Foodie Fanatics: Homemade Mini Corn Dogs

This is recipe number 2 for the Foodie Fanatics weekly blog. This one was chosen by my daughter, Kelly, of What's Cooking Kelly. This Paula Deen recipe was another success! It was so yummy. You will never want to eat another frozen corn dog again! It was a little time consuming and messy but so worth it!

You may have to add a little more buttermilk for the batter. Our batter came out too thick. Kelly and I made the corn dogs for dinner tonight.

Check out the Foodie Fanatics site and join the fun!

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for frying

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 (16-ounce) package beef hot dogs, each cut crosswise into 3 pieces
1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Special Equipment: 40 (6-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven, pour the vegetable oil to a depth of 4 inches. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.

Place the cornstarch in a small bowl. Place 1 hot dog piece on the end of each skewer. Dredge the hot dogs in cornstarch, gently tapping off the excess.

In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal mix, flour, and sugar. Add the buttermilk, whisking until smooth.

Holding the ends of the skewers, dip the hot dogs into the cornmeal batter to completely cover the hot dog. Holding the ends of the skewers, carefully place the battered hot dogs into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat

procedure with remaining skewered hotdogs and cornmeal batter.

Servings: 40 corndogs
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Difficulty: Moderate

Before frying

My turn at frying

First attempt on left; 2nd attempt on right!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I found this recipe looking at Fake Ginger. Amanda has some amazing posts on her blog. We were having dinner at my daughter's house tonight. I made these for our dessert tonight. It was a good choice! They were a hit!

You have to make these. Easy, yummy.....did I say easy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment or aluminum foil. Spray lightly with oil.
2. Melt butter; stir in granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Foodie Fanatics: Chocolate Banana Cream Miniature Cupcakes

I recently joined a new club called Foodie Fanatics by Michele at Makin' Cakin' Weekends. A new Food Network chef is chosen every three months. All the members take turns choosing a recipe by that chef for everyone to make. The first chef is Paula Deen and I chose her Chocolate Banana Cream Miniature Cupcakes for the first recipes. It's out of Paula's 2011 Christmas magazine.

My daughter, Kelly, of Whats Cooking Kelly, and I made these together last night before settling down to watch Twilight and New Moon. I think I made a good choice! They came out delicious! They are so yummy! We could have just kept popping them in our mouth!

I used my batter dispenser from Avon. It worked out great for the miniature cupcakes! No mess!

Chocolate Banana Cream Miniature Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) box chocolate cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) box instant banana cream flavored pudding mix

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup sour cream

2 cups thawed frozen whipped topping

Garnish: dried banana chips (could not find at my grocery the day I went)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (24-cup) miniature muffin pans with foil liners.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix and confectioners' sugar. Add cream and sour cream; beat at medium speed with a mixer until very thick. Fold in whipped topping. Pipe or spread mixture over cupcakes. Garnish with banana chips, if desired. Store cupcakes, covered, in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Yield: 4 dozen miniature cupcakes

This is before Austin stuck his whole head in the bowl to lick it!

My batter dispenser from Avon. Love it!

Banana Crumb Cake

I love Christy Jordan of Southern Plate! She has some of the most awesome recipes. Her cookbook is fantastic! I look through it all the time.

I had three bananas needing to be used up, which is just the right number for this recipe. The whole recipe was put together fast and is so wonderful! We ate it with Cool Whip when it was still a tad warm. Oh my goodness! Make this and you will not be sorry!

Banana Crumb Cake

Ingredients

3 bananas, peeled

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine (I used unsalted butter)

1 cup milk

1 cup chopped nuts, optional (I used walnuts)

2 cups self-rising flour

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine

1 cup brown sugar, light or dark

1 cup flour (whatever kind you have on hand)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray two 8x8 inch pans with cooking spray. Place the bananas and sugar in a large bowl. Mix until the bananas are liquified. Add the margarine and mix until creamed together with the banana mixture. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well.

In a medium bowl, combine all the topping ingredients. Cut together with a long-tined fork until well blended. Pour one-quarter of the batter into each pan and top with one quarter of the topping. Pour the remaining batter and top with the remaining topping.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve from the pan.

I'm Baaack.....Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

I know it has been ages since I've posted anything. Life has been a little crazy the last few months as my friends know. First my dad had a mild heart attack and had by-pass surgery. Next, my 15 year old son had to have his appendix out. Then, the end of October I came down with the beginnings of pneumonia. For now everyone is well. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I received this recipe from the Campbell's Kitchens. Once a week you receive an email with different recipes. There were a few that I wanted to try. This one was the first one.

It was very easy to put together, no precooking, just some chopping. My only issue was that it needed more spice. Pepper did nicely. Also, the dumplings took FOREVER to set. I ended up putting the crock pot insert into the oven for a little less than 10 minutes when the dumplings would not set after about an hour.

But, never mind that....it was DELICIOUS! Mmmm Mmmm Good! My son had two giant helpings.

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:

about 1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups baby carrots

2 stalks celery, sliced (about 1 cup)

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) cream of chicken soup (regular or 98% fat free)

1 cup water

1 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed

1/4 tsp ground pepper (needs way more)

2 cups all-purpose baking mix

2/3 cup milk

Directions:

Stir the chicken, potatoes, carrots and celery in a 6 qt slow cooker.

Stir together the soup, water, thyme, and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour soup mixture over the chicken and vegetables.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through.

Stir the baking mix and milk in a medium bowl. Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto the chicken mixture. Increase the heat to HIGH. Tilt the lid to vent and cook for 30 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked in the center.

Serves: 8