Banana bread

2-3 ripe bananas
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 T oil
1 egg
1/3 C milk

Mash bananas. Add all other ingredients. Mix just until combined.
Grease bottoms of loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes

Makes 4 mini loaves (pampered chef mini loaf pans)

Greek Chicken & Spinach Rice

This recipe could be a main or a side dish, depending on how much chicken you use.  I used less chicken and more mushrooms. Delicious!  Skip the chicken completely for a vegetarian dish.

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1  8 oz pkg fresh mushrooms, sliced (original called for only 1 cup)
1 cup frozen, chopped spinach
1 cup quick-cooking brown rice, uncooked
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (original called for 1 lb chicken)
1 cup plus 2 TB chicken broth, low sodium
1 TB lemon juice
2 TB Feta cheese
2 TB slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with cooking spray.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook until tender, 3-5 more minutes.

Stir in frozen spinach. Cook until thawed and moisture evaporates. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Stir in dry rice, oregano and pepper.

Return skillet to medium heat and add remaining teaspoon of oil. Add chicken and cook 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently until chicken is done.  Add chicken to casserole and stir. Pour chicken broth over top.

Cover and bake 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with lemon juice, feta cheese and almonds.  Bake uncovered 10 minutes more.  Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Potato Salad

2 lbs Potatoes (6 medium)
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
1 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
1/2 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
1/2 cup celery


Wash Potatoes, peel and cut in half. Put in salted water.  Cover and boil until you can easily stab them with a fork, but not mushy.  Cool completely and cut into chunks.  Combine with onion, salt, pepper and Italian Dressing.  Refrigerate for 2 hours. (I've skipped this and done it all at once.) Stir in miracle whip, celery and eggs.  Refrigerate.

White Bread

 5 C warm water
2 T instant yeast (not active)
3/4 C sugar
1 rounded T salt
3/4 C oil
12-14 C flour

Put all ingredients in your mixer's bowl as listed with only six cups of flour. Mix for 1 minute. Then add another 6 cups flour and begin mixing. Slowly add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough cleans the side of the bowl. Cut dough into 4 or 5 equal pieces depending on your pan size. Roll out onto floured surface into rectangle. Start on one end and roll up to form loaf and place in greased pan. Cover with towel and let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Makes 4 or 5 loaves depending on pan size.

This is my neighbor, Heidi's, recipe. She makes this bread instead of buying bread from the store. It's so good!

Dilly Bread

2 pkgs. yeast
1/2 C warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 C cottage cheese , room temperature
2 T butter
4 T sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 T minced onion
4 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp dill weed
2 eggs
5-6 C flour

Combine yeast, water and 1 tsp sugar, let stand 10 min.
Blend cottage cheese, butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, minced onion, dill seed, dill weed and eggs in blender about 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl start with 5 cups flour and gradually combine yeast mixture and if necessary add remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead a few minutes.
Transfer dough to generously greased bowl, cover, let rise until doubled in size. Shape into loaves and place into greased loaf pans. Let rise until doubled in size.
Bake at 350 for 15 min. Lower heat to 325. Continue baking for another 45 min.
Remove from oven and rub tops of bread with butter and lightly sprinkle with salt.
Remove from pans and let cool on wire rack.
Makes:
3) 9" loaves
or
2) 9" and 1 round
or
3) 8" and 1 round

Corned Beef casserole

Before you judge, just try it!! If you like corned beef you'll love this!

3 C left over corned beef, cubed
4 C fresh broccoli, steamed till tender
5 C prepared minute rice
2 cans cheddar cheese Soup
1 can cream of mushroom
1/2 C sour cream
1 small onion, chopped
1 T butter
salt and pepper

cook onion in butter till tender. combine all ingredients and pour into 13x9
bake at 350 for 45 or until golden brown and bubbly.

Cookie Dough Brownies

Brownies:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour (whole wheat or all-purpose)
1/4 tsp baking soda
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cups sugar
3 TB milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour (whole wheat or all-purpose)
1 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips. Or substitute regular sized

Preheat oven to 350. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips. Cool slightly.  In separate mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in melted chocolate.  Combine flour and baking soda and add to batter.
Spread into a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Bake at 350 for 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely.

For frosting: Cream butter and sugars. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add flour. Stir in mini choc chips.  Drop by tablespoonfuls over cooled brownies. Carefully spread over top. If using mini choc chips it will spread much more easily.  Store in the fridge.  I love these even more the next day when the cookie dough layer is cold. 

This recipe adapted from Taste of Home June/July 2001.

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

FILLING:
4 T butter
1 C sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
-Combine into a crumbly mixture and set aside

DOUGH:
2 C flour
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp. baking powder
3 T butter
3/4 C milk
Mix together to form a soft dough.
Roll out into a rectangle onto floured surface. about 1/4 inch thick
Top with crumble mixture and roll up.
Use dental floss to cut into 10 cinnamon rolls.
Place in 13x9 baking dish
bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes
Top with frosting and serve warm..

FROSTING:
3T cream cheese
1 1/4C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Cream together. (add more powdered sugar if it's too runny or milk if it's too thick)

Oreo Cookies

COOKIES:
2 boxes Devil Food cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 C shortening
FROSTING:
1 brick of cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2-2 C powdered sugar

Mix together cake mix, eggs and shortening.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet
bake at 350 for 8 minutes
flatten slightly with back of spatula
remove to wire rack to cool

Meanwhile, cream together the ingredients for the frosting, gradually adding the powdered sugar until it gets to your desired consistency. If it gets too thick you can add a little milk.

Use the frosting between two cookies.
This recipe made 30 oreo cookies (60 single cookies) Just depends on the size you make them.
*This recipe came from my friend Kristy.

BEST Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are our 'Sunday" cookies! Joey makes them at least twice a month after church. Most times we deliver them to neighbors but lots of times we eat them all ourselves! They're SO good!

2 C sugar
2 C brown sugar
2 C shortening
4 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
4 T milk
4 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
4 C oats
2 C chocolate chips

Cream together sugars, shortening, eggs and vanilla. Add milk. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar mixture and mix with hand mixer. Add oats, then chocolate chips.
Place rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased stoneware pan (could use a regular old cookie sheet)
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let then sit on the pan for 2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
This recipe makes a TON!!!! If you're not planning to give any away to neighbors you might want to half it!