Easy Banana Cream Pie

You know what's great about having kids who are old enough to read the directions, use the stove and not burn down the house? They can bake when you literally don't have the time!!! I put our three girls to work over the holidays because it was just too hard to keep my 10-month-old out of the cupboards and bake 10 pies.  I would like to add that dealing with an infant who is going through the tantrum phase, is far less stressful than refereeing the battles between my 9-year-old daughter and fourteen-year-old daughter. Sometimes, I'd like to stick them in the playpen for some time out!

If only I could get this kid to brush her teeth without being told she'd be perfect!

Ingredients:

• 1 pre-made 9-inch graham cracker crust (Serious time saver & there are often coupons for them)
• 1 - 3.4 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding (serves 4)
• 3 medium-sized bananas sliced (see above)
• 1 - 8 ounce container of Cool-Whip
• 2 cups of cold milk

Preparations:

1. Use electric mixer to combine pudding mix and milk. Beat/whisk for 2 minutes. (Should be thick.)
2. Layer sliced bananas onto bottom of graham cracker crust. Pour pudding mix on top. 
3. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Last step: top with Cool Whip right before serving.

Chocolate Mousse Oreo Pie

We did something kind of crazy this year for Christmas - we served a ton of pies and no actual turkey. This is just one of many. It's easy to make and is very rich.

Ingredients:

• 1 Oreo crust
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preparations:

1. In medium sauce pan over low heat, combine eggs, milk and sugar and cook until mixture thickens. 
2. Add chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until dissolved. 
3. Fold in whipped cream and pour filling into pie crust. 
4. Chill for 2 hours before serving and top with Redi-whip.

Korr's Easy Spinach Dip

Last week we had our office holiday party and I signed up to bring Spinach dip. I considered buying a pre-made container at the grocery store but was shocked to see it was $4.99 for a small container. It may seem way uncool to have a stockpile but it honestly comes in handy when it comes to having people over and attending potlucks. I bought Lays potato chips on sale for $2.00 a bag and bought 16 ounce containers of sour cream on sale for $1.09.  You can serve with chips or veggies. This dip is easy, fast and economical. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Korr's vegetable dip mix
• 1-16 ounce container of sour cream
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1-10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach

Preparations:

1. Cook frozen spinach in a microwave-safe bowl with 1 teaspoon of water for seven minutes. Stir have way through. 
2. Cool spinach and drain. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise and vegetable dip mix.

Leftover Turkey Recipes

Got Turkey leftovers? Then here are ten great recipes for leftover turkey. Check them out at Taste of Home's website - Top Ten Turkey Leftovers

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Last night, I went to make the pumpkin pie recipe from Better Homes and Garden's cookbook and realized - I didn't have any evaporated milk. Thanks to Google, we came up with this recipe from allrecipes.com. My 14-year-old did all the hard work. I just made sure it baked long enough. This pie baked up way better than the BHG recipe. I always have a hard time getting that one to bake all the way through.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 15 ounce can of pumpkin
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 - 9 inch prepared pie crust (can be graham cracker)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Whisk pumpkin, milk, eggs, spices & salt until mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared crust.
3. Bake 15 minutes.
4. Turn heat down to 350 degrees. Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean.
5. Cool before serving. Top with whipped cream.
   

Holiday Drinks from Hershey's Kitchens

Martha Stewart's Spicy Sweet Potatoes

The first time I made sweet potatoes it was a disaster. I bought them at the store and had the hardest time peeling those suckers. Then I learned that you can just bake them and scoop the insides out. It would have been awesome to learn that four years ago.

If you're assigned sweet potatoes this year, check out Martha's spicy sweet potatoes.

Paula Deen's Deep Fried Turkey

You won't ever catch me deep frying a turkey for one very simple reason - I'm very accident prone and kind of klutzy. I imagine if I deep fried a turkey, I'd need to have to an ambulance and the fire department on standby. Did I mention I've knocked over my fair share of space heaters and set carpets on fire? (Don't tell my boss. :)

If you are going to deep fry a turkey this year, watch this helpful video from my heroine, Paula, on how to. Note: she has a non-set-yourself-on-fire-and-burn-down-the-house-deep-fryer.

Paula Deen's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I chose this recipe because my husband loves oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and because I love Paula Deen's recipes. This is one her 25 days of holiday cookies recipes. It's easy to make and the cookies aren't too sweet.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter (room temperature)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon water
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups of quick cooking oats
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla and water. Mix well. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. 
4. Combine both sets of ingredients. Add flour slowly if using electric mixer. 
5. Add oats and chocolate chips.
6. Drop dough onto lined cookie sheet or non-stick cookie sheet. 
7. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. (The bigger the dough ball, the longer to cook.)

Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog make Mashed Potatoes

I'm posting this because it's Friday and we all need a good laugh...

Pillsbury's Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

The holidays are closing in on us and I can say the presents are wrapped and just waiting for a tree to house them. What? No tree yet? Nope! With a 9 1/2 month old who's already broken a crockpot, we're not putting up a tree until the very last minute - December 21st to be exact. :)

Here's a new take on the holiday tradition of mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium baking potatoes (2 1/2 to 3 lb), peeled, cut into fourths
• 1/2 cup milk, heated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz)

Preparations:

1. In 4-quart saucepan, place potato pieces and add enough water to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to saucepan. 
2. Heat potatoes over low heat about 1 minute to dry potatoes, shaking pan often to keep potatoes from sticking and burning. (This will help make mashed potatoes fluffy.) 
3. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Add milk, salt and pepper to potatoes. Mash with potato masher until no lumps remain. Beat in sour cream, chives and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Spoon into baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. 
4. Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Martha Stewart's Easy Cranberry Sauce - Holiday Recipes

You can buy canned cranberry sauce or you can wow your relatives/friends with Martha's basic cranberry sauce. It's easy and inexpensive to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 cup water

Preparations:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar. lemon zest, and water. Bring to a boil. 
2. Reduce to a simmer; cook until cranberries are soft. (Should be about ten minutes.)
3. Let cranberries cool to room temperature.

Crock Pot Stuffing - Holiday Recipe

You can use this recipe for a holiday meal or just when you feel like eating stuffing. It comes from food.com.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
• 1 cup diced tart apple, peeled and cored
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon ground marjoram
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon savory
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 12 cups lightly toasted bread, cubes
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Preparations:

1. In a large fry pan saute onions, celery and apple in butter until onion is just translucent.
2. Stir in sage, marjoram, salt, pepper, savory and thyme.
3. Combine vegetable mixture with the bread cubes and parsley.
4. Toss well.
5. Pour stock over mixture, tossing well.
6. Spoon into your crock-pot.
7. Cover and cook on high for one hour.
8. Reduce to low and continue cooking for 2-3 hours, stirring every hour.

 

 

Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies - Strawberry Thumbprints

This is one of Martha's easier recipes and it makes a great holiday cookie if you're putting together goodie baskets. The recipe didn't say if butter should be softened or not however, butter straight out of the fridge does not mix well. I let mine sit out so it was room temperature.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparations:

1. Combine butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat well.
2. Separately, mix flour and salt. 
3. Add flour to butter mixture slowly with electric mixer on low.
4. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Bake dough for seven minutes. Remove from oven and make sure well of cookies is still deep. If not, press with end of wooden spoon or baby spoon.
7. Return to oven and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are firm. 
8. Let cool completely. Spoon jam filling into thumbprints. 

 

Guest Blog Post - Super Mario Birthday Cake

This is our very first guest blog post! Sadly, Melissa's computer crashed and there wasn't a picture to go with this.

My Son’s Super Mario Birthday Cake

My six-year-old son, Tyler, is a Super Mario fanatic. He would stay up all night playing Super Mario Galaxy on Wii if he could. My husband didn’t make things any easier when he bought a Super Nintendo and started playing the vintage Super Mario games with Tyler. Now they’re both obsessed. For Halloween this year, my husband dressed up as Luigi, and my son dressed up as Mario. They almost convinced me to dress up as Princess Peach, but I thought it would be too over-the-top. Needless to say, my son wanted a Mario themed birthday party for his birthday last month (November). So, we gave him one. Doing so required extensive research of different options of Super Mario cakes and decorative possibilities. We eventually decided to make a Super Mario Cake at home. It actually ended up looking and tasting pretty good, despite my poor baking skills. Here’s how we made the cake:

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups unbleached cake flour, sifted
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 ¾ sticks of butter
• 3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles

 

2. Then we mixed the ingredients together and baked the cake. Here’s how:

• First, we set the oven to 350 and mixed the eggs, milk, and vanilla together in a large bowl.
• Then we mixed all of the dry ingredients and butter in another bowl with an electric mixer for two minutes.
• Next, we combined the wet and dry ingredients and beat them for around a minute.
• Finally, we poured the cake batter into two 9” circular cake pans, popped them in the oven, and took them out 30 minutes later. After they cooled, we took the cakes out of the pans and stacked them together.

3. Once our cake base was ready, we started our decorative efforts with icing. We spread regular vanilla icing over the surface of the cake. My husband used red, peach, blue, brown, and white frosting to draw Mario and some red mushrooms on the top of the cake. He used a picture of Mario he printed off the internet to help him with his design. The cake design actually ended up looking pretty good. We could have made the cake fancier overall, but I’m glad we kept it simple, since neither one of us is a culinary or artistic genius.

The cake was a huge hit at the birthday party. The kids loved the design and the homemade funfetti cake. I highly recommend making your child’s birthday special with a themed cake!

Author’s Bio: Melissa is a guest post writer on the subjects of parenting and easy cooking/baking on a time crunch.

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from Chocoh!

I came across a new website for chocolate recipes. It's pretty cool and the recipes are fairly easy. It's called Chocoh and that's where this recipe comes from.

You can see from my pictures that my cookies were too big and too close together. If you don't want to repeat my mistake, roll your dough into one inch balls and space them evenly apart. The cookies were on the flat side but very tasty. (I used chunky peanut butter. ) Makes 2 dozen small cookies or a dozen large ones.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour 
• 1/2 cup of butter (softened to room temperature)
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. of vanilla

Preparations: 

1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Combine butter, sugars, egg, vanilla and peanut butter.
3. Separately, mix flour, salt, baking soda and salt. Mix well. 
4. Combine both sets of ingredients. Add chocolate chips and mix dough until it's completely mixed.
5. Roll dough into one inch balls, space evenly. Bake for approximately 11 minutes. Let cool before removing.

Peanut Butter Fudge

Here's a new idea for a holiday treat. It's comes from christmas-cookies.com . (Such a cool site!)


Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk 
• pinch of salt 
• 1 cup marshmallows
• 1/4 pound peanut butter 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparations:

1. Cook sugar, butter, milk and salt to soft ball stage (235° F–240° F on a candy thermometer). 
2. Add marshmallows and peanut butter just before removing from heat. Do not stir. 
3. Cool to room temperature. Add vanilla. 
4. Beat until creamy, thick and holds shape. Pour into well buttered shallow pan. 
5. Cool and cut into squares.

Campbell's Kitchen - Chicken Broccoli Divan

I made this recipe because I saw a picture of the dish while I was surfing the web (Do people still say that?) and thought it looked yummy. I like to cook my chicken in a crock pot with lots of chicken broth. It's the easy way to get cooked chicken without having to worry about it burning. :) My husband isn't a huge fan of chicken but he liked this dish a lot. It serves four.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preparations:

1. Place the broccoli and chicken into an ungreased casserole dish.
2. Stir the soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the broccoli and chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with bread crumbs. 
3. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling.

Chocolate-Dipped Marshmallows

I came across this recipe on a christmas-cookies.com and I think it's an awesome idea! This is a recipe that you can make with kids for the holiday festivities. Like any recipe that calls for dipping something in chocolate, it's messy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semi-sweet or white chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 (10-ounce) package marshmallows
• Garnish: mini candy-coated chocolates, candy sprinkles

Preparations:

1. Combine chocolate chips and oil in a microwave-safe bowl. 
2. Microwave on medium setting for one to 1-1/2 minutes until chocolate is softened; stir until smooth. 
3. With a candy dipping tool or toothpick, dip marshmallows into chocolate to cover completely. 
4. Sprinkle with desired garnish; set on wax paper until firm.

Online Shopping

Ever since I got pregnant, I've become a huge fan of online shopping. One of my worst shopping experiences was being 9 months pregnant, swollen and the size of the Good Year Blimp as I waddled around Target looking for something - anything that would bring a smile to my ten-year-old stepdaughter's face on her birthday.

I've grown much wiser and much more tired in the year since then. Between the job, commuting, a baby and housework - I have no time for comparison shopping. I'm dying for a tupperware butter dish and I have no time to physically go shop for one. Being rather frugal as I am, I want to know that any purchase I make is going to get me the most value for my dollar. Which is why I'm excited to come across a site like Become.com. Whether I'm shopping for something like a square kitchen table that seats 8 , a new turquoise table runner or a used wolf stove , this website has something for everyone and it even offers coupons. So if you get a chance, check it out.

Twice-baked Potatoes

Fresh Market was selling 15lb bags of potatoes for $1.99 last week and I couldn't help myself - I had to buy a bag. You know what you do when you have a 15lb bag of potatoes sitting in your pantry? You make a lot of potato recipes! I've never had twice-baked potatoes before so it was a good chance for me to try a new dish. Turns out they are easy to make and taste surprisingly good.

Tip: My grandfather taught me to clean potatoes by taking a BRAND NEW scotch brite pad and using it to gently clean the potatoes. Save that pad and use it only to clean potatoes. 

Ingredients: 

• 4 large potatoes
• 1/3 cup sour cream (I went for the lite kind)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• shredded cheddar cheese
• chives and bacon bits (optional)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Gently clean potatoes and pierce each potato twice with either a sharp knife or fork. 
3. Bake potatoes on center oven rack for 65 minutes.
4. Remove potatoes from oven using an oven mitt. Cut the top of each potato off so that the remaining potato is in the shape of a canoe.
5. Scoop out inside of potatoes and put into a medium sized bowl. (Be gently because you need the shell of the potato.)
6. Add butter, sour cream and cayenne pepper to potatoes. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Place potato mixture back into potato shells. You can top with chives and bacon bits and then add the cheese or just add cheese.
8. Put potatoes into the oven at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and potatoes are warm again.

Paula Deen's 25 days of of Holiday Cookies

I usually try to keep this blog fairly light-hearted because my grandmother always said that it's better to laugh than cry. It's been a rough week with lots of travel, not enough sleep and an ongoing battle at home though.

Someone was telling me yesterday how his wife doesn't think he does enough even though he cooks, cleans and changes diapers while working multiple jobs. I said to this poor soul, "I was running late this morning because I had to scrub poop out of the carpet while trying to get the baby cleaned, dressed and finish getting ready myself. You know what my husband did to help? He got in the shower so I had to go find some place else to dry my hair. After dropping the baby off at daycare, I came back to the house to grab a warm jacket (because there was a windstorm going on outside) and I found him cooking himself a frittata while I never got breakfast. So send your wife over to my house!"

I try to laugh when I tell that story because I think it's funny that my husband actually took the time to cook himself a nice meal while 90 mile hour winds were blowing. I also think it illustrates that some days - life just sucks.

I like Paula Deen's recipes and I respect her as a person. She's overcome a great deal of adversity herself and she seems more like a "better to laugh about it than cry about it" kind of person. So, in honor of her and everyone else that's looking for a reason to keep moving forward today, check out Paula's 25 days of Holiday cookie recipes.

Happy Holidays,
Christina

Cranberry-Nut Cinnamon Chex Mix

'Tis the season for snacks and appetizers! Here's an easy one from Betty Crocker.

Check out Betty's website (picture from there) and make it Gluten-free!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
• 1 cup walnut halves
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Preparations:

1. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereal and walnuts; set aside.
2. In 2 cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, orange juice concentrate and oil on High 1 minute; stir.
3. Microwave about 1 minute longer, stirring after 30 seconds, until mixture is hot. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated. 
4. Microwave uncovered on High 5 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Stir in cranberries. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in tightly covered container.