My Girl, Paula: Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

This is our second entry for My Girl, Paula. This recipe was another hit! This is probably the best banana pudding I have every had. It is so creamy and yummy! I definitely liked it with the sweetened condensed milk. I could not find French vanilla pudding, so I just used vanilla instant pudding. Still delicious! Good job, Michele, on picking this recipe! I loved it! So did my family! The Chessman cookies make the dish look classier!

I took the pudding over to my parents' house for our weekly dinner. It was a HUGE hit! Everyone loved it! I made the pudding the night before and put it together before I went over there. I love these cookies so much better than Nilla Wafers. I will definitely make this one over and over again!

Ingredients:

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies

6-8 bananas, sliced

2 cups milk

1 (5 ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Line the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream chese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended.

Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: 12 servings

mixing the milk and pudding

mixing the cream cheese and condensed milk

folding in the Cool whip into cream cheese mixture

folding the cream cheese mixture into pudding

1st layer of cookies

bananas on top of cookies; starting to spread pudding

Tender 'n' Tangy Ribs

This is another recipe from the Taste of Home's Quick Cooking Collector's Edition from 1999. I am getting close to making everything I want out of this issue! I think since it was their first issue, it was the best. I have made tons of recipes from this issue.

My mail carrier for some reason put in a notice that I moved with no forwarding address so I didn't get my last Taste of Home Magazines. This is the 3rd time in 6 months....not happy. First time was because I did not pick up my mail enough; 2nd time, I'm not sure why; the third time was the carrier said he/she knocked on my door and a neighbor said a moving van had been there and no one is home. I think the carrier got the address wrong!

Anyway...enough venting....This crockpot recipe was easy and very tasty. my son had 2 helpings of it! He didn't like the au gratin potatoes I made, so he pretty much just ate the ribs! It was nice coming home to a yummy smelling house and not having to do much else for the meal. The meat is so tender, it was falling off the bone as you can see by the picture.

Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 cup vinegar

1/2 cup ketchup

2 T sugar

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp ground mustard

1 tsp paprika

1/2 to 1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 lbs pork spare ribs

1 T vegetable oil

Directions:

Combine the first nine ingredients in a slow cooker. Cut ribs into serving size pieces. Brown in a skillet in oil.

Transfer to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until tender.

Yield: 2-3 servings

My Girl Paula: Cinnamon Rolls

The first recipe of the My Girl Paula blog was Cinnamon Rolls. I must say......YUMMY! Sweet and gooey.....I will never buy Pillsbury again! It was an easy recipe, just time consuming because it's a yeast recipe. Thanks, Michele, for picking out such a delicious recipe. Jimmy and I inhaled one each as soon as I had them glazed! I used pecans on half of the rolls. That was good. I gave some to my mom and she raved about them!

before rolling

Dough:
1/4-ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional

Glaze:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 6 tablespoons hot water

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. In a 350 degree oven, bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

after rolling

before putting in oven after rising

fresh out of the oven!

Cooking With Alicia & Annie: 7-Up Watergate Cake

This is my 2nd entry for the month for Cooking With Alicia & Annie. I'm not sure where this recipe got its name. It is really easy to make. The recipe doesn't say if you are supposed to beat or just and mix. I beat the first 5 ingredients of the cake batter and mixed in the nuts and coconut. My son licked the bowl clean!

For the frosting, I mixed everything but the coconut. The coconut I sprinkled on top of the cake.

The cake is delicious! Especially after it's been in the fridge for a while.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 pkg white cake mix

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 cup 7-UP, Sprite or Club Soda (I used Sprite Zero)

3 1/2 oz pistacio pudding, instant

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

1/2 cup coconut

Topping:

8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed (I used sugar free)

3 1/2 oz pistachio pudding, instant

1/2 c. coconut
3/4 c. chopped nuts

Directions:

Mix all cake ingredients. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Fold all topping ingredients until mixed. Spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with coconut and nuts.

Store in refrigerator.

Before putting in oven - love the green!

After coming out of the oven.

Not the prettiest cake, but yummy!

Bacon Quiche

This recipe was from the May/June 2006 supplement to Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious. I thought it sounded good and decided to make it. It was easy to whip together (literally, in a blender). My son came out of his room before 9:00 because I had bacon frying! The quiche was yummy and a definite make again!

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup biscuit/baking mix

Dash pepper

8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

In a blender, combine eggs, milk and butter. Add biscuit mix and pepper; cover and process for 15 seconds. Pour into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Top with bacon and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 6-8 servings

before baking

before eating

Cooking With Alicia & Annie: No Bake Oatmeal Cookies

This is my first entry for the Cooking with Alicia and Annie for the month of May. I did not enter any recipes last month and won the for the month of March. Yay! I got some really nice bags in the mail.

I found this recipe on Alicia's site. These cookies were super easy to make. I did have to add a little more oatmeal so they would be firmer. I would definitely make them again; so fast to make!


In a pot, mix: 2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
2 T cocoa
1/2 cup milk

Boil for one minute; removed from heat.


Add: 1 cup chopped nuts (optional) - I skipped
3 cups uncooked oatmeal





Drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet (I used wax paper). Do not cook. Cool. Ready to serve.

Paula Deen's House Seasoning

I had another busy evening. Jimmy's knee has been bothering him (football conditioning two nights in a row didn't help). We didn't go to football tonight. I made dinner - I heated up Schwann's Blackened Chicken Alfredo. For those who have never tried Schwann's; it's home delivery that you order on line. Check it out. Lot's of yummy stuff to help out busy mom's.

I then put together a lasagna for tomorrow night's dinner at my mom's, went to Publix to buy a birthday cake for my nephew's girlfriend, made this house seasoning and Paula Deen's homemade cinnamon rolls (I'll post the rolls on Monday). Busy! I did find time to watch "American Idol".

I recently joined the new cooking blog club My Girl, Paula. The recipe for the end of the month requires Paula Deen's House Seasoning. The recipe was included. I decided to go ahead and make it so I can use now. It is super easy. I halved the recipe.

Mix together 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup black pepper and 1/4 cup garlic powder.

Store in airtight container for up to 6 months.