Nana's Banana Nut Bread

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans/walnuts)
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 medium spotted bananas (mashed)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Add mashed bananas to flour, baking soda & salt mixture.
Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour at 325. After greasing loaf pan with butter, sprinkle with liberally with sugar instead of flour and sprinkle sugar on top before baking.
(Bake in 1 large loaf pan or 2 small)

ENJOY!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

I usually have one or two bananas that get too ripe before we can eat them. Instead of making banana bread this time I tried something different!

1 3/4 C Flour

1 t Baking soda

1 t Salt

1 C (2 sticks) Butter, softened

3/4 C Sugar

3/4 C Packed brown sugar

1 t Vanilla extract

2 Large eggs (I used fresh!)

2 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 - 3/4 C Nuts (optional)

1 Mashed banana

Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, salt and soda and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add banana. Once mixed add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Slowly mix in flour mixture. Once well blended, fold in chocolate chips.

Chill for 15 minutes to make dough easier to work with. Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes, then move to cooling rack.

Award Winning Carrott Cake

Emily made this cake for the Williamson County Youth Fair and won Reserve Grand Champion with it. There was some tough competition but it was mighty tasty!


Carrot Cake

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup water
1 pound carrots (8 to 10 medium carrots), peeled and shredded on a box grater or in a food processor (about 2 ¾ cups)
2 cups pecans (1 cup finely chopped for batter, 1 cup coarsely chopped for decorating sides of cake)
White butter icing (recipe follows)

Cake directions:
1. Preheat over to 350°. Butter 3 9-inch cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper and butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
2. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 3 minutes. Add vanilla, water and carrots. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped pecans.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cake to loosen, and turn out cakes onto rack. Turn right side up and let cool completely.
4. Using a serrated knife, trim rounded top of 2 cakes. Place one trimmed cake, cut side up, on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with second trimmed cake, cut side down. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with remaining cake. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Gently press coarsely chopped pecans onto sides of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 1 day, covered) before serving.

White Butter Icing:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup soft butter
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar.
About 3 tablespoon water
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Icing directions:
Blend butter and sugar thoroughly. Stir in water and vanilla until smooth.

Banamana Bread

I found this yummy recipe for banana bread on http://www.graceviolet.com/ and have made it several times.  I add chocolate chips to mine to make it even more heavenly.  Even Ethan eats it!  Enjoy!

lazy momma's toffee

Ingredients: Saltines, one stick butter, one cup brown sugar, one bag chocolate chips.

Line cookie sheet with saltines

Melt butter in pan, add brown sugar, stir until slightly caramelized.

Pour over saltines and spread evenly. Cook at 350 for 5 minutes.

Take out of oven, pour chocolate chips on top. As they melt, spread over toffee. Stick in fridge to set. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

1 c flour

1 Tb. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1 large zucchini (enough to make 1 cup coarsely grated) Wash, dry, trim and DO NOT PEEL

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour bottom and sides of loaf pan.

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in mixing bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and oil with electric beater until thick and pale yellow in color. Beat in vanilla and flour mix. Stir grated zucchini into batter. Pour batter into pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Enjoy!

This is one of my all time favorites, and a real crowd pleaser! Tye even loves it!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

I know it's been forever, but my sister, Susan made these at Christmas and they were amazing. So delicious, yet so simple. I found a picture online since I didn't take one.

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent rolls

2-8oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups Sugar, separated

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 tsp Cinnamon (I like a little more)

1 stick butter (1/2 cup real butter not margarine)

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish press the seams together.

In a separate bowl blend the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla spread over top of dough.

Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again. Melt butter and pour over top layer of crescents.

Mix the reaming 1/2 cup of sugar & cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top. If you don't think that's enough cinnamon sugar on top add more it’s really up to you there's no rules on this part of the recipe.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown. Cool, slice and enjoy!

Yummy!!!!!!!

Chocolate Éclairs

These take a little practice and some patience too, but they are well worth the effort!

Pastries:
1 Cup water
2 ½ oz butter
1 Cup plain flour (sifted)
Pinch salt
4 eggs (3 if you use Jumbo)
1 teaspoon grated orange rind (optional)
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (optional)

Filling & Chocolate sauce
Heavy Whipping Cram
¼ C Sugar
1 C Powdered sugar
Hot water
Cocoa
Butter (melted)

Pastries:
Place water and butter in sauce pan over low/medium heat until butter is melted. Bring to boil, quickly add sifted flour and salt, stir quickly until mixture forms a ball and leaves side of pan. Remove from heat immediately, let mixture cool slightly. 3-5 minutes.

Place mixture into metal or glass mixing bowl. Beat on low/med speed with electric mixer – add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each egg. Mixture will be thick, smooth and glossy. If using Jumbo eggs, you may only need to add two and one white (total of three) the key is to have the mixture smooth, glossy and thick.

Drop rounded teaspoon full of mixture onto greased oven trays. I use baking paper instead. Bake 10 minutes at 400*. Reduce heat to 370* (without opening oven) and cook for another 35 minutes, until golden brown.

Allow to cool completely on wire racks before filling. Fill with cream and frost top with chocolate.

Filling:
Whip heavy cram with electric mixer. Add sugar a spoonful at a time until cream start to stiffen. Use piping bag to fill each pastry with cream.

Chocolate Sauce:
Pour powder sugar into mixing bowl. Add melted butter and hot water. Mix well. Sauce will be think. “frost” the top of each filled pastry.

Chill for one hour. Serve cold. ENJOY!

Easy peanut butter cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 egg
1 cup sugar (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Mix ingredients together and form into balls. Crisscross with a fork and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

These cookies are simple to make with ingredients always on hand and your kids will love them. They are gluten-free too!

Pumpkiny goodness

Turtle Pumpkin Pie (from Kraft Foods Magazine)

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. PLANTERS Pecan Pieces, divided
1 cup cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

POUR 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans.
BEAT milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP. Spread into crust.
REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour. Top with remaining COOL WHIP, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.

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Pumpkin Cookies (more like perfect little pumpkin cakes than crunchy cookies)

1/2 cup Shortening
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Pumpkin
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 cups Flour

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add other cookie ingredients. Spoon out small amounts on cookie sheet (about the size of a walnut). Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and remove from the pan because they continue to cook. Cool on wax paper, then frost.

Frosting
1/2 cup Margarine
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 tsp. Vanilla

Cream three ingredients together and add a small bag of powder sugar.

Roasted Nectarines with Buttermilk Custard

I made these the other night and fell in LOVE!
Just make sure your nectarines or peaches are organic and if I could do anything differently, I would add a mint sprig. Other than that perfect-o!

Ingredients
Sauce:
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Nectarines:
6 medium nectarines, halved and pitted (about 2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon sugar
Verbena sprigs (optional)


Preparation
To prepare sauce, combine salt and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, beating 2 minutes with a mixer at medium-high speed.
Heat 1% low-fat milk over medium heat in a small, heavy saucepan to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Gradually add hot milk to sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Return milk mixture to pan; cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until slightly thick and mixture coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly (do not boil). Remove from heat. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl until mixture cools completely, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into a bowl. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare nectarines, place nectarines, cut sides up, in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle nectarines evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until nectarines are soft and lightly browned. Serve with chilled sauce. Garnish with verbena sprigs, if desired.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 2 nectarine halves and 1/4 cup sauce)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 176(17% from fat); FAT 3.4g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.5g); IRON 0.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 138mg; CALCIUM 70mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.8g; SODIUM 80mg; PROTEIN 4.3g; FIBER 1g



Jackie Mills , Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Banana Split Cake

This is now my favorite summer dessert. It's cold and has the perfect mix of graham crackers, bananas, cream cheese, Cool Whip and pineapple. I got it from Kraft Foods magazine.

Prep Time:15 min
Total Time:5 hr 15 min
Makes:24 servings, one piece each

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
6 medium bananas, divided
2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
1 cup PLANTERS Chopped Pecans

MIX crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the butter; press firmly onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Freeze 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread carefully over crust; top with pineapple. Slice 4 of the bananas; arrange over pineapple.

POUR milk into medium bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping; spread over banana layer in pan. Top with remaining 1 cup whipped topping; sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate 5 hours. Slice remaining 2 bananas just before serving; arrange over dessert. Store any leftover dessert in refrigerator.