3 bananas mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter melted
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease 10 muffin cups or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter.  Stir the banana mixture into the flour mix just until moistened.  Mix in chocolate chips.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Cut in 1 tbsp butter until mixture resembles coarse corn meal.  Sprinkle topping over muffins.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

*Recipe taken from allrecipes.com

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I love banana muffin recipes!  They are always great to have handy for when you have a few extra bananas lying around that are nice and ripe!  This recipe, even though it has lots of ingredients, was SUPER easy and quick to do!  It also tastes yummy!  My only recommendation is on the oven temp.  This recipe calls for 375 and I didn't even need my oven on 350, so something to watch for. 

1 lb whole wheat pizza dough 
1/2 lb sliced black forest ham

1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 jar (700 ml) pasta sauce
2 cups water
3 cups penne pasta, uncooked
1 cup mozzarella shredded cheese

1. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat.
2. Add pasta sauce and water; mix well.  Stir in pasta.  Bring to boil; cover.  Simmer on medium heat 16 to 18 minutes or until pasta is tender; stir.
3. Top with mozzarella; cook, covered, 1 minute or until cheese has melted.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I got this recipe from my future Mother-in-Law and it has to be one of the easiest and tastiest recipes.  It is the type of recipe that is easily customized based on what you have in the house.  The last time I made it, I added chopped garlic in with the meat and also added some chilli power in with the pasta sauce to spice it up a little!  Don't be afraid to try almost anything!  

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies
3 cups miniature marshmallows

1. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter at medium power for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.  Stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients.  Stir until well coated.
2. Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Chill in refrigerator about 45 minutes.  Cut into bars.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I'm so glad I came apon this recipe online, it is so quick and easy to do and the best part?  It was a BIG hit with the family and co-workers!!  I was able to throw this recipe together in about 10 minutes and with it only taking about 45 minutes in the fridge it's a good recipe if you need something sweet last minute!  My only recommendation is to keep the bars stored in the fridge.  Once they warm up a bit they crumble a lot when you are trying to eat them!

12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 to 3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook the noodles according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef, onion, peppers and chili powder.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Drain.  Add the soup, tomato sauce and tomato paste; simmer until heated through.
2. Drain noodles.  Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.  Layer with four noodles, half of the remaining sauce and a third of the cheese.  Repeat layers once.  Top with remaining noodles and cheese.
3. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until cheese in melted.  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Tip/Tricks/Notes 

This had to be one of the best lasagna's I've ever had!  I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine that I bought well waiting in line at the grocery store one day.  The recipe was super easy to follow and turned out perfect!  The only tip I have is to be careful when cutting the jalapeno peppers.  You will either want to use disposable gloves or make sure to wash you hands throughly and definitely avoid touching your face!

The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed lasagna, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.

Recently I decided to join "You Want Pies With That?".  Each month a theme is posted and you have to create a creative and unique pie to go with that theme.  April's theme is "Spring", below is the pie recipe that I feel is very springy!

Crust:
17 oz roasted macadamia nuts
3/4 cup ground vanilla wafer cookies
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp unflavoured gelatin
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
9 oz white chocolate
1/4 whipping cream

Topping:
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tbsp sugar
lime slices

Crust Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Finely chop nuts and then add ground cookies, sugar and butter.  Blend until moist crumbs form.
2. Press firmly onto bottom and sides of a 9 1/2 inch deep dish glass pie dish.  Bake crush until golden, about 10 minutes.  Cool.

Filling Directions
1. Boil grapefruit juice and 1/4 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan over high heat until reduced to 3/4 cup; about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over lime juice and let stand 10 minutes.
2. Add gelatin mixture, white chocolate and 1/4 cup cream to grapefruit mixture and whisk over low heat until white chocolate and gelatin melt and mixture is smooth.  Pour into large bowl.
3. Refrigerate until cool but not set, whisking occasionally and scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula, about 2 hours.
4. Pour into cooled pie crust and return to refrigerator.

Topping Directions
1. Beat cream and sugar to stiff peaks.  Spoon whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with star tip.  Pipe rosettes of cream around edge of pie.  Place lime slices rounded side up on pie.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I was a little worried about how this pie would turn out when I first started, but I needed a springy pie and I thought, this is it!  The colours, the flavours all scream Spring to me!  Happily, it turned out to be wonderful!

In the future I plan on making a coconut cream pie with the crust, it tasted great on its own!  Also, a note on the crust; if macadamia nuts are out of your budge then trying walnuts or almonds instead.

The filling tasted just as I had hoped!  I was concerned only because I had never heard of such a idea and never tried using grapefruit for anything.  Also, when I planned the pie I wasn't sure how the colour would come out and it ended up so bright.  The only change I would make next time is I would up the amounts of each ingredient, maybe one and a half, as the filling could have come up a little higher on the crust.

All and all I am very glad I decided to join "You Want Pies With That?" and I can't wait to continue to try out more pies!

The Rules for this award:
 
1. When you have received this award you must thank the person that awarded you the award in a new post.

I'd like to thanks Brattypants for giving me my first award!  I am very honored and so pleased to have been given this award!  Thanks again! :D

2. Name 10 things that make you happy.

• My Boyfriend; Kevin
• My Family
• My Close Friends!  You know who you are ;)
• My 2 Wonderfully Adorable Cats; Sunny and Zephyr
• Baking & Cooking
• Fresh Air & Sun
• Gardening
• Reading a Good Book
• Watching my Fav TV Shows
• Winning an Award
  

3. Pass this award on to 10 bloggers & inform them.

1. Brattypants; I definitely must pass this award back to her!
   
2. Corrine at Lost for Words; My Best Friend, who inspired me to blog!
3. Barbara at Barbara Bakes
4. Sarah at Maison Cupcake
5. Stormie at Bite Size Baker
6. Christine at Christine's Cuisine
7. Amy at Sing for your Supper
8. Jessica at My Baking Heart
9. Nancy at My Home Cook-N Blog
10. Kelsey at Apple a Day

This was a hard one, picking 10 blogs to pass the award on to!  I got to 6 easily and then realized, I don't regularly view 10 blogs, so I just spent the last 2-3 hours looking at food blogs.  I found 4 more that I quite enjoyed reading through and can not wait to see what they bring in the future!

Now back to finishing my pie for tonight's Easter dinner at my Grandparents!  I will inform all the winners I picked sometime tomorrow!

Thanks Again! 

• Add one teaspoon of lemon juice to each quart of water when cooking rice, this will keep rice fluffy.
• For crisper salads: Place a saucer upside down in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will run underneath the saucer and this will help keep the salad crisp and fresh.
• You can substitute crumbled cornflakes for bread crumbs when making meatloaf.
• A teaspoon of sugar mixed with your yeast and water makes it raise better. Even if you are making bread you can use some sugar. Never mix salt directly with the yeast and water mixture as the salt kills the raising action.
• If it is a meringue pie you are making…add four or five marshmallows cut into pieces or 1/2 cup miniature ones, to meringue just before spreading. These marshmallows give both flavor and body to the meringue. The latter is important if pie is to stand for sometime before serving.
• A wire cheese cutter is ideal for cutting chilled refrigerator cookie dough.

1 package (16 oz) hot dogs
2 cups uncooked corkscrew pasta
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups 1% milk

1. Slice hot dogs into bite sized pieces; set aside.
2. In large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to saucepan.
3. Stir in hot dogs, cheese and milk.  Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I LOVE this recipe!  It is so quick and so easy, and brings back memories of being a kid!  My only tip for this recipe is to do with the amount of milk.  I found the pasta ended up a little more runny then I would like.  Next time I will probably put a little less then the 2 cups of milk, but not too much less.

Also, I wanted to share with everyone my camera/picture experiment.  I've been a little unhappy with my food pictures and have been trying to figure out why they aren't as good as others I have seen.  I had Kev bring his camera home from work and took pictures of the pasta with his and with mine.  As you can see in the comparison pictures below, his camera is definitely much better then mine!



















The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed macaroni, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.

Meatloaf:
1 can (10 oz) Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup water

1. Thoroughly mix 1/2 cup soup, onion, egg, beef, and bread crumbs in a large bowl.  Place the mixture into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan and firmly shape into an 8x4 inch loaf.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the meatloaf is cooked through.
3. Heat 2 tbsp pan drippings, remaining soup and water in a 1 quart sauce pan over medium heat until the mixture is hot and bubbling.  Serve the sauce with the meatloaf.

Cauliflower:
1 can (10 oz) Campbell's condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/4 cup milk
4 cups fresh or frozen cauliflower

1. Stir the soup and milk in a 2 quart microwavable casserole.  Add the cauliflower.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap.
2. Microwave on high for 8 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender-crisp, stirring once.


Tips/Tricks/Notes

I'll start with the meatloaf because it was a bit of a learning experience.  I had never done meatloaf until today, so this was a first time thing!  I found this recipe in my Campbell's recipe book and figured it would be pretty good since it's called "Best-Ever".  Not to say it's bad, but it's definitely not the "Best-Ever".  I thought something was missing, however Kevin quite enjoyed it.  I'm wondering if anyone can give me tips on meatloaf, something I could add or change about this recipe?  It always throws me off when I'm not into the recipe, but Kevin on the other hand enjoys it!  If he likes the recipe, I am always happy to give it another shot, but I am hoping someone can suggest something that might "spice" it up for me!

If you plan on trying this recipe, my only tip is, when it says "firmly shape into an 8x4 inch loaf", it means FIRMLY!  Maybe it is just because I had never tried meatloaf before, but my loaf definitely crumbled a lot!

As for the cauliflower, I have done this simple recipe many times and not always with cauliflower.  Broccoli of course is another big hit!

The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed meatloaf and cauliflower, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.

3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1 package (16oz) frozen, cooked meatballs

1. Combine and stir all ingredients in the crockpot, if meatballs are frozen, set to high for the first hour, and then low for 3 more hours.  Serve with toothpicks or on baguettes.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I found this recipe on the blog Annie Bakes.  It is a super easy meatball recipe, and they were so yummy!  Next time I plan on making my own meatballs when I do this recipe.  There isn't much more to be said about this recipe, it's definitely one to try!  The only change I had to make was to the time, I accidentally bought uncooked frozen meatballs instead of cooked ones, so I thawed the meatballs then cooked them on HIGH for the 4 hours instead of dropping the crockpot to LOW.

The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed meatballs, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.

1 boxed cake mix (any flavour)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup chips (any flavour)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl combine all ingredients, mixing well.  Spoon batter in about 2 tbsp sized balls and place on baking tray.  Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes.  Cool briefly on trays before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I found this recipe on the blog Cathlin Cooks... but Mostly Bakes!  I usually prefer to bake cookies from scratch but I had a few cake mixes around the house that I had bought during sales.  This recipe is a quick and easy way to use up those extra mixes!  The cookies on the left in the picture are Lemon Cake Mix with White Chocolate Chips and the cookies on the right are Devil's Food Mix with Butterscotch Chips.

The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed cookies, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.

I've been at this whole blogging thing for a bit now and have found a nice amount of blogs I enjoying dropping by regularly!  I wanted to share those blogs with my readers.  All the blogs are food related blogs except for the first one, which is my best friend Corrine's blog and a must view if you love to read!

Lost for Words - http://www.lostforwords-corrine.blogspot.com/
Annie Bakes - http://anniebakes.blogspot.com/
Barbara Bakes - http://www.barbarabakes.com/
Bite Size Baker - http://bitesizebaker.com/
Brattypants - http://brattypants.blogspot.com/
Maison Cupcake - http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/

I also joined 'You Want Pies With That?' (http://pieswiththat.blogspot.com/), Where every month you must bake a unique pie that goes along with that months theme.  To learn more, visit the blog!  I already have my idea for April's theme "Spring"!  Can't wait!

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 sweet red bell pepper, julienned
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
8 to 10 warmed flour tortillas
Toppings (ie, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salsa)

1. Cut chicken into diagonal strips and place in slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray.
2. Top with onion and bell pepper.  In bowl, combine cumin, chili powder, lime juice and chicken broth and pour over chicken and veggies.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 7 hours.
4. When serving, spoon several slices of chicken mixture with sauce into center of each warm tortilla and add any additional toppings of your choice, then fold.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I have decided that I love my crock pot!  It really is the most handy thing ever!  I love being able to throw together dinner in the morning and have everything ready for dinner that night!  This recipe is a very easy recipe and it is also very tasty.  I didn't add the peppers as I didn't have any in the house at the time.  I also found the cumin to be a little over powering and won't add as much next time.

The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed fajitas, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.

For dinner tonight I finally made the Chicken Fajitas I had been planing for a long time, so look for that recipe in the next day or two!  I also have a few goodies planned for this week as I have a few things that need to be used as they are coming up to their expiry dates in the next month.

Baking

• Cake Mix Cookies
• Lemon Tarts

Main Dishes

• Lemon Chicken

Review of Last Week

Baking

• Pina Colada Muffins

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp rum
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup crushed pineapple
2 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
sweetened shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl combine the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and rum.  Mix to combine.
3. Add the bananas, pineapple and eggs and mix until thoroughly combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix only until combined.
6. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin tins and top each with a sprinkle of coconut.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean in the center of a muffin.
8. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire rack.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

I found this recipe on the blog Christine's Cuisine and thought I would give it a try for Kevin as he loves all of the ingredients found in the recipe.  These muffins are very yummy, but you cannot taste the pineapple.  The banana and coconut flavours are what you taste when eating one of these muffins.  The next time I try this recipe I will most likely not include the pineapple, but I still highly recommend giving it a try first!

The only note for this recipe is that I used paper muffin cups instead of greasing the pan.  I much prefer the paper cups with muffins.

The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed muffins, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.

Recipes I Recommend

• Kisses Macaroon Cookies
• Secret Kisses Cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• White Chip Lemon Streusel Bars
• Rocky Road Brownies

I have tried about 80% of the recipes in this book, the ones listed above are my favourites.  Out of all of the recipes I have tried within this book, there has only been one I did not like and would not do again.  The recipes in this book come with simple and easy to follow directions, and every recipe features a picture.  Although, the recipe card concept is a good idea, I don't find it that useful.  You only get one card per recipe, and I get asked by multiple people for my recipes.  I don't recommend buying this recipe book just for that reason, but I do recommended buying it for the recipes. 

Rating:  







Find this Book on Amazon: Hershey's Cookbook & Recipe Cards

I don't have a lot of big baking or cooking plans for this week, as Kevin is still away on Business.  He will be arriving home this weekend, can't wait!  My only plans are to bake him some Welcome Home muffins.  I'm planning them to be a surprise, so I won't be sharing specifics!  You'll get to know once I post the recipe!

Review of Last Week

• Triple Chocolate Quick Bread - Recipe posted, but Adjusted to Double Chocolate Quick Bread with a Peanut Butter Glaze

1 can (300 mL) sweetened condensed milk, divided
8 squares (1 oz each) semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped
6 squares (1 oz each) white chocolate, chopped
1/2 tsp baking soda, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup peanut butter

1. In one small sauce pan, heat half a can of sweetened condensed milk with semi-sweet or dark chocolate and 1/4 tsp baking soda.  Stir frequently until chocolate is melted.  Stir in vanilla extract.
2. In another small sauce pan, heat remaining sweetened condensed milk with white chocolate, 1/4 tsp baking soda and peanut butter, stirring until melted.
3. Pour chocolate mixture into parchment lined 8" square pan.  Pour peanut butter mixture on top and swirl with spoon or knife.  Cool for 4 hours or until firm.

Tips/Tricks/Notes

This is another quick, easy and tasty fudge recipe!  The only thing I would do the next time is add a little bit more peanut butter.  I found the chocolate to over power the peanut butter!

The picture seen above is an actual picture I took of my completed fudge, it is not taken from the internet or played with in anyway.