Peach-Banana Cream

This was one of the first recipes I made for my husband when we were first married. When we wed, I couldn't cook anything...not even a grilled cheese sandwich! He taught me how to cook and I used my Betty Crocker Cookbook like a Bible for the first year. This brings back lots of memories!

Peach-Banana Cream

Ingredients:

1 can (16 oz.) sliced peaches, drained
1 pkg (3 3/4 oz) banana instant pudding and pie filling
1 C whipping cream
Place peaches in blender container. Cover and blend on high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add pudding and pie filling (dry) and whipping cream. Cover and blend on high speed, stopping blender frequently to scrape sides, until smooth and thickened, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg if desired.

Servings: 4
Recipe Given By: Betty Crocker's Cookbook under Apricot-Banana Cream
Hint: We garnish with added fruit on the top. Beware: this is a very sweet dessert so a little goes a long way. (You can substitute a 17 oz. can of apricot halves, drained for the peaches.)

Easy Bake

Anyone, remember this contraption? The Easy Bake oven - the stuff dreams are made of for little girls; the nemesis of Mom's everywhere.

Katie LOVES to cook; actually, Katie LOVES anything to do with food. She faithfully watches the Food Network with her Dad and me and just a few nights ago told me that she would "try" the caramel apple with meal worms on it - a feature on a Halloween Food Network special. I believe she would try anything once; she's brave like her Daddy. I digress...

Anyway, Katie got the idea in her mind to break out the Easy Bake oven. We haven't done it for years. I balk at the idea of cooking a nasty tasting mix by a 100 watt bulb, especially one that costs $5.74. However, for the love of my children, I went back in my memory to recall the thrill of cooking in my own Easy Bake Oven. Being interpreted: I caved! I tried to talk her into "real baking" (Betty Crocker mix), but she would have none of it. So this past weekend, we gave it a go.

Here's the girl's sweet delights:

Yellow Cake with white frosting, ribboned in pink

Chocolate Cake with Pink Frosting, decorated with sprinkles

Ground Beef Stew

Years ago my husband asked me to stop making beef stew because I overcooked the meat every time. (Such talent I had!) Because of that, I looked for a beef stew that I didn't have to precook the meat. I'm sure I'll post that recipe sometime this winter, but until then here's a stew that you can throw into the crockpot. It's low-cost, family-friendly and hearty! I serve it with biscuits just like my Momma used to do.

Ground Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 pkg. (16 oz) baby carrots
3 C water
2 T. dry onion soup mix
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 to 1 ½ t. salt
¼ t. garlic powder
¼ t. pepper
1 can (10 ¾ oz) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can (6 oz) Italian tomato paste

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a slow cooker, combine the next nine ingredients. Stir in the beef. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Stir in soup and tomato paste; cover and cook for 1 hour or until heated through.

Servings: 28
Recipe Given By: Quick Cooking
Hint: I'm sure this would freeze well, although it never lasts around my house long enough to find out.

Spiders and Webs, Oh My!

In honor of Halloween check out Bakerella. She has the cutest spiders and web cookies here. Wish I had seen these sooner; I might have tried those cookies. A good excuse to buy Trix!

Happy Halloween!

Cinnamon Pancake Cubes

Here's a yummy treat for breakfast or anytime of the day! My kids & hubby gobble these tasty bites up! When you make pancakes, save some aside to give this recipe a try. You're kids will love it!

Cinnamon Pancake Cubes

Ingredients:

1 T. butter or margarine
2-3 pancakes (about 6 inches), cut into 1-in pieces
1 T. sugar
1/8 t. ground cinnamon

In a skillet, melt butter. Add the pancakes, sugar and cinnamon. Cook over low heat until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Servings: 2
Recipe Given By: Quick Cooking, J/F ’02

melt-in-your-mouth good!

Is someone trying to sneak a bite?

Burritos de Huevo con Chorizo

Mark and I used to attend an adult Sunday School class where each family was on a rotation to bring in a breakfast treat to share. You can imagine that we got the typical pastries, doughnuts and fruit breads so it was a big hit when one day these Mexican Breakfast Burritos were brought in and shared. I knew right away my husband would want the recipe! We don't eat this very often, but once fall campouts begin in Boy Scouts, Mark breaks out this recipe to share with the other Dad's. He's always kind enough to leave a few behind for me when he heads to the hills.

Burritos de Huevo con Chorizo

Ingredients:

2 T. oil
1 lb. sausage (Logan’s Mexican style chorizo)
1 T chopped onion
6 eggs
salt to taste
6 flour tortillas (or up to 10-12, see hint below)
1/2 bag of frozen hash browns (*our addition, you can leave it out)

Heat the oil in a skillet, add the chorizo and onions and sauté for about 5 min.

In a bowl, beat the eggs lightly and add the salt. Pour into skillet and mix with chorizo. Cook for about 3 min or until eggs are set, stirring occasionally.

At the same time, cook the frozen hash browns according to the package directions.

Heat a dry skillet (large enough for 1 tortilla) over moderately high heat until hot. In skillet heat tortillas, 1 at a time, turning frequently, 30 seconds, or until softened, and transfer to a work surface. Divide filling AND potatoes between tortillas and roll up burritos.

You may spread refried beans on the tortillas before adding the chorizo and egg filling.

Recipe Given By: Judith Rivera
Hint: We make a double batch and use 1lb. spicy chorizo and 1 lbs. mild chorizo and combine for an extra tang. Just freeze and enjoy for a quick on-the-go breakfast. **We get 20-24 out of a double batch that includes the added potatoes so be prepared to make more than 6 burritos.

Creamy Chicken & Rice, Acorn Squash

Last night I tried my first Pioneer Woman recipe. We had picked out a couple of Acorn squash at the pumpkin patch with the intent of baking them and Pioneer Woman posted a recipe recently that looked yummy so we gave it a try. Love You, Pioneer Woman, but not your squash!
You can see her recipe here.

Here they are after 20 minutes of roasting with the sugar/butter paste added.
Lookin' good so far.

They weren't quite done when the recipe said they would be. I had a Chicken casserole in the oven set at 425 degrees. I popped the squash back into the oven at that temperature for another 15 minutes. At the end of that time, they were fork tender.

At first my husband LOVED them, then he LIKED them, then He said, "We should try it differently next time." ??? He ate almost half the dish.

The olive oil, brown sugar and rosemary was an interesting combination. They smelled delectable, but the flavors just did not gel for me. I ate two wedges to be polite. Each of the kids took one bite and looked like they were going to die - not pretty.

We'd like to try Acorn squash again, but this time we'll leave off the olive oil and substitute some other non-healthy fat, I'm sure. The rosemary? Maybe a little less or something else. The sugar/butter mixture...that can stay!

Here's what we had for dinner last night - Creamy Chicken and Rice, Acorn Squash and Steamed Broccoli. It definitely felt like a Autumn Comfort Meal.

Creamy Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

4 C cooked rice (2 dry)
½ C butter or margarine, divided
¼ C flour
2 C milk
2 t chicken bouillon granules
½ - 1 t seasoned salt
½ t garlic powder
¼ t pepper
4 – 5 C cubed cooked chicken
12 oz. process American cheese, cubed
2 C (16 oz) sour cream
1 ¼ C crushed butter-flavored crackers (@ 32)

Spread rice into a greased shallow 3-qt. or 13x9x2” baking dish; set aside. In a saucepan, melt ¼ C butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, bouillon, seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min or until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; add chicken, cheese and sour cream; stir until the cheese is melted. Pour over rice. Melt the remaining butter; toss with cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 10- 15 min or until heated through.

Serving: 6-8
Recipe Given By: Quick Cooking M/A 1999 p. 28