Chocolate Chocolate Banana Bread

Before I became a stay-at-home-mom, I worked in a business office with it's own cafeteria.  The cafeteria used to make delicious, chocolate chocolate chip muffins people would vie for.  You often felt like you won the lotto if you made it to the cafeteria in the morning and one was left for you!  So, when I came across this recipe, I couldn't help but give it a try!!

This bread is a dense, chocolate, banana infused slice of yummy!  We couldn't get enough of it and the kids really enjoyed slathering on some leftover cream cheese frosting from some cupcakes we made earlier that day! 

This recipe makes 2 - 8x4" loaves, but can easily be split to make a single loaf.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Banana Bread

2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
2/3 Cup Oil
2 1/2 Cups Mashed Banana (approximately 5-6 bananas)
2 Tsp Vanilla
3 Cups Flour
1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Cups ((12 oz bag) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray bottoms of loaf pans.  In medium bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and oil - beat on medium speed until combined.  Slowly beat in mashed banana and vanilla.  In a separate bowl mix together (I use a wire whisk) flour, cocoa, soda, and salt.  On medium speed, beat in flour mixture with banana mixture until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and then divide batter between pans.  Bake for 60-75 minutes - until a toothpick comes out clean from center.  Remove from oven, let cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and finish cooling on wire rack.

Frog Eyed Salad

Summer seems to still be trying to decide if it should show up in our parts, but that hasn't stopped us from having a few picnics already - even if we have to wear pants and sweatshirts!  The name for this salad might mess with a few peoples heads, but it shouldn't deter you from giving it a try!  I've made this fluffy, yummy, fruit salad for years and it's always a hit at picnics, pot-lucks, etc!

Enjoy!

Frog Eyed Salad

1/2 lb Acini Di Pepe Noodles (I buy Creamette which comes in a 1 lb Box)
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Flour
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 - 20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 - 14.5 oz Fruit Cocktail, drained
1 Cup Miniature Marshmallows (or more depending on preference)
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla


Cook acini di pepe per package directions, drain, and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, beat egg until foamy with wire whisk.  Add sugar, flour, salt, and reserved pineapple juice - cook over low heat, stirring often, until thick and bubbly.  In large bowl, mix acini di pepe and egg mixture, cover, and chill thoroughly (at least a hour).  Once chilled, stir in pineapple, fruit cocktail, marshmallows.  In medium bowl, whip heavy cream until it starts to thicken, add sugar and vanilla, then continue to whip until peaks form.  Fold whipped cream into fruit/noodle mixture.  Cover, chill, and stir before serving (sometimes I put a few extra marshmallows or fruit on top for decoration).

Diner Cakes

Have you ever been to a small town diner or cafe and had their pancakes?  You know the ones the fill you up to your toes?!  In these parts, they're always dense, thick, fluffy rounds of yumminess!  Finally, after many failed test batches where the pancakes either spread out too much or fell apart as soon as the syrup hit, I've finally come to the recipe!

Enjoy!

Diner Cakes

1 1/2 Cups Flour
3 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1 Egg
3 Tbsp Butter, melted

In large bowl, whisk (sift) together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in milk, egg, and melted butter - whisk until smooth.  Heat a griddle to 375 degrees or large pan on medium-high heat.  Pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.  Once the cake starts to bubble, flip.  Serve and enjoy!

Dorito Hotdish

This dish is not light and therefore, definitely not diet friendly, but it sure does fill you up in the yummiest way!  Yummy with ground beef or shredded chicken (approximately 2 cups), use whatever cheese your heart desires (I like cheddar), and make it as mild or spicy as your family prefers!

Enjoy!

Dorito Hotdish

1 lb Hamburger, browned & drained
2 Cups Shredded Cheese
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes with Chilies (mild)
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Black Beans, drained
1 Can Corn, drained
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, mix together hamburger, 1 cup cheese, Rotel, soup, beans, corn, milk, sour cream, and taco seasoning.  Spray your baking dish (I use a 9x13 glass pan), take half of the crushed Doritos and spread on the bottom, then layer with 1/2 of the meat mixture, repeat Dorito's and meat mixture, top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.  Cover and bake for 35 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until nice and bubbly.

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Hotdish

Lets just say it...I LOVE HOTDISH!!  I'm a good Lutheran girl from Minnesota and we know our hotdishes (go ahead and call them casseroles or whatever you want in your parts)!  Being from Minnesota also throws in love for wild rice too!  :)

I have been a fan of Picky Palate long before I even decided to become a blogger myself.  She likes to post lots of crazy yummy desserts, cookies, and things of the like, but every now and then she throws out a DELICIOUS dinner gem like this one.  I have been making this for a long time, but was finally able to snap a quick pick (albeit on my iPhone and a bit blurry/grainy) so I could share it with you all!  This always goes over well and I hardly get to enjoy leftovers!

Tips: I buy a rotisserie chicken at Costco (they're usually cheaper than preparing the chicken myself) to make this and usually have enough chicken left over to throw another hotdish in the freezer for later (because it makes a great freezer meal for those busy nights).  You can also buy ready-made rice and use in the recipe (from Trader Joe's or your local grocery like PP suggests in her post).

Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Hotdish

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
3 Stalks of Celery, finely chopped
3 Carrots, peeled & finely chopped
3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced (use up to 2 TSP of minced garlic from the jar)
2 Cups Chicken, cooked & shredded
2 Cups Prepared White Rice
2 Cups Prepared Wild Rice
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Garlic Salt
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (for topping)

Cheese Sauce:
4 Tbsp Butter
1/4 Cup Flour
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Sauté onion, celery, and carrots until soft - approximately 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for additional minute.  Stir in chicken, rices, and seasoning - reduce heat to low.

In another sauce pan - melt butter over medium-high heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper - then slowly whisk in broth.  Continue stirring until nearly boiling and add in cheese until melted.  Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture and transfer to 9x13 baking dish.  Top with additional cheese and bake for 30 minutes (until cheese is melted through).

Smothered Pork Chops

If you love pork chops, you're really going to love these!  They're so moist the meat will fall off the bone when they're done.  Then...THEN there's the yummy sauce on top!  We not only poured ours over our chops, but also our mashed potatoes!  You could even boil up some egg noodles and serve them on the side with the sauce on top!  Did I mention the sauce is delicious?!?  If you think you'll really love it too, go ahead and double that yumminess!

Note: Measurements for breading ingredients are approximate - it may take a little more depending on the size of your chops.  Chicken breasts can be substituted for the pork chops as well.

Enjoy!

Smothered Pork Chops

4-6 Pork Chops
Garlic Powder
Seasoning Salt
2-3 Eggs, Beaten
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Cups Bread Crumbs (I used Panko, but the seasoned Italian breadcrumbs would work too)
Olive Oil
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup White Wine
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season both sides with garlic powder and seasoning salt - set aside.  Set up your breading station: put beaten eggs in shallow bowl, flour on plate, and your bread crumbs in another shallow dish.  Dredge chops in flour, dip lightly in egg, and coat well with bread crumbs.  Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in medium pan over medium-high heat.  Fry chops 5 minutes on each side, until breading is browned (adding oil to pan as needed with subsequent chops).  Transfer chops to 9x13 pan, seal pan with foil, and bake for 1 hour.  While chops are baking; mix together soup, milk, wine, and worcestershire to create sauce.  After chops have baked for 1 hour, cover with sauce mixture, re-seal with foil, and bake another 30 minutes.

Banana Bread

There are probably a 100 million banana bread recipes out there that are ALL good, but I have to share yet another yummy one I happened to make!  In some random google search I came across this recipe and boy am I glad I did!

Tip: I used 2 - 8" loaf pans with perfect results.  You can also add 1 cup of toasted pecans if you wish.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread

1 Cup Butter, softened
2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
3 Cups Flour
2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Salt
2 Cups Banana, mashed (approximately 5 bananas)
2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease loaf pans.  Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt (and pecans if desired) together in bowl - set aside.  In separate bowl,  mash bananas - add sour cream and vanilla until combined.  With stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy (3-5 minutes).  Add eggs, one at a time.  While mixer is running, add banana mixture and mix until just combined.  Stir in flour mixture by hand - making sure any batter on the bottom of the bowl is well incorporated.  Pour batter into prepared bans and bake for approximately 45-60 minutes.  Bread will be golden brown, with toothpick coming clean from the center.  Let bread cool for 20 minutes in pan before turning on wire racks to finish cooling.

Baked Ravioli

This probably doesn't classify as a recipe, but I'm going to share it anyways!  Thanks to pinterest I saw this idea.  I wanted to call is "Lazy Lasagna," but not everyone likes to admit they took the "lazy" way to supper! ;)  My kids went crazy over this dish and it literally took me less than 10 minutes to get in the oven!

Enjoy!

Baked Ravioli

1 Bag Frozen Ravioli (use whatever flavor you prefer - we used beef ravioli)
1 Jar Marinara Sauce
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Spray bottom and sides of 9x13" pan with cooking spray.  Take about 1/2-3/4 Cup of sauce and spread on bottom.  Put a single layer of ravioli over sauce.  Top with 1/2 of the remaining sauce and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.  Repeat layer, starting with ravioli.  Sprinkle very top with parmesan cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for additional 10-15 minutes - until bubbly and hot in the center.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Wee Bit Spicy Chili

I love a good hearty chili!  Especially on a cool fall day and even more so on a wintery day here in Minnesota!  I came across this recipe and after laughing for quite some time decided I must give it a try!  I gave it a few tweaks and love it so!  The green beans are an addition I've never had in chili, but they give it a wonderful depth of flavor.  FYI: as the title states, it is a wee bit spicy, so my kids didn't quite enjoy as much as the adults did.

Enjoy!

Wee Bit Spicy Chili

1 Tsp Basil Leaves
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
3 Tsp Chili Powder
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Ground Cayenne Red Pepper
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Flour
1 - 29 oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 - 15 oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 - 14.5 oz Can Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 - 15 oz Can Light Red Kidney Beans, drained
1 - 15 oz Can White Beans, drained
1 - 14.5 oz Can Cut Green Beans, drained
1 - 14.5 oz Can Corn, drained
2 lbs Ground Beef
1/2 of a Sweet Onion (ie: vidalia), chopped
1/2 of a Green Pepper, chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
Beer

In small bowl, mix together basil, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne red pepper powder, garlic powder, sugar, and flour to make seasoning.  In large pot, dump sauces, tomatoes, beans, and corn - set aside.  In skillet, brown hamburger with onion and garlic.  Add green pepper to hamburger when about 1/2 done and finish browning.  Drain hamburger mixture.  Add hamburger mixture to pot with tomatoes and beans.  Stir in brown sugar and about 1/2 a beer to pot and bring to a boil (enjoy the other 1/2 of the beer).  Once at a boil, cover and turn down to simmer.  Allow to simmer for as long as you've got - remembering to stir occasionally.

Serve with freshly shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, saltines, or whatever is your favorite with chili!

Kinky Malibu Barbie Jello Shots

Just a little bit of adult fun being added to MCC today! :)  These were a big hit at a recent ladies night out event I brought them to! 

Enjoy!

Kinky Malibu Barbie Jello Shots

1 Box Peach Jello
1 Cup Boiling Water
1/2 Cup Kinky Liqueur
1/2 Cup Malibu Coconut Liqueur

Dissolve jello in boiling water, stir in kinky and malibu. Pour into desired shot cups. Chill. Serve.

Tip: 2 ounce condiment cups (usually come with lids like these) are great for preparing these!  I used 3 oz Solo cups and it was a bit much as a single shot.

Disclaimer: This recipe is intended for adults of legal drinking age.  Please do not drink and drive!