Banana Crème Pie

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 

• 1/2 cup sugar 

• 1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas 

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

• 1 (8 ounce) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed 

• 1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust 

Directions

First beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Then add the vanilla.
Mash the bananas with the lemon juice and add to the cream cheese mixture.
Carefully stir in the cool whip.
Pour into the crust and refrigerate. ♥

Spinach Dessert Salad

• 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar free raspberry jam
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 8 cups spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 8 strawberries, quartered
• 2 - 3 kiwis, peeled and sliced

Directions

1. Mix together raspberry vinegar, raspberry jam, and vegetable oil in a small container.I always just put the ingredients in the container, shut the lid, and then shake it up.  Mixes the dressing up nicely.
2. Combine spinach, nuts, strawberries, and kiwi in a salad bowl. Toss with raspberry dressing. 
3. And thats it.  Super easy.

The Infamous Mac & Cheese

This recipe comes from my mom and grandma!

2 cups elbow macaroni
1 can evaporated milk
1 egg
1 tbsp butter
3-4 cups sharp cheddar cheese ( depending on how cheesy you like it)
salt and pepper to taste
13x9 baking dish

Preheat oven to 350

Boil water in saucepan and season well with salt.  Add macaroni and cook until al-dente.  Allow macaroni to sit in water off heat after cooking for about 10 mins.  The macaroni will become more plump this way.

Mix evaporated milk and egg in a bowl and beat together.  Then pour in nonstick saucepan over medium heat.  Do not bring to boil yet. Add salt, pepper, and butter now.  Slowly add cheese little at a time and stir constantly.  Cheese will slowly melt into milk and the mixture will become very thick. If you would like your mac and cheese to be creamy do not bring to boil.  For thick mac and cheese (which I think we all like)  bring cheese sauce to a boil only for a minute.  

Drain macaroni and pour into baking dish followed by cheese sauce.  Mix together and top with more cheese.

Bake for about 25-30 mins. Serve and enjoy!

Cup of Cobbler

This is how my mom always made cobbler. Really easy and yummy and not healthy. :)

Melt 1 stick of butter in bottom of baking dish. Mix 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of all purpose flour, and 1 tbsp baking power in bowl. Pour batter into baking dish with butter, but DON'T MIX. Next, dump fruit onto the top.

You can use 1 big can of canned fruit (like pie filling) or chop up fresh fruit -- I usually use 3-4 cups of fresh fruit. If you are using fresh fruit, it is usually best to save a little bit of the batter to pour over the fresh fruit, because it doesn't really sink into the batter like the canned stuff does. Bake at 350 for one hour.

Notes: I have made this with less than half a stick of butter before. It doesn't get quite as tender as when you use all of the butter, but I feel ok about that. I've done this with strawberries and rhubarb as well as sliced apples mixed with cinnamon and a little bit of brown sugar. (The fresh fruit, of course, is much yummier than the canned stuff. but the canned is ok too.) Can't wait to try it with fresh peaches! Oh, also one time I tried this with whole wheat flour, and that did NOT work. epic failure. just so you know.

posted by Olivia

Zucchini Boats

Found via my iphone. A little bit time consuming, and sounds kinda weird, but is actually really yummy,and healthy too! :)

Ingredients:
5 medium zucchini (6 to 8 inches each)
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 scallions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
24 oz spaghetti sauce
dried italian spices (basil, oregano)
salt, pepper

Cook!
1) Scoop the insides out of the zucchini and save (I did this by scoring the sides with a knife, then popping/digging out the insides with a spoon). Chop the zucchini mush.
2) In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and garlic, and saute for 3 minutes. The add the zucchini pulp and saute another 3 minutes. Set aside mix.
3) In the same skillet saute the turkey until it is cooked. Add salt and pepper and drain if needed.
4) Pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place the zucchini boats in the sauce.
5) In a large bowl, combine the turkey and zucchini mixture, the egg, breadcrumbs, basil and oregano, or any other combination of Italian seasonings you prefer. (You can also use seasoned breadcrumbs if you like.) Mix well and spoon into the zucchini boats. Top with parmesan cheese.
6) Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more.

Notes:
The hardest part of this is scooping out the zucchini -- after that it's pretty simple. I used whole wheat breadcrumbs and added some parm cheese to the mix as well as topping the boats with parm cheese. It is really so good. I'm sure you could make it vegetarian, too, by changing to boca or maybe just chopping up a couple extra zucchini and adding more breadcrumbs to the mixture instead of the turkey.

posted by Olivia

PW's Veggie and Cheese Shells

Found at the Pioneer Woman (her page has more pretty pictures!)

(pic from: thepioneerwoman.com)

Ingredients:
16 ounces pasta shells (medium) or other short pasta
1 pound asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces (discard tough pieces)
½ pounds boccoli, cut into small florets
½ pounds zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini) diced
½ cups frozen peas
3 whole green onions sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
20 ounces ricotta cheese
½ teaspoons Salt
2 whole Eggs
1-½ cup Parmesan Cheese
Black Pepper,
Extra Olive Oil For Drizzling

Cook!
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Cook pasta until extremely al dente—with still quite a bit of bite and drain.
4) Melt butter with the olive oil over medium-low to medium heat, then add in the garlic and green onions.  Add the asparagus to the pan and cook for five minutes. Sprinkle in a little salt.
5) Add the broccoli and cook for one minute, then add the zucchini and cook for one or two more minutes. 6) Add the frozen peas, stir together then turn off the heat. Set aside. Salt veggies as needed.
7) In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, salt, and pepper until well combined.
8) To assemble: Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add layers in this order:

• 1/2 pasta
• 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the surface (this is hard as it kinda sticks to the noodles)
• Sprinkle 1/3 of the Parmesan over the ricotta 
•  ½ of the vegetables
• Rest of the pasta
• Rest of the ricotta
• 1/3 of the Parmesan
•  End with the rest of the vegetables and the rest of the Parmesan.

9) Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons olive oil, then bake for 25 minutes on 350 degrees or until nice and hot.

Notes:
I think the Ricotta container comes in 24 oz -- I just use all of it. She uses whole, I use skim. It tastes just fine. I sub olive oil for all of the butter, and cut down on the amount of olive oil as well (like I don't drizzle at the end.). Tip for asparagus: holding the two ends in your hands, snap it in the middle. It will break off where the woody part starts, so you don't get any of the tough asparagus in your dish. This barely all fits in the dish.
 
posted by Olivia

Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce

This was a really delicious, easy dinner (for the meat eaters) that could be easily doubled (or more!). Found via my iphone.


Ingredients:
4 (3/4-inch-thick) pork chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (1 to 2)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup country-style Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt
black pepper

Cook!
1) Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.
2) Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add oil to skillet, swirling to coat, then brown chops, turning over once, about 8 minutes total.
3) Transfer to a shallow baking pan, reserving skillet, and bake, uncovered, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes.
4) Meanwhile, in previous skillet, cook shallots in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth and any juices from baking pan and boil, scraping up any brown bits, 2 minutes. Add mustard and cream and return to a boil, then add lemon juice and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
5) Serve chops and pour sauce over

Notes:
This was soooo easy. I used boneless pork chops (tenderloin?) and also added thyme (from Jen's garden!) to the chops when they were browning. I subbed onions for the shallots, light sour cream for the cream, and water+salt for the broth. I also left out the butter and only used as much olive oil as the onions needed to cook in. I didn't use all of the lemon juice as my mustard was pretty tart. This was really tasty. :)

posted by Olivia

PW's Cornbread

This is the cornbread I made a few weeks ago, and it is so good! Recipe from the Pioneer Woman. (Link has excellent step by step directions!)


Ingredients:
¼ cups Plus 2 Tablespoons Shortening
1 cup Yellow Corn Meal
½ cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 2 tablespoons vinegar)
½ cups Milk
1 whole Egg
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Baking Soda

Cook!
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) Add 2 TBSP of shortening to dish (iron skillet, muffin pan, or other baking pan) and place in oven to melt.
3) Combine corn meal, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and egg. Add baking powder and baking soda. Stir.
4) Combine wet and dry ingredients, then add ¼ cup melted shortening, stirring constantly.
5) Pour into hot pan, smoothing surface with spatula. Mix will sizzle! Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Notes:
The first time I made this I did the full amount of shortening, and it was yummy, but not so healthy. The second time I made it I cut back on the shortening, using the same amount in the mix (because I was scared to mess with the baking chemistry), but only greasing the dish with a little bit instead of plopping 2 TBSP into the dish to melt. It did just fine. Also I added corn the second time, but it didn't really do much -- I liked it better without the corn.

posted by Olivia