Monthly Archives: January 2009

Jan11

Banana & Graham Cracker Pudding With Caramel

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Banana & Graham Cracker Pudding With Caramel
banana-pudding-close-good

Bana -rama, Yum!

Now that title is a mouthful, but exactly what you should do with this dessert, get a mouthful!

Well, when I was at the supermarket the other day, they had banana’s for 20 cents a pound. I bought like three bunches! Then when I got home, I realized there was no way we would eat all of them before they ripened too much. And I already have a freezer full of ripe banana’s for breads. So I put on my thinking cap… Banana pudding is a perfect way to use some of them, but I didn’t have any vanilla wafers. Hmm, I did have an over abundance of graham crackers from a recent smores night. That was it – now I had a banana agenda… Trial and error left this wonderful dessert that sways only slightly from the original classic. Hope you enjoy!

Banana & Graham Cracker Pudding With Caramel

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup crushed cinnamon graham crackers (about 6 sheets)
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (as desired sweetness)
  • 1/4 butter, melted
  • 2 boxes Instant Vanilla Pudding (4 serving size)
  • 4 cups cold milk, (2 cups per box)
  • 2 – 3 large bananas, sliced
  • 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping, divided (warmed & pourable)

Directions: (you need the oven for the first part only)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8″ square pan with cooking spray. Combine graham crackers and sugar, then add butter, mix until the crumbs are moist and press into the bottom only of the pan. It will be about a 1/4 inch thick. Bake in the oven for 8 – 10 minutes, or until the crust is set and hard. Remove and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare one box of pudding as directed on package. Pour into bottom of a medium sized bowl and top with a layer of banana’s. Using the back of a butter knife, break the graham crust into chunks. Layer 2/3′ s of the chunks over the bananas and drizzle half of the caramel the layer. Now, prepare the other box of pudding and pour on top. Garnish with remaining banana’s. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour. When ready to serve, sprinkle remaining graham crumbs over the dish, and drizzle the caramel on top. If desired, warm extra for topping individual servings.

Note: I served the pudding in custard cups and placed sliced banana’s, some reserved crumbs and drizzled caramel. (photo)

banana-puddding-good

Big Name Banana Pudding

Jan11

Goin Italian

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Goin Italian
Meat Lasagna

Meat Lasagna

I received a huge compliment today. It came from my teen daughter when she tried my lasagna, and even better, asked for more. You see, she has refused anything pasta or tomato based for years now. As a matter of fact, if you say the word “ravioli” to her, she nearly gags (drama, I know).  Hence, the other family members suffer and rarely have Italian dishes. I do too, since many pasta dishes are easy and convenient to prepare. I didn’t care though… if necessary, she would just go hungry. Reluctantly, she agreed to taste the lasagna, and low and behold, she asked for more. I was honored!!! Anyway, here is the recipe.

This is an easy, no frills lasagna recipe that can be prepared the night before, or even frozen. As simple as it is, the taste is very good. Served with garlic bread and a Caesar salad, you have a great meal. I must pay tribute to my friend Michelle who taught me way back how to prepare this dish…

Classic Meat Lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2  pounds lean ground beef
  • 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce (I like Prego)
  • 16 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
  • Lasagna noodles (go ahead, use the no boil!)
  • 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, (if cooking right away.)

Brown ground beef and drain. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer until heated through. Now add the ricotta cheese an stir until thoroughly blended. In a 11 x 7 ” pan, place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish. Now, in a single layer place three lasagna noodles. Top with more sauce, then mozzarella, and another thin layer of sauce. Repeat layers until it reaches the top of the dish, finishing with the sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for one hour, removing the foil the last ten minutes. If preparing early, cover well and refrigerate or freeze.

Note – the idea with no boil noodles is to cover both sides with the sauce, leaving no open spots on the noodles. I prepare a smaller portion (we had leftover too), but you can double the ingredients easily and prepare in a 9 x 13 pan, you will have to cook a little longer however.

I also prepared a Caesar salad using romaine, light dressing and more grated Parmesan cheese then topped it with croutons. This is a good way to get finicky kids to eat romaine.

Then finally, the all American Italian favorite, garlic bread. Can’t have pasta without it!

caesar-salad

Hail Caesar!

Jan10

Grilled BBQ Chicken & Potato Salad

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Grilled BBQ Chicken & Potato Salad
Summer Special in January?

Backyard BBQ in January!!!

Tonight we had a wonderful meal, and at a wonderful price. This is the kind of meal you have at a summer picnic, but the last few weeks in Florida have felt like summer…so why not. Today was quite beautiful. The temperatures were in the 70′s and there was not a cloud in the sky. I actually wore shorts today, in January. Now I had no idea what the weather would be like when I planned this meal earlier in the week, but it turned out to be very fitting.

Leg 1/4′s were on sale at Publix this week at .59 cents a pound. I got a pack of 5 huge 1/4′s for $2.50… To go with the chicken I made classic potato salad and some steamed corn and broccoli. Dessert was a new twist too, but I will post that tomorrow.

To prepare the chicken you will need:

  • Boiling water, salted
  • 5 -6 chicken leg quarters
  • BBQ sauce of choice (I prefer Kraft Original for this chicken)

I always boil leg quarters for a few minutes before throwing them on the grill. Bone-in meat always requires extra cooking time, and I cannot stand charred meat. So about 10 minutes in a boiling bath starts the cooking and also enhances moisture in the finished product.

Boil Leg Quarters for 10 minutes and gently transfer to hot grill (to keep the skin from tearing). Grill for 10 minutes right side up, then flip to brown the top. After about 5 minutes spread desired BBQ sauce on the bottoms of the chicken. Let cook for a couple of minutes and flip the chicken again. Thoroughly coat the tops with sauce and allow to simmer on grill until cooked through, which won’t be long… Remove and serve! My total cooking time after boiling was about 10 minutes on each side. The temperature on my grill was at 500 initially, and remained at 400 ish for the rest of the time.

Now, for the potato salad!

Classic Potato Salad

  • 3 – 5 lbs baking potatoes, diced
  • 6 boiled eggs
  • Sweet Relish
  • Salt, Pepper to taste
  • Diced Onions & Celery (if desired)

Boil potatoes until tender, remove and drain in colander. Chop eggs into small pieces, or use egg slicer. Place in large bowl, lightly salt and pepper then add potatoes. (Now this is where I just eyeball measurements and add to taste). Add 2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise and sweet relish. Stir into potatoes. Add more mayo, relish and salt & pepper to taste. I like to prepare the salad while the potatoes are still warm. It kind of mushes the potatoes, but I think that contributes to the creaminess of the potato salad. If you stir gently, you will get a combination of creamy and chunky potatoes – yum. If using, add the chopped onions and celery and stir until well mixed. Maybe next time I will measure how much of everything I add.

After dinner I broke out the dessert, which I made last night. I will talk more about that tomorrow – I still have to take pictures.

Finally, after dinner cleanup, I prepared Sunday lunch. Home made lasagna. I will pop it in the oven before church and it should be hot and ready to serve when we get home. That’s it! Good night all.

Jan1

Rich & Luscious Cheesecake Brownies

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Rich & Luscious Cheesecake Brownies
Got Milk?

Got Milk?

These magnificent brownies were just one of the treats we had for New Years Eve. No big parties or jam-packed festivities for us, just a get together with friends. We adults caught up on some long needed Rook, while the kids Rocked out for hours on the Wii. I took a hand at the drums in Rock Band… and quickly handed off the sticks to my ten year old. Anyway, it was a nice evening which we actually ended before midnight…boring, I know.

The brownie layer is, I am not ashamed to announce, a box mix. The top layer is made of cream cheese, powdered sugar, eggs and a shot of vanilla. I am certain a good fudge brownie recipe would go well in this dessert, but time was not on my side.

The recipe is from the book, The Great American Cookie Cookbook. It is a wonderful brownie, but it is so rich I only make it for special occasions.

Ingredients:

Brownie Layer:

  • 1 Family Size Fudge Brownie Mix (9 x 13″ size)
  • All Ingredients brownies as called for on box (fudge version, not cake)

Cream Cheese Layer:

  • 8 ounces (1 block) cream cheese, softened **Large Block**
  • 2 large eggs
  • 16 ounce box powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a 13 x 9″ pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Prepare brownies as directed and pour into prepared pan. For the cheesecake layer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy, then beat in the eggs, sugar and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Spoon and spread mixture over the brownies and bake for about 45 minutes. The cheesecake layer will be golden brown and shiny when cooked. Remove from the oven and cool completely. When cool, grasp the foil and remove the brownie from the pan. Cut into bars and store left overs in the fridge. It is very rich, so keep the pieces small and have some milk ready to pour!