Peanut Butter and Banana Cake

This one I made just because one of my favorite things is a pb and banana sandwich so I thought, why not try it as a cake?   So this is my version, I’m sure you might find a better way of doing this so please do so, I won’t be offended at all!   But I can honestly say that this is so good and my family is asking for it again!   J  You might prefer to make yours from scratch – I went for the easier and faster way.  

Ingredients for cake:

1 yellow cake mix  

½ cup of peanut butter

(whatever ingredients the cake mix calls for) 

Ingredients for Icing:

1 small box of instant vanilla pudding

1 small bowl of cool whip – 8 ounces

1 ripe banana

1 regular banana (for topping)

Instructions for cake:

Follow instructions on the box, add a little liquids to compensate for the peanut butter (if it calls for 1 cup of water add 1 1/8^th cup and if it calls for 1/3 cup of oil – I measured just a little over the 1/3^rd mark).   Bake as directed until fork comes out clean or it springs back, whatever method you use, don’t over bake.    Run a knife around the edges and let it completely cool in pan on cooling rack.   Turn out on a clean towel and cut in half long ways so you will have 2 layers.    Handle gently and put the bottom layer back into your pan or onto a serving tray.

Instructions for Icing:

Mix the pudding with 1 ½ cups of cold milk and mix according to directions – you need less milk because you want it thicker.

Fold pudding into 2 cups of the cool whip until well blended.   Put ½ of the pudding/cool whip mix in another bowl. 

In a blender or food processor slice the ripe banana and blend it till it’s fairly smooth, mix this in with ½ of the pudding mix.   This is what you will use as filling between the 2 layers of cake.

Once you have the filling on the bottom layer then carefully add the top layer and use the rest of the pudding mix (without banana) to icing the top of the cake.   Add a couple of slices of banana to the top of each piece before you serve (optional)   ENJOY!

Variations:   1. You can do this cake in reverse, add the mashed banana to the cake mix, if you do that add 2 bananas instead of one.  And make the icing the same only add peanut butter to it in place of the banana.     2.  You can also make this a poke cake instead of cutting the cake in half.    3.

Or you cna use 2 round cake pans instead of using a sheet pan.

Au Gratin Potatoes and Ham

This is truly comfort food. The cheese sauce is so creamy and the combination of cheeses gives it such wonderful flavor. By adding ham, it is a complete meal and a pretty easy meal to fix almost any time.

Ingredients

8 russet potatoes, medium sliced (1/8 to 1/4" thick)
1 yellow onion, diced
6 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
2 c. heavy cream
4 c. cheddar cheese
2 c. shredded Velveta cheese
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
3 c. smoked ham (I slice it fairly thick and then cut into 1/2 x 1/2" strips)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. I used a cast iron casserole dish, but that is certainly not necessary...just make sure to either spray or butter your dish. 
3. Combine your cheeses and divide in thirds.
4. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes into bottom of your prepared casserole dish. Add 1/3 of your ham and onion and salt and pepper to taste. Generously sprinkle with cheese blend. Repeat for another layer, and top with a final layer with the ham and cheese on the top layer.
5. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour whisk constantly for one minute until well combined. Add in the heavy cream and milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted and heated all the way through. Pour cheese sauce over the potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until potatoes are done.

Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

Baked beans are a staple for almost every barbeque and, quite honestly, not always the most exciting dish that is served. This recipe kicks up this old classic by adding sweet and spicy flavors to make your next picnic even better.

Ingredients:

3 lg cans (28 oz) Bush's Original Baked Beans
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. diced yellow onion
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. yellow mustard
1/4 c. minced jalapenos
1 tsp. ground dry mustard

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees OR 3-4 hours in a crock pot. Top with bacon crumbles (optional) before serving.

Oreo / Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

This was a surprise to my husband on Father's Day because he dearly loves ice cream sandwiches, matter of fact he just plan loves ice cream.  When I saw the original recipe I knew I had to make it but I am becoming more and more like Debra - I can't leave a good recipe alone so I had to add my own twist to it and it was a HUGE hit!!  My oldest granddaughter has declared this her new favorite but in fact I think it has become a new family favorite.   

Ingredients:

1 cup of ground Oreo cookies

3 Tbsp. butter melted.

½ cup  hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

1 tub  (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

1 pkg.  (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

1.75 Quart of Vanilla Ice Cream Softened plus 1 pint, softened,

16 OREO Cookies, chopped (about 2 cups), divided  (these are chopped not ground)

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Instructions:

WHISK fudge topping and 1 cup COOL WHIP in medium bowl until blended. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min.  Fold in ½ of the softened ice cream.  Stir in 1 cup cookies.   Sit bowl in the refrigerator while mixing and applying the crust..

 In a small mixing bowl combine 1 cup of ground oreo cookies with melted butter and pat out to make a crust on a 24 inch long piece of foil.  Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on top of the crumb crust; cover with softened pint of vanilla ice cream then half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cool whip mixture. Frost with remaining COOL WHIP; press remaining cookies into top and sides of dessert. Wrap loosely with foil.

FREEZE 4 hours or overnight.

TIPS:  During the process of putting the layers together, if the ice cream in the sandwiches or the container of ice cream get too soft or runny, stop and put everything in the freezer for a few minutes then continue to arrange the cake.   I would put mine in the freezer after every layer just to keep it firm, you don’t want the ice cream to get runny. 

Chicken Breast with Cannellini Beans

This is one of my "go to" recipes. This is one of those dishes that comes together really quickly for a great week night meal and it re-heats really well for lunch another day. And...the best part...it's a one-pot meal!!!

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise
1 c. flour
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 small, yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 cans cannellini beans, with liquid
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 can chicken broth
1/2 c. white wine
1 Tbsp. oregano 
4 c. baby spinach, cleaned

Directions

1. Slice your chicken breasts in half, length wise, and brine in salt water for 30 minutes.
2. Combine flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder in a shallow dish. 
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan (with a lid) over medium-high heat.
4. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and add to your heated pan. Reserve the remainder of the mixture to thicken your sauce if needed.
5. Brown the chicken and set aside.
6. In the same pan, add diced onion and minced garlic and sweat until translucent. 
7. Deglaze the pan with white wine.
8. Add cannellini, tomato paste, chicken broth, and oregano. If needed, add some of the flour mixture to thicken or more chicken broth to thin. Honestly, I usually add both, because we like lots of sauce.
9. Nestle the chicken into the bean mixture and simmer until cooked through.
10. Just before serving, add the spinach and cover the pan. The spinach will wilt with the lid on. Stir everything and serve with garlic toast or crostini.

APPLE PANCAKES

These are a quick, easy and delicious breakfast on the go or on a weekend.  I grew up eating these as a treat and my children grew up with them and now I make them for my grandchildren.  I love them to this day and I enjoy the excitement on the children's faces when I make them.   You can also freeze these and pop them in the toaster or microwave for a quick weekday breakfast.  

Ingredients:

1 ½ C all-purpose flour

3 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. white sugar

1 ¼ C. milk

1 egg

3 Tbsp. butter (melted)

1 large apple peeled , cored and either thinly sliced.  (I used Granny Smith)

1/8 tsp. of cinnamon mixed with 1 Tbsp. sugar  (optional – more or less to taste)

Instructions:

1.        In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt & sugar.  Make a well in the center & pour in the milk, egg and melted butter.  Mix until smooth.

2.       Mix the sliced apple with the cinnamon & sugar mix, stir until apple is well coated. 

3.       Heat a lightly oiled griddle or skillet, to medium high heat (for electric griddles that would be about 375°).  Pour about 1/8 to ¼ C of batter (to make a cookie sized pancake) to the hot griddle and add a small amount of the apple/cinnamon mix to the top of the pancake then pour a Tbsp. of batter over the apples.  Cook until batter looks dry along the edges, gently lifting to check that bottom is golden brown and flip.  Cook the other side until brown and serve.  

I make them small enough to hold in your hand to eat like a cookie. 

**Serving options:  1) I have put them in a baggie with granulated sugar in it and shake them.  2)  Sprinkle some powdered sugar over them.  3) Put them on a plate and serve with butter and maple syrup.  

Bacon and Hasbrown Casserole

This dish is a winner for Sunday brunch...just add eggs! I actually made it as a side dish with fried catfish and it was perfect! Just a side note...any leftovers can be fried to make delicious potato pancakes too!

Ingredients 

1 bag (14 oz) frozen shredded hash browns, thawed 
1/2 c. diced yellow onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pint sour cream

4 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 package bacon (12 oz), diced

1 c. Frenches Fried Onions

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Spray 11 x 14 inch casserole or baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Cook the bacon until crispy and reserve 1/3 of the cooked bacon.
4. In large bowl, combine all ingredients, reserving 1/3 of your bacon and cheese, and stir together. 
5. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
6. In a small bowl, combine the reserved bacon and cheese and add the fried onion. Spread evenly over the top of the mixture in your casserole dish.
7. Bake for 45 minutes until top is golden brown and potatoes are done.

NOTE: Although I say to Salt and Pepper to taste, I will caution you that this dish can get salty with the bacon in it. Personally, I add VERY little salt and a fair amount of pepper when I make it.