Banana Pecan Bread

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, Breakfast, Dessert

This. Bread. I can say with the utmost certainty that this banana bread is the best I have ever tasted. It is the right amount of sweetness with a hint of crunch from the pecans and the perfect balance of banana flavor. I have tried many many different banana bread recipes and this one takes the prize. While the recipe called for 1 9×5 loaf, I split mine into two 8×4 loaves, which allowed them to cook all the way through, without overcooking the exterior. Recipe and photo courtesy of myfrugaladventures.com

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1⅛ cup sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 bananas mashed very well
  • ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Add flour, baking soda and salt to a small bowl and set aside. Mix egg, sugar and oil and stir until well combined Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir well. The mixture will be thick and dry. Next add milk, vanilla and bananas and stir until incorporated. Mix in walnuts and pour into a loaf pan or pans depending on what size you want. Cook 50-75 minutes, checking regularly until a knife comes out clean.

 

Velvet Pork Chops (aka Gravy Delivery Device)

On By sarafillmerIn Entree, Gluten-Free

I’ve been trying to break out of my boring ground beef and chicken box and this pork chop recipe is right up my alley. Simple ingredients, simple preparation and it tasted really good to-boot. The gravy makes this recipe, hence the name at the top. Recipe and photo courtesy of southernplate.com.

  • 4 boneless pork chops
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • ½ cup cream

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add pork chops and salt and pepper the tops of them. Cook until browned, then flip and salt and pepper again. Continue cooking until opposite side is brown. Pour in chicken broth, reduce heat to medium, and cook until broth is mostly evaporated, about ten minutes. Once broth has cooked down, remove chops from pan and turn off heat but leave pan on the stove eye.Have a wooden spoon handy and pour the cream into pan. Immediately start stirring and continue until the pan remnants are fully blended in with the cream and cream is warm and thick, just a few minutes. Serve chops with delicious cream sauce spooned over them.

 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

On By sarafillmerIn Entree, Soup

As we get into fall, I’m always looking for new soups to try. When my husband got a cold he requested soup, but was non-specific as to the kind, so I found this copycat of his favorite Panera Bread soup. I was really really pleased with how simple and delicious it was. Recipe and photo courtesy of fakeginger.com

  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup red onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup carrots, diced
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 package Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice with Flavor Packet
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 3 cups water
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup cooked and shredded chicken
  • salt, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Melt coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and carrots and cook until softened. Add dried marjoram, flour, and seasoning packet from the rice; stir to combine. Add rice, chicken broth, and water; bring to a boil. Cover, lower to a simmer, and let cook for 15 minutes. Heat heavy cream and milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir into the soup. Stir in the shredded chicken. Cook about 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty French bread or baguette.

Mini Peach Crisps

On By sarafillmerIn Dessert

It’s peach season here in Colorado and my brother brought home a big bag of peaches that needed to be eaten. My favorite way to eat  peaches is cobbler, but I didn’t want to make a huge pan, so this recipe was a match made in heaven. The filling looked just like a can filling after baking, but a thousand times better due to the fresh peaches. All in all I will definitely be making these again.

For the Fruit:

  • 2 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the Topping:

  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the peaches, sugar and cornstarch in a medium size bowl. Divide the filling between 4 ramekins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. In the same bowl, combine the flour, sugars and cinnamon. Mix in the melted butter with a fork, the mixture will not be completely wet, more sandy in texture, but should still be able to clump together. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, making sure to leave some bigger clumps. (I then sprinkled the tops with cinnamon sugar, but that’s completely optional) Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, then take out of the oven and rest for 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

On By sarafillmerIn Entree

I made these meatballs this past weekend and they were so good! Don’t let the long ingredient lists scare you, these came together really quickly. I served mine with mashed potatoes, but rice would be good too! If there are leftovers, I would recommend storing the meatballs and sauce separately. Recipe and photo courtesy of jocooks.com.

For Meatballs:

  • 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, I used Panko
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup coarse ground mustard
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (for frying)

For Gravy

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup beef or chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • parsley for garnish

Add all the meatball ingredients (excluding the olive oil) to a large bowl and mix well, use your hands. Shape into 1 inch meatballs. You should get about 40 meatballs. Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium to high heat. Add meatballs and cook. If you’re using a large skillet all meatballs should fit in one batch otherwise, you might have to fry them in a couple batches. Cook the meatballs on all sides, add more oil if needed. Remove meatballs from skillet and set aside. To the same skillet add butter and melt. Add onion and cook until onion is soft and translucent. In a bowl add the cornstarch and beef broth and whisk. Add broth and remaining gravy ingredients to skillet, and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, sauce should thicken. If the sauce is too thick add a bit more beef broth. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. When the gravy is done add the meatballs back to the skillet and toss them around so they’re covered in the gravy. Garnish with parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

On By sarafillmerIn Cookies, Dessert

peanut butter oatmeal cookieThis cookie is a great example of a simple, yet delicious cookie. There aren’t any fancy ingredients, but it’s hearty and satisfying without being too sweet.  Even better is the fact that the cookies were mixed up and baked in 30 min. Recipe and photo courtesy of hungryhungryhighness.com.

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 egg, plus 1 yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup oats (I used old-fashioned)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with Silpat or parchment. Cream together butter and sugars for about 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and stir. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla. Combine flour, oats, and baking soda. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips and mix. Scoop onto the cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Samoa Truffles

On By sarafillmerIn Dessert

samoa-truffles-2As I’ve mentioned before, samoas are by far my favorite Girl Scout cookie. I tried not long ago making them myself and while the result was fabulous, it was very time intensive. We’re talking almost 4 hours. So when I found this recipe for a Samoa Truffle, I hoped it would taste as good as it looked, with a lot less hassle.  Well, it was and I’ll definitely be making it again. The recipe calls for dulce de leche, but I think next time I will try Kraft caramels and see if I like that better. Recipe and photo courtesy of shugarysweets.com.

  • 7 oz sweetened, shredded coconut
  • 1 can dulce de leche (14 oz)
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
  • 2 cups Nilla Wafer crumbs (about 7 oz cookies)
  • 16 oz dark chocolate wafers or almond bark

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread your coconut into a single layer. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, flipping the coconut every 5 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove from oven. Meanwhile, heat up the dulce de leche in the microwave until smooth, usually 30 second increments. Add in the coconut, sweetened condensed milk and cookie crumbs. Stir until well combined. Drop by tablespoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.  Dip the bottom of the truffles into the chocolate. Once all the truffles have been dipped, pour the excess chocolate into a Ziploc bag and snip one corner so you can drizzle it over the tops of the truffles. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. Makes 60.

Strawberry Sour Cream Streusel Muffins

On By sarafillmerIn Breakfast, Dessert

I had some strawberries that I needed to use in my fridge, and what better way than in a yummy muffin.  The addition of the sour cream helped make these super moist and delicious. Recipe and photo courtesy of thelittlesouschef.com.

  • 2 cups flour
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 ¼ cups sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups diced fresh strawberries, divided

For the Streusel topping:

  • 3 Tablespoons butter, softened
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup flour

Preheat the oven to 375.  Line muffin tins with 18 liners. Dice strawberries into small pieces.  Pour flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a medium bowl. Whisk together.  Pour melted butter, sour cream and vanilla into a small bowl, then add the eggs. Whisk together until smooth.  Pour sour cream mixture into the flour mixture.  Stir together until combined. Add 1 1/2 cups diced strawberries and stir until combined.  Divide batter into the muffin cups.  Evenly sprinkle the 1/2 cup remaining strawberries over the tops of the muffins.  For the streusel, soften butter in a small bowl, add remaining ingredients  and stir until mixture comes together, then sprinkle over the muffins.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry Pretzel Pecan Salad

On By sarafillmerIn Dessert

Strawberry-Pecan-Pretzel-Salad-RecipeI made this recipe for Easter brunch and it was so good. Light and refreshing, the perfect finish to a hearty meal.  While the recipe lists this as a salad, I layered all the different elements for a parfait so you could retain as much of the different textures as possible. It looked pretty too! Recipe and photo courtesy of thegunnysack.com

  • 1 cup pretzels, crushed
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 8 oz whipped topping
  • 2 cups fresh strawberries, diced

Mix together the pretzels, pecans, brown sugar and butter. Spread on a large, lined baking sheet with sides (like a jelly roll pan) and bake at 400 for 7 minutes.  Allow to cool completely and break into pieces.  In a mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping. Right before serving, chop up the strawberries. If making a salad, fold the pretzel mixture and strawberries into the whipped mixture.  If making parfait, start with a layer of pretzel, then whipped topping, then strawberries. Repeat til you reach the top of your serving glass.

Parmesan Chicken Casserole

On By sarafillmerIn 30 minute meal, Entree, Gluten-Free

DSC_00701-1024x683I made this chicken this past weekend because it looked like a quick and easy meal to eat on a day when I really didn’t want to cook dinner.  Start to finish it took 30 minutes and was so delicious. I halved the recipe for my family of four but I’ll post the full recipe below in case you are feeding a crowd. Pair with starch of your choice. Recipe and photo courtesy of thecookinchicks.com.

 

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
  • 1 cup mayonnaise OR plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 375.  Place your diced chicken into a greased 9×13 baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the mayo/yogurt, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread mixture on top of chicken, then sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, then serve over pasta or rice. Pan will be a little soupy so use a slotted spoon the serve the chicken.