Frozen Banana, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Milkshake

Frozen Banana, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Milkshake

Makes 1 large shake or 2 small shakes

2 medium bananas, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 cup skim or 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Freeze the bananas in a covered container for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Blend frozen bananas, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla in a blender until smooth. Add the chocolate chips at the end and pulse or blend briefly until they are chopped and incorporated.

 

Seriously good.  You must try this.  Originally found at: http://www.thekitchn.com/lighter-treat-recipe-frozen-banana-peanut-butter-chocolate-milkshake-111540 

Lemon Blueberry Muffin Bread

This sweet breakfast bread tastes just like a giant blueberry muffin. Food blogger Jenna Weber shares her ideas for adding additional flavor in a full post on the Fresh Tastes blog.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups blueberries (12 oz)
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• ½ cup plain yogurt, regular or lowfat

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder and salt. Add the blueberries and lemon zest and toss to combine.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yogurt then the dry ingredients, mixing only until incorporated and being careful not to crush the blueberries.
4. Scoop batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting gently onto a plate.

Yield: makes 1 loaf

Carmelitas

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

This is known as the best cookie ever! Baked with carmel and chocolate in the middle of an oat cookie crust, these will change your life! 

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 32 caramel squares, unwrapped
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¾ cup butter, melted
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8×8 pan or you can line with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier removal. The carmel can get sticky. (can also be made in a 9×13 just double the ingredients)
2. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Add flour, oats, and baking soda. Mix until combined.
3. Divide the cookie mixture in half and pat half of the mix into the bottom of the 8×8 pan. Bake for 10 minutes and remove.
4. While baking, combine the caramels and heavy cream and stir until completely smooth. Can also be melted in the microwave, just stir after every 30 seconds being careful not to let it burn.
5. Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the crust. Pour carmel mixture over the chocolate chips and crumble remaining cookie dough on top.
6. Return to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are lightly brown.
7. Once removed from oven allow them to completely cool and the carmel to set up. The carmel is like molten carmel right out of the oven and you want to let it cool. You can speed up the cooling process by putting it in the fridge if needed.

Pizookie

1 stick butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt butter.  Add granulated sugar and brown sugar to melted butter, and stir. Add vanilla.  After you've mixed well, add your egg and whisk with a fork.

3. Add flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix well, making sure dough is even.

4. Add your chocolate; or any other ingredients you wish. 

5. Place prepared dough in round cake pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

6. Let cool for 3-5 minutes.  Top with a few scoops of vanilla bean ice cream, and enjoy!!

Grandma June's Chocolate Chip Cupcakes & Sticky Fingers Frosting

These recipes can also be found in "Mom's Recipe Book" that Aunt Nancy and Aunt Jane made for us.  The recipes are both really good.  If you don't feel like chocolate frosting, the chocolate cake is still a good one (better than a box mix) to mix with other frostings.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes:

-       1 Box of Devil’s Food Cake Mix

-       4 Eggs

-       1 Box Instant Vanilla Pudding

-       1 Cup of Sour Cream

-       1 Cup of Oil

-       ½ Cup Warm Water

1   1/2 pkg of chocolate chips

Mix together and add 1/2pkg of chocolate chips, stir and put in cupcake papers. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (or mini cupcakes cook about 10 minutes). Ice with Stick Fingers Chocolate Frosting.

Sticky Fingers Frosting:

-       ¾ Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

-       2 TBS Butter

-       6 oz. Semisweet Chocolate

Melt Together and stir. Use a spoon to scoop and spread on top of cupcakes.

Marinara Sauce

I made this for recipe club.  It's a Giada De Laurentiis recipe, and it's both Rob and Katharine approved.  The taste is better after it's been sitting in the fridge for a day or two.  The recipe notes say to freeze any extra in 2-cup increments to save for up to 3 months.  

-       ½ Cup Extra Virgin olive Oil

-       2 Small Onion, Finely Chopped

-       2 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped

-       2 Celery Stalks, Finely Chopped

-       2 Carrots, peeled and Finely Chopped

-       ½ teaspoon of sea salt, plus more to taste

-       ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

-       2 (32 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

-       2 Dried Bay Leaves

In a Large Pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Sauté until all vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. 

Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 pound orecchiette pasta
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 3/4 cup grated Romano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, hot
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 8 ounces bocconcini mozzarella, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

1.) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2.) In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and gently stir to combine.

3.) Using a melon baller (or a teaspoon measure), form the chicken mixture into 3/4-inch pieces. With damp hands, roll the chicken pieces into mini meatballs.

4.) In a large (14-inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatoes are soft and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and add the Parmesan. Toss to lightly coat orecchiette, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Add the meatball mixture, mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of the basil. Gently toss to combine. Garnish with the chopped basil.

Recipe found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/orecchiette-with-mini-chicken-meatballs-recipe/index.html 

Oven-Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

This is delicious!  Seriously.

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh Brussels sprouts
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Rinse sprouts in cold water and then cut off the tough ends.  Pull any scraggly leaves off the sprouts and then cut each sprout in half.  place in a medium sized bowl.
3. Whisk together oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Drizzle over the sprouts and then toss to combine.  Spread the sprouts evenly on the baking sheet and roast 20-25 minutes or until crisp-tender.
4. Remove from oven and transfer to serving dish.  Drizzle with 1 Tbsp vinegar and sprinkle with kosher salt, to taste.  Serve immediately.

Homemade Crescent Rolls

These may not be quite as good as dad's, but they are still pretty good! And easy too. Warning: it's a big batch, so you may want to save this recipe for when you are having guests.

Yield: 48

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp yeast
2 cups warm water
9-10 cups all purpose flour
at least 1 cup butter

Instructions:

Combine milk, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup butter (cut into pieces) in microswave safe bowl. Microwave for about 2 minutes. (There may still be little pieces of unmelted butter. That's okay). Stir in 1-2 cups of flour. Then add 1 egg and 1 tbsp salt. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.

In the meantime, dissolve yeast in 2 cups warm water and 1tbsp sugar. Let sit for a couple of minutes until bubbly. Then add to milk mixture (make sure milk mixture is warm, not hot, or it will kill the yeast).

Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir 9-10 cups of flour (including flour already used). At the end, dough will be dense and sticky. If too hard to stir, use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour. Smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place and let is rise, until about double the size (45-60min approx).

Preheat oven to 350.

Once dough has risen, divide dough into four equal balls. One ball at a time, roll the dough into a circle on a floured surface. Once it's rolled out, spread with butter (recipe recommends 2 tbsp per dough ball, I used much less though).

Using a pizza cutter, divide flattened dough into quarters. Then divine each quarter into 3 slices . (12 slices per dough ball.) Roll each slice into crescents, starting with the wide end. Place on a greased cookie sheet (or use a silpat). (Standard cookie sheet should fit 3 rows of 8.)

Place the pan or rolls in a warm place (on top of oven, perhaps) and allow to rise until they look full and are touching. Cook 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Brush warm tops with butter (optional, I did not do this.)


If you want to see more pictures, check out: http://www.howdoesshe.com/delicious-dinner-rolls/

Pasta with Slow-cooker Pork Ragu

(from Real Simple Jan 2013)

Ingredients:
1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder or butt, trimmed and cut in half
3/4 lb fettuccine
parmesan

Instructions:
1. In a crockpot (ideal size: 4-6 quarts), combine carrot, onion, garlic, tomato paste, thyme, oregano, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add tomatoes. add pork and turn to coat.

2. Cover and cook until pork is very tender, on low for 7-8 hrs or high for 5-6 hrs.

3. 20 minutes before serving, cook fettuccine, drain, and return to pot. Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred pork and mix with rest of liquid in the crockpot. Toss the past with the ragu and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.