Banana (Nut) Bread

Banana (Nut) Bread
1/2 c. margarine 2 c. flour
1 c. sugar 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c/ mashed bananas 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. milk 1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp. lemon juice

Cream margarine and sugar. Add the eggs and beat. Add the bananas, milk, and lemon juice. Next sift the dry ingredients and add them in along with the nuts. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a huge nut fan, so I left them out. Bake in a greased loaf pan for an hour at 350. Or make 3 mini loaves and bake them for 30-35 minutes.

Though we've made banana bread before, this was the first time making this recipe. It was great - so use up those old bananas.

Curried Chicken Shepherd's Pie

This chicken recipe was quick, easy and delicious!!! If you don't add too much butter to your mashed potatoes, it is healthy too :)

James was a huge fan of this one. I am always excited when there is meals I can make for Haws and I that James can eat too. This one is a winner and I will plan on making it often.

Curried Chicken Shepherd's Pie

1 lrg. onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

3 TB, butter (you can use less and it still tastes great)

1 c. frozen peas and carrots (I used just peas)

3 TB. all purpose flour

1 tsp. curry powder

1 1/2 c. reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2 c. 2 % milk

2 c. cubed, cooked chicken

2 TB. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 c. mashed potatoes (with milk and butter)

1/4 tsp. paprika

In a large skillet, saute onion and celery in 1 TB butter until tender. Add frozen vegetables and remaining butter; cook 2 min longer. Stir in flour and curry until blended; gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 min. or until thickened. Add the chicken, parsley, salt and pepper. Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish (or 9x13). Top with potatoes; sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie might seem more like a fall or winter dish. But it's been cold here. It definitely doesn't feel like summer is about to begin. Aside from that, I was really wanting chicken pot pie. So I decided to make it for lunch yesterday. Luke (my 4 year old) LOVED it. He was so proud of himself for eating vegetables. So here it is.

Chicken Pot Pie
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
1lb. chicken breast, cubed 1/3 c. flour
1 c. sliced carrots 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. frozen peas 1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. sliced celery 1/4 tsp celery seed
1/3 c. butter 1 3/4 c. chicken broth
1/3 c. chopped onion 2/3 c. milk

Preheat your oven to 425. In a saucepan or pot, combine chicken, carrots, peas and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside. In the saucepan, over medium heat cook the onions until they are soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed (i just used basil because I didn't have celery seed). Slowly stir in the chicken broth and milk, and simmer over medium low heat until it thickens.

I don't like the taste of store bought crusts too much, so I decided if I was going through the effort of making the dish - I might as well make my crust from scratch as well.

I mixed together my chicken mixture and the sauce, but the recipe in the cookbook says to place the chicken and veggies on your bottom crust, then pour the sauce over them. So I guess take your pick. Then cover with your top crust and seal the edges. Make serveral small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Finally bake your pie for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubble. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

It really was delicious. I was surprised at how well the boys (4 and 6) ate it. My one year old is going through a bad eating phase right now, so she just picked at it and made a mess. I was thinking that to try and cut down on the fat, I might try just having a top crust next time. Regardless I was pleased. Good comfort food!

German Pancakes

These pancakes are probably one my favorite breakfast foods. Chase never had them before till we got married and now he request them all the time. Doesn't matter what time of day it is, dinner, lunch, breakfast, he will eat them whenever. They are also so easy to make and a great thing to make for a lot of people! Enjoy!

German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup of milk

1 cup of flour

6 T. of butter

1/2 t of salt

Preheat oven at 400. Put butter in a 9x13 pan and place in oven for butter to melt. This is a must! you want the pan nice and hot when you pour the pancakes into it. Mix together remaining ingredients. Once butter is melted remove and add mixed ingredients and place back in oven for 15-20 min. These pancakes get really big! the bigger the better :) kids love watching it. Enjoy with syrup!

Spaghetti Casserole

This meal was really easy to make and really good! It is Marsha's recipe and I followed almost the whole thing except I used Sun Dried tomato Chicken Sausage from Trader Joe's (pork free with no casings) and just cut it into slices. James loved the zucchini and Haws loved the sausage :)

6 oz. Italian Turkey Sausage, casing removed (or slice up chicken sausage. You can really use what ever meat you like!)

2 small zucchini, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (14.5oz) can stewed tomatoes

3 oz. spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Over medium, heat sausage, zucchini and onion, breaking up with spoon and cooking until zucchini is crisp and tender and sausage is no longer pink. About 10 minutes. Drain juices. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, spaghetti and water. Transfer to prepared casserole dish, covering spaghetti with the liquid. Cover casserole with foil and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and let stand for 5 minutes.

Lasagna

Lasagna
1 lg onion Chopped
2 tsp. crushed garlic
1/4 cup oil (I used about 1/2 T. olive oil)
1 1/2 lbs ground meat and/or sausage
1 T. chopped parsley
1 large can tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 sm. can tomato paste
salt an dpepper
4 bay leaves
2 T. brown sugar

Saute the onion and garlic in oil (or olive oil). Ad the ground beef and parsley and brown. Drain off any fat. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook your lasagna noodles according to the package directions - or get the no boil kind.

Cheese Sauce
1 sm. onion, chopped fine 3 T. flour
4 T. butter 2 c. milk
2 egg yolks 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Cook the onion in butter a few minutes. Then mix in the flour until smooth. Add grated Parmesan cheese and a dash of salt. Gradually stir in the milk, stirring constantly until it is a thick cream. In a seperate bowl, sightly beat the egg yolks. Then mix in a little hot cheese source before adding the eggs to the cheese sauce. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

To assemble the lasagna, layer the noodles in a 9x13 pan. (I put a little tomato sauce under the noodles). Then pour half of the tomato sauce over the noodles, followed by the cheese sauce over that. Repeat the noodles and tomato sauce and cover with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

We thought the lasagna was very yummy. It also wasn't as labor intensive as other lasagnas I've made before. We'll definitely make this one again.

Chicken Tomato Bisque

It rained this week. What is up with rain in the middle of May??? I didn't really mind it, it just was weird. But it did put me in the mood for some soup. I love soup as a main dish. It's healthy, filling and warms you up when you are a little chilly. This soup was delicious! I topped my with some tri-colored tortilla strips. You could serve some warm, crusty bread with it too for the perfect meal.

1 TB. olive oil

1 carrot chopped

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 c. flour

1 (28oz) can whole tomatoes or diced with juice

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. chopped oregano

1/4 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. salt

2 c. shredded, cooked chicken breast

Heat pot over med-high heat, combine oil, carrot, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are soft (6-8 min). Stir in flour until vegetables are all coated. Add tomatoes, broth nd 1/2 tsp. oregano, stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 min. Working in small batches, puree soup in blender or food processor and then transfer back into pot. Stir in chicken, cream and salt and heat through. Season to taste with pepper and garnish with remaining oregano.