Homemade Banana Pudding

Daddy loves banana pudding.  We prefer the cold kind.  But Pappy loves the homemade kind with the homemade vanilla pudding. 

Homemade Banana Pudding

2 cups milk (I've used all kinds of milk varieties)
2 tbsp flour
4 egg yolk (save the whites)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla wafers (entire box)

3 ripe bananas, sliced

4 egg whites (from the yolks above)
1/4 cup sugar 

Heat milk, flour, yolks and sugar over medium heat in heavy duty pot. Whisk until combined. Bring to boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Meanwhile, pour a box of vanilla wafers into a 2 quart casserole dish (13x9) and top evenly with sliced bananas. Once the pudding as thickened, remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Pour pudding over the bananas and wafers. Set aside. In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over the pudding mixture and create swirls and peak using the back of your spoon. Broil in the oven for 30-60 seconds or until the peaks are golden brown. Cool completely or eat warm. Whichever your heart desires.

 

YUM! 

Strawberry Smoothie

Strawberry Smoothie

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

1 tsp strawberry flavored sugar-free gelatin (powder only)

In microwave safe container, thaw strawberries in microwave for 1 minute on high.  Add yogurt to blender (or Magic Bullet), pour in the slightly softened strawberries and sprinkle the gelatin over the top.  Blend until completely smooth.  If it's a little thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you have the thickness you like.

It's only 150 calories.  I drink this for breakfast along with peanut butter toast or have it for a snack with cocoa roasted almonds. 

Pink Marshmallow Crispy Rice Treats

Your friend Aubree had a "pink-a-licious" party and so we decided to make some pink rice krispies treats.  They were so good!  I deviate from the original recipe by adding a little extra butter.  I think it makes the treats taste better.  I was expecting to make these pink by only using the food coloring, but after we got to the store, we found these strawberry flavored marshmallows.

I had to give them a try.  Here's how we did it:

Pink Marshmallow Crispy Rice Treats
12 tablespoons butter or 1-1/2 sticks of butter
2 packages of strawberry flavored marshmallows
pink food coloring
12-1/2 cups puffed rice cereal (such as Kellogg's Rice Krispies)

Prepare the half sheet pan with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray;  set aside.  Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add butter and let it begin to melt.

Add marshmallows and stir with butter until melted and smooth.

Add food coloring and stir to combine.

Pour in the cereal.

Stir with all your might to get it combined before the marshmallows start to cool.

Pour onto prepared sheet pan lined with plastic wrap.

Using another piece of plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, press down the treats.

Cover and allow to sit overnight on the counter.

Cut them into squares and enjoy!

These are so good!  You could really taste the strawberry flavoring.  But if you can't find these particular marshmallows, you can substitute with plain marshmallows, more pink food coloring and strawberry flavored extract.

YUM!

Peanut Butter Smoothie

Y'all love smoothies.  But recently, your favorite smoothie has been a green smoothie.  It's pretty healthy but still has some calories, so be mindful.  I called it the "Elvis Smoothie" since we all know how much Elvis Presley loved Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches.  



Green Elvis Smoothie
1 cup fresh spinach leaves*
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1 Tablespoon chocolate syrup
1 cup almond milk
1 frozen banana

Put everything into a blender or your Magic Bullet

and blend until smooth.

This makes 2 small smoothies or one large one.

2 small smoothies: calories 152.3, fat grams 5.8, carb 23.9 grams, 14.8 grams sugar

YUM!

*You can substitute 1/4 of a 10 oz box of frozen spinach.  Just be sure to thaw and squeeze out the water.

Pink Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Did you know you can dye white almond bark pink?  You can do whatever color you like.  Here's how:

Pink Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
1 package white almond bark
1 Tablespoon Crisco
food coloring, your choice, we used pink
strawberries
white chocolate chips
sugar sprinkles


Melt almond bark in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted.  Stir in Crisco.  Drop in food coloring and stir.

Dip the strawberries and place onto a waxed line baking sheet.  The almond bark firms up very quickly.

Melt white chocolate chips in microwave at 30 second intervals until melted.  Put into a food storage baggie and clip a small hole in the corner.  Drizzle over the strawberries and let firm up.  Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles to make them even more pretty!

Store in refrigerator overnight in airtight container.  These should be eaten within a day or two of making.  Longer than that and the strawberries begin to "weep" and run juice down the chocolate. 

We never have leftovers!


Enjoy!

Smashed Bugs (Pretzel Turtles)

I saw this recipe a few years ago called Smashed Bugs.  It's really yummy and the kids LOVE it!

Smashed Bugs (Pretzel Turtles)
Pretzels
Rolos or Caramel Kisses*
Pecan halves
Semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Spread pretzels in a single layer onto a cookie sheet.

Top each pretzel with one unwrapped Rolo or Caramel Kiss.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees F for about 3 minutes, just enough for the chocolate to begin melting.

Press one pecan half into the melting chocolate, press down..."smash the bug"...

Drizzle melted chocolate over them and cool completely.

Once they've cooled, they should pop right off of the pan. 

Store in an air tight container.

YUM!

TIP:  You can use the normal shaped pretzels for this, but I prefer the square ones.  Just because I'm weird like that.

*This was the first time I used Caramel Kisses.  I saw it on another blog and wanted to see how they turned out.  I think they were a little too messy and most of the caramel oozed out once they were "smashed".  I think next time I'll just stick with the Rolos for this recipe.

Poppy's Fried Apples

My Poppy was a great breakfast cook.  He'd make fried meats, fried taters and fried apples.  This is a very traditional Appalachian side dish.  You might think it's a chunky applesauce, but one bite and you'll know it's not applesauce.  Most of the time Poppy would make this for breakfast to eat alongside Granny's biscuits.  Sometimes we'd have leftovers, but that was rare.  The buttery goodness with these apples is addictive, you could eat them straight off a spoon!

Poppy's Fried Apples
5-6 apples, cored and chopped (leave skins on, that's how Poppy did it)
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup sugar

Add apples, butter and sugar to a pot with a lid. 

Stir to coat everything.  Cover pot, bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Remove lid and mash apples with back of a spoon.  Continue to simmer uncovered for 5 more minutes to reduce some of the liquid in the pot.

Then it's ready to eat.  Yummy goodness!

Yum!

Lemon Squares

Lemon is such a refreshing flavor.  When I'm feeling down or a little melancholy, I love to brighten our food with lemon.  This is one of my most favorite recipes for lemon squares.  Super tart and tangy!

Lemon Squares (adapted from Pillsbury Complete Book of Baking)

crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened

filling:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup lemon juice

frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients at low speed until crumbly.  Press mixture evenly in bottom of ungreased 13x9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown.

In a large bowl, combine first four filling ingredients, blend well.  Stir in the lemon juice and pour mixture over warm crust.  Continue baking for another 25-30 minutes or until top is light golden brown.  Cool completely.

In small bowl, combine frosting ingredients, blend until smooth.  Spread over cooled bars.  Cut into bars.

Yum!

Berry Banana Smoothie

Berry Banana Smoothies

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup chopped frozen strawberries

1 ripe banana, broken into pieces

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup milk

3 teaspoons fresh mint

Combine all ingredients in a blender (or your fabulous Magic Bullet) 

and blend until smooth.  

Serve immediately.  

I was surprised by the hint of mint in the smoothie.  Definitely a good addition!
Yum!

Blackberry Cobbler

You can actually use this cobbler recipe for any kind of fruit.  We have lots of freshly frozen blackberries from our picking adventure at Adam's Farms in Fayetteville, and Austin is here for a few weeks, so I thought I'd make one for us.  Of course, you can't have cobbler without vanilla ice cream!

Blackberry Cobbler (adapted from Southern Plate)

1/2 cup butter, plus 1 Tablespoon
1 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
1 cup milk
2 cups berries, peaches, strawberries, etc...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) in an 8x8 baking dish and add to the oven.

To make the berries juicy, add them to a microwaveable bowl along with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon butter.  Microwave for 1 minute until the sugar starts to melt.

In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, remaining sugar and milk.  It's best if you leave the lumps. 

Remove the baking dish from oven and pour the flour mixture into the melted butter.  (DO NOT STIR). 

Pour berries and juice over the batter (DO NOT STIR). 

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. 

Definitely serve this up with some vanilla ice cream, there's nothing better!

(To make a 9x13 cobbler, just double the above recipe. )

Oatmeal Fruit Bars

This is a great bar for breakfast or snack for the kids.

Oatmeal Fruit Bars
2 cups flour
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cup butter melted
1-1/2 cups preserves

In a large bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt and baking soda.  Pour melted butter over and mix really well.  It will clump up.  Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of a 13x9 pan.  Spread the preserves over the crust.  Using the remaining oatmeal mixture, crumble over the preserves.  Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown.   When it's cool, cut into bars and serve.  Freeze leftovers.

I've made this with strawberry preserves, peach jam, strawberry fig preserves with fresh blueberries.  Possibilities are endless!  Get creative!

Yum!

Punch Bowl Cake

When Nana worked at Dynatron Bondo, her co-workers shared some of their favorite recipes.  In the book, we found a recipe for a Punch Bowl Cake.  We've been making it since 1990 and it's one of our favorite desserts.

Punch Bowl Cake
1 box vanilla cake, baked according to package directions and cut into 2" cubes
1 small box vanilla pudding, prepared according to package directions
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
cool whip
chopped pecans

In a large punch bowl, layer 1/2 the vanilla cake cubes in the bottom.  Spread half the pudding over the cake.  Sprinkle 1/2 the crushed pineapple and spread 1/2 the cherry pie filling.  Spread 1/2 the cool whip over the cherry.  Repeat the layers and top with chopped pecans.  This taste best when refrigerated overnight.

Yummy!

Caramel Toffee Brownie Bites

A girl from work shared this family favorite dessert.  It's really easy and oh so good!

sorry for the iPhone pic

Becca's Caramel Toffee Brownie Bites
brownie recipe or box mix for 8x8 pan size
1 chocolate covered toffee bar (like Heath or Skor), finely chopped
Smucker's caramel sauce

Line a mini muffin pan with liners.  Mix together brownie mix and scoop evenly into 22-24 liners (mine were not that even :)  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chopped toffee bar pieces over each brownie bite.  Cool for 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and place on a paper towel or cooling rack.  Drizzle the caramel sauce over them.  Refrigerate until cold.  Makes 22-24 depending on how evenly you divide the brownie batter.

Yum!

Chocolate Pudding or Pots de Creme

I made these for a blogger food challenge and we loved them so much we made them 3 times in 2 weeks!  It's a little time consuming, but so worth it!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

3 egg yolks

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Warm the milk, sugar and chocolate chips over medium low heat, stirring to melt chocolate being careful not to scorch. 

In a separate bowl, mix yolks with cornstarch and salt.  

After the chocolate chips have melted and the milk resembles chocolate milk, temper the yolks with the mixture.  Adding a little of the milk to the yolks and whisking to warm them.  Then pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the warm chocolate milk whisking until combined.

Increase temperature to medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 2-3 minutes or until it's thickened.  Don't forget to add the vanilla extract before pouring into serving dishes.  As for my "serving dishes", I don't own the cute little ramekins.  I collect tea cups and thought they would look pretty.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.  Then serve with whipped cream or cool whip.  

These are DELICIOUS!!!