Banana Nut Blondies

Good way to use up those remaining bananas that are slightly past their prime.  Once you taste these little delicacies, you may end up buying more bananas than you need just as an excuse to make them. Use the type of nut that you like best.  I prefer the taste of black walnuts, but pecans work nicely too. 

3 C. All-purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Baking Soda
½ tsp. Salt
½ C. Butter, softened
3 ripe Bananas, mashed
1 ½ C. Brown Sugar
½ C. White Sugar
2 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp. Vanilla
1 C. Nuts

Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan. Whisk dry ingredients together. Set aside. In separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until well combined. Add banana, eggs and vanilla. Beat until well incorporated. Add dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Stir in nuts. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the Blondies comes out dry. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

It’s been a tough battle, but I finally have my husband eating ground chicken.  Don’t understand why he put up a fuss with this when he doesn’t have a problem with other ground meat,( i.e. pork).  Just another little mystery of life. J  Add as much hot sauce as you want.  I like to use Texas Pete Buffalo Wing Sauce.

1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
½ Onion, chopped
1 C. Carrots, diced
1 lb. Ground Chicken
8 oz. Tomato Sauce
¼ - ½ C. Hot Sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
½ tsp. Celery Seed

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion, carrot and celery seed until softened. Add ground chicken. Cook until browned and cooked through, breaking up into small pieces. Stir in tomato sauce and Worcestershire. Simmer on low until thick. Serve on buns or over rice.

Red Curry Beef

One of the best curry dishes I’ve tasted outside of an authentic meal.  Don’t be afraid of the pungent aromas of the fish sauce.  It has a very strong unique smell, but tastes like heaven when it has time to incorporate with the dish and mellow out, and a necessary ingredient for the dish.

2 Pd. Cubed beef
1 lg. Onion, minced
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. Fish Sauce
15 oz. Coconut Milk
2 C. Baby Spinach, rough chopped
1 C. Beef Broth
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 ½ Tbsp. Red Curry Paste
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
Fresh Basil leaves, chopped

In a crockpot, combine broth, fish sauce, coconut milk, brown sugar, curry and lime. In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Cook beef in batches until browned. Place in slow cooker. Saute onions and garlic in skillet until translucent and tender adding more oil if necessary. Place in the crockpot. Stir to evenly coat the beef with the liquid mixture. Cook on low for about 8 hours or until the beef is tender. Add spinach. Cook about another hour until spinach is wilted. Serve with jasmine rice. Sprinkle with basil if desired.

Meatball Tortellini Soup

When the temperature drops, there’s nothing like curling up on the couch with a bowl of hot, comforting soup.  This one fits the bill.  As an extra bonus, this soup is pretty healthy and great as a leftover meal the next day.  Add extra heat with the red pepper flakes.  If you are not a fan of ‘heat’ in your foods, than leave that ingredient out altogether. 

Meatball:
½ Pd. Hamburger
¼ C. Parmesan, grated
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. Parsley, minced
1 Egg, beaten

Soup:
¼ C. Parsley, minced
1 tsp. Celery Seed
2 Carrots, diced
1 Onion, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 C. Spinach, chopped
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
6 C. Beef Broth
16 oz. Cheese Tortellini
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Vegetable Oil

Combine all ingredients for meatballs. Season with salt and black pepper. Form into balls. Heat oil in stock pot. Fry meatballs in batches until cooked through. Set aside. Add more oil if necessary to the pot. Add carrots, onions, garlic. Saute until softened. Add spinach. Cook about 5 minutes until wilted. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Add meatballs, parsley and tortellini. Simmer until tortellini float to the top and meatballs are heated through. Season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Chipotle Turkey Chili

Is this a soup or a chili?  I don’t really know, but I do know that it tastes really good.  Especially on a cold day.  I like to have corn bread with this, but cheese quesadillas are also nice.  Don’t confuse the chipotle Mexican cooking sauce with the can of chipotles in sauce.  The latter is much stronger in taste.  The chipotle sauce I like is made by Herdez.

 

 

1 Pd. Ground Turkey

1 Onion, minced

4 oz. Green Chilis

1 C. Chipotle Mexican Cooking Sauce

15 oz. Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ C. Frozen Corn

15 oz. Diced Tomatoes

4 C. Chicken Broth

8 oz. Sour Cream

Vegetable Oil

 

Saute onion in vegetable oil over medium-low heat until softened and translucent. Add ground turkey and chilis. Cook until completely done breaking up into small pieces. Add remaining ingredients except the sour cream. Simmer on low for about an hour to let the flavors develop. Stir in sour cream. Heat through. Serve with lime and/or cilantro if desired.

Sticky Cranberry Sweet Rolls

A great recipe to use up the leftover cranberry sauce from the holidays.  Make sure the sauce is of good quality, since it is the foremost taste of these rolls.  The glaze makes these rolls super sticky.

2 ½ C. Flour
1 ½ tsp. Yeast
½ tsp. Salt
1/3 C. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 Egg
½ C. Milk
1 C. Cranberry Sauce
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Orange

In bowl combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar. In separate bowl, combine butter and egg. Beat until light in color. Add milk. Make a well in the flour mixture. Add the liquid. Stir until dough comes together, adding more milk if needed. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Place in bowl and lightly coat all sides with oil. Cover and let rise until doubled. In bowl combine cranberry sauce and cinnamon. Set aside. On floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about half an inch thick. Spread the sauce mixture evenly across the dough. Zest the orange over the sauce. Roll the dough into a log. Cut the log into 1 ½ inch slices. Spray a 9 x 13 glass pan with non-stick spray. Arrange rolls in pan, spacing evenly. Cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour. Pre heat oven to 375. Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly browned. Brush with glaze.

Glaze
½ C. fresh squeezed Orange Juice
½ C. Sugar
¼ tsp. Vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low medium heat. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to boil, then simmer until glaze is slightly thickened, about 7 – 10 minutes. Let cool.

Hickory Nut Cake

This recipe came from my grandmother Cozeta Webb and is one of my favorite cakes.  The hickory nuts were collected from our farm but just about any nut could be substituted.  My husband likes this made with black walnuts.  The icing is a bit touchy to make but is well worth the effort.  Follow the boil times exactly.  If you cook it too long then the icing will be crumbly, not long enough and it will not set up.  The taste however, is better than anything you could buy from the store.  If you find that you overcooked it slightly, then taking it off the heat and whisking in a little bit more milk might save it.  This will make one 9 x 13 sheet cake or 2 round 9 inch pans.  

2 C. Sugar
2/3 C. Butter, softened
3 Eggs
2 ½ C. Flour
1 C. Hickory nut pieces
1/8 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 C. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with mixer until light in color. Add eggs one at a time. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture alternating with the milk. Mix well after each addition. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Pour in greased and floured pans. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes or until done .

Frosting

½ C. Butter
1 C. packed Brown Sugar
2 C. Powdered Sugar
¼ C. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla
½ C. Hickory nut pieces

Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar. Boil 2 minutes. Add milk. Bring to boil, then remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add nuts.