Banana Bread

One more to add to the bread category is the banana bread that my mom makes that is so good. Most of the recipes that I have and make are from my mom. I am so grateful for her cooking and learning how to cook as well.

Ingredients

1 3/4 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/3 c cooking oil

2/3 c sugar

2 eggs

1 c mashed ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)

Instructions

Mash bananas in a bowl. Mix them with the other ingredients in an electric mixer and mix in on medium. Pour into greased loaf pans and bake on 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. If desired you could add chocolate chips to the recipe as well.

Lasagna

One dish that I still love to this day when my mom makes it is her lasagna. It is so good and home made, which makes it even better. This would go in the casserole category. The lasagna noodles that are used can be either normal white noodles or wheat noodles. Both taste good but my family uses the wheat ones.

Ingredients

1 lb hamburger (ground)

1 bottle of Ragu Robusto (Romano and Parmesan)

1 container of Cottage Cheese

2 c. Colby Jack cheese mix

1 pkg of wheat lasagna noodles

Instructions

Brown the hamburger. After browning the meat mix with sauce, cottage cheese and cheese together. Place lasagna noodles in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Layer that with the mixture of cheese, sauce and meat. Place down more noodles, and continues layer with sauce. Pour water over the top and let it run down the sides.

Cover with aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and cook for another 1/2 hour.

Chinese Chicken Salad

So this salad is something that I grew up with my mom making and it never lasting very long because everyone loved it! I got the recipe for the salad from my little sister Jessica. This would go in the salad category.

Salad Ingredients

5 c cooked chicken

5 c chopped lettuce

4 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

4 oz slivered almonds

4-6 green onions chopped

2 pkg top ramen noodles (chicken flavor)

Mix all of the salad ingredients together. Don't cook the ramen noodles but break them into chunks and put them in the salad. Save the top ramen flavoring for the dressing.

Dressing Ingredients

2 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp Vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

scant cup of salad oil

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together. Pour over salad and toss. Can make the salad a day ahead.

No-Bake Cheesecake

To add another one to the desserts category seemed about right to me. I love desserts, and I love cheesecake! So how about no-bake cheesecake! This one was also received from a family friend.

Ingredients:

1 pkg cream cheese

1 pkg whip cream

1 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 pre-made graham cracker crust

Whip the whip cream in a bowl. Whip the cream cheese in a separate bowl until it is smooth. Combine together. Add the sugar and the juice to the mixture. Pour into graham cracker crust. Let stand in the fridge (covered) for 3 hours or until set. Add favorite topping!

Taco Soup

Another recipe that was given to us from a family friend was a recipe for Taco Soup. Super easy and doesn't take too long! A part of the soup category.

Ingredients:

1 lb of hamburger (ground)

32 oz can of tomatoes

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of tomato soup (Italian)

1 pkg of taco seasoning, low salt

2 cups of frozen or canned corn

Brown the hamburger in large pan. Add all other ingredients to the meat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Top with grated cheese, sour cream and serve with corn chips.

Braid Bread

This is a recipe for braided bread that was given to me by a friend. Super easy, makes a lot and it tastes really good! This is in the breads category.

Ingredients:

7 cups of flour

2 packets of yeast

2 tsp salt

1 stick of butter

2 2/3 cups of milk

Instructions:

In a bowl put flour, and make a well in the middle of the flour, put yeast in the middle and on top of the well put the salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add milk. Heat until hot enough to activate yeast. Pour milk into well, and mix. Knead for 10 minutes. Let it rise for 1 hour.

Separate and put in either loaf pans or you can braid some together.

On top brush it with and egg yolk.

Bake 35-45 minutes on 390 degrees until golden brown.

Cafe Rio Salad and Beef

So one of my husband's and my favorite restaurants to go to is Cafe Rio. My favorite dish there is their Beef Salad with the Tomatillo dressing. The dressing recipe is in the Salads/Salad dressing category and the beef is in the meats category. The meat is also great to use for burritos and can be left to cook during the day while you are gone.

Cafe Rio Beef:

3 lbs of Chuck Roast

1 can green child sauce

1 cup Beef Broth

1 small can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp Cumin

1/2 Onion

3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

Place chuck roast in crock pot, pour green chile sauce, beef broth, and tomato sauce over the top and add cumin & garlic. Cut an onion in half and place full onion rings on top of the roast to add flavor. They will be removed when the roast is cooked an discarded. Cook on low for 8-9 hours, or until meat falls apart easily. Shred meat into a different container, strain juices from the crock pot and pour over shredded beef.

Tomatillo Dressing:

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup mayo

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 glove of garlic

1/2 lime's juice

1/2 to 1 small Jalepeno, seeds removed. For a little spicier add some of the seeds.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor & refrigerate.

Chili Cheese Casserole

So this recipe I received from my mother and I love making it because it is not hard and it tastes really good! This is in the Casserole category and I find it fun to make! I have made it for family dinners, and for when I have company over and it works great either way!

Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground hamburger (browned)

15 oz can of red kidney beans

15 oz can of tomato sauce

1 packet of taco seasoning

cheese

Frito Chips

Instructions:

Brown the hamburger in a saucepan with the packet of taco seasoning. After browning add can of kidney beans and can of tomato sauce. After mixing those together until warm put in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Put frito chips and shredded cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Low Calorie Pumpkin Pie

Something that I absolutely love about the holidays...the pie!!!! I LOVE Pumpkin Pie, but it is so many calories (for people like me who want to pay attention to what they eat). Then I found this recipe for a lower calorie Pumpkin Pie and decided to make it for Thanksgiving. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it came out and how good it tasted! Can't wait to make it again! This falls into the dessert category.

Low Calorie Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

For the crust-

-4 oz of reduced fat graham crackers

-2 Tbsp of light butter, melted

-1 Tbsp of lightly packed brown sugar

-1 tsp of light Pancake Syrup

For the pie filling-

-1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin

-2 large egg whites

-1 large egg

-2 Tbsp of light Pancake Syrup

-2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

-1/2 cup dark brown sugar

-1/4 tsp table salt

-1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk

-Top with a dollop of Fat-Free Reddi-Whip whipped cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor , combine graham crackers and light brown sugar, and process into fine crumbs. In a small bowl, combine the crumbs and the melted butter, and pancake syrup, and mix with hands. Then transfer to an ungreased 9" pie pan, and distribute crust mixture evenly, pressing it against the pan with your hands. Put in the fridge and chill for 40 minutes. Then, bake about 8-10 minutes, or until the pie crust starts to turn that yummy golden brown.

In a large bowl, whip egg whites into a soft peak, using an electric mixer. Fold in remaining ingedients (except the whipped cream). Beat the mixture until smooth, cremy and lump free, and pour into your pie shell. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut into 8 even slices and top with a nice dollop of the fat free whipped cream.