ball, they are also very good. Our Roma tomatoes died, so I won't be dehydrated those this summer. I always kept a stash of them in the freezer for salads in the winter.

EVERYONE on the food channel has been cooking tomatoes and putting them on pasta. I was of the opinion that I DO NOT like baked tomatoes. Because of the abundance of our crop, and the lack of other great ideas, I caved in and tried it a few days ago. I'll admit it, I was wrong. This was a delicious dish that I will be making several times this summer.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Pasta

2 lbs of cherry tomatoes, halved (I mixed yellow/red)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp slivered fresh garlic
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (leave this out if you don't want heat)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup chiffonade fresh basil leaves
1 tsp minced fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh please

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large baking dish toss the tomatoes with oil, garlic, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes & pepper. Roast until the tomatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the fresh herbs and stir well.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Toss with a couple of tsp of EVOO. Add the tomatoes and pan juices and reheat if needed, just a couple of minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and it's ready to serve.

Mike took our leftovers to work today, I can't wait to make it again!

Heather Lea, Lucy Lea

Look at my girls!!! As you can see Lucy is a happy little darlin, and she is obviously very advanced. She is seen in the 2nd picture already enjoying a good book, all by herself! (That was a tricky camera shot, believe me!!!)

I have no recipe at this moment. Just these cute pics. It's fun being a Grandma. :o)

PS She got her first two teeth July 20th!

Quiche me, quick!

I went to Lincoln last week for a couple of days. Heather was hosting a baby shower brunch for a good friend, so we started to look over some possible recipes. While she was perusing through various choices, her main objective was something with MEAT!! I mentioned this quiche a couple of times, even sent her the link...but it didn't make the cut.

I couldn't stop thinking about the recipe, so when I got home guess what I made for Mike?!? Yup, Spinach Quiche. We really liked it, and it was super easy since there is no crust. Of course with only two of us we had enough left for a couple of breakfasts as well! It heated up nicely in the microwave, I added some hot salsa on top for fun. :-)

It's ironic that Paula Deen did a very similar recipe this morning on her show. She used only 1 cup of cottage cheese, but added 1 cup of sour cream. I also add a hand full of Swiss cheese along with the cheddar, oh - and I cooked the spinach in the microwave as directed. Here is the recipe as written.

SPINACH QUICHE
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 16oz small curd cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup crushed croutons

Preheat oven to 325*. Lightly grease a 9" pie or quiche pan.

Place spinach in a small sauce pan, cook over med heat stirring occasionally until soft. Drain off any remaining liquid. Then give it a BIG squeeze with paper towels to make sure all the liquid is out. Stir in green onions, eggs, cottage cheese and cheddar cheese. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 30 min. Remove from oven and sprinkle with crushed croutons. Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes, until eggs are set.

Depending on the size of pie dish you use the time will vary. It might take another 15 minutes! Keep and eye on it, give it a shake to see if it's set.

Update: Chocolate Dipped Snowballs (flat in summer)

In March of 2009 I posted a recipe for these marshmallow-y ball treats. I think they must have been rather labor intensive, because I never made them again. They were really good, I just forgot about them, I guess. I needed a dessert to take to a church pot luck, and the temps have been hot hot hot. As I reviewed past posts to find something that jumped out at me, this one caused me to pause. Instead of rolling them into balls, I put the base into a 9x13 pan. Now the next size smaller pan might be better, they would get thicker. I didn't mind that they were flat, more like a cookie serving. I'll re post the recipe with the new directions. Here you go Heather!

Chocolate not-dipped flat Snowballs
1/4 cup butter
1 pkg 10 oz marshmallows
5 cups Post Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds Cereal
1/2 package semi sweet or dark chocolate chips(I used a little of both)

Melt the butter and marshmallows in the microwave and stir in cereal. Pat into a greased cake pan, save your wrapper from the butter to push down without it sticking to your hands.
Next melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time until it is smooth. Pour into a Ziploc sandwich bag, pressing out as much air as you can before you zip it up. Cut a tiny piece off of one corner of the bag to use like a pastry bag. Squeeze the chocolate randomly on top of the bars. You don't have to cover it all, it looks pretty with some of the bar showing. If it's a hot day you might need to pop it into the frig for a short time to harden the chocolate. That's it kids. Done.

Ho Ho

HO HO HO HO
This is what little Hallie said as she tried my bars last week. She is 2 1/2 and smart as a whip!
This recipe is from my friend Barb. I don't make them often because it's a BIG pan of decadence.
My reason for making them this time was my friend Carol. She came to Norfolk from Texas and mentioned that she was craving one of my Ho Ho Bars. Well I knew she had been eating wisely, with an upcoming wedding. So I made them as an after the celebration-celebration!! I hope you have a reason to make them, they are heavenly.

HO HO BARS
1 stick margarine, melted
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water
3 tbsp cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 tsp vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup)

Cream together margarine and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients, this will be a thin batter. Spray a jelly roll sheet pan (17 1/2 x 11 1/2) with Pam and pour in batter. Bake in a 350* pan for 25 minutes or until done when tested with toothpick.

Filling:
1 cup sugar
1 cup Crisco (butter flavor)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt

Beat together for 5 minutes (if you have a stand mixer, this is the time to use it!)
Then add 1 cup powdered sugar. Spread over cooled cake.

Frosting:
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp margarine
6 tbsp milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat first three ingredients together and beat for one minute. Add chocolate chips and beat until thick. Spread over filling layer.

Store this in the refrigerator.

Knee High by the 4th of July

Yesterday we had a potluck at church. They are always so much fun!! There's always deviled eggs, potato salad, jello, beans, etc... so many choices. Friends at the table next to us were enjoying a salad and asked if I had brought it. Well, it wasn't mine but it was a recipe I have made before. I told Brook I would send it to her, and when I looked for it on my blog today, guess what? It wasn't here. So without further adieu, I give you Crunchy Corn Salad!!

CRUNCHY CORN SALAD
1 can white corn
1 can yellow corn
1 cup mayo
2 cups shredded cheese - mont. jack or cheddar
1 med bell pepper - chopped
1 small purple onion - chopped
11 1/2 oz bag chili cheese Frito's (crunch it up in the bag)

Combine the corn, mayo, cheese, pepper & onion. Just before serving, stir in the Frito's that have been coarsely crushed in the bag. If you don't think you'll eat the entire salad, add the crushed Frito's a handful at a time to each serving instead.

Now, if your family doesn't like onion or bell pepper leave it out!

My friend Pam gave me this recipe originally. I added the onion after I looked at some other similar recipes online. Talk about a quick recipe! This one you could put together in less than 5 minutes. Enjoy. :o)

Jalapeno Delight

Another new summer side dish idea.

PICKLED JALAPENOS & CARROTS

10 jalapenos sliced into 1/8" rings
2 cups peeled and sliced 1/4" carrots
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 red onion sliced 1/4" thick

I used 3 or 4 jalapenos, and a not as hot salsa pepper for the rest.
I found out a couple days later at our family reunion that my sister in law Tami cans this recipe! She said she blanches the carrots to soften them, that's a great idea. Her recipe didn't include onion, I like that addition. I'm sure however, that she uses all jalapenos. You decide how hot you want it! :-)

Directions:
Bring vinegar and sugar to a slight simmer, just to dissolve the sugar. Add remaining ingredients and steep for 1 hour minimum before serving. Store in airtight container.

Company's Coming!

We have been crazy busy the last 6 days, and the next 4 don't look much calmer. We have a revolving door for company with so many things going on. We have had some great friends getting married with 2 weddings, attended a family reunion, and welcomed a new Kindergarten teacher to St. Paul's. Nicole and her parents joined us for dinner Friday night, how nice to get to know them better!

BEEF TIPS A'LA ANN!
3 lbs stew meat (I used sirloin cut into 1" cubes)
2 cans of cheddar cheese soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 soup can of water

My friend Ann recommended this recipe, her directions were:
"Put in a crock pot about 8 hours, enjoy!"

Because I used sirloin, my recipe did not have to cook as long. After lunch I started the slow cooker on medium/low for 1 1/2 hrs. I then turned it to low for another 2 hrs. My meat was tender so I just unplugged it and left it until it was time to use it. I cooked wide egg noodles to serve it on. We had a LOT left over, and there were 7 people at dinner. I will make a half batch next time. It was delicious, thanks Ann!

Yet ANOTHER Coleslaw

I think summertime is the perfect stage for bringing out salads. If you like it, make it again. If not, don't look back. I didn't appreciate coleslaw when I was younger, I've learned to like it. I especially like it with fruit added. Check this out!

SUMMER COLESLAW

5 cups shredded cabbage

1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

Combine above ingredients in a large bowl with a snap on lid. Then combine ingredients listed below in a separate bowl. Refrigerate all until ready to serve. Combine just before it's time to serve stirring well.

1/2 cup mayo

1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish

1 Tbsp grainy mustard

1 Tbsp honey

salt and pepper

Nanner Nanner

Its my opinion that everything benefits from chocolate. If you want to substitute something else, knock yourself out!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup canola oil (or veg. oil)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)

3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. This is a thick batter, don't worry! Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350* for 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 min. before removing from pans to a wire rack.

My new favorite muffin! I didn't have plain yogurt, so I used key lime :o) it was fine. I always use an ice cream scoop to make them uniform in size. We always have bananas going bad on hand. Mike eats one every day, but we still can't seem to get through them before they turn. This recipe may cause me to buy a couple extra each time so I 'have to' make muffins.

MUFFIN time

I found a deal at Sam's Club not long ago on blueberries. They were so sweet and good all by themselves. I tried a super easy blueberry muffin recipe worth sharing.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

raw sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350*, and spray a 12 cup muffin tin.

Combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. In another bowl combine melted butter, egg and milk and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula just until combined. It's OK if there are lumps in the batter. This is a detail I have evidently kept from my daughter, she claims she didn't know that you can over stir a muffin. Well, you can...so don't. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

Use an ice cream scoop to fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Sprinkle the tops with pure cane organic sugar. I like that kind because it's course and a little brown, it looks pretty! I guess you could use regular sugar. My original recipe called for 1/2 cup for topping, but I didn't use that much.

Bake 20 min. or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick in the center of muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan about 10 minutes before you turn them out.

These are berrylicious!

Sea Food - Yum.

I don't know why I have never attempted bacon wrapped shrimp. Just the sight of it on a TV commercial makes me salivate. I love shrimp. I LOVE bacon. Combine the two ~ and you have a moment that makes the angels sing.....loudly!

We have a local market that sells frozen raw shrimp, these are bigger then you get in the bags. They have the shells on them yet, so they must be thawed then peeled. I seasoned them with some garlic powder and house seasoning. I use this Paula Deen house seasoning recipe for almost everything, I'll list the ingredients below.

Set the shrimp aside while you get the bacon ready. Each slice can be cut into 3 pieces, the idea is to wrap it with just enough so it can actually crisp up when cooked. You will need toothpicks to secure the bacon.

We debated using the George Foreman grill or grilling outside. Outside won, so we then slipped the shrimp onto wooden skewers to make it easier to flip them. Shrimp is done when it changes color. It doesn't take long, be attentive so that you don't overcook or you'll get rubber shrimp.

I didn't state amounts, you can decide how many you can eat, and the price of the shrimp may help you decide! Those big boys are pricey. You could always combine the shrimp with steak or chicken. It's all good.

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Store it covered.

Artichoke Baby!

I loved this salad a LOT! My daughter, and husband also thought it was good. The second day I served leftovers to son & soninlaw. I don't think they loved it as much as me, but I really love artichokes. I will be making it again, soon.

ARTICHOKE SALAD

1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

8 oz bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

1/2 cup sliced black olives

4 sun dried tomatoes, julienned

1 small red onion, sliced super thin or diced (your preference)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves

salt and pepper

Combine first 5 ingredients ingredients in a serving bowl. Whisk together second group of ingredients for dressing. Gently toss together and let rest covered in the frig for about an hour before serving.

Summer of '42!

The summer has been busy. We went to a street dance with our good friends Bill & Nancy.

We went to the Christian Cross Festival with a celebrity, Miss Hallie.

We celebrated my parents 69th wedding anniversary at their favorite table at the mall,
followed by lunch at Whiskey Creek.

Can you believe 69?!?! Mom was 17, dad 20, they eloped! My Grandma told my Grandpa they had gone the opposite way they really did, so he wouldn't catch them in time! They have worked hard for everything they have, I'm so very proud of them! Oh yes, I bought 69 doughnut holes to celebrate. They shared with their friends at the mall!

Never met a brownie I didn't like.

Brownies. Cheesecake. Peanut butter. Toffee.

Imagine mixing these all together into one dessert. Got a picture in your head? I wasn't satisfied with just the picture, I had to get my grubby little hands on this concept. Mmmm. I love it when you can take a box of something, add more to it and end up with a new twist on an old idea. These brownies are splendid, amazing, d-lish! Try them.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

1 box chocolate fudge brownie mix (19.5 oz)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup toffee bits

1 1/2 cup milk chocolate baking chips

3 Tbsp heavy cream

Heat oven to 350*. Lightly spray 9x13 pan with no stick cooking spray.

In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water and eggs 50 strokes with spatula. Spread batter in pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer on medium until fluffy. Add milk and peanut butter beating until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of toffee bits. Spoon mixture over batter evenly. This part takes some patience, use a small amount at a time, because it will not spread well on the raw brownie batter.

Bake 35-ish minutes, or until cheesecake layer is set and edges are light golden brown. Cool on rack for 30 min, then refrigerated another 40 min.

In small bowl microwave chocolate chips and cream 45 seconds or until melted; stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake layer. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Stir covered in refrigerator.

They get pretty firm in the frig, so I would suggest taking them out about an hour before serving.

This is the pan fresh out of the oven, without the chocolate glaze on yet.

Here they are after, the glaze...is there a piece missing??

Summer 2011, it's ON!

We are just days away from another Memorial Day weekend, the 'official' kick off to summer. I have been out of school for a week already, although it doesn't seem like it's been the lazy days yet. As I post, we are having new carpet installed on our main floor. It's a lot of work moving all of that furniture around, we had to get pretty creative with storage. Also, I didn't know it would be so NOISY! Poor Maddie, she doesn't want to be in, it's sprinkling on and off outdoors, and she doesn't know what's going on!

My sister in law Ruth put some pressure on me several years ago. She liked a particular salad I made and used the recipe over the summer for any gathering they were invited to. The next summer she said, "I need a new summer salad that lives up to the last one!" I don't recall what I sent her, but every summer since - I feel a responsibility to come up with another recipe.

I made this one two days ago, and it seems to get better as it ages. That's a plus for me, since there are only two in our house, it takes awhile to finish anything I make. I don't know if this is the best I'll find yet for this summer, but I really like it and it's pretty. Similar to others I've made, but a new little twist. Easy to double for a larger gathering, please note the change in dressing amounts at the bottom of the recipe.

BROCCOLI SLAW
1-12 oz package of broccoli slaw (This looks like cole slaw mix, but it's made with broccoli, carrots and red cabbage.)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 large red pepper, chopped

Dressing:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
(If doubling recipe use 3/4 cup canola, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cider vinegar.)

Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over the first group of ingredients that have been combined. I think it was better day 2, so leave for several hours before serving.

It's nice to have a summer salad that is not dairy based, much safer to take with you if it won't be refrigerated!

Poppin' in to say hi.

Does this make you hungry???

I watched this recipe yesterday on the food network; and since I didn't forget about it by today~I decided I should probably try it out. A thought I had while making it was that in the summer time you really don't want to heat up the oven so this would be great! On the other hand, if it's humid it might not keep very long. Guess you'd have to eat it up pronto!!

Chocolate Popcorn Brittle

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

10 cups of popped popcorn

salt, optional

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

3/4 cup white chocolate, melted (I substituted 2 squares vanilla almond bark)

1 cup salted pretzels, crushed (Not one plain pretzel in my house, so I skipped this)

Mix the sugar and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a boil Let simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the crunchy peanut butter, continue to stir until smooth. Add the vanilla and stir again.

In a large mixing bowl, measure out the popcorn. If desired, lightly salt the popcorn. Pour the warm peanut butter mixture over the popcorn and stir well until completely coated.

On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, pour the coated popcorn and distribute evenly. Drizzle with the melted semis sweet chocolate, then the white chocolate. Sprinkle the crushed pretzels over the warm popcorn. Allow to set about 20 minutes or pop into refrigerator to speed it up. Store tightly covered.

I'm anxious to try this again WITH the pretzels, I'm a big fan of sweet and salty together.

Cheese that goes CRUNCH!

Not long ago we had company here from Wisconsin. I put this casserole together thinking it would appeal to the 'younger' portion of the visitors. Turns out it was a good choice. Even Miles, (who tends to be a picky eater) enjoyed the casserole. Shannon asked for the recipe!

CHICKEN DORITOS CASSEROLE
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1 can chopped green chili's
1/2 onion finely chopped
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled & shredded
8 oz grated mozzarella cheese
8 oz grated cheddar cheese
1 package Doritos's nacho chips

1. combine soup, sour cream, chili's and onion together.
2. In another bowl combine the two kinds of cheese.
3. Crush the Doritos in the bag, you'll need to let some air out of the bag in order to crush them.

In a 9x13: dish layer chicken, cheese, soup mixture & chips two times.
Bake 350* 45 min.

This is a stick up!

L-o-n-g ago a friend told me about this recipe. I thought she was nuts when she told me that it started with white bread flattened with a rolling pin. I had to try it though, and I'm glad I did.

This is a recipe that can be prepared ahead of time, and stored in the freezer. Just bake however many you need. I liked them so much, I even made these for a teacher's conference that we hosted at our school.

CINNAMON STICK ROLL UPS

White sandwich bread
1 8oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Cut off crusts from the bread and flatten each slice with a rolling pin.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and yolk until well blended. Spread enough of this mixture on each slice of flattened bread to cover up to 1/4" from the edge.
Roll up like a jelly roll and brush each one with melted butter. Roll in cinnamon and sugar that has been mixed together. *At this point you may freeze them to use later.*
Bake for 15-20 min @ 350* or until golden.

This time I cut off just the side crusts so I didn't waste so much bread. These are yummy, so cinnamon-y!

James' Magic Beans

For Easter we had a spiral cut ham, cheesy potatoes, cherry supreme salad, and these beans. Not a big spread, but everyone was full when we finished up. We did leave room for butterscotch pie.

The original recipe is called Grandma's Green Bean Casserole. Since I got this from my son, I decided to change the title. It was extra nice that James was there to make this for me for our Easter meal. They were GREAT!

James' Green Bean Casserole
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup sour cream
3- 14.5 oz cans French style green beans, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup French's french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350*
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over med. heat. Stir in flour until smooth and cook for one minute. Stir in the salt, sugar, onion and sour cream. Next add the beans and stir gently to coat.
2. Pour mixture into a 2 1/2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese over the top, use more if you wish. Top with French's onions.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden and cheese is bubbly.

I did it, I made jello.

I made jello. Not impressed? Well, I really don't ever want jello, or need jello, or even think about jello, unless it's a jello kind of holiday. I googled jello salad and this was one of the first five I saw. I think it was pretty good, but you'd have to ask a jello connoisseur to know for sure. If you try it, let me know.

Cherry Supreme Salad
1 3oz pkg strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 - 21oz can cherry pie filling

1 3oz pkg lemon flavored gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 3oz pkg cream cheese
1/3 cup mayo
1 8oz can crushed pineapple, UNdrained
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Dissolve the strawberry gelatin in 1 cup of boiling water. Stir in pie filling, then spread mixture into a 7x11 pan. Refrigerated about 45 minutes until nearly set.
2. Dissolve the lemon gelatin in 3/4 cup boiling water; stir in the lemon juice and set aside. Mash the cream cheese in a separate bowl until soft then stir in the mayo. Pour the lemon gelatin into the cream cheese mixture and stir until smooth. Add the pineapple and fold in the marsh-mallows & whipped cream. Spread the pineapple mixture over the chilled cherry layer. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and chill until fully set. About 2 hours.

I made this for Easter yesterday. I ate it again today, still wasn't bad! :-)
Maybe I could become a Jello convert. We'll see.

Easter. Chocolate. Yum.

My girls were here for a couple of sleeps. It's so nice to spend time with Lucy, uninterrupted time to just stare at her! She is going to be 2 months old this Easter Sunday! Now she can do some tricks: smile, coo, and fluff like crazy! (Fluff is the preschool nice word we use for a bodily function that sneaks out sometimes!)

I have been on a chocolate binge this last week. The black bottom banana bars I made last weekend for the game, were gone so fast I made another batch. Then I made these wonderful chocolate cookies with half of a big marshmallow on top drizzled with fudge frosting! Oh MY! I don't know if I can share that recipe yet, because I got it from a preK mom. THEN today I made black bottom cupcakes, and yes they are tasty. I am planning to switch it up a little and make my dad a butterscotch pie for Easter. I have been given 3 different recipes, not sure how to pick the winner?!?

Here we go with the cupcake recipe.

BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES

First buy a packaged chocolate cake mix and make according to directions. I went with a dark chocolate version, but you pick what you like the most. Go ahead and fill cupcake liners with a scoop of the batter, they should be a little more than 1/2 full. I think I got about 27 out of my mix. Next you'll be making the filling.

1- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix all of these ingredients together and top each cupcake (not baked yet) with a teaspoon of the cream cheese batter. Now Bake it at 350* for about 20 min. or until it tests done.

Now comes the frosting. Hershey's has a great butter cream frosting recipe on the baking cocoa box. However, today I used this recipe.

Mocha Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup hot strong coffee (I add in some espresso powder too)

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add pwd sugar and cocoa slowly, mix constantly alternately with vanilla and coffee. Use your discretion on the amount of liquid. Less or more to make it a good consistency for spreading.

The original frosting recipe was twice this amount, but there was so much left over! It's just enough to frost the cupcakes.

Nanner

So much has been going on! RED WHITE game last weekend in Lincoln. Lucy visits. Easter this weekend. Spring/Earth Day projects at school. (Less than a month left of school!) Choir music to learn for holiday services. Yard work. Nancy's birthday (today).

The unthinkable happened yesterday. Mike came to me and said, "We don't have any leftovers in the frig, what should I take for lunch?!?" My head probably spun around in a complete circle. That's when I realized I have been gone, gone, gone and have not been cookin', cookin', cookin'.

Well, tonight I did a Paula chicken dish. Not bad. I still have 3 lbs of ground beef waiting to become razzle dazzle. Not quite sure what will happen to it, yet. For some reason I have been able to come up with many desserts lately. I got a recipe from a mom for a yummy cookie. I have been hungry for my favorite cupcake. And, last weekend I tried a new banana bar recipe. Here's the odd thing, ALL THREE have chocolate and more chocolate in them. It's true, I'm Linda and I'm a choco-holic.

OK, so I did just get a recipe for Butterscotch Pie, but honestly that's for Easter and it's my dad's favorite - not mine. I will give you a review of that pie in about a week, OK? Now back to chocolate. Here's the recipe for the banana bars, they were received with open arms when we tailgated in Lincoln last Saturday. In fact one of James' friends told me to stop passing them around! I made another batch of them within 4 days, which NEVER happens.

BLACK BOTTOM BANANA BARS
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
chocolate chips
walnuts

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl cream butter, & sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Blend into creamed mixture alternately with bananas. Divide batter in half. Blend cocoa into half of the batter. turn chocolate batter into a greased 9x13" cake pan. Spoon banana batter evenly over chocolate batter and carefully spread to within 1/2" of edge. Cover with desired amount of chocolate chips and walnuts. I probably used about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and 3/4 to 1 cup walnuts broken into smaller pieces.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until center tests clean with toothpick. Cool and cut.

P.S. I continue to love my Kitchen-Aid mixer more and more every day!

The Grandmother of all Bar Recipes!

Seven Layer Magic Cookie Bars

• Servings: 2 dozen bars
• Serving Size:
• Nutrition: See Below
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients

• Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 cup (6 oz.) butterscotch-flavored chips
• 1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions

• HEAT oven 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
• COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.
• BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.
• For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up by edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual bars.

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