Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
















3 over-ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Dash of salt
1 1/2 cups flour

For the Swirl:
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350^F.  Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon for the Swirl mixture.

Mix the bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in the flour until thoroughly combined.

Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with a little more than half the Swirl mixture.  Pour in the remaining batter and sprinkle the top with the remaining Swirl mixture.

Bake at 350^F for 50-60 minutes or until done.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Not bad and very easy.  Found on Pinterest.

Orange Pancakes with Sunshine Orange Sauce

Orange Pancakes with Sunshine Orange Sauce

Pancakes:
2 cups Bisquick mix
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup milk

Sauce:
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Combines Bisquick and sugar in a large bowl.  Make a well in center of mixture.  Combine egg, orange juice and milk until well mixed.  Pour into well in Bisquick mixture and stir just until moistened.

Pour 1/4 cups of batter for each pancake onto a hot, lightly greased griddle.  Cook until the tops are bubbly and edges appear cooked; turn and cook other side.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, mix the orange juice, sugar and cornstarch.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minutes or until sauce thickens to syrup consistency.  Serve with the pancakes.

Yum!!  Makes about 16 pancakes.  I don't remember where I found this recipe.  It's been in my "To Try" file for a long time though.  Glad I finally tried it!

Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Up

Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Up

2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size cubes

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

12-oz can refrigerated Grands biscuits

Preheat the oven to 375^F.  Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the chicken, soup, sour cream, cheese and mixed vegetables.  Remove the biscuits from the can and cut each into 4 pieces.  Toss with the chicken mixture.  Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.  

Bake 25-30 minutes or until biscuits are completely cooked.

This tasted good, but I didn't like the slight gooey-ness of the biscuits.  How do you spell gooey-ness?  Recipe found on Pinterest.

Beer Braised Pot Roast

Beer Braised Pot Roast

3-4 lb boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tablespoons instant dark roast coffee
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
1 lb small carrots, peeled
1 large onion, cut into 8ths
14-oz can stout beer
32 oz carton low sodium beef stock
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Hot Cooked Grits

Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper and rub the outside with the coffee.  Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the roast 3-5 minutes on each side.  Place the roast in a 6-quart slow cooker.  Reserve the drippings in the skillet.

Add the tomato paste and garlic to the drippings and saute 1 minute.  Slowly add beer, whisking constantly.  Stir in thyme and beef stock; bring to a boil and cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture reduces to about 3 cups.

Pour the beer mixture over the roast.  Place the carrots and onions on top of roast.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or until roast is fork tender.

Transfer meat to a serving platter and shred into large chunks, discarding any large pieces of fat. Spoon vegetables around the roast.

Skim fat from the cooking liquid and transfer the liquid to a large saucepan.  Whisk in vinegar.  Whisk together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth.  Stir into mixture in pan and bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring, or until sauce reaches desired consistency.  Serve sauce with roast, vegetables and hot cooked grits.

The meat was quite good, the sauce - not so much.  And I hated the grits!  Blech!  From Southern Living's 2015 Annual Recipes.

Crockpot Roasted Spiced Pecans

 
Ingredients

• 1 lb pecan halves
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

Cooking Directions

1. Place pecan halves in the bottom of a slow cooker. Drizzle melted butter over pecans and stir.
2. Add powdered sugar and spices. Stir well to coat evenly.
3. Leave the lid off and cook on low for 3 hours stirring occasionally.  
4. Spread pecans out evenly on a lined cookie sheet and allow to cool 30 minutes or until dry. Store in an airtight container or package for gift-giving.

These things are soooo good!!  Not to mention easy!

Honey Sriracha Chicken

Honey Sriracha Chicken

1 cup water
2-3 tablespoons Sriracha (I used 2 heaping)
5 tablespoons Lite Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup cornstarch
Vegetable or Peanut Oil
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, if desired
Cooked Rice

In a small-medium saucepan, combine the water, Sriracha, soy sauce, garlic, sugar and honey.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Whisk together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water.  Stir into the boiling mixture until it thickens.  Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

Put the chicken cubes into a large ziploc bag and add the 1/3 cup cornstach.  Seal and shake to coat the chicken.  Drizzle a large skillet with oil and heat over medium heat.  Add the chicken and saute until browned and cooked through.  Don't overcrowd the pan....I divided it into 2 batches to cook the chicken.

Once all the chicken is done, return them all to the skillet (drain if necessary) and pour the sauce over.  Serve over hot cooked rice and garnish with pepper flakes if desired.

This was really good!  Found on Pinterest (recipe on lecremedelacrumb.com).  I'll be making this one over and over again!

Spicy Ramen Noodles

Spicy Ramen Noodles

2 Tablespoons Simply Asia's Spicy Szechwan Five Spice Seasoning
2 Tablespoons Lite Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons Rice Vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons Toasted Sesame Oil
2 servings Ramen Noodles
Chopped Scallions to garnish, if desired

Cook the Ramen Noodles according to the package directions and drain.  I did not use the seasoning the packets that came with the noodles, due to high sodium concerns.

While the noodles are cooking, stir the remaining ingredients together.  Pour over the cooked, drained Ramen and toss to coat.  Serve, garnished with scallions if desired.

This was pretty good.  I liked the spiciness, but I think I'd reduce the vinegar to 1 teaspoon and increase the honey to 2 teaspoons.  John liked it a lot but said I needed to reduce the spiciness a bit next time!