Banana Cream Pie

                                  
                                                      Recipe courtesy of taste of home
Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups cold fat-free milk
• 1 package (1oz) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/3 cup fat free sour cream
• 1.5 cartons (8oz ea) frozen reduced-fat  whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 3 medium firm bananas, sliced
• 1 reduced-fat graham cracker crust (9 inches) or make your own like I did.

Directions:
1. In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 min. or until slightly thickened. Add sour cream; mix well. Fold in half container whipped topping.

2. Place half of the banana slices in the crust; top with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat the layers. Spread with the remaining whipped topping. (I used one whole container) Refirgerate for 4-6 hours before serving. (pie will be soft set) Refrigerate left overs.

Chicken with mushroom sauce and green bean casserole

                                     

Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients:

• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup fat free milk
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced and sparated into rings
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a cmall bowl, combine cornstarch and milk until smooth; set aside. Flatten chicken to 1/4 in thickness. In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, or until juices run clear. (I am super picky about my chicken so I actually boil it first until it is cooked and then brown on each side). Remove and keep warm.

2. In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Stir in the broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken and serve.

                                        
                                                              recipe courtesy taste of home

Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:

• 1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom or celery soup
• 1 cup (8oz) reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 package (16 oz) fozen green beans
• 1/4 cup crushed ritz crackers or those dried onion things (Ha!Ha! I forget what they're called)

Directions:
1. in a large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, cheese and onion. Stir in the beans. Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.

2. Uncover; sprinkle cracker cumbs or dried onions around the edges. Spritz several times with spray. Bake 10-15min. longer or until heated through and edges are lightly browned.
                                         
                                                       recipe inspired by taste of home: guilt free cooking

Stuffed Pork Chops with Corn Bake

                                   

Stuffed Pork Chops
Ingredients:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
• 1/2 cup stuffing croutons
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 (1-inch thick) boneless pork loin chops (I used 4 smaller and had plenty of stuffing with some left over)
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Directions

1. In a skillet, saute celery and onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender. Transfer to a bowl. Add croutons, milk, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Cut a pocket in each pork chop; fill with stuffing.
2. In a skillet, brown chops in remaining butter. Transfer to a greased 9-in. square baking dish. pour broth into dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minute or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Remove chops and keep warm.
3. Pour the pan drippings into a saucepan; bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into drippings. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with the pork chops.

I opted not to make the gravy because I didn't make mashed potatoes and decided I didn't want it over the pork chops today. Still turned out delicious! I also used toothpicks to hold my pork chops shut because mine were on the smaller side.

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Corn bake
Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 3 Tbs sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (8oz) reduced fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 can (15-1/4  oz) whole kernel corn, undrained
• 1 can (14-3/4 oz) cream-style corn

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In a small bowl, whishk the egg, sour cream, applesauce and butter. Stir in corn. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Transfer to a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.


2. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers. (I froze mine in individual servings).

recipe courtesy taste of home

Frugal Birthday Cakes!

Having five boys and my hubby makes six birthdays that I need to prepare for. My oldest doesn't like cake so I always make him a cookie cake. My other boys get to pick the kind of cake they want. Some of them have been easy and some complex. Some of what they have chosen have been soccer ball, football, pirate ship and a fish. Also if they want something they see in the store often times you can buy the kit at the store. I know walmart has them for sale for $6.50ea. And you may even be able to find simlar things that they use at a dollar store because often it's something plastic that they simply stick on the cake. And, let's face it, store bought cakes can be expensive running $15 or more! The cake I made was $18.  Up next is my 7yr olds birthday on Tuesday. He wanted a Steelers cake. I went to Walmart to get ideas and snapped a picture of the cake they had in their cake book and bought the kit. (I am no artist!)


So first N wanted chocolate cake so here is the recipe. I got this from Family Fun awhile back and have made some adjustments. Also if you are planning on decorating the whole thing and not just the top (like I did below) you can line your pan with foil and then spray and flour. It makes it so much easier to invert onto a tray.


Chocolate Cake

Ingredients :

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350º. Grease and flour 13x9inch pan and se aside. In a microwave-safe liquid measuring cup, measure 1 1/2 cups water. Add the unsweetened chocolate squares to the water. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring after 1 1/2 minutes or until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the cocoa and set the mixture aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for 1 minute; add the granulated and brown sugars and cream for another 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs individually, beating well after each one. Beat in the vanilla extract.
3.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beginning with about a third of the flour, add the flour mixture and chocolate mixture alternately to the butter and sugar, stirring well after each addition.
4. Pour the batter into the pan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Place the pans on the middle oven rack and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
5. Let the cakes cool in the pan. Then place a cooling rack atop each pan and, holding the edges to the pan, flip the cake onto the rack. Cool completely before frosting.

 Next up is the decorating. You can make your own frosting, and sometimes I do but there was a good sale on frosting so I used some betty crocker today. First I used food coloring to tint it green since I was doing a football field. The crumb coating helps get the crumbs under control so when you put on the top layer you don't have bits of crumbs on your finished product. And I just use a butterknife sprayed with cooking spray. I've tried frosting things but I prefer a knife. Here's the crumb coat:

Next up I mixed up another batch of green frosting for the top layer. I proceeded to frost the cake again and I then piped around the edges. I don't have any fancy equipment for this. I simply use Betty Crocker cupcake frosting. You could by some tips, put frosting in a ziploc bag, and do it that way. Some day I want too but this is easy and with the right coupons and sales, super cheap! I also washed a ruler and used it to make straight lines for the yardline markers:


Next I piped on the yardline markers and added the cake kit I bought which finished off the cake. You could add happy birthday as well if you wanted to.

The orginal cake at walmart looked like this: (forgive the picture of a picture on my phone!)


You can see it's not exactly the same but it doesn't need to be. I think it turned out pretty good! I made this for $10 which saved me $8.

Microwave homemade potato chips

A couple of weeks ago we were having some people over for dinner and at the last minute I decided I needed something to go with our meatball subs. Hubby suggested homemade potato chips and I came across a fabulous recipe on allrecipes.com. You use your microwave and these turned out so yummy!

Microwave homemade potato chips
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 potato, sliced paper thin (peel optional) I used my mandoline from Pampered Chef
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Directions
1.Pour the vegetable oil into a plastic bag. Add the potato slices, and shake to coat.
2.Coat a large dinner plate lightly with oil or cooking spray. Arrange potato slices in a single layer on the dish.
3.Cook in the microwave for 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly browned (if not browned, they will not become crisp). Times will vary depending on the power of your microwave. Remove chips from plate, and toss with salt (or other seasonings). Let cool. Repeat process with the remaining potato slices. You will not need to keep oiling the plate.

My first round took about 7 minutes and after the plate got hot (CAUTION: mine got extremely hot!) it didn't take as long. They were delicious with homemade french onion dip!

Homemade French Onion Dip
Ingredients:
1 packet onion soup mix
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Refrigerate 1hr before serving.


I served mine with veggies:

Cheesy Potato Soup

OK, I know it's been AGES since I last posted. I promise I have cooked for my family. Once I got sick with the flu I was down and I just have been getting things back to normal. (Yes it took a month!) When mom is out for 5 days things go downhill fast! I have tons of recipes and pictures to post.

Cheesy Potato Soup

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

4 cups water

8 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 Cup cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/3 cups milk

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions and celery in the butter for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender.
2. Stir in the water and potatoes, bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the flour and the milk and stir well until the flour is mostly dissolved. Pour this into the soup slowly, stirring constantly, until soup has thickened, about 5 minutes.
4.  Slowly add the cheese and mix until melted. You can also use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes to thicken it as well. 

Beef Fajitas with homemade salsa!

Beef Fajitas
Ingredients:
1 pound sandwhich steak cut into strips
4 Tbs canola oil
2 tsp  ground cumin
2 tsp ground garlic powder
salt
1 green bell pepper
1/2 onion
8 burrito size flour or wheat tortillas
homemade salsa (recipe follows!)


Directions:
In a medium bowl, toss the beef strips with the oil, ground cumin, garlic powder and salt. Let marinatee for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.


Remove the stem and seeds from thebell pepper, and thinkly slice the pepper length wise. Peel the half onion and thinkly slice in half-moons.


In a large skillet over high heat, saute the marinated beef steak strips, with thinkly sliced bell pepper and onion until the beef strips have cooked through (aprox. 8 minutes) and until the peppers and onions have softened.  I actually cooked my peppers and onions a bit first, took them out and cooked the meat until almost done and then put everything back in together.


Warm the tortillas and build you fajita! You can use whatever you like. I like sour cream or salsa or even guacamole.




Homemade Salsa
Ingredients:
3 medium tomatoes, peeled. (if you put them in almost boiling water for a few minutes the skin should slide right off!)
1/4 onion, chopped
1 jalpeno pepper seeded, chopped (if you want hot)
or 1 green mild chili pepper, chopped (for mild)
or 1 green mild chili pepper, chopped and 1/4 jalpeno pepper chopped (for medium)
If peppers are out of season you can use one of those small cans of jalpenos (in the mexican food section usually) for hot, a small can of green chilis for mild (again mexican food sections) or one small can of green chilis and one tsp of jalpenos from can for medium.
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt


Directions:
In food processor (or blender if you don't have one. I used a blender), combine all ingredients. Cover and process until chunky. It won't take long! It took me maybe 3-4 pulses on the blender. Serve with tortilla chips or on your fajita!