Pepper Jack Eggs

1 tbsp butter
6 eggs
2-3 Tbsp half and half
Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded Pepper Jack cheese
Taco Sauce or Salsa
Crispy Bacon or Cooked Sausage
2-3 flour tortillas, lightly grilled and sprinkled with finely shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
Thinly sliced green onions, if you want to be fancy

Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet over low-medium heat. Beat the eggs with the half and half, salt and pepper until very will mixed. You should not be able to see any egg white. Pour the eggs into the skillet and cook slowly, stirring frequently until the eggs are creamy looking and about half cooked. Sprinkle with the pepper jack cheese (I used about 1/4 cup of cheese) and continue stirring until the eggs are as done as you like them.

I spoon my eggs over the warm, cheesy tortilla, drizzle on some taco sauce and crumble a strip of bacon over it then roll it into a burrito. John likes his with the tortillas and meat on the side.

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Buttercream

Cupcakes:
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Honey-Cinnamon Buttercream:
1 stick butter, softened
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 3 tsp half and half, if necessary

Preheat oven to 350^F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe makes one dozen cupcakes.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with mixer. Add sour cream and vanilla and slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the bananas until well mixed. Add the flour baking powder baking soda and salt and beat until batter is smooth. Using an ice-cream scoop fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and done. Remove cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool thoroughy before frosting.

Combine butter, honey, cinnamon and powdered sugar with electric mixer until smooth and spreadable. Add half and half if necessary to make a spreadable frosting. Ice the cupcakes.

These cupcakes are a combination of Gina Neely's Banana Cupcakes and Martha Stewart's Frosting. I left out the walnuts only because I didn't have any! These are tasty!

PB&J Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup peanut butter (I prefer crunchy)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Your favorite Jam (grape if you're a pb&j purist)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Combine milk, peanut butter, oil, vanilla and eggs in a separate bowl until well mixed. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter onto hot nonstick griddle for each pancake. Turn when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked

Serve with jam.

Confession time: I forgot to add the eggs to mine and I used 1 1/2 cups of milk (misread the recipe) and they were perfectly fine! In fact, they were quite delicious! I ended up with 14 pancakes and not a one was left over, 'cause John ate 10 of them!! Original recipe from my Publix meal plan from e-meals.

Spicy White Chili

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp minced roasted garlic
4-oz can chopped green chiles
2 tsp roasted cumin
1 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 lb dried white beans (navy or great northerns, your choice), washed
1 carton chicken broth

Water Place all ingredients in the slow cooker. Add enough water to cover beans by about 2 inches. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or until done. Serve with sour cream, shredded pepper-jack cheese and tortilla chips. Yum!

Cathy's Favorite Carrot Cake

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups peeled and coarsely grated carrots
8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350^F. Grease and flour a 9x13" cake pan.

Combine the flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the dry ingredients. Fold in carrots, pineapple and pecans. Pour batter in prepared pan and bake 45-55 minutes or until cake tests done. If cake is browning too much, loosely cover with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 stick unsalted butter, diced
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup and soda in a large saucepan,stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often until the glaze is a deep amber color. The glaze will thin out when almost done. Remove from heat add vanilla.

Loosen edges of cake from pan but leave it in the pan. Poke holes in warm cake with a bamboo skewer and then slowly pour the glaze over the cake. Let cool completely in the pan and then turn out onto a tray/platter/cake taker.

Frost. Enjoy!

Frosting:
5 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until well blended Spread over cooled cake.

Delicious Carrot Cake!

Lemon Supreme Pie

1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pie shell

LEMON FILLING:
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups water
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp grated lemon peel
4 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
11-oz cream cheese
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups Cool Whip

Line unpricked pie shell with a double thickness of heavy duty foil Bake at 450^F. for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on wire rack.

In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar cornstarch and salt. Stir in water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and add remaining sugar. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in butter, lemon peel and food coloring. Gently stir in lemon juice (do not overmix). Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Do not stir.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add lemon juice and fold in Cool Whip until well combined. Refrigerate 1/2 cup for garnish. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture in pie shell. Top with lemon filling. Chill overnight.

Place reserved cream cheese mixture in a pastry bag with a #21 start tip. Pipe stars onto pie. Store in refrigerator.

From Taste of Home magazine.

Arroz con Pollo

1 broiler-fryer chicken, (about 2.5-3 lbs), cut into serving pieces
Adobo seasoning
1 packet Sazon Goya
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1-2 splashes Hot Sauce
8 saffron threads (a small pinch)
1.5 cups uncooked long grain rice
2.5 cups chicken broth
1.5 cups frozen green peas

Sprinkle chicken with Adobo seasoning and the packet of Sazon Goya. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven and saute the chicken on both sides until well browned. Don't crowd the chicken...you'll probably need to brown it in 2 batches. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Drain off some of the chicken fat, if necessary, leaving only a couple of tablespoons in the pan. Saute the onions and bell pepper until onion is almost transparent. Add garlic and saute another minute or two. Add rice and Hot sauce and stir until rice is opaque and coated with the fat. Add broth and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Crumble in the saffron and place the chicken on top of the rice. Cover tightly and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice and chicken are done.

Remove the chicken and keep warm. fluff the rice and stir in the peas. Cover and cook about 5-7 minutes longer or until peas are done. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve hot.

Delicious!