Banana bars

Another recipe asked for- from the same book! Those toll-house people really know their cookies! I made a double batch of these for a choir practice, and people loved them... and I had leftovers!


Banana Bars
from Toll-house Best-ever Cookies

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margearine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1 cup (2 bananas) mashed ripe banana
1 egg
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate mini-morsels (I didn't have these, so I used about 1 1/2 cup ghiradelli's chocolate chips and 1/2 cup whit chocolate chips)
Sifted powdered sugar

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in bananas and egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Spread into greased 15x10" jelly-roll pan.

Bake in preheated 350degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars. Makes 6 dozen bars.

recipe: swirl-of-chocolate cheesecake triangles

As a rule, whenever a friend asks for a recipe, I try to put it up here on the blog. Here is a great recipe for little cheesecake triangles. They are really easy and delicious. And still from scratch. And really rich and yummy. I kinda want one right now...

they're from this book:














 Which is full of really good recipes. I also love the mini chip snowball cookies. Apparently the book is only one cent... but in my cookbook library, it is a total classic!

swirl-of-chocolate cheesecake triangles
from Nestle Tollhouse best-ever cookies

crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Filling:
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (12 fl. oz can) Evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
1 cup Nestle toll house ghiradelli's semi-sweet chocolate morsels

For crust:
Combine crumbs, butter, and granulated sugar in medium bowl; press into bottom of ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan

For filling:
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and flour in large mixer bowl until smoth. Gradually beat in evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Microwave morsels in medium bowl in Hugh power for 1 min, stir. Microwave at additional 10 to20 second intercals, stirring until smooth.

Stir in 1 cup cream cheese  mixture into chocolate. Pour remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Pour chocolate mixture over cream cheese mixture. Swirl mixtures with spoon, pulling plain cream cheese mixture up to surface. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 40-45 min. or until set. Cool in pan to room temp on wire rack. Chill until firm. Cut into squares. Cut each square in half diagonally to form triangles. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Bunny Pizzas

During the Easter season, we came up with this really fun festive food idea. We make homemade pizza a lot at our house. Usually we just use the Artisan bread in 5 minutes a Day dough for the crust, roll it out, sauce and cheese it and stick it in the oven. It's pretty easy.

For Easter, we did the same thing, but after we rolled it out, we cut out these bunny shapes and threw them on a sprayed pan. Then, we just topped each of them. You could do it with other shapes- I just wouldn't choose anything with much detail because they stretch a little and rise a little.

Serve it with some edamame and of course, root beer. Everybody loved this little festive meal!

Pie recipes

I promised these recipes to a friend around Thanksgiving. I'm sorry it's so late! I hope you enjoy!

Basic Pie Crust
2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 c butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c butter
ice water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening and butter till mix resembles small peas. Gradually add ice water. Fold gently to make soft dough. Divide into 2 disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wtap and refridgerate at least 10 minutes. Roll it out and bake as instructed in pie recipe.

Food-safe french silk Chocolate pie
My husband has been requesting this for years and I finally got up the courage to try it. It was really easy! And delicious! This recipe is from allrecipes.com and is originally from the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest
1 pie crust
3 (i ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, cut into pieces
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 t vanilla
4 pasteurized eggs or equivalent fat-free cholesterol-free  egg product
1/2 cup sweetened whipped cream
Chocolate curls

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake pie crust 9-11 min until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 min.
In 1 qt saucepan, melt chocolate over low heat; cool. In small bowl with electric mixer, beat butter on meduim speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in cooled chocolate and vanilla until well blended.
Add eggs one at a time, beating on high speed 2 minutes after each addition; beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Pour into cooled baked shell. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls. Store in refrigerator.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Mmmm... this is one of my favorites! the recipe is from the Kraft tapioca box. This is a real American classic!
2 c sliced strawberries
2 c halved, sliced rhubarb
1/4 c tapioca
1 1/4 c sugar

Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Let stand 15 minutes. Line pie pan with crust. Fill with fruit mixture. Dor with 1 Tbsp butter. Cover and seal with top crust. Make slits in the top crust. Bake 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly.

Apple Pie
The quintessential American classic! I like my apple pie to taste and feel fresh and al dente. I don't really prefer my apples pre-cooked, so I love this recipe! Plus, it's easier. Also, I never really liked making apple pie before I got one of those nifty apple peeler/slicer/corer thingies.
double pastry crust
2 1/4 lb apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 c sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Prepare crust. Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. In Large bowl, stir dry ingredients together. Then, add apples and toss gently. Put in pie shell and top the apples with the other part of the shell. Seal and slit the top crust. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Cover edges with foil. Bake at 375 for 40 min, then remove foil and bake 20 min more. Cool.

Pecan Pie
A personal favorite, being from Georgia. Um... did I mention that I really just like pie?
1 single crust pie shell
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 C corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 c butter or margerine, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c pecans

Prepare crust. In a bowl, combine everything but the pecans. Then, add pecans. Place shell on oven rack, then pour mix into shell. Cover edges with foil. Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove foil, then bake additional 20-25 min. Remove foil, then bake additional 20-25 minutes till knife inserted comes out clean. Cover and refrigerate.

Peach Raz pie
Save the best for  last. This is my favorite fruit pie! It has this great balance of sweet and tangy. So yummy!
Double pie shell
2 C frozen or fresh raspberries
3 c frozen or fresh peaches
3/4 c sugar

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Let sit 45 min to thaw if frozen. Transfer to shell and cover. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Cover edges with foil. Bake 375 for 45 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 25-30 minutes more. Cool. Really delicious with vanilla ice cream! 
1/3 cup flour


Now I REALLY want some awesome pie!

Chicken Wild rice soup

I have a good friend here who cooked at least a month's worth of freezer meals in anticipation of her new baby's arrival. She even pre-made her daughter's school lunches. I thought it was awesome! It got me inspired to at least stock up the soup section in my freezer. I love soup, but I really hate almost every canned soup. Plus, when you really need homemade soup is when you probably don't have the energy or time to make it. So, whenever I make soup, I try to make a huge batch, then freeze it flat in quart sized bags in my freezer.

Today was wild rice soup. I started with this recipe. I'll just tell you what I did (or better yet, would do if I hadn't made so many mistakes. Here is the big deal: My husband and kids actually ate and liked the soup!! It doesn't happen very often in my house that either of my kids will touch "adult" food. This one was a winner! (okay, so my older daughter would only eat the carrots and chicken, but that's about as much as I could expect from her.)

Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:
8 carrots, peeled and sliced
5 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
6 oz chopped mushrooms
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed small and cooked
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup wild rice, uncooked
salt **
pepper**
curry powder**
bay leaf
rosemary **
thyme**
4 T cornstarch*
2 cups half and half

Instructions: Throw everything except the half and half and cornstarch into the crock pot. Mix up the cornstarch with water, a teeny bit at a time, to make the rue. Dump in the rue. Cook all day on low heat. Stir in the half and half about an hour before serving. Enjoy.
*Um, so I added only about 2T of cornstarch, and I forgot to add it till the end, so mine was pretty thin. This amount is what I will try next time.
**I just sprinkled some in of each without measuring. I didn't really put in that much, though, and the soup is still pretty flavorful.

kids cookie tip: placemats

We were making cookies with 3 little girls. Here was my solution that worked nicely: I got out 3 plastic placemats and rolled out dough onto each of them so that each of the girls had their own piece of dough to work with. No one had to argue over where to put the cookie cutters and it was a lot easier to clean up. Happy Valentines treat making!

Pear salad and squash soup

I'm trying to eat more fruits and veggies with this pregnancy. Beneficial in so many ways. So, I have to give thanks to my friend, Emily, for sharing this recipe with the world. It is an Autumn pear salad and is so divine! It has really gotten me through the past 2 weeks of pregnancy. I get one of my big serving bowls and fill it up with this salad- I just can't get enough! And, if you're interested, I'm pretty sure that every other recipe on her site is really delicious, because she's got great taste.

Another favorite of mine is her Velvety Squash soup. It's the smoothness of regular squash soup, but with this spicy kick of curry. My picky loved ones don't love it, so I make a big batch, then freeze them in yogurt cups to make individual servings for myself. As soon as they're frozen, I roll them up in plastic wrap and foil. Then, when I can't eat one more bowl of macaroni and cheese, I just unwrap a single serving of yummy squash soup and nuke it. Mmmm. Really good with homemade Naan.

Mint lemonade

I don't know about you, but Iowa's been in a nice, warm indian summer. As a last horrah to summer and warm weather, the girls and I made this mint lemonade for a BBQ at our neighbor's house. It was really delicious! Here's how:

Mint Lemonade

ingredients:

a handful of fresh mint leaves

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

water

ice

Lemon slices (would have been really cool for an extra garnish.)

Boil about a quart of water. While it's heating up, wash your mint leaves and pick out a few of the prettiest ones. Set those aside. Now, tear up the rest of your mint leaves into quarters or so, just not smaller than the holes in your strainer. When the water starts boiling, take it off the heat and throw in the mint leaves. Stir. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Now, pour the water through a strainer into a pitcher. Add lots of ice. Now add the lemon juice and water to taste (I just estimated how much I added. This is a great excuse to get to taste it early!). Add more ice till it is cold enough and filling up your two quart container. Add the reserved leaves back in and if you have them, the lemon slices. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

My house feels like a home when it smells like bacon. 

Since this is really a "hobby" blog and not a sewing blog, I will occasionally share a very favorite recipe. Specifically, as a pregnant lady, you may catch on to whatever I am craving. Today it was "Baked Potato Soup" from my friend, Nicole. It is incredibly delicious!  It is great the night after baked potato bar. That's what we did here, which is why I won't be satisfying this craving till tomorrow. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup flour

7 cups milk

4 green onions, chopped

12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

6 baked potatoes, baked, peeled, and cubed

1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

8 oz. Sour cream

3/4  tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

In a large pot, melt butter, stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. Gradually add mild, stirring constantly until thickened. Add potatoes and onions. bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted.

PS- I just found out the hard way that this recipe does NOT freeze well.  The taste is still great, but the texture is weird. I think it's either because it's a cream sauce base or because it has russet potatoes in it. Anyone know why? Anyway, eat it while it's fresh!