Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

If there's one thing my sister and I share... It's a love for cooking and trying new things in the kitchen! She lives in Houston so we don't get to share these moments too often, but when we do we have the best time. Just a few weeks ago I went to Houston for a visit and we made a variety of things- one being this cream cheese banana nut bread. This was really easy and so yummy! We saw the original recipe on Pinterest and it made 2 loaves. We cut the recipe in half to just make one loaf. The full recipe is listed below. Try this! It won't let you down!

Love you, Steph! I can't wait for my next visit and I'm looking forward to some more cooking adventures with you! xo

Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup of butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups of flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
- 1 cup of roughly chopped pecans
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
Combine flour and next three ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at a low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8x4 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Voila!

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Homemade Granola Bars

These are no-bake and really easy! I have been looking for simple and healthy lunch snacks to bring to school. I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it. I added in some ground flax seed to the mixture so these bars are actually pretty healthy. They sort of taste like no bake cookies. I found a few other recipes for granola bars that I'm thinking about trying, too-- one had Nutella in it! Stay tuned!

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup of local honey
- 1/4 cup of unsalted butter
- 1 cup of oats (not quick oats)
- 2 tablespoons of wheat germ
- 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed
- 1/2 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Melt the butter, peanut butter, and honey over low-medium heat. Stir constantly.
2) Turn off the burner when melted. Pour in the oats, wheat germ, and flax seed. Stir til combined.
3) You can wait until the mixture cools to add in the chocolate chips, or if you're like me (impatient) just go ahead and dump it all right in. The result will be a more uniform chocolate taste (shown in the picture).
4) Pour mixture into a foil-lined 8x8 pan and stick in the fridge. Once cooled, take the foil out of the pan and cut to the size you like.
5) Voila!

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Oreo Cookie Bark

Only 2 ingredients and about 20 minutes stands between you and this very simple and yummy dessert! I have to admit that my version was not as pretty as the one in this picture- but it was delicious none the less. Here's the link for the original recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 10 ounces of Ghirardelli white chocolate chips
- 15 Oreos, plus a few more for topping

Directions:
1) Line an 8x8 pan with enough parchment paper for 1 inch overhang.
2) Place chocolate in a double boiler over low heat and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
3) Crush Oreos and mix into the melted chocolate and use a spatula to spread mixture in the 8x8 pan.
4) Finely chop remaining Oreos and sprinkle on top. Chill pan for about 10 minutes until chocolate becomes solid.
5) Life whole bark out of pan by holding the parchment overhang.  Break bark into pieces.
6) Voila!

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Toasted Butter Pecan Cake

First... Let me apologize for not being a very consistent blogger. I have so many recipes that I've tried this summer that I need to share with you, but I just can't find the time to upload them! Where has the summer gone? I'm already back in my classroom this week trying to get things ready for my new bunch of babies that will be here in a month! I'm so excited and a little anxious, too. I'm hoping for 20 little angels (and NOT 20 of the opposite haha).

Now... Let's get to the important stuff. This recipe is AWESOME! It made a 13x9 pan and also an 8 inch round pan. Jason and I kept the 8 inch for us and he brought the 13x9 pan to share with his coworkers. Some of his coworkers said it was one of their all time favorite desserts. Wow! It really is delicious. And the frosting is the best part. So yummy!!!! Try it!

Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
- 2 cups of chopped pecans
- 2 cups of sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 3 cups of flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of milk

Frosting:
- 16 ounces of cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks of butter, softened
- 2 lbs of powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk, as necessary
- extra pecans for garish, optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour three 9" round cake pans (or the pans of your choice).
2. In a medium skillet, melt 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat. Add pecans; cook until toasted and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Spread across sheet of foil to cool.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in toasted pecans.
6. Divide between cake pans and back 25-30 minutes, until cooked. Cool Completely.
7. For Frosting: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat in enough milk, if necessary, to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cake. Store in refrigerator.
8. Voila!

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Cake Batter Cookies

For some reason I'm wide awake so I thought I'd share a new recipe with you! These are so good and so easy! It's a great twist to "normal" chocolate chip cookies. The original recipe says that you can use any kind of cake mix. I used yellow cake. I made two batches of these- one batch for some family that spent time with us on the 4th of July and another batch for a dinner party. I used less chocolate chips the second time because I thought there were way too many for the first batch. Both batches were devoured! It was unanimous- the recipe is delish!

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 to 3/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (depending on your taste)

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Mix everything together. I used my hands to mix it because it's not a smooth dough so the spoon wasn't really working for me.
3) Take a teaspoon of the batter and roll it into a ball. Continue until all dough has been formed into balls. Bake for 10-15 minutes on a cookie sheet.
4) Voila!

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Homemade Crepes

YUMMMM! That's pretty much all I have to say about this.

Every time I eat crepes I think about this clip in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. How funny are Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in that movie?!



I came across this recipe while looking at this breakfast blog post. I love dessert crepes so much! I did not realize how easy they are to make. Virtually everything you need is stuff you probably keep on hand. You can put whatever you'd like in the inside and on the outside. I've been stuck on Nutella lately, so inside of these crepes I put: Nutella, French vanilla cool whip, and strawberries.

By the way, if you haven't tried Kraft's French vanilla cool whip, you are missing out! That stuff is so good. I haven't tried the cinnamon kind yet.

Ingredients: (yields a large bowl full of batter mix)

- 2 cups of flour
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- a dash of vanilla extract
- about 2 cups of hot water

Directions:
1) Combine all ingredients except water and whisk together in a bowl. Set aside.
2) Boil about 2 cups of water. When the water starts to boil, remove the pot from the burner and set aside for a few minutes.
3) Preheat pan or skillet that you want to cook the crepes in on a little higher than medium heat.
4) Start adding 1/4 cup of the hot water at a time to the crepe mixture, whisking constantly, until the batter reaches the consistency on melted ice cream. You will need to add about 1 and 1/2 cups of water total.
5) If you are using a nonstick pan, you might not need to grease your pan. But if you are using any other kind, be sure to spray the pan with PAM before you make each crepe. Pour less than half a ladle (depending on the size and thickness that you'd like) in the preheated pan and swirl slowly. Cook on each side for about 20-25 seconds. The crepes bubble up, similar to pancakes, so you'll know when it's time to flip them.
6) Remove from the pan and fill with all of your favorite toppings.
7) Voila!

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Nutella Fudgesicles

These are so yummy and so easy! I found the original recipe on Pinterest but I changed it up a little. These turned out so good that it has me thinking...What else can I make popsicles out of? Stay tuned for more creations : -).

Ingredients: (Yields 6 small fudgesicles with a little left over)
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 good squeeze of chocolate syrup
- 1/3 cup of Nutella

Directions:
Mix ingredients together and freeze for at least 2 hours. To remove the popsicle easily from the frozen container, run it under hot water for about 5 seconds.  Voila!

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Biscuit Beignets with Praline Sauce

Has it really been almost TWO months since my last post?! I'm the worst blogger ever! The last months of school have come and gone and it is officially summer. Hallelujah! I'm so ready to relax. It has been a great school year, probably my best year so far!

But now that I'm back from my blogging hiatus, I thought I'd share a DELISH dessert recipe. These biscuit beignets are to die for. Literally! So, so good. And so easy! You must try this soon!

Ingredients:
- 1 can of Grands Golden Layers biscuits, honey butter flavor
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 cup of dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons of milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (or less)
- canola oil (for frying)

Directions:
1) Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add in sugar and whisk together until it starts to boil.
2) Stir in the milk, vanilla, and pecans or walnuts until smooth. Set aside.
3) Separate biscuits and cut each into fourths. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
4) Fry biscuit quarters in batches until golden on each side. Biscuits will cook very quickly. Use a metal spatula and keep the biscuits moving.
5) Remove from oil and dust generously with powdered sugar and serve immediately with praline sauce.
6) Voila!

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Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Not the best picture but oooooohhhh sooooooo delish! Try these! The recipe is simple but somewhat tedious to make. But so worth it! At this point I'm not sure how many Jason has eaten and he's no where near ready to stop. Haha! I found the original recipe here. Next time I think I will skip the "ganache" icing and just use classic, milk chocolate store bought icing.

Ingredients:
- 24 yellow cupcakes, cooled and upwrapped
- 1 (3.4 oz) box French Vanilla instant pudding
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup milk

Ganache:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips


Directions:
1) Mix together pudding, whipping cream, powdered sugar, milk, and sour cream.
2) Beat on medium speed until it thickens.
3) Cup each cupcake in half and add a dollop of filling.
4) Put top back on cupcake and frost with ganache.
5) Make ganache by heating whipping cream in a sauce pan until it boils. Remove from heat, pour over chocolate chips and stir to mix. Let cool slightly. Voila!
 
Get Cookin'!

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

I was really excited to make and try these cookies! I found the original post on Pinterest and they looked so good. Even though they were really good-- they didn't turn out the way I expected. It sort of just tasted like a smaller version of strawberry cake, and I was hoping they would have the consistency of cookies. Jason had the genius idea to make double doozies with them-- leave it to the sugar monster I live with to come up with that! haha. I will definitely make these again.

Ingredients for cookies and icing:
- 1/2 cup of softened butter (1/4 cup for cookies and 1/4 cup for icing)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (1 tsp for cookies and 1 tsp for icing)
- 1 cup + 1/4 cup of strawberry cake mix

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1/4 cup of butter, egg, 1 tsp of vanilla, and cake mix. Stir until smooth. Put in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
2) Form 1 inch balls on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are barely browned.
3) While cookies are baking, make the frosting. Stir together the remaining 1/4 cup of butter and cream cheese. Then add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar- mix until smooth.
4) After the cookies have cooled, frost them and finish with sprinkles. Or, be a complete glutton (like me) and make a double doozie!
5) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

King Cake!!

Happy Mardi Gras! This holiday is very near and dear to my heart. It's one of the only days that miss living in Louisiana! I think it takes moving away from your home town to really appreciate it. One thing I love about Louisiana is that it is so culturally rich. So much history, hospitality, and most of all- the best food on the planet! I love Texas and I absolutely love living in Austin. But there's no place like home : -).

Today, just for fun, I read my kindergarteners a story about Mardi Gras and let them wear purple, green, and gold beads all day. At the end of the day I played some traditional Mardi Gras music for them to dance to-- and they LOVED it! One girl said, "I wish I lived there so I could do this every day!" With a room full of five year olds, there's never a dull moment!

Mardi Gras is a celebration that happens on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It's become a day where people indulge themselves before the Lenten season. One of the traditional foods for this time of year is King Cake. I found a somewhat simple recipe for King Cake, so I decided to bring a little bit of Louisiana to Austin and have my own little celebration.

For my first attempt, I think it came out great! It did not look as great as the ones that you buy from a bakery, but it tasted very similar. Next time I will add more cream cheese to the filling to make it even better.

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of original crescent rolls (you will need about 12 triangles)
- 1/4 cup of cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- purple, green, and yellow food coloring
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon of melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Unroll the dough and separate the triangles. Place each triangle side by side with top points (the narrow side) touching in the center, to make a circle. Press the seams of the wide side of the triangles together.
3. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Spread this all around on the crescent triangles.
4. In another bowl, mix together the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon and pour on top of the cream cheese.
5. Now it's time to roll up the triangles to make a circular cake. Start with the narrow side (the points that are in the middle of the pan). Fold point over to reach the wide side. Then roll over once more. Do this all the way around the pan until you have a circular looking cake.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. While the cake is cooling, make combine the powdered sugar and milk to make the icing. You might need to add a little more milk until desired consistency is reached.
8. Separate the icing into 3 separate bowls and use food coloring to make purple, green, and gold icing. When cake has cooled, drizzle each color icing on the cake with a spoon.
9. Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Semi-Homemade Mini Cinnamon Rolls

I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course) and had to try it. About a month ago I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe for completely homemade cinnamon rolls... It was a total pain and took forever to make! These were so easy and SO good! In my opinion, they were just as delish as PW's recipe. A total score!

Ingredients:
- 1 can of crescent rolls
- 1 tablespoon of melted butter
- cinnamon and brown sugar
- 2 ounces of cream cheese, softened
- 1/8 cup of butter, softened
- 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon of milk
- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:
1) Unroll the triangles and lay them side by side. Pinch the seems together to form one big rectangle.
2) Brush on 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
3) Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.
4) Roll the dough into one big log then cut into even slices.
5) Place in a pan and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
6) For the icing: mix the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat well and then frost rolls when they come out of the oven.
7) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Classic Fantasy Fudge

A very dear teacher friend of mine made this delicious fudge for me 2 years in a row- so this year I decided I would make some! This recipe is from the Kraft Foods website. One thing I love about Kraft recipes is that they are quick and easy! I really love this fudge- and the recipe makes a 13x9 pan full, perfect for sharing. You can also make this in the microwave! I'll put the details below. Jason brought a pan with him to work and he said his coworkers devoured it. If you need a simple and delicious gift for a friend or maybe a dessert for a holiday party- try this! You will love it!

Ingredients:
- 3 cups of sugar
- 3/4 cup of butter
- 1 small can of evaporated milk (5 ounces or 2/3 cup)
- 1 package of semi-sweet milk chocolate chips
- 1 jar, 7 ounces, of Jet Puffed marshmallow creme
- 1 cup of chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:
1) Line a 13x9 inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.
2) Bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Cook for about 4 minutes.
3) Add chocolate and marshmallow creme, stir until melted.
4) Add nuts and vanilla, mix well.
5) Pour into pan and spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift fudge from the pan before cutting into squares. I used a pizza cutter to make the cutting easy.


Microwave Preparation:

To prepare the fudge in the microwave, place butter in 4-qt. microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until melted. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave 5 min. or until mixture begins to boil, stirring after 3 min. Stir well, scraping down side of bowl. Microwave 5-1/2 min., stirring after 3 min. Let stand 2 min. Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; continue as directed.

Thanks, Laurie, for sharing this great recipe! 

  Get Cookin'!

Cinnamon and Sugar Biscuit Bites

This recipe happened out of desperation. I love Aunt Annie's cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites. And I mean LOVE! There is something magical and comforting in them- it's true! I was so excited when I found a simple recipe for homemade pretzel bites on Pinterest. The recipe calls for " 1 Texas Size Rhodes Roll Dough" and I can't find it anywhere! Last night Jason and I went to 2 different stores in search for it and still, no luck. We ended up at Wal-Mart and bought honey butter biscuits. I cut the biscuits into bite sized pieces, baked them, and then tossed them in cinnamon and sugar. This was really good! Not as good as Aunt Annie's, but it was close :-).

Ingredients:
- 1 can of Pillsbury Honey Butter biscuits
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- a little bit of melted butter

Directions:
1) Cut each biscuit into bite size pieces and bake (follow instructions on can).
2) When the biscuits are done, melt the butter and brush on each piece.
3) Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a gallon size Ziploc bag, and then shake the pieces in the mixture until they are coated well with the sugar and cinnamon.
4) Remove from bag and enjoy!

You can also make an easy vanilla glaze to dip the pieces in- so delish! Here's what you need:
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 1 tablespoon of melted butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

 Combine everything and mix well.


  Get Cookin'!

Halloween Fun

This week at school we had Halloween-themed treats during lunch. There were so many cute and yummy ideas so I took a few pictures of my favorites.

1)Frightening Lady Fingers (This one was my favorite!)

How cute and creepy is this!?

Ingredients: (yields about 5 dozen cookies)
- 1 cup of butter, softened
- 1 cup of confectioner's sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon each of vanilla extract and almond extract
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- red decorating gel (the icing in the tube)
- 1/2 cup of sliced almonds

Directions:
1) Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and extracts.
2) Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture.
3) Divide the dough into fourths. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until easy to handle.
4) Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into 1 inch balls. Shape balls into 3 inch x 1/2 inch fingers.
5) Use the flat tip of a table knife, make an indentation on one end of each for fingernail. With a knife, make three slashes in the middle of each finger for the knuckle.
6) Place 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly brown.
7) Cool for 3 minutes. Squeeze a small amount of red gel on nail bed, press sliced almond over gel for nail, allowing gel to ooze around the nail.
8) Remove to wire racks to cool.
9) Voila!



2)Mummy Cupcakes

This is just regular cupcakes and the icing is applied with through a pastry bag with a tip. For the eyes you can use a different color icing or M&Ms. How cute and easy!!


3)Monster Cupcakes

One of my very dear friends made these with her kids..Just for fun! I think they turned out super cute. It's just chocolate sprinkles all over the top of the cupcake. The eyes are made out of small marshmallows and mini green M&Ms. Love it!


4) Goblin Good Cake

First, I love the little sign in this cake. So cute for parties so you don't leave your guests wondering, "What is that, exactly?"  This cake was super yummy. It's just a regular cake mix on the bottom, cream cheese icing, and crushed up Butterfinger  candy bar for the topping!


Do you have any festive Halloween treat recipes? Please share them by posting a comment below!

I'll end with a Halloween joke......What does a monster call his parents? Mummy and Deady! haha. Happy Halloween!!

  Get Cookin'!

Honey Moon Rolls

I just stumbled upon this recipe yesterday and I had to try it! It was super easy and really good! Jason said the rolls remind him of Christmas time- I think just because we eat cans and cans of crescent rolls during the month of December. The website I borrowed this recipe from listed this as a breakfast food but I think it makes a great dessert! Next time I think I will use pecans instead of almonds.


Ingredients:
- 3 ounces of softened cream cheese
- 1.5 tablespoons of honey
- 1/8 cup of sliced almonds
- 1 can of crescent rolls
- a dash of cinnamon and sugar

Directions:
1) Combine cream cheese, honey, and almonds.
2) Place 1 teaspoon of mixture in the center of each crescent triangle. Fold the edges in and roll up.
3) Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
4) Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and drizzle with additional honey.
5) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Bananas Foster

We always order this anytime it is an option in restaurants, and until now I never realized how easy it is to make! I took one bite and immediately I felt as if I was eating at Brennan's in New Orleans! If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, do yourself a favor and make reservations to eat at Brennans. Close your eyes and point to anything on the menu- you can't go wrong because it's all delicious! And please, please, save room for their table side bananas foster...It will change your life!

OK...back to the recipe. I got this from the Pioneer Woman's blog. To see step by step picture instructions from Ree's blog- click here! I call her "Ree" as if she is my close friend...I sure wish she was!! haha. We made this a few times this past weekend- what else are we going to do with a whole bottle of rum? :-) I changed her measurements a little bit because her recipe make a huge skillet full, and you can't eat too much because it's so rich. The following recipe will serve 2-4 people.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup of rum
- 2 bananas, sliced
- 1/4 cup of chopped pecans
- dash of cinnamon

Directions:
1) In a skillet, melt butter over medium high heat.
2) Add brown sugar and pecans and stir together.
3) Add cream and continue cooking.
4) Pour in rum and stir to combine. Use a grill lighter (the wand kind) to ignite the alcohol in the pan. Do not worry because it doesn't make a huge flame- but please be careful! This step is necessary or else the syrup part of the dessert will be really, really strong.
5) When the flame goes out, add the bananas and cook for 30 seconds to a minute. Don't cook too long or the bananas will be mushy.
6) Serve over vanilla ice cream.
7) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Graham Cracker Cookie Bars

 

I know I have said before that I am not a baker. I will choose salty food over sweets any day of the week! When I am really hungry Jason and I always joke and say, "Just hand over some chips and salsa and no one will get hurt." Haha! But I have been finding the best dessert recipes lately. When I decided to try this...It was mainly because the recipe said that this makes a great, small gift around Christmas time (instead of almonds and heath bits, crush up peppermint pieces for the topping). I am always looking for inexpensive things to give to friends and family. Well sorry to spoil the surprise but everyone will be getting this as a gift this year! Once you taste it, you won't mind at all! It is delish and so simple to make! I think it took all of about 10 minutes to prepare, 7 minutes to bake, and then cool for about 20 minutes. The cookie bars didn't make it through the weekend at my house!

Ingredients:
- 10-12 whole graham crackers
- 2 sticks of butter
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup of chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup each of sliced almonds and toffee bits (or whatever kind of topping)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Line a 11x15 pan with whole graham crackers.
3) Mix butter and brown sugar together in a pan to boil. Stir for 5 minutes while boiling on low to combine butter and sugar.
4) Pour the butter/sugar mixture over the crackers and bake for 7 minutes.  At this point the crackers will look really soggy, and it will seem like you did something wrong. But keep going!
5) Sprinkle with chocolate chips and return to oven for a few minutes to melt. Use a flat knife or spatula to spread the melted chips like icing.
6) Sprinkle on nuts and heath bits and cool in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. This will help everything come together and make the crackers not soggy.
7) Remove from fridge and use a pizza cutter to cut into squares.
8) Voila! Hide these from your family or they won't survive very long.

     Get Cookin'!

"Regular" Lime Pie

I called this "Regular" because I didn't use key-limes. I used regular limes, and I'm happy to report that the pie turned out delish! One thing I really loved about this pie was the crust. It was just about as thick as the filling of the pie and so good! I wish I could also say that the recipe was quick and easy...It's fairly quick and fairly easy. The only problem is that you will need 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice and I don't have a juicer! So I hand-squeezed about 7 limes to make the 1/2 cup! Yes, I was determined. You will also need about 1 tablespoon of lime zest. That equals out to about 6 limes! So it was sort of a pain- but fairly easy.

Crust Ingredients: (If you don't want to do this, just use a pre-made graham cracker crust)

- 18 whole graham crackers (the 4 section large pieces)

- 1/3 cup of sugar

- 1/3 cup of melted butter

Filling Ingredients:

- 1 tablespoon of fresh lime zest

- 1/2 a cup of fresh lime juice

- 2 egg yolks

- 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

- whipped cream (for topping)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Crush graham crackers in food processor. 

3) Pour them in a bowl and stir in sugar and melted butter.

4) Press into pie pan and bake for 5-8 minutes, or until golden and set. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

5) In another bowl, mix together lime zest, juice, and egg yolks. 

6) Add in condensed milk and beat on high until smooth and think. 

7) Pour mixture into crust and bake for 15 minutes.

8) Remove from oven, allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

9) Top with whipped cream before serving.

10) Voila!

I know there are lots of great recipes out there for "regular" lime pie. Do you have an easy one? Please share it by posting a comment below!

     Get Cookin'!

Homemade Monkey Bread

Why is this delish breakfast treat/dessert/snack referred to ask "Monkey Bread?" What does it even have to do with these 2 things?

 


Monkeys?






Sliced bread?


Absolutely nothing! The name bothered me so badly that I decided to "Google" it. Here are a few theories:
1) It's called "Monkey Bread" because the act of several people pulling at the bread is reminiscent of monkey-like behavior.
2) It's called "Monkey Bread" because it resembles the monkey puzzle tree (whatever that is).

BUT...Here is my favorite explanation of the name, and in my opinion the most appropriate:

3) It's called "Monkey Bread" because it's more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Hahaha. I love it!

Anyway...Enough of the monkey business! (I am cracking myself up here with all this monkeying around!) Ok. Seriously. I will stop.

I think I was in middle school when I had Monkey Bread for the first time. One of my closest friend's mom made this for us and I was in heaven! I could not believe the cinnamon and sugar goodness. So when I came across a recipe for this I just had to try it! The recipe was so easy and it made my whole house smell like a bakery!

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of Pillsbury Honey Butter biscuits (this is a picture of the junior biscuits, I just used the regular sized ones)

- 1 cup of sugar

- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

- 2 sticks of butter (Yeaaaa, this isn't really a 'healthy' snack. Just so you know!)

- 1/2 cup of brown sugar

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Open up the cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters.
3) Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a gallon size Ziploc bag and add biscuit pieces.
4) Shake violently until all pieces are coated and not sticking together.
5) Spread the pieces evenly in a bundt pan. I did not have a bundt pan so I just used a rectangular foil pan and it worked great!
6) Melt the 2 sticks of butter and brown sugar in a saucepan. Stir until fully mixed together.
7) Pour over the pieces- it will look like alot of liquid but don't worry!
8) Bake for about 40 minutes- until the crust on top is a dark brown.

9) Use another pan to flip over the monkey bread and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

10) Voila! Try not to eat the whole pan at one time. It will be very, very hard...But try!

     Get Cookin'!