Jayme's Banana Bread

1/2 cup melted butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed ripe bananas
4 T buttermilk
2 T plain yogurt
1 3/4 cup flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/8 t baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans

Mix butter and sugar.  Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk, yogurt. Mix.  Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Add chocolate chips and pecans.

Bake 350, 50-55 minutes

Italian Chicken Soup

I made this Pioneer Woman recipe today.  Served it with homemade rolls.  Delish!

Ingredients

1/2 box Ditalini Pasta (very Short Macaroni-type Pasta Noodles)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 breast cut up cooked Chicken

4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1/2 whole Medium Onion, Diced

1 whole Green Bell Peppers, Diced

1 stalks Celery, Diced (I used carrot)

1 whole Fresh Jalapeno, Diced

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 can (28-ounce) can diced Tomatoes

1 cups Heavy Cream

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Oregano

Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste

Parmesan Cheese Shavings, For Serving

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta in a pot according to package directions, being sure not to overcook it. Drain and rinse in cold water to cool. Toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.

Place cooked chicken and chicken stock in a crock pot on low.  Add tomatoes and oregano.

Saute onion, green pepper, celery, carrot, and jalapeno in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add to crockpot, along with pasta.

Cook on low for 2-4 hours.

Add cream, stir to combine. Turn off heat.

Serve with lots of Parmesan sprinkled on the top--the more the better! Crusty Italian bread is good, too.

Red Velvet

This is a no fail recipe!  It has turned out delish every single time we've made it.  You can make it in a 9x13, bundt, or 9 inch round pans.  The baking time may vary depending on your oven and which pan you use. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups of cake flour
• 2 tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of buttermilk*
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar

Frosting ingredients

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

*Use real buttermilk.  It is worth it!

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
2 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
3 In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring.
4 Add a fourth of the dry ingredients and mix, then add a third of the wet. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.
5 Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking.
6 Allow to cool for one minute in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The Frosting
1 Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
2 Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3 Add the powdered sugar, continually taste to get to desired sweetness.

Healthy Breakfast

Waffles/Pancakes

1 1/2 C. milk

1 C. instant oats

3/4 C. wheat flour

1/4 C. ground flax seed

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

2 T. honey

2 t. vanilla

2 eggs beaten

Pour milk over oats, set aside. Mix together flour, flax, baking powder, salt. Mix eggs, honey and vanilla into the oat/milk mixture. Combine wet and dry, then cook in waffle iron. These make some really good pancakes, too, I highly recommend adding blueberries to the pancakes! I like to spread with some almond butter then drizzle with honey, but it's delicious with good ol' butter and syrup, too.

Green Smoothie

1-2 bananas

1/2 C. frozen peaches

1/2 C. frozen mango

a couple handfuls spinach

1/3 C. greek yogurt

water or juice

Blend until smooth. (today I actually had fresh EVERYTHING, including kiwis, and it was soooo good!)

Blueberry Muffins

I used the streusel topping and they were pretty dang good!

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe Source: Modified slightly from my friend Anisha who got it originally from Cook's Illustrated

**Cook's note-These muffins can be flavored with any variety of fruits and toppings.  Using the muffin recipe as a base for any flavor you like!**

Sugar Topping

1/3 cup (21/3 ounces) sugar
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Streusel Topping
3 T white sugar
3 T brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
5 T melted butter

Muffins
2 cups (or less if you are me!) fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 cups  plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 1/2 cups  unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

If topping with lemon sugar, stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

If topping the muffins with streusel, combine ingredients until it is the size of peas and set aside.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare standard muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray or liners. Bring 1 cup blueberries, water,  and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing the berries with your potato masher or fork several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced by about half.  This will take about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and well combined. Slowly mix in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not over mix.)

Using a cookie scoop or large spoon, divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar or streusel evenly over muffins.

Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is much debate among the sistas as to who has the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I'd probably lean toward Jill's.  BUT, I like this recipe from The Mormom Cookbook, and it is titled "The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies".  These are special edition chocolate chip cookies since I added broken Cadbury Eggs to them.  Even if these aren't the best cookies ever, I would argue that it is by far the best cookie dough I've ever had! 

1 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 12 oz. bag chocoate chips
1/2 bag of slightly crushed Cadbury Eggs :)

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Sift flour, salt, baking soda.  Add to cream mixture.  Beat well.  Stir in chocoate chips.  Bake 350 degrees 8 to 12 minutes.

http://iheartchocolategifts.blogspot.com/

Holly's 30th Birthday Cake

We forgot to take a picture of our cake, but it looked something like this...

Cake:

Makes two 8-inch or 9-inch cake layers (Ours spilled over in two pans.  Next time we will use three!) 

1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ½ cups sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1 ¼ cups warm water
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the baking rack is in the middle of the oven. Prepare your cake pans by cutting out a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Grease the pans, place the parchment or wax paper in the bottom of the pan and lightly grease again. Dust the pans with flour (or cocoa powder if you don’t want the white dusting on the finished cakes). Set the pans aside.

Using a fine mesh strainer, sift together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, yolk, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix on low speed (with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Do not overbake! Remove the pans from the oven and set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes, removing the parchment paper liners from the bottom of the cakes.

Let them cool completely, top sides ups, on a wire rack.

Trim the tops of the cake layers with a long serrated knife to make them level.

Frosting:

*Note: this frosting takes a bit of advance planning since the frosting needs time to cool so plan ahead! Also, the frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week. When ready to use, let the frosting stand at room temperature until softened, about 2 hours. Beat with stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about one minute.

*Makes about 4 cups frosting (plenty for two 9-inch cake layers)

(Three sticks of butter!!!  Are you kidding me?  I halved the recipe and it was just enough to cover the layered cake.  This is good stuff!)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) butter, cut into 24 pieces and softened at room temperature

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium saucepan and pour the milk mixture through the strainer into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and is thick enough that it starts to become difficult to easily whisk. This could take anywhere between 5-10 minutes, depending on your stove, heat, etc. It should bubble quite a bit at the end (be careful of the splatters) and thicken considerably.

Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cool to room temperature – this is extremely important! If it is even slightly warm, the frosting won’t beat up properly. I refrigerated my initial mixture overnight. If you do this, make sure to pull it out in time to let it warm back up to room temperature. If you try to proceed with the rest of the recipe and the mixture is too cold, the butter won’t absorb into the frosting like it should.

Once the frosting is completely cooled to room temperature (it should have no hint of warmth at all!), beat the mixture with the vanilla on low speed until it is well combined, about 30 seconds (a stand mixer will work best for this). Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat the frosting until all the butter has been incorporated fully, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and let the mixer work it’s magic. Beat the frosting for five minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Let the frosting sit at room temperature until it is a bit more stiff, about 1 hour. I suspect if you chill it for an hour or so, it would be stiff enough to actually pipe with instead of frosting with a rubber spatula.

Thank you melskitchencafe.com

Strawberry Cupcakes

Homemade Strawberry Cake

Adapted from Paula Deen’s Hummingbird Cake

Nonstick vegetable spray
All-purpose flour, for pans
3 cups self-rising flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup pureed strawberries, strained*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 large eggs, beaten
red food coloring**

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.
- Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.
- Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting (recipe below); frost as desired and refrigerate until ready to serve.

* You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If you use frozen, let them defrost on a cookie sheet. Then place in a food processor and pulse until pureed. Run through a medium-sized strainer to remove the seeds. If you have some extra strawberries, try whipping up a quick batch of strawberry scones!

** While I did manage to avoid using red colored gelatin, I did add some food coloring to achieve that perfectly pink color. If you don’t care about getting the pink color, feel free to leave it out. I used about 5 drops, but you should add them one at a time until you achieve the color you are looking for.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
~ 3 cups (approx. 1 box) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
1 TBL milk (if needed)

Directions:

- Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
- Slowly add the sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness is achieved. You may need less than 3 cups if you like your frosting less sweet.
- Stir in vanilla. Add milk slowly if you need a looser consistency.

We made this with regular flour instead of self rising flour, which made for a really dense cake. If I did this again, I'd add some baking powder. Other than that, it was delicious.

Maple Pecan Cake

I made this for book club tonight, and, other than being a little too done on the bottom, it was really good.

Maple Pecan Cake

• Cake Ingredients:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup pecan flour (or 1 cup toasted pecans mixed in the food processor)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg yolks, beaten to blend
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup pecan or vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 6 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan with a removable rim. In a bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, pecan flour, baking powder, and salt.

  2. In a small bowl, mix egg yolks, maple syrup, pecan oil, and brandy. Pour into flour mixture; stir to combine.

  3. In a large bowl, with a mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until glossy, about 2 minutes. Stir a quarter of the egg-white mixture into yolk mixture. Scrape into remaining egg-white mixture and fold in gently.

  4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in a 350° oven until cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer in pan to a rack and let cool about 1 hour.

  5. Remove pan rim. Cut cake in half horizontally and place bottom layer on a cake plate. Spread half the maple-cream cheese frosting on bottom layer; top with remaining layer. Spread remaining frosting over top (leave sides bare). Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

• Frosting and Topping:
• • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  In a bowl, with a mixer on low speed, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. Beat in powdered sugar. Add syrup; beat until smooth. Sprinkle 1/2 cup toasted pecans on top.

Coconut Curry Chicken, Curry Sauce & Rice

Does anyone else have a better name for this dish?

1.  Make this Crispy Coconut Chicken
2.  Make rice- whatever kind you prefer
3.  Make this curry sauce:

Ingredients:
1 can chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
3 cloves garlic (chopped in food processor with onion)
1/2 yellow onion (chopped in food processor with garlic)
2 T olive oil
1 red pepper (sliced)
2-3 t curry powder
1 t ginger powder
3-4 T dried basil (fresh would be better- it just wasn't available)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
cilantro (optional)

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan heat oil, add chopped garlic and onions.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add chicken broth, red pepper, curry, ginger and simmer 10 minutes.  Add coconut milk, basil, salt, pepper, cilantro and simmer 10 more minutes.

Serve over chicken and rice.

Instant Oatmeal

Yes, it looks like mush, but I'm kind of excited about this little recipe. All the ingredients are optional, and they can all be adjusted by preference, but here's what I did.

4 cups oatmeal

3 tablespoons powder coffee creamer

1/4 cup oatmeal that's been ground in the food processor (makes it nice and thick)

1 cup dried apples, chopped up (I'd add more if I had more)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup almonds and pecans

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Toast the nuts on a skillet in melted butter, add brown sugar until everything's toasted and coated. Let cool for a minute, then throw everything together in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix it up. Put some in a bowl, add hot water and/or milk and eat!

If my dried peaches hadn't gone bad, I'd do a 'peaches and cream' oatmeal. Also, I'll do dried cranberries in my next batch. I'm looking for ideas of what to add to this, what other grains would go well?

NO SOUP FOR YOU

Mulligatawny soup aka yellow curry soup.

Turned out yummy... and was gone fast at the progressive!

Recipe from Pioneer Woman, but I added a little something extra here and there...

Ingredients

• 1 whole Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into Bite-Sized Pieces
• Salt And Black Pepper To Taste
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Medium Onion
• I added carrots and celery
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced Finely
• ¼ cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
• 32 ounces, fluid Chicken Broth
• 2 cups Half-and-half (I used coconut milk)
• 1 whole Granny Smith Apple, Peeled And Diced
• I added a potato as well
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar (white Or Brown) More Or Less To Taste
• 2 teaspoons Salt, More To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper (optional, For Spice)

Preparation Instructions

Season diced chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove chicken to a plate. Set aside.

In the same pot, add butter and reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion and carrots and celery and garlic and stir to cook. Onions should be starting to brown.

Sprinkle flour over onions. Stir to combine, then stir in curry powder. Cook mixture over medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly.

Pour in chicken broth then potato. Stir to combine, then cook for five minutes. Add half and half or coconut milk, salt, pepper, and sugar, then cook for another five minutes.

Add chicken and diced apple and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off and allow to stand 5 or 10 minutes before serving. Taste for seasonings before serving.

baked hot chocolate

Jayme's Baked Hot Chocolate

cake mix- prepared
chocolate chips
heavy cream
mini marshmallows
mugs

1. Preheat oven to 350, prepare mugs.
2. Use any chocolate cake mix.  I used one from this Cupcakes recipe book.
3. Fill mugs half full with batter.
4. Bake.  Remove and let cool.
5. Melt about 1/2 chocolate chips (I used semi sweet and milk) and 1/4 cup heavy cream in a double boiler.  Once smooth, pour over cake.  Immediately place marshmallows in ganache.

Cinnabon Popcorn

Cinnabon Popcorn

from Our Best Bites

12 C popped popcorn (about 2 bags of microwave popcorn)
1 C roughly chopped pecans
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C Karo syrup
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. (I had to use 2 bowls). Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl.  Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds (just to soften the butter a bit) and then stir to combine.  Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more (don't over cook it).  Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Pour over popcorn.  Stir right away, and stir lots. Take too long and the caramel will harden on you. Keep stirring until everything is well coated. Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan.  Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

When it's done, give it a final stir and let it cool off for a bit while you melt your almond bark in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.  Use a fork and drizzle the melted almond bark over the popcorn mixture.  I sprinkled a little more cinnamon on at this point for fun.

When it's hardened (pop it in the fridge to speed that process along) break into chunks and enjoy!

I brought this to school today. 

I'll let you know what they say (the faculty, not students- like I would make this for them.....)

Brownie Covered Oreos

Brownie Covered Oreos

from Picky Palate

Mine were more like brownie cups with a mint Oreo hidden inside.  Nonetheless they tasted pretty good.

1 Brownie mix
1 package Oreos, I used the mint ones since Smith's didn't have the holiday variety
Chocolate chips and mint chips, melted with some heavy cream for drizzle

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare brownie batter according to package directions.  Leave in mixing bowl.  Dip Oreos in brownie batter then place in bottom of muffin tins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. 
2. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until brownies are cooked through. 
3.  Let cool for 5 minutes, remove, drizzle with melted chocolate and mints.
Makes entire package of Oreos.

Next time I might try making this in my AS SEEN ON TV Brownie pan.  Brownies with (broken up?) Oreos inside.

*Warning:  If you eat three or more of these, and then go do cycling at the gym (to try and make up for eating them), you might feel like puking.  Just saying.

Coconut Bread

I had some extra coconut milk I needed to use, and I've been wanting to make this one! It was SO good. SO GOOD!

Coconut Bread from cookingbread.com

Ingredients

Dough

1. 2/3 cup coconut milk
2. 2/3 cup lukewarm water
3. 2 tablespoons shortening ( melted )
4. 1/2 cup sugar
5. 2 tablespoon milk powder
6. 4 teaspoon instant yeast
7. 1 teaspoon salt
8. 1 egg ( beaten )
9. 2 tablespoon coconut (finely chopped)
10. 4 cups bread flour

Topping:

1. 1 egg white
2. 1 tablespoon water
3. 3 tablespoon flour
4. 2 tablespoon sugar
5. 2 tablespoon butter, soft
6. 2 tablespoon coconut(finely chopped)

Directions

In a large bowl add lukewarm water, beaten egg, coconut milk, dry milk, melted shortening, sugar, instant yeast, salt and finely chopped coconut. Mix with a wooden spoon till well mixed. Add in half the flour and continue to mix till smooth. Start to add in more of the flour slowly. When it becomes to hards to mix in the bowl, pour out onto a flat surface. Continue to add more flour and begin to knead the dough for 8 - 10 minutes. You may need a little more flour or you may not knead all the flour. It depends on the dough. You do not want the dough to stick to your hands, but you don't want it to be dry either. After kneading add a little oil ( about a tablespoon ) to a bowl and add the dough. Flip over a few time to lightly coat all sides of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for an hour or till the dough doubles in bulk. Cut dough into two equal pieces. Take one piece and cut into 16 more pieces. I like to weigh each piece of dough so they are all the same weight. Roll the first eight piece of dough into a ball and place into the bottom of an 4 1/2 X 8 greased loaf pan. Now, roll out the other 8 pieces of dough and place them on top of the other 8 pieces. Do the same with the other large piece of dough and you should end up with two loaves. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for about an hour or till the dough reaches about 1 inch from the top of the pan. To make the topping you need to add the flour, butter, sugar and coconut. Using your fingers mix till the mixture becomes a crumble. In a separate bowl combine the egg white and the tablespoon of water. Beat with a wire whisk till foamy. Brush the tops of the loaves with the foam and then add the crumble topping. Place into a 350 degree preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Parmesan Chicken

I got this from a friend here in Pittsburgh. I whipped it up quickly for Sunday dinner - So simple and quite delicious. My kind of recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers

3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. garlic salt
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain yogurt OR 1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine cracker crumbs, parmesan cheese, and garlic salt. Dip each piece of chicken in yogurt (could use butter, too) to coat and then in crumb mixture. Arrange in greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Top with sour cream chicken sauce, if desired.

Sour Cream Chicken Sauce
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream

In a small saucepan heat soup and sour cream together over low heat, stirring frequently.

Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

**if you prefer a crust without nuts, the recipe for the no-nuts crust is at the end of this recipe**

Crust:
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
3/4 cup finely chopped vanilla wafers
2 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
16 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

Crust Directions:
1. Mix all nuts and vanilla wafer crumbs with melted butter and press into a 9 inch buttered springform pan, trying to line the sides as much as possible about 1 1/2" up the sides of the pan, set aside.

Cheesecake Directions:
1. All the filling ingredients should be at room temperature.
2. Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy with an electric mixer set on low (keep the setting at low during the entire mixing process).
3. Add the sugar a little at a time and continue beating until creamy.
4. Add one egg at a time and beat after each egg.
5. Add flour, vanilla and lemon juice, mix well.
6. Add the sour cream and beat well.
7. Pour cream cheese mixture into the springform pan.
8. Place on the top rack in the middle of a 325 degrees preheated oven for one hour and 15 minutes.
9. When time is up turn oven off, prop open oven door and leave in oven for one hour.
10. Remove from oven and let cool then refrigerate for 24 hours.
11. Remember this important tip : A cheesecake should season. The wait is worth it. The flavor ripens and becomes enriched.

 **The crust recipe below is for those who prefer a crust without nuts**

No-Nuts Crust
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup melted margarine

Directions:
1. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Mix in melted margarine.
2. Press the crumb into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom and side with parchment paper.
3. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan and about 2/3 the way up the side.
4. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done.

Chocolate & Strawberries on Top: (added by Jayme)

Ingredients:
Strawberries
2 squares white chocolate bark
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Prepare a flat surface (cutting board or pan) with some wax paper.  Melt 2 squares of white chocolate bark in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.    Spread the melted white chocolate onto the wax paper with a spoon until even and smooth.  (Save a little bit to drizzle over the chocolate covered strawberries.)  Place in the refrigerator until hard.
2. Wash and dry strawberries.
3. Melt about 1 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
4. Dip strawberries in chocolate and set on wax paper to set up.  Drizzle white chocolate across dipped strawberries.  Put remaining chocolate into a piping bag with a small tip.
5. Take out white chocolate and cut into rectangles (what ever size you want for the top of your cake).  Write "Happy Birthday" etc. on the rectangles with piping bag.  Set in refrigerator until hard. 
6.  With remaining chocolate in the piping bag, make a criss-cross pattern on the cheesecake.  Arrange chocolate covered strawberries on top.  Place "Happy Birthday" rectangles on top of the strawberries.

Enjoy! :)

Recent Cooking Ventures

Maybe it's the weather cooling down or just this time of year, but I've been on a cooking kick lately, and for selfish reasons, I'm posting it all so when I want to make something again, I only have to look here and NOT all over the internet or worse- through my unorganized cook book.

Herb Roasted Chicken from the Pioneer Woman. Successful.

I made this chicken for dinner on Sunday, made a broth that night, then Monday night we had homemade chicken noodle soup with the leftover chicken, broth, carrots, celery, and these:

Homemade Noodles (recipe from Kona Rudd Hammond)

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp salad oil

1 tsp salt

Combine 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup water and remaining ingredients. Beat at low speed. Knead in flour until not sticky. Roll out and dry about 2 hours. Cut.

Very good.

Potatoes Au Gratin... from the Pioneer Woman. definitely successful.

Ingredients

• 4 whole Russet Potatoes, Scrubbed Clean
• 2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
• 1-½ cup Heavy Cream
• ½ cups Whole Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a baking dish.

Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes.

Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful. Delicious!

Pot Roast. From the Pioneer Woman. Successful.

Ingredients

• 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 whole Onions
• 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste
• 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
• 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
• 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
• 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

Preparation Instructions

First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.

When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

I shredded the roast and we used the juice it cooked in and had french dip sandwiches. It was really good.

Frog Nog (Green Smoothie recipe)

From the Sister's Cafe. Not successful. Maybe it would have been better if I followed the directions closer, but I used canned pineapple instead of frozen, and I may have used a bit too much spinach. Eden and Havi liked it, but that's about it.

2-4 cups spinach or other greens (I use 4 cups organic baby/ or kale)

1-2 cups of water (depending how thick you like it)

1-2 bananas (I use 2)

1 heaping cup frozen pineapple chunks

1 cup frozen mango, peaches or other light fruit (I have used strawberries)

1 Tb honey or agave (optional for sweetness)

First I fill my trusty blender (I use the Blendtec) with spinach--lots of it! Then I fill the container up to the 2 line with water filling in around the spinach. Pulse to blend into a bright green water.

Next add your bananas, frozen fruit ans sweetner, if using. I push the 'whole juice' button and the blender purees it all for me into a wonder smooth green drink. What ever blender you have, just be sure to blend it for a good amount of time to make sure it is as smooth as possible. Pour into glasses and serve!

Easy Apple Crisp (recipe from Sandy) Successful.

Slice enough apples to fill baking dish 2/3 full. Add 1/2 C. sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon. Add 2 T. flour.

Crust:

1 C. sugar

1 C. flour

1 cube butter

Work together with hands and sprinkle evenly over apples. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream.