Banana Pancakes

I had brown bananas again this week but didn't feel like making banana bread - that's what we always do with overripe bananas. So I searched for some recipes and found a great one for banana pancakes. They were a HUGE hit! Everyone loved them and then ate the few leftover the next day. We will be making these again!

Banana Pancakes
1 1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 medium bananas
1 3/4 c. flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Mash the bananas with a fork. Stir in eggs, milk, oil, and brown sugar until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until well combined.

Heat a griddle to medium heat. Drop batter onto hot griddle, about 1/4 cup at a time. Cook until you see bubbles begin to form around the edges. Flip over carefully to cook on the other side. Remove from the griddle and enjoy!

Red Hots Cookies

My kids love things spicy. Like way too spicy! They think hot sauce is a condiment that should go on everything we eat around here. So I knew these cookies would be a big hit the first time I made them, years ago. It can be a little tricky finding the Red Hots, but I find them from time to time and buy a couple of bags so I have them on hand when we want these cookies. And they look very festive for Valentine's Day!

Red Hots Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. Red Hots candies

Place candies in a baggie and hit several times with a hammer to break them into pieces. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugars together until creamy, then add eggs and vanilla; stir to combine. Mix in the flour and baking soda, then add the candy and stir until everything is mixed together. Drop teaspoonfuls ( I use a medium cookie scoop) onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.

Chocolate Pie

My husband loves chocolate and especially chocolate pie. I'm not sure how many chocolate pies I made around Thanksgiving for him this year, but it was a LOT! I have several recipes for chocolate pie and I made all of them at least twice!

 

Chocolate Pie

8 oz. German's sweet chocolate

1/2 c. milk

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. sugar

8 oz. Cool Whip

1 chocolate crumb crust

Heat the chocolate with the milk in a microwave safe bowl for in 30 second intervals until melted, stirring after each time.  Beat in cream cheese and sugar and stir until smooth. Gently fold in Cool Whip.Spoon into the crust and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Seasoned Oven Roasted Vegetables

This is a great side dish for some of our favorite dinners. I have never been one to "hide" vegetables so my kids would eat them and I'm glad - because they love this!

Seasoned Oven Roasted Vegetables
7 medium potatoes
1 small bag baby carrots
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning

Chop the potatoes and carrots into bite-sized pieces, all approximately the same size and place ina large bowl. Add the oil and spices, toss to coat all evenly. Pour onto large baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees about 30 minutes.

Caramel Apple Cobbler

This cobbler was gone almost the moment it came out of the oven. I made it because I needed apple something and cobbler sounded good. Apparently my family agreed. It didn't last long but we will be making it again!

Caramel Apple Cobbler
batter:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
Melt the butter and put in a 9x3 pan. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and baking powder. Add the milk and vanilla, stir to combine. Pour the batter over the butter and stir lightly.

apple filling:
3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin (I use granny smith and gala)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. sugar
In a saucepan, combine the apples with the cinnamon and sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the apples are softened. Stir frequently so they don't burn.

caramel sauce:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. heavy cream

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, sugar, and cream. Stir and cook until the mixture begins to boil. Allow to boil about 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

Add 1 c. caramel sauce to the apples and stir. Save remaining sauce. Pour the apple mixture evenly over the batter. Bake at 400 degree for about 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. You can drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the cobbler or serve it with ice cream and drizzle the sauce over that. Either way, it is delicious!

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Another one of our Saturday morning muffin recipes. Someday, I won't be making these every week! :-) These have both oatmeal and blueberries and not as much sugar as most of the other recipes, so I consider them healthier than most of my recipes. Once in awhile, I need that.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. oatmeal
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center and add the milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir until just combined - the batter should still be lumpy. Fold in the blueberries. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and divide the batter between them. Bake at 400 degrees 15-18 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Eggnog Muffins

I love eggnog. I won't drink it any time of the year except Christmas. Somehow, it seems wrong to drink eggnog in July, but once Thanksgiving dinner is cleaned up, I break it out! I use it to make a lot of stuff too: fudge, cookies, muffins...

Eggnog Muffins
2 1/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. eggnog
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the melted (and cooled) butter, eggnog, eggs, and vanilla. Stir just to combine - the batter should still be a little lumpy. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners. Divide batter into the muffin tin and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

You can make a glaze for the muffins with 1 c. powdered sugar and enough eggnog to make a thin glaze. Pour it over the muffins. I don't do this, really ever, because I make my muffins ahead of time and freeze them. Plus, we eat these for Saturday morning breakfast and without the glaze I can pretend they are nutritious. :-)

Eggnog Fudge

I love fudge. Love it. Chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge, now eggnog fudge. It is an integral part of Christmas for me. Yum!

Eggnog Fudge
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. eggnog
2 c. sugar
2 c. white chocolate
1 small jar marshmallow cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Line a 9x9 inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. 
In a medium pan, combine the butter, eggnog, and sugar. Bring it to a boil. Add a candy thermometer and cook until the mixture reaches 234 degrees. Remove from the heat. Carefully add the white chocolate - if it gets clumpy, keep stirring. Stir until melted, then add the marshmallow cream, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour into pan and allow to set.

Orange Cranberry Muffins

And yet another muffin recipe for Saturday mornings...

 

Orange Cranberry Muffins

2 c. flour

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 c. orange juice***

2 eggs

1/3 c. oil

1 c. chopped cranberries

Combine the flour, brown sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the orange juice, eggs, and oil. Mix just until blended, then fold in the cranberries. Either grease a muffin tin or use paper liners. Fill 2/3 full with batter and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

*** For the orange juice I used frozen orange concentrate, then mixed it with only ONE can of water. It makes the orange a little more pronounced without overpowering the muffin.

Apple Strudel

I love things with apples in them, but they can be such a pain to peel, slice, etc to get them ready to cook with. So I give my boys the opportunity to help me - they are all capable ot peeling apples and using the slicer. A little less tedium encourages me to bake more yummy things so they don't complain too much! And who doesn't like delicious apple strudel? Especially when it's warm, right out of the oven?

 

 Apple Strudel

1 sheet of puff pastry

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tart apples (like Granny Smith)

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the puff pastry in the center of the cookie sheet and roll it thin - about 16x12 inches. I rolled mine until it almost touched the sides of the cookie sheet. Peel and slice the apple thin. I had my son use our apple slicer (cuts into 8 slices) then I cut each slice into thirds. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the apples. Use your hands to toss to coat. Place the apples down the center of the puff pastry lengthwise. Cut slits in the puff pastry about 1 inch apart on each side of the apples, starting about 1/2 inch away from the apples and going through the edge. Use these to fold over the apples at an angle, alternating sides so it appears to be braided. Tuck the ends under and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or unti golden brown.

I used  glaze of 1 c. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 3/4 Tbsp. milk once the strudel had cooled a little.

Corn Cakes

Pancakes are a popular dinner at our house but sometimes you want something with a Mexican twist. Enter, corn cakes! It is a corn batter that you cook like pancakes and top with cheese, salsa, guacamole, whatever you like. Yum!

 

Corn Cakes

2 cans cream corn

2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Heat a frying pan or skillet to medium. Pour 1/4-1/3 cup batter for each cake. Allow to cook until the bottom is firm and the bubbles pop or the batter goes everywhere when you turn it to cook the other side. Cook both sides. Top with your toppings: salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, beans, etc.

Jam Bars

These jam bars are amazing! Wow! My kids kept cutting off little pieces and eating them when they thought I wasn't looking... which I was but, for the first time, I ignored because I was doing the same thing! We used homemade peach jam and it was delicious! Make two pans of it because one goes too quickly!

 

Jam Bars

crust

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. oats

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Combine all the above ingredients, beating with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is crumbly. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides as needed. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan and bake 20 minutes or until it is golden brown.

filling

1 1/2 c. jam

Use strawberry, apricot, peach, or raspberry jam. When you take the crust out of the oven spread the jam over it immediately going almost all the way to the edges.

topping

3/4 c. flaked coconut

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine topping ingredients while the crust is baking. Sprinkle over the jam and return the bars to the oven, baking an additional 20 minutes or until the topping os golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting - but good luck waiting that long!

Apple Fritter Bread

It's officially fall so let the fall baking begin! We were sitting in church when the need to bake overcame me. Does that ever happen to you? Baking is my coping skill and I needed to bake. But I hadn't planned on a baking spree and I didn't have the marshmallow creme I needed to make the peanut butter fudge I desperately needed to make and the bag of marshmallows was needed to make rice krispy treats for the boys lunches. My husband came to the rescue! He wanted apple fritters. With glaze. Everything is better with glaze! I didn't want to fry anything so I made apple fritter bread instead. So good! Eat it! It's fall!

 

 

Apple Fritter Bread

1/2 c. butter, softened

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

2 apples

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Add the flour and baking powder, stirring to combine. Gently mix in the milk, stirring until it is smooth. Peel the apples and chop into small chunks. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. In a greased loaf pan, put half the batter in the bottom. Add half the apples. Cover the apples with half the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until the bread is baked through. 

Make a glaze with 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 1-2 Tbsp. milk. Pour over bread while still warm. Slice and enjoy!

*** I used homemade apple pie filling for my apples. I used about half the apples, chopping them into chunks before adding them to the bread. For the glaze I used some of the liquid from the pie filling instead of milk. So good!

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

And... more Saturday morning muffins. I like to pretend these are healthy since they have fruit and Greek yogurt. That counts, right?

 

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

 1 c. white chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. raspberries - fresh or frozen 

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs, stirring well, then the yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon stirring just until combined. Gently fold in the white chocolate chips and raspberries. Divide into paper lined muffin tins. I always double my muffin recipes and this doubled made 36 muffins so it makes quite a few. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.

Cinnamon Scones

  I used to make scones every Sunday for breakfast. That doesn't happen very often anymore, which is too bad because they are delicious and we all like them, but I work every third Sunday and when I don't work I like to sleep a little bit. Scones are a little time consuming, but they are worth the effort! Scones are the British version of biscuits but they are flavored and yummy! They are frequently served with jam or clotted cream, but we eat them plain.

 

Cinnamon Scones

2 c. flour

3 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. butter, cold

3/4 c. milk

1 bag cinnamon chips

Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the milk slowly until a soft dough forms. Stir in the cinnamon chips. On a floured surface, form the dough into a thick circle that is about 7 inches across. Cut into wedges (I do 12 wedges, but you can do less if you want) using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.

Honey Spice Peaches

This is one of our favorite recipes for peaches. The honey really is amazing and then the spices... so good! I got the boys all helping me skin the peaches after blanching them so they ended up a little more mangled than if I had done them myself, but, hey, they eat them, too!

 

Honey Spice Peaches

8 lbs. freestone peaches

4 c. water

1 c. sugar

2 c. honey

whole cloves

cinnamon sticks

OK, before you start anything else, blanch the peaches. This entails a large pot of boiling water. Add the peaches a few at a time - not so many they are not covered with water. Let them sit in the water for one minutes, then remove and place in an ice water bath (a large bowl full of water and ice). This stops the cooking process - you don't want to cook the peaches, just get the skins off. Let them sit for a minute then you should be able to rub the skin a bit and it comes right off.  Once the skin is off, slice each peach in half and remove the pit. Slice into eighths and set aside. Do this for all the peaches. 

In another large pot, add the water, sugar, and honey. Stir and heat. Once it is hot (does not need to boil), add in some of the peaches. Let them heat, but don't wait until they are cooked. They should heat 2-3 minutes. remove from the syrup with a slotted spoon and pack into prepared** jars. Fill them up almost all the way, then add 3-4 whole cloves and a cinnamon stick. Finish packing to the top. Shake the jar a little to get the peaches to settle. The jars will hold a lot of peaches! Fill the jar with some of the syrup to 1/4 inch from the top, cover with a lid and screw band, and process in a water bath canner for 30 minutes. Repeat until all the peaches have been used to fill the jars (we eat any partial jars).

**Prepared jars means they have been washed and heated. I put mine in the dishwasher to wash, use heated dry, and take them out to use while still hot. Everything needs to be hot - jars, lids, fruit, canner. 

Honey Vanilla Peach Butter

My kids love various butters we can make from fruit. We have done apple butter from time to time and peach butter. I'm not always convinced it's worth all the effort, but they love it so I make it sometimes. This one is a favorite!

 

Honey Vanilla Peach Butter

18 peaches, smashed up

2 1/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. honey

1 Tbsp. vanilla

In a large pot cook the peaches, sugar, honey, and vanilla until the peaches are soft. Use a blender to blend in batches until smooth. You can use a hand blender for this if you have one. At this point you can cook the peaches two ways. Option 1: Continue to cook on the stove until the water is boiled out and the peaches mound on a spoon. This will likely take hours. Option 2: As you blend the peaches in batches, pour the blended peaches into a crock pot and cook on low overnight with the lid off. They should be ready to can by morning. Once the peaches are as thick as you want them to be, ladle into canning jars and process 20 minutes in a water bath canner.

Peach Jam

Some more jam we've been working on. The boys had a bit of a disappointment this morning, but trying out all the peach recipes we are canning helped to perk them up again. We love our canning recipes!

 

Peach Jam

4 c. peaches, smashed up or cut into small chunks

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. butter

1 box Sure Jell

5 1/2 c. sugar

Place peaches, lemon juice, butter, and Sure Jell in a large pot and heat to boiling.  Add the sugar all at once and return to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. Put in prepared canning jars and process 20 minutes in a water bath canner.

Blueberry Jam

Nothing is better than fresh jam made from fresh fruit. We all love blueberries, too! So good!

 

Blueberry Jam

6 c. blueberries

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

4 c. sugar

1 box Sure Jell

1 tsp. butter

Crush the blueberries making sure there are still chucks of berry. Measure to get 4 cups of crushed fruit. Add to a large saucepan with the lemon juice, butter, and Sure Jell. Heat over medium high, stirring constantly, until boiling. Add is sugar all at once. Continue to stir and return to a rolling boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and ladle into jars, leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Process 15 minutes.

Boston Cream Cupcakes

My son wanted to learn some basic cake decorating so he made cupcakes to begin to learn on. Well, we can't make just ANY cupcake, so we made some Boston Cream Cupcakes! Yum! He decided that custard isn't his thing, so if he makes these again we'll have to switch it for some pudding or something, but I thought they tasted great! Especially since an 11 year old made them pretty much on his own.

 

Boston Cream Cupcakes

Cake:

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
6 Tbsp. sour cream, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
3 large egg whites, room temperature (don't throw away the yolks!)
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. milk, room temperature
2 Tbsp. water, room temperature

Cream the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. This should take a couple of minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix. Add the egg white and mix well to combine. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl and the beaters to get everything mixed in well. Add half the four and baking powder, then half the milk and water, mixing well after each addition. Repeat to use all ingredients. Fill cupcake liners 1/2-2/3 full (we get 15 from this recipe). Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the are beginning to turn golden brown on the top and the top springs back when touched. Allow to cool.

 

Custard:

2 egg yolks saved from cake
6 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. salted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl, beat the yolks together. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and milk in a large saucepan and stir until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and just begins to boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook an additional two minutes. Remove from the heat. Add a small amount to the yolks and stir to combine. Once well combined, all the yolk mixture to the custard, return it to the heat, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. 

 

 

Frosting:

3 Tbsp. butter, room temperature

2 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. cocoa powder

2-3 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp milk. Stir to combine. Add additional milk slowly until the desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes as desired. 

 

 

To put the cupcakes together: core the cupcakes with a cupcake corer or a sharp knife.Pipe custard into each cupcake. Top with frosting.