(no fail) Banana Crumb Muffins

I am not the best/biggest baker. But many, many years ago, my SIL gave me this recipe....and it is FOOL-PROOF! I won't tell you the mistakes I've made--much too embarrassing--but somehow the muffins come out yummy each and every time! Also, this is a great "Cooking with Kids" recipe.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten (or not)
1/3 c butter

*Combine 1st 4 ingredients in a small bowl.
*In larger bowl, mash the bananas. Add sugar, egg and butter. Mix well.
*Add dry ingredients, a little at a time, until moist and all mixed in.
*Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

TOPPING:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbs. flour
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbs butter

*Combine 1st 3 dry ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

Dressed Chicken Breasts With Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients
1 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup spicy brown dijon mustard
4 chicken breasts, either pounded thin or cheat & use the "scallopini" cut :)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (I usually end up using a little more)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 box of angel hair pasta, cooked & drained

Directions
In small bow, whisk together salad dressing and mustard; set aside
In large skillet, saute chicken in butter until browned; transfer to dish & keep warm
Pour wine into skillet and cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan (about 5 minutes)
Whisk dressing mixture into skillet with wine and blend well
Server chicken with sauce over pasta

****NOTES****
This is a HUGE hit in my house. Pre-kiddo's, this dish was reserved for special occasions, special gifts and wow-ing new friends and in-laws :)
We have given the boys the version with the wine, but if you want you can reserve some dressing/mustard sauce and put it over the chicken and pasta
There is always extra sauce left over and we have yet to find something it DOESN'T go well on :)

Chicken Cashew Bundles

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I use Perdue Shortcuts)
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
3 tablespoons sliced green onions (3 medium)
3 tablespoons chopped cashews
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 cans (8 oz) Pillsbury reduced fat refrigerated crescent dinner rolls


DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 375
In medium bowl, mix all ingredients except dough; set aside
On ungreased large cookie sheet, unroll dough & separate into 4 rectangles
Press each into rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal
Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto one end of each rectangle
Fold dough in half over filling and firmly press edges with fork to seal
With fork, prick top of each to allow steam to escape
Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until deep golden brown

Lemon Loaf

This was shared by a Mother on "Sobo Mom's" and it has quickly become one of my favorite go-to recipes. Lemon loaf is super easy to make and most likely you will have the ingredients in your home. A great treat to have during the holidays when friends and family stop by--just add a cup of coffee or tea and everyone will be smiling.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk, I use 2%
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zested

Glaze

1 lemon, juice of
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs one at a time until creamy.
3. Blend in milk.
4. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt & lemon zest
5. Pour into butter/sugar batter and combine.
6. Pour into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
8. Bake in 350f degree oven for 50-55 minutes, pending on your oven
9. While loaf is baking, combine lemon juice & sugar in saucepan. Heat last 5 minutes of baking time and heat until sugar is dissolved.
10. Remove loaf from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes.
11. Remove to rack and while still hot and poke toothpick holes all over the top of the loaf, and spoon glaze evenly over loaf
12. Cool.

ENJOY!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients
1 stick butter
1 jar Peanut Butter (I use Skippy's Reduced Fat Creamy)
Confectioners Sugar
2 containers of Baker's Dipping Chocolate

Directions
In medium sauce pan, melt the butter
Add the peanut butter (yes, the entire jar!) until the two meld together into liquified peanut butter
Add confectioners sugar until consistency is solid enough to roll a "ball" in the palm of your hands(yes, your hands will get dirty and sticky and creamy...from peanut butter...how bad can it be!?!?)
Set aside these "balls" on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and then refrigerate for at least one night
Melt dipping chocolate according to package's directions
Dip balls into chocolate until covered and return to wax papered cookie sheet
Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight and have a happy chocolate rush for breakfast.

**NOTES**
I do not recommend using chocolate morsels/chips for melting or semi-sweet anything. Milk Chocolate all the way!!

This recipe will yield: 50-80 balls, depending what size "balls" you like (go ahead, insert 8th grade humor here)

When stirring the peanut butter and sugar, be sure to rest the wrist. Child labor is great to use at this point (or if you are alone, a KitchenAid mixer)

You can add liquor--kahlua or chambord-- to the mix (you wont even taste the alcohol). When people ask for the recipe it just makes it sound more grown up :)

This is not an exact measurement recipe. Somewhat vague, but once you get the right consistency, things will go from there. Lots of trial and error: In my years of tweaking this recipe, I have yet to meet a version I didn't like.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Squares

Ingredients
4 bricks of reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 tubes of chocolate chip cookie dough (better to have extra than not enough, I always say!)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 340*
Grease the bottom & sides of a 9x13 pan
Spread the bottom & sides pan with cookie dough so it is approx 1/4" thick
Beat together cream cheese and eggs
Spread the mixture on top of the cookie dough
Slice the 2nd tube of cookie dough into 1/4" circles and layer on top of cream cheese mixture with the edges touching
Cover with foil and bake for 30min
Remove foil and bake for add'l 10min
Let cool and cut into squares

Stained Glass Cutout Cookies

These cookies are so pretty, aren't they? What a genius idea: cutout cookies, with jolly rancher candies melted in the center to look like stained glass!



I followed this recipe from Simply Recipes exactly...there are great directions there. Only note I have is to really fill the centers of the cookies with the candy to over-filling. Pile it up! The first batch I didn't, and some of my stained glass centers had holes :)

In the end, I'm only lukewarm about this recipe. They sure are pretty, but I wasn't in love with the taste (probably because I'm not a big jolly ranchers fan). Also, they were a lot of work, and not lots of fun for the kids as we didn't get to use tons of different cookie cutters, and they weren't decorated after they were baked.

So if you want a cookie to standout on cookie trays, this is a good choice. But if you're making just to have fun with your kids, I'd probably skip this one and go with a traditional cutout recipe where they can choose their cookie cutters and do some decorating.