Super Easy and Super Yummy Banana Bread

Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

METHOD

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve!

*Best served warm with butter!
*Sometimes I add chocolate chips-just make sure not to add too many...gets too gooie!
* I got this recipe from simplyrecipes.com

Wheat Thins Parmesan Chicken

This is a recipe I learned from my friend Jen. It's absolutely delicious! I included the orginial recipe as well as Jen's adjustments at the end of this post. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
2 Tbl Margarine
½ cup grated parmesan
½ cup Basil & Parmesan Wheat Thins (or dried bread crumbs)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a 15X10X1 pan with non-stick spray. Combine all ingredients in pie plate or other container easy to dip chicken into. Dip chicken in melted margarine first and then into bread crumb mixture. Place chick in single layer in pan. Bake 25 min or until tender.


Jen's adjustments (in her own words):

"I have never used the margarine. I save calories by either dipping in egg whites or dipping in nothing before putting into bread crumbs. Also, I loved substituting bread crumbs for crushed basil and parmesan wheat thins. I put the crackers in a gallon zip lock bag and roll over with rolling pin. Then I can toss the chicken in the closed bag with crumbs. At 20 min I check the chicken and if it is almost done. I put in a 9X13 pan and check at 20min. At 20min if the chicken is almost completely done top with a small can of tomato sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese melted."

Brushed and Baked BBQ Rolls

ingredients

24 rolls

mayonnaise

baked chicken breasts, shredded

bbq sauce of your choice (i used kraft Thick and Spicy bbq sauce)

cheddar or provolone cheese, shredded or sliced

brush sauce

1/4 c. melted butter

1 tbs mustard

1 tbs worcestershire sauce

2 tsp poppy seeds**

optional toppings

lettuce

tomatoes

sliced apples

cole slaw

carmelized onions

avocado

directions

mix together shredded chicken with bbq sauce until well coated. slice rolls in half. spread thin layer of mayo on top and bottom of the inside of each roll. assemble rolls with bbq chicken and cheese. place assembled rolls on a cookie sheet or stone. mix together the melted butter, mustard, worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds with a whisk. brush this mixture all over the tops of the rolls and cover with tin foil. bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until heated through. peel open sandwiches and add additional toppings as desired.

**the poppy seeds are not necessary when making this recipe. they don't add a ton of flavor, but they do look good. :)

I got this recipe from my friend Miken's blog and will probably post more of hers...they are amazing!

Chicken Pillows

This recipe I learned at a ward activity! It is seriously so easy, but sooo good and has that warm homemade taste.

Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked, shredded chicken (you can use canned chicken)
4 Tbsp of cream cheese
1 pkg of Pillsbury Cresent Rolls (8 rolls)
2 Tbsp Butter

Sauce:
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of chicken broth (I just got half a cup of water and mixed in some chicken bouillon)
1 cup of sour cream

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• This dish is perfect with rice (and there's so much sauce you'll want some rice to soak up the extra) so get the rice started first since it will take the longest!
• Mix the chicken and cream cheese together and stuff the mixture into the crescents as you roll them.
• Stick the rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet
• Melt butter and spread over the rolls before placing them in the oven.
• Place rolls in the oven for 13-15 minutes (follow the directions on the roll package)
• While the rolls or "pillows" are baking, heat up the sour cream, chicken broth and cream of chicken on the stove on medium heat.  
• When the rolls are done stick them on a plate with some rice and pour the sauce over everything
• ENJOY!!

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:
(4-oz.) Uncooked dried spaghetti
1/2 lb. bulk Italian Sausage
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.
3. Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, brown sausage; drain off fat.
         Stir in Spaghetti sauce.
         Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
4. In medium bowl stir together sour cream, 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese and egg.
          Stir in spaghetti
5. Place spaghetti mixture in 9-inch pie pan
           Sprinkle with remaining Mozzarella cheese.
6. Spread sausage mixture over entire surface
7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25-35 minutes or until heated through
8. Remove aluminum foil & sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
9. Let stand 10 minutes before serving
10. To serve, cut into wedges.

Super Stuffed Potatoes

Ingredients: 

4 Small baking potatoes

1 lb ground beef

1/4 lb Velveeta cheese

1 small tomato, chopped

2 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions: 

Prick potatoes in several places with fork. Microwave on high 14 min. or just until Tender, turning after 7 min.

Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Add velveeta, tomatoes, and onions; cook until velveeta is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.

Split potatoes; mash insides with fork. Top with meat mixture and sour cream.

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients: 

1 lb  chicken

Salt & pepper

2 Tbs vegetable oil

2 Tbs fresh lime juice

2 red or green bell peppers

1 red onion

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

2-4 Tbs water

1 tsp tabasco

10 Flour Tortillas

Directions: 

Season chicken with S&P

Heat 1 Tbs of oil in skillet over medium-high heat

Add chicken and cook through about 4 minutes

Transfer to a bowl and toss with lime juice

Add remaining oil to skillet and return to medium-high heat

Add peppers, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt, 2 tbs water

Cook until onion is softened about 5 min.

Return the chicken & juice to skillet.

Stir in tabasco and season with S&P

Get lettuce, cheese & tortillas ready

Serve!

Salsa Chicken Tostadas

Ingredients: 

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup water

1 1/4 oz. taco seasoning

1 cup refried beans, warmed

4 Tostada shells

1/2 cup Finely shredded four cheese

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 avocado, chopped

1/4 cup Salsa

1/4 cup Sour cream

Directions:

Cook and stir chicken in skillet on medium-high heat for 3 min. or until no longer pink.

Add water and seasoning mix; simmer on medium-low heat 5 min. or until chicken is done and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Spread beans onto tostada shells ; top with layers of chicken mixture and remaining ingredients

Peanut Butter Soup

This recipe doesn't actually come from me. Kristi taught it to me, but I'm afraid that she won't put it on here anytime soon, so I'm doing it for her! She learned this recipe in Ghana. It's not really a soup, it's just a thick sauce that you pour over rice. (In Ghana they make the rice into "rice balls" but Kristi and I have not figured out how to successfully create a "rice ball." Once we do I'll add it here.)
This dish is absolutely wonderful & it's fairly simple to make.

(Kristi- please make any corrections or add to it if I miss something!)

Ingredients:
3 Tomatoes- peeled & chopped (Roma Tomatoes)
1 Onion- chopped
1 or 2 Chicken Breasts- boiled & chopped
1 Cup Water
3/4 Cup Peanut Butter (Adam's All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter)
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbs Valentina Hot Sauce (I used mild, but Kristi uses the hotter stuff)

Cooked Rice (to pour the sauce over!)

Directions:
Pour a little oil into a large pan.
add chopped tomatoes & onions to pan.
Cook at medium heat. Let them simmer for 10 minutes or until mushy.
Add peanut butter, and 1 cup water to pan.
Let mixture simmer for another 10 minutes.
*once you add the peanut butter, you'll want to stir pretty frequently, to keep the peanut butter  from sticking to the pan.

Pour entire mixture into blender.
If you have a glass blender like we do, stick the mixture in the fridge for a few minutes to cool down (so the heat won't break the glass, It's probably a safe idea if you have a plastic one too.)
Blend until mixture is completely smooth.
Return mixture to pan.
Add chicken, cayenne pepper, Valentina sauce, and salt & pepper to mixture.
Once the flavor is to your liking (spice-wise) it's ready to go on top of rice.

*Pour over cooked rice & there's dinner!

The Best Snickerdoodle Recipe Ever

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 (1/4 +1/8) teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining sugar.

2. Shape dough into 1-in. balls; roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes (I usually stick to 8 minutes.. because they harden as they cool).