Coconut oatmeal cookies

2 cubes butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups quick oatmeal

1 bag mini chocolate chips (regular works too)

1 cup coconut

*Cream butter and sugars. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Mix well, then add oatmeal, chocolate chips and coconut. Drop onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Banana Coconut Muffins

1/3 c. Sugar
1/3 c. Olive oil
1/3 c. Honey
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. Bananas, mashed
1 c. Sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add wet ingredients to flour, add bananas. Beat until smooth. Stir in coconut. Fill muffin liners or tins to the top. Bake muffins 25 minutes.

Blueberry muffins

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup softened shortening or butter (I used butter)
1 cup fresh blueberries

Topping
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 T lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs, milk and shortening (or butter). Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in blueberries gently. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Combine butter and lemon juice for the topping. While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice, then dip in sugar. Makes 12 muffins.

Chicken Enchilada Bake

1/2 cup mild green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/3 cup salsa verde, mild
6 white corn tortillas broken into 1 inch pieces
1 cups cooked chicken or turkey breast
1/2 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place enchilada sauce, sour cream and salsa into prepared baking sheet. Stir until well combined.
3. Stir in broken tortillas, chicken or turkey and black beans. Stir to combine and top evenly with cheese.
4. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until cheese is hot and melted. Serve with chips and salsa if desired.

Ritz Chicken


3 chicken breasts
6 T butter, melted 
1 pack of Ritz crackers
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown chicken breasts and partially cook. Place Ritz crackers in food processor or Ziploc bag and crush. Mix melted butter and Ritz crumbs together in a bowl. Place half of the cracker mixture on the bottom of 8x8 baking dish. Place chicken on top. Mix cream of chicken soup, broth, and sour cream together in a bowl and pour over chicken. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top of chicken. Bake 1 hour. 

Hearty Cheesy Potato Soup 


4 1/2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 1/2 cup water
1 large carrot, sliced (I use petite baby carrots)
1/2 onion, diced
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 1/4 cups milk 
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
3/4 pound (12 OZ) Velveeta, cubed (I use the Great Value Cheesy melt Walmart brand)


In a large stock pot, combine the potatoes, water, carrots, onion, and bouillon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add 1 1/4 cup on the milk to the vegetable mixture.In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk until smooth. Slowly add the flour/milk mixture into vegetable mixture while stirring. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.Reduce heat to low; stir in salt, pepper, and cheese until cheese is melted.

Paula Deen's Yogurt Pops

Ingredients

• 3 (8-ounce) cartons yogurt, any 3 different flavors, divided
• 3/4 cup orange juice, divided
• 3 tablespoons honey, divided
• 9 (3-ounce) paper cups
• 9 wooden pop sticks

Directions

In 3 separate bowls, stir together 1 carton yogurt, 1/4 cup orange juice, and 1 tablespoon honey. Pour each mixture into paper cups, filling about 3/4 full. Put these in a cake pan to keep them steady. Put the pan in the freezer. Check on the yogurt cups in about 1 hour. When they have begun to freeze, stick a pop stick in the center of each cup. Return to the freezer for 3 more hours. When they are ready to eat, just peel off the paper cup. You can just freeze the yogurt in the cup with no stick and eat it with a spoon, like and Italian ice. Let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, before you start eating, so it's not so hard.

Corn Chowder in the Slow Cooker

2 (14.75 oz) cans creamed corn
1 (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 1/2 cups milk
1 c. diced ham
2 c. frozen southern style hash browns (the cubed ones) OR 3 russet potatoes cubed
2 T. butter
1/2 c. onion (I use 2 T. dried chopped onion)
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese (optional)



Place creamed corn, cream of mushroom soup, and milk in a crock pot.  Whisk until soup is well blended into the mixture.
Add remaining ingredients to crock pot and stir well.
Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, stirring occasionally.  You can add more milk if needed when finished cooking to reach desired thickness.

Disneyland Cornbread 

(Disneyland cornbread tastes like little cakes. It's one of my favorite things there. This recipe is halved from the original I found.) 

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 c. water

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. pastry flour

1/4 c. powdered milk

1 T. baking powder 

1/2 T. salt

1/2 T. vanilla

1/2 c. yellow cornmeal

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9X13" baking pan. Set aside. In a large bowl blend together oil, sugar and eggs for two minutes. Add 2 cups of the water and mix until blended with sugar mixture. Add flours, powdered milk, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Mix ten minutes al low speed. Add remaining 1/2 cup water and cornmeal. Mix five minutes more. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and tester comes out clean. Serve with Honey Butter.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used the kind with sweet onion in it)
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper (I used red, which is my favorite pepper)
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce (I used mild)
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese (4 ounces)
2 chicken breasts

In a 3 1/2 to 5 quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker.Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup. Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. Can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips. Note: if the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it’s all cooked.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread 

1/3-1/2 cup applesauce 

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup mashed bananas (3 ripe)

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup hot water

*Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix applesauce and honey. Add eggs and mix well. Add bananas and vanilla. Mix well, then add flour, salt, soda and hot water. Pour into greased bread pans and bake. Cool on wire rack before slicing. 

Healthy Honey Banana Muffins 

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. round nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
6 T. honey

Ina large bowl combine the first 5 ingredients. Combine the eggs, banana, applesauce and honey; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray;fill two-thirds full with batter. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

Base:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Topping:

1 cup chocolate chips

Melt butter in saucepan on stove.  When melted, remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar.  Stir until smooth.  Add peanut butter and crumbs and mix well.  Pour into an 8x8 pan lined with foil and greased.  Melt chocolate chips and pour over peanut butter base.  Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes until chocolate has hardened.  Cut and serve.

Cream Cheese Chicken Soup from Mel's kitchen

*Hot Tip: this recipe calls for already cooked chicken. I usually cook the chicken breasts in the crockpot with a little chicken broth the morning I make this soup, but you could also go ahead and cook the chicken in the first step with the onions and other vegetables that cook together.

*Serves 4

2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
3 cups chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I like to leave the peels on red potatoes, if using them)
1 cup milk (1% is my milk of choice)
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Lemon, mustard and avocado potato salad
serves two as a side

1 overflowing handful of new potatoes, scrubbed. Use the freshest ones you can find!
juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp salt + freshly ground black pepper
twice as much extra virgin olive oil as lemon juice (best oil you can get – it should come out green-yellow. It won’t taste olive-y in the final dish still)
1/2 tsp mustard (dijon or wholegrain)
optional but highly recommended: 1 “leaf?” spring onion (the green bit), very finely chopped
1 small ripe avocado
1 handful of baby spinach and arugula/rocket, or mesclun mix. Arugula is wickedly good in this.
Chop potatoes into even sizes, so that no side is longer than 3cm (about 1 1/4″). Cover with cold water in an appropriately sized pot and put on medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium low and let simmer at least 5 minutes or until a small sharp knife inserted receives very little resistance (if when you knife the potato it has to push other potatoes out of the way, you’re definitely not done yet!). Drain and immerse in cold water for a minute before draining again and letting potatoes dry out for minute (leave pot uncovered).
While potatoes are cooking, whisk all other ingredients except avocado and salad greens together in your serving bowl (with a whisk or fork). It should thicken and the oil should be totally incorporated with the lemon juice. Halve avocado, scoop out chunks of the flesh and stir into the dressing. The avocado doesn’t have to keep its shape. Add the dried potatoes to the bowl along with the salad greens (or add at the last minute if leaving overnight) and stir everything together. Cover and refrigerate if serving later.

Pineapple Pie 


FOR THE PIE:
¾ cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 whole Eggs (separated)
⅓ cups Cornstarch
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
½ cups Plus 2 Tablespoons Of Water
8 ounces, weight Canned Crushed Pineapple
1 whole 9-inch Pre-baked Pie Crust

FOR THE MERINGUE:
2 whole Egg Whites (from Separated Eggs Above)
⅛ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
6 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla

For the pie, cream sugar, butter, and egg yolks in a saucepan. Add cornstarch and vanilla. Add water and crushed pineapple. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick. Pour into a 9″ baked pastry.
For the meringue, whip egg whites until they begin to get foamy. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to whip until the meringue has reached soft peak stage and is smooth and glossy. Place the meringue over the cooled pie. Brown at 400ºF for just a few minutes. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Tastes great warm or cold.

WHITE CHOCOLATE & BUTTERSCOTCH CHIP COOKIESINGREDIENTS:1 c. sugar1 c. brown sugar1/2 c. butter (softened)1/2 c. oil2 eggs1 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. salt1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. vanilla1 tsp. almond extract3 cups flour1/2 bag of  butterscotch chips1/2 bag of white chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:Cream together sugars, butter and oil.Add eggs and beat until fluffy.Add dry ingredients as well as vanilla and almond extract.Mix in chips.Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes.

Chocolate Boxes with Chocolate Creme' and Raspberries (pic from April 2007 when Curt and I made these together. They are so fun and very easy to make. They look super fancy and too pretty to eat.) 


For chocolate boxes:
1 pound dark chocolate (460g), melted
For chocolate creme':
2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 T cornstarch 
3 T flour
8 oz. dark chocolate melted 
12 oz. fresh raspberries 

CHOCOLATE BOXES:

1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Pour all but 3 tablespoons/50 ml of the melted chocolate over the sheet of parchment paper, spreading the chocolate into a 14x11-inch/36x28-cm rectangle.  Refrigerate until the chocolate is almost set, about 10 minutes.  Using a ruler and a small sharp knife, cut twelve 2½-inch/6.5-cm squares from the chocolate. Return to the refrigerator and chill until the squares are firm.
2. Using 4 chocolate squares to form the walls of each box, assemble the chocolate boxes, spreading the reserved 3 tablespoons/45 ml of melted chocolate along the edges of the squares to help "glue" the edges together.  Refrigerate the boxes until the "glue" has dried and you are ready to serve.

CHOCOLATE CRÈME:

1. In a heavy medium sauce pan, bring the milk to a near boil over medium-high heat.  In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar with a whisk for approximately 2 minutes, or until pale and thick.  Whisk the flour and cornstarch into the yolk mixture.  Gradually pour the hot milk over the yolk mixture whilst whisking constantly.
2. Return the milk mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat while whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 8 minutes.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Whisk in the melted chocolate.  Transfer the chocolate crème to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the chocolate crème on high speed until cool, about 10 minutes.  Cover and refrigerate the chocolate crème until it is cold. Place the chocolate boxes on plates.  Spoon the chocolate crème into the chocolate boxes.  Top with the raspberries and serve.

Sweet Potato Casserole 

Crust Topping

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans preferred)

1/3 stick butter, melted

Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.

Sweet Potato Mixture

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture.

Pour mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. (At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated.)

Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to oven for 10 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.

The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy.

Banana Cream Pie 


2 regular sized graham cracker crusts or 1 large one
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1 cup cold water
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 bananas
1 pint whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar

Mix pudding, water and condensed milk in a bowl until smooth. Put in fridge to chill for a few minutes. Meanwhile, whip 1 cup of whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add to pudding mixture and mix well. Slice bananas onto bottom of crust or crusts. Divide pudding mixture between the 2 crusts and pour over bananas. Whip rest of whipping cream and add 1/2 cup of sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over pies. Chill in fridge for a few hours until ready to serve.

Fast Greek Gyros 


FOR THE GYRO FILLING:½ Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 ounces, weight Sliced Deli Roast Beef
2 dashes oregano
2 dashes Lemon Pepper
1 dash cumin
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, Divided
3 dashes Black Pepper
_____
FOR THE TZATZIKI SAUCE:1 whole Cucumber, Divided Use
1 container 8oz Greek Yogurt
½ whole Red Onion, Divided Use
2 dashes fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoons Dill
½ teaspoons Garlic Salt
_____
FOR ASSEMBLY:2 slices Naan Bread Or Any Flatbread
1 whole Tomato, Sliced
2 ounces, weight Feta Cheese, Diced
6 ounces, weight Canned Black Olives Sliced

For gyro filling:

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add beef, worcestershire sauce, a dash of lemon pepper, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, black pepper, and heat the beef. Let it sit on low heat while tzatziki sauce is prepared.

For Tzatziki sauce:
Finely dice half of the cucumber and combine with yogurt, 1/4 of the red onion finely diced, vinegar, and all remaining seasonings.

Spray your flatbread with cooking spray and put it under the broiler until it is soft and warmed through. Fill it with a generous amount of roast beef, followed by lots of tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, tomato, cucumber, and black olives.