Banana Cream Pie

I've been asked to share my banana cream pie recipe a few times recently, which meant I actually have to write it down.  So here it goes:

Kendra's Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients:
Pie crust (graham cracker crust or pie pastry- whichever you prefer)
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1 cup powder sugar
8 oz container Whip cream
1 tsp vanilla
4 oz box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
2 bananas

Prepare the crust.  If using a pie pastry, cook and cool completely.
Cream filling:
In mixer take room temperature cream cheese, whip.  Add the powdered sugar, mix until combined.  Add the vanilla.
In a separate small bowl mix together the pudding mix and the milk.  Stir until smooth.  Add to the cream cheese mixture and mix until combined.
Stir in ¾ of the tub of the Whip Cream.
Slice the banana into the crust, move it around so it covers the bottom evenly.  Cover with the cream cheese mixture.  Spread the rest of the Whip Cream on top.
Enjoy!

Fresh Seedless Raspberry Syrup

24 cartons raspberries
4 boxes Sure-Jell pectin
10 1/2 cups sugar

Go to the store when raspberries go on sale 4/$5. Buy the entire display. Be soooo excited about how you are going to make the most delicious seedless raspberry freezer JAM, that you will enjoy all year long ... until raspberries go back on sale 4/$5 again next year.

Proceed to make your jam. Painstakingly run your pureed raspberries through a small sieve strainer. This will take awhile. You might work up a sweat. But, remember how delicious your raspberry jam will taste in the middle of January when fresh raspberries can't be found anywhere.

Then, and this is the important part:

Follow the recipe on the sheet in the Sure-Jell box. Follow this recipe to a tee. Except, screw up the math and only add 1/2 the sugar you need. Don't beat yourself up. You were an Art Major, not a mathematician.

And then, but only if you screw up your math, you will end up with 12 pints (that's 24 cups!!!) of the absolute most delicious fresh seedless raspberry syrup.

Panic.

Then, get over it.

And realize that ... Christmas is around the corner ... and raspberry syrup will make a great gift! Tastes great on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, in smoothies ... the possibilities are endless! Come Christmastime, you'll be everyone's favorite friend. (Just, please keep it in the freezer until Christmastime ... otherwise, you can kiss all of your friends goodbye.)

And, come Christmastime, you'll forget all about the time, energy, and love you put into making that most wonderful jam that never was.

You're welcome.

Mouth Puckering Lemon Bars

I promise you that these will be the best lemon bars you ever make yourself. I promise.

And, you're going to love me because they are stupid easy. Here's the secret:

Here is the recipe:
1 box Betty Crocker Sunkist Lemon Bars mix
1/3 cup lemon juice (does not have to be fresh squeezed)
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*. Prepare bars according to the box, substituting lemon juice for the water. You won't be sorry. I promise.

Oh yeah ... sprinkle them with powdered sugar so that people think you slaved over them. :D

Did I mention ... I promise? Mmmmmmm.

Straight and Narrow Banana Cookies

The mother of one of my friends in high school made these for all the teenage gatherings at her house, which apparently kept all of us on the right path. I don't know if all that's true but I do know they were good. My cookies were tested on about 6 adults and 10 children...and everyone liked them. Worth giving them a try!

Ingredients:
2.5 cups flour
1.5 tsp. bk.pwd.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. bk.soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Mix and set aside

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup mashed banana (aprox. 2.5 bananas)
1 pkg. choc. chips

Mix butter and sugar 'til fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Alternate dry ingredients and mashed banana. Stir in choc. chips. 350, 10 mins. (I had to bake mine longer.)

Frosting:
2 tb. butter
1/4 cup mashed banana (aprox. 1/2 banana)
2 cups pwd. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whip until smooth. Frost cooled cookies.

Kickin' Black Bean Soup

1 ham bone
2 cups chopped carrots
3 cans black beans (do not drain)
1 medium onion
2 TBS chili powder
salt & pepper to taste

Boil ham bone in 3 cups water for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from pot. Add carrots; cook 10 minutes. Add onion; cook 10 more minutes. *In the meantime, pull ham meat from bone and cut into bite size pieces.* Add beans, including the juices. Add chili powder. Return ham (without bone) to pot. Stir well. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste. My kids love this.

* I wouldn't recommend using a glazed ham bone ... the flavor would throw everything off.

Apricot Chicken

1 pkg onion soup mix
1 8oz bottle Russian dressing
10 oz apricot preserves
2.5 lbs boneless chicken (breasts, thighs, tenders - whatever)
Cooked sticky rice (I like the Calrose Botan brand -- white bag, red flower)

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Dump soup mix, dressing, and preserves into dish. Whisk together well. Add chicken (I recommend cutting the breasts into smaller {tender size} pieces). Stir to coat the chicken. Cover with foil. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken pieces). Serve over a bed of sticky (sushi) rice.

** This is delicious. Perfect sweet and savory. WAY better than any sweet and sour chicken I've ever had ... and tons healthier! Enjoy.

Oh yeah. And both of my kids LOVE this dish. Can't get enough of it. Sometimes, I add carrots to the dish and bake them with everything else. Yum.

Hamburger Soup

I made this last night for dinner. It was really, really yummy. I seasoned my beef quite a bit, which I think made all the difference. I also added potatoes (not included in the original recipe), which made it a very hearty soup. Oh and since I didn't have any canned tomatoes, I used fresh tomatoes and added an extra cup of water. Probably could go either way.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2-3 cups diced potatoes
6 cubes beef bouillon
5 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt (I used Kosher)
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons ketchup

In a medium skillet, brown hamburger over medium heat. Be sure to season with salt and pepper. Drain off fat. Combine beef, carrots, celery, onions, bouillon, water, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, salt, corn, basil, and ketchup in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours.