Black Bottomed Banana Bars

This is another recipe from my friend C.L.  I tried these out and my kiddos devoured them!  

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup butter softened

1 Cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 Cups mashed ripe bananas

1 /2 Cups Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder (High Altitude 1/2 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon baking soda (High Altitude 1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup Cocoa

In a mixing bow, cream the butter and the sugar.  Add the egg, vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined.  Blend in the mashed bananas.  In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry mixture tot he wet mixture and mix well.

Divide the batter in half & add the cocoa to one half.  Spread the batter with the cocoa in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.  Spoon in the remaining 1/2 of the batter on top and leave it as is or swirl with a knife.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick returns clean.

Hash Brown and Broccoli Soup

It has been a while since I've made this soup.  I ran across the recipe again this week

& I just had to try it again.  

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Cooked Hashbrowns

Cream of Chicken Soup (recipe below)

6 Cups of water

2 Cups of Broccoli

1 Cup of Cheese

Cream of Chicken Soup Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons butter

1/2 Cup flour

4 Cups of hot milk

1 teaspoon salt

4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

Shred the potato's and cook the potatoes in 1/4 Cup of butter to make hashbrowns.

  In a large pot, Boil 3 cups of water.  In another pot, start on the chicken soup: Melt 5 Tablespoons of butter.  Whisk in 1/2 cup of flour.  Add 4 cups of hot milk, 1 teaspoon of salt and 4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes.  

When the 3 cups of water is boiling, add the broccoli and the chicken soup.  Cook until the broccoli is tender.  When the broccoli is tender, add the hashbrowns.  Stir and serve.

Lentil Soup

I haven't had a chance to try this recipe yet, but I hope to soon.  My friend C.L. sent me this recipe to me and she said it is delicious. I'll add a picture once I make this recipe.  

1lb or ½ kg. orange lentils

8 cups water

½ whole garlic

1 lg. tomato peeled & chopped

1 lg. potato peeled and cubed

2 carrots peeled and chopped

¼ green chili pepper chopped 

1 tbsp. tomato paste

¾ tbsp. salt

3 chicken boullion cubes

1 tbsp. chili powder

½ to 1 tsp. ground cumin

Clean & sort lentils & boil in water for 15 min.  

Add all ingredients except chili powder & ground cumin

Simmer partially covered for 1 hr. 

Then Add chili powder and ground cumin and serve 

If you like it smooth, you can puree after cooled & reheat & serve

If you want meat in the soup, you can cook ground beef with onions & garlic & add

Huevo in my Heart

We've eaten this for breakfast twice this week and we've all really enjoyed it.
  It's kind of like a Toad in the Hole, but with a fun twist.

I had my houseworker make these corn tortillas earlier in the week.  Then I took two corn tortillas and cut a heart shape out of the middle with a cookie cutter.  I then put them in a greased frying pan & let the tortillas and the hearts brown on both sides.  Then I took the hearts off and set them to the side.  I layered the tortillas on top of each other & put a little bit of butter inside the hole.  Then, I put an egg in the middle of the hole.  Fry on both sides until the egg is cooked .  Put the Huevo in my Heart on a plate, put your cut out shapes on the edge & serve with salsa.

This recipe came from The Pioneer Woman.

Pineapple Meatballs

This is one of my favorite dishes.  It is sooooo yummy!  We start this recipe off by making meatballs.  You can find our meatball recipe here.  

For the Pineapple sauce you need:

1 Cup brown sugar

3Tablespoons corn starch

1 Can of pineapple chunks

Juice from a can of pineapple chunks

1/4 Cup of vinegar

1 1/2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce

1 1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

Combine the brown sugar and cornstarch in a pan.  Add the pineapple juice and blend until smooth.  Add vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.  Simmer uncovered on medium low heat until thickened (less than 10 minutes).  Pour the sauce over the cooked meatballs and add the pineapple chunks.

Pizza Crust - Our favorite kind

This is the second pizza crust that I've posted on this blog, but this one is our new favorite pizza crust!  It is easy and delicious.  I found this recipe in The Pioneer Woman's cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon yeast

4 1/2 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 Cups warm water

Pour the warm water into a bowl.  Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water.  In another bowl, combine the flour and salt.  With an electric mixer on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil just until it is incorporated.  Gently stir the yeast/water mixture.  Drizzle the yeast mixture and mix until the dough forms a ball.  You can mix this by hand if you don't have a mixer.  You may need to add a little more flour just until the dough isn't extremely sticky.  Drizzle a little oil into a clean bowl.  Put the dough in the bowl and then flip it over so the dough is is coated in the oil.  Cover the bowl and let it set in a warm place for 2 hours.  I let mine sit inside my stove (with the stove turned off).  Or, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap (before it rises) and let it sit in the fridge for up to 2 days.  

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Divide the dough in half.  Grease a pizza pan or cookie sheet.  Using your hands, stretch the dough to the desired shape.  Lay the desired toppings over the dough and bake the pizza for 10 minutes, until golden brown.  

If you only use one half of the dough, you can wrap the other half of the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it up to 3 days before use or you can freeze it for up to 6 months.

Valentines Day Pizza

Just to round out our Valentines Day meals, we had heart shaped pizza for dinner.  I made it this afternoon so our kids and their babysitter could enjoy it while my Husband and I went out on a Valentines Day Date!

You can find this pizza crust recipe here.  The pizza sauce recipe is here.