Makes 40 Cookies
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup of mashed bananas (2-3 ripened bananas)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda with a fork and let sit for a couple minutes. Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt and spices and sift into the wet mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop in dollops onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden.
I have been trying to come up with recipes to use up brown bananas other than banana bread or muffins. We buy bananas by the ton (not really, but it feels like it!) and it always seems no matter how many we eat, there are always one or two (or three!) that don't get eaten before they get too soft to be appealing to the kids. This recipe is super easy and YUMMY. The cookies are not crispy, more cakey, but they taste delicious and are soft and moist right out of the oven. Delicious with a big glass of milk. You can leave out the spices if you don't like spice-type foods--this does have a "fall" spice to it similar to pumpkin pie or pumpkin bars, so leave out the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves if you'd rather and replace it with a teaspoon of vanilla for some flavor. These cookies are a delicious way to use up those over-ripened bananas! Yummy!
Makes 8-10 Servings
1 lb. lasagne, uncooked
1 32oz (2lbs) tub ricotta
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 tablespoon basil
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
1 26oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1-2 cups water
Directions:
Mix sauce, tomatoes and 1 cup of water together in a bowl. It should be pretty watery...if not, add another cup of water. Mix the ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and seasonings together in a bowl. Spray crockpot well with cooking spray or spread with olive oil. Cover bottom of crockpot with sauce. Break pasta to fit and get as even a layer as possible, making sure pasta is pretty well "sauced". Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on top, then sauce, then pasta, then cheese, etc. Repeat all layers, ending in sauce then sprinkle extra parmesan and mozzarella on top. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 6-8 hours.
Amazing!! Lasagna that is moist, cheesy and delicious from your crockpot! No boiling noodles or heating up that oven in the summer. I can't believe how easy and tasty this is and this has become our new regular. This recipe makes it extra cheesy and "gooey", and to us, this is perfect. Make sure all the lasagna noodles are submerged under the sauce or cheese and that no dry edges are sticking out or you'll get a hard piece. Mine brought it to about two inches from the lid and that was the perfect amount of space for steam to cook it perfectly. This makes enough to feed our family of six and still have half the pot leftover, so if you want less, the recipe halves nicely. I like to freeze the remaining half, or invite company over. YUM.
Makes 16 Brownies
Brownies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Mix sugar, butter and eggs with a fork thoroughly. Add flour and cocoa and mix well. Spread in greased 8x8 square baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes until set. Let cool before icing.
Frosting: Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Remove from heat and beat until it starts to thicken, then spread over cooled brownies.
This is a simple chocolate brownie recipe that tastes delicious with the fudgy icing on top. If you like nuts in your brownies, you can mix in 1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are the best!) to the batter before baking and/or you can put a single nut half on top of each brownie after frosting.
Makes About 10 Servings
1 loaf of French bread or 2 Baguettes, 1-2 days old and starting to harden
2 cans evaporated milk
1/4 cup half & half
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 large eggs
1 - 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Slice and cube the bread--this may require some elbow grease if it's hardened already. (Be prepared for lots of crumbs! I usually do mine over the sink or put a big kitchen towel under the cutting board.) Spray a 13x9 glass baking dish and spread the bread in it evenly. In a large bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, half & half, and coffee (try to resist drinking this). In a medium sized bowl, mix the sugars together with the cocoa. Slowly stir this into the milk mixture in the large bowl. In another bowl (medium sized or so), beat the eggs then add the vanilla, almond and cinnamon and stir. Pour egg mixture into the large bowl with the milk mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour evenly over the bread cubes in the baking dish and let stand, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed most of the liquid. Bake for 1 hour until set and a knife inserted into the center of the pudding comes out clean (except for melted chocolate chips). Serve warm or cold.
This dessert is really simple to make and tastes delicious! I like to serve ours warm with some fresh whipped cream on top. Yummy! It's good cold too though or with ice cream or even hot fudge on top. And by the way, you can use REALLY old (non-moldy of course...lol) bread with this too. I have made it with some poor forgotten loaves of bread that were rock hard and about 2 weeks old and it tasted just as good as with 2 day old baguettes!
Makes 1 Loaf
1 whole head of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons parsley
Kosher Salt
1 loaf fresh Italian bread, split horizontally
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Cut the top off the head of garlic (about half an inch, like if you were cutting the ends off an onion) place on a square of foil. Drizzle olive oil over the top of it and wrap the foil around it to form a sealed packet. Bake for 30 minutes then remove and allow to cool. Hold garlic upside down over mixing bowl and squeeze until all the cloves have all dropped into the bowl. Add the softened butter and parsley and mix on low until well blended. Spread onto both sides of the Italian bread and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Place buttered sides up on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil 5-6 inches from the heating element for 2-3 minutes until butter is melted and bread is toasty. Slice and serve.
My all-time favorite garlic bread recipe! Delicious and easy. It may sound complicated and/or time consuming, but it really isn't that much more effort than dealing with those frozen things and the taste is a million times better! Mmmm, now I want garlic bread.
Makes 8 Servings
2 Packages Frozen Gorton's Shrimp Scampi
1 (16oz) package of angel hair pasta
1/2-1 cup of pasta water
1/2 cup cream or half & half
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan
Directions:
Boil pasta as directed. While waiting for water to boil, heat a skillet on medium heat. After adding spaghetti to water, dump contents of shrimp packages in skillet and saute until shrimp is opaque and cooked through. When pasta is done, turn heat off and move pan but do not drain. Using spaghetti servers, transfer pasta to skillet with shrimp and toss to combine. Add 1/2 cup pasta water, cream and parmesan and mix well. Add more water as needed. Taste and if it needs more seasoning, add garlic powder and Italian seasonings. Serve with additional grated parmesan.
Total cheater "recipe" here...this is one of my quick and easy go-to meals when I am pressed for time. It can't even really be called a recipe, but I figured I'd share it in case you guys are like me and never thought of doing this but need something fast and yummy like this. Since the shrimp is frozen raw, it tastes fresh and when they are BOGO at your store, combine that sale with a coupon and you're spending less than a dollar per serving, not to mention saving yourself a boatload of time! If you go order Shrimp Pasta at a restaurant you're paying $12+ per plate...you pay less than they for an entire dish full with this "recipe"! Quick. Easy. Cheap. Delicious. Does it get much better than that? If you want it to be creamy, you can always use 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup of the pasta water, as well as 1/2 cup or so of Parmesan. That's always yummy too.
P.S. I've also used Gorton's Grilled Shrimp Scampi too and it is delicious! Only problem is the tails, so you have to remove while cooking or while eating, but if that doesn't bother you, I recommend that product too. I've tried other brands, but they're not as good as Gorton's!
I'm thinking since I mostly post these on Tuesdays I should just start titling my post "Menu Tuesday" LOL. My Mondays have been just too busy to post!
Oh well! Here's my dinner menu for this week:
MONDAY
EASIEST Shrimp Pasta EVER!!
TUESDAY
Beans & Cornbread
WEDNESDAY
Chicken Salad Focaccia
Chips
Carrot Sticks w/ Ranch
THURSDAY
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Garlic Bread
FRIDAY
Rehearsal Dinner
SATURDAY
My sister's wedding!
SUNDAY
Lawry's Lemon Pepper Drumsticks
Steamed Broccoli
Broccoli Cheese Rice
