Ditchin' the Kitchen

I must apologize for the lack of recipes lately. Thank goodness for a few good guest chefs who kept me going! Anyway, I'm going to have to ditch the kitchen for a while. Actually, haven't made a thing for the past 2.5 months!

I've been busy baking a bun in my own oven if ya know what I mean. Check back in in the next month or two, hopefully I'm back by then.


XOXO,
Heidi

Frosted Banana Bars by Guest Chef Amy

½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (usually about 2 bananas)
1 (16 oz) container cream cheese frosting or from recipe below
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan or two 9 x 13 pans. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream & Cream Cheese frosting (as pictured on the banana bars below)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
In a small chilled bowl with chilled beaters, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

Nutter Butter Cookies by Guest Chef Amy

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup white sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
¾ cup all- purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
Filling:
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup smooth peanut butter
2 ½ Tbsp heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, cream together ½ cup butter, ½ cup peanut butter, white, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and beat will. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet and press each mound down to form ¼ inch thick cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 – 10 minutes.
To make filling, cream butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter and the cream. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.

Breakfast Shortcake by Guest Chef Amy

(Okay so there is no cooking required for this one. But, it is easy and delightfully sensible and filling!)

1 frozen waffle
½ cup flavored yogurt
½ cup honey bunches of oats or granola cereal
Fresh or canned fruit

Toast waffle. Top with yogurt, cereal and fruit. Serve immediately.

Lasagna Style Baked Ziti by Guest Chef Amy

½ lb.dried ziti
16 oz ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella
3 cups spaghetti sauce
½ cup grated parmesan
Italian sausage (optional)
Sautéed vegetables (optional)

Cook ziti until tender, about 8 minutes. Mix cooked ziti with ricotta and ½ of the mozzarella cheese in a large bowl. Grease a 9 x 13 dish. Spread ½ spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the dish. Add ziti mixture and cover with remaining spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on top. Bake @ 350 for 20-30 minutes or until it bubbles on the edges.

***Serve with Guest Chef Amy's Quick Breadsticks

Creamy Bean Soup & Taquito Dippers by Guest Chef Amy

Start to finish: 30 minutes 4 servings

1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup (from 14 oz can) unsweetened coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 package (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix
6 sticks (0.75 oz each) sharp cheddar or chipotle cheddar cheese
1 pkg (10.5 oz) of 12 flour tortillas for tacos & fajitas
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 medium green onions, sliced

Heat oven to 450. Line cookie sheet with foil. In 2-quart saucepan, stir beans, tomatoes, broth, coconut milk, chiles and taco mix; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut each cheese stick in half lengthwise to make 2 thin sticks. Place 1 cheese stick on one edge of each tortilla; roll tortilla tightly around cheese. Brush edges of tortillas with water to seal. Place taquitos, seam sides down, on cookies sheet. Brush each lightly with oil. Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until edges of tortillas are golden brown and cheese is melted. Pour soup into serving bowls; garnish with cilantro or onions. Serve with taquitos for dipping.
**Amy’s notes:
--You can find unsweetened coconut milk in the oriental section of the grocery.
--Instead of prepackaged sticks of cheese, I just bought an 8 oz block and cut into thin strips.
--I had Azteca brand tortillas and Kroger brand tortillas. The Azteca sealed well with water. The Kroger brand wouldn’t stick and I had to secure with a toothpick for heating.

Sausage and Tomato Rigatoni by Guest Chef Amy

4 cups rigatoni pasta, uncooked
1 lb. Italian bulk sausage, cut into chunks
1 medium red onion, sliced
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup Kraft Sun-dried tomato vinaigrette dressing
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, brown sausage in large nonstick skillet; drain. Stir in onions and tomato paste; cover. Cook 15 min. or until onions are tender and sausage is cooed through, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing. Toss sausage mixture with pasta. Sprinkle with parsley and cheese.
Makes 4 two cup servings.

Quick Breadsticks by Guest Chef Amy

(*for picture, see previously posted Chicken Tetrazzini recipe by Guest Chef Amy)
½ Tbsp dry yeast
¾ cup warm water
½ Tbsp powdered milk
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
Butter
Garlic salt
Shredded mozzarella or freshly grated parmesan
Dissolve yeast in water. Add powdered milk, sugar, and salt. Add flour until mixture forms a ball. Knead. Roll out to approximately 8 x 10 inch rectangle (about the size of a sheet of paper). Lay on lightly greased cookie sheet. Using pizza cutter, cut into 1 inch strips but do not separate. Spread with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and cheese. Let rise 15 minutes. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Chicken Tetrazzini by Guest Chef Amy

4 chicken breasts, boiled, cubed
7 oz spaghetti noodles, cooked in chicken borth
1 jar sliced mushrooms
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
¾ stick margarine
8 oz. sour cream
Combine all ingredients and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes.
(Breadsticks in picture will be posted next!)

Banana Crumb Muffins

*stole this one from allrecipes.com. It got rave reviews, and we loved them!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed (I used frozen ones and let them thaw a bit)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.