Banana Pudding

Magnolia Bakery has a "famous" banana pudding. The recipe is extremely easy and I think it is SO good. I made it this past weekend for dessert because we were having our missionaries over for dinner. It was a hit. 

Banana Pudding

Yield: a lot

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix (about 2 boxes)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

3 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 box Nilla waffers

4-5 bananas

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl add instant vanilla pudding mix. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups cold water and sweetened condensed milk. Once it's whisked together, let it sit 15 minutes. Whisk every couple of minutes as it thickens. 

In a separate mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add vanilla extract. 

Fold whipped cream into pudding mixture until fully incorporated. (avoid overmixing to maintain the "fluff" in the whipped cream)

In a large bowl or 9x13 glass baking dish, layer with 1/3 box Nilla waffers, 1 sliced banana, and 1/3 pudding mix. Continue to layer and finish with pudding on top. Crush the remaining Nilla wafers and sprinkle over the top of the pudding. Refrigerate until served. 

*Pudding is best after resting in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. 

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

(not super pretty, but pretty good!)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 carrots, diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 chicken broth
2 cups 1 percent milk
1 10-ounce package frozen peas
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt and pepper
1 9-inch store-bought piecrust, thawed if frozen

I added corn as well

Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the chicken in a pot of simmering water until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes; let cool, then shred.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes (do not let them darken). Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute
Add the chicken broth and cook about 5 minutes. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken, peas, thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart baking dish.
Lay the crust on top, pressing to seal. Cut several vents in the crust. Place the pot pie on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Recipe from Cooking Light

Hoisin Chicken with Mango Salsa

Super easy and good! 


Ingredients: 
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts 
Hoisin Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Mango Salsa (recipe below)

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, season chicken with salt and pepper. Drizzle chicken with Hoisin Sauce and let cook in it for a little while. Before serving add a little more Hoisin Sauce on the chicken and top with Mango Salsa. Serve on a bed of greens or rice. 


Mango Salsa

• 1 whole Mango, Diced
• ½ Medium Red Onion, Finely Diced
• 1 Hass Avocado 
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Diced (I substituted the jalapeno for a green pepper because Scott doesn't like super spicy things)
• Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

Fresh Rosemary & Lemon Cupcakes

I made these Lemon and Rosemary cupcakes for book club a few months back. They are really moist and the rosemary is faint but still gives it a little bit of flavor. I put more zest in the glaze than it calls for which made it extra tangy but I like it that way. 

Fresh Rosemary & Lemon Cupcakes


Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2 eggs
* 1-3/4 cups cake flour
* 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
* 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1-1/2 tsp. lemon extract
* 1/2 tsp. vanilla
* 2/3 cup milk
* 2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
* 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
* 1 recipe Lemon Glaze (see recipe)

Directions

1. Let butter and eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line fifteen 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside. In medium bowl combine cake flour, rosemary, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium-high for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, lemon extract, and vanilla. Beat on medium-high for 2 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping bowl.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture; beat on low after each just until combined. Stir in the lemon peel and lemon juice.

4. Spoon batter in prepared cups to three-fourths full. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. (Bake 36 mini cakes 15 to 18 minutes; 6 jumbo cakes 25 to 30 minutes.) Cool in muffin cups on rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.

5. Spoon Lemon Glaze on cupcakes. Let stand 10 minutes. Makes 15 (2-1/2-inch) cupcakes.

6.Lemon Glaze: In small bowl combine 1 cup powdered sugar and enough lemon juice (5 to 5-1/2 teaspoons) for spreading consistency. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest.

Strawberry Mango Sorbet

StrawberryMango Sorbet

You will need:

3/4 c. sugar

1.5 c. water

1.5 c. chopped peeled mango

1.5 c. fresh strawberries, halved

1/4 c. lime juice

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved; set aside to cool.

2. In a food processor, cover and process mangoes and strawberries until pureed. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in sugar and lime juice. Put into a 13x9inch dish; cover and freeze for 45 minutes or until eges begin to firm. Stir and return to freezer. Freeze 2 hours longer or until firm (we did ours overnight).

3. Just before serving, transfer to a food processor; cover and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

And Enjoy! It's delicious...we just had some :)

Nacho Mac 'n Cheese

So, we are playing around with Mexican-inspired Mondays. This is a good, use-what-you've-got-handy recipe. I almost always have the stuff for this on hand.

Note: also good for picky eaters. The boys are iffy on it, but mostly because they don't like mac 'n' cheese much.

3 cups uncooked pasta (gemelli, cavatappi, penne, elbows, etc...)
1 lbs. ground beef
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped or 2 green onions, chopped.
2 cups chopped sweet peppers (I use the little peppers you buy in a bag @ Costco. Love those little guys!)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 envelope taco seasoning (note: I've got the big thing of taco seasoning from Costco & I usually put in a heaping 1/4 cup. Might be a bit more than one envelope. Maybe 1 1/2?)
1 can tomatoes, diced or crushed, drained
2 1/4 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup frozen corn
crushed tortilla chips

1. cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in dutch oven or stockpot cook beef and red peppers, onion & garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain grease. Stir in butter until melted. Add flour & taco seasoning until meat is coated. Add tomatoes. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and corn until cheese is melted.
Add drained pasta. Stir to coat & top with crushed tortilla chips.