Banana Pudding

Banana Pudding is truly one of my all time favorite desserts. Growing up, whenever we would visit my grandmother's house, whether it was a holiday or a Sunday morning after church, she would always have banana pudding ready and waiting for us to dive into for dessert. Still today whenever my mom's side of the family gets together someone will provide the Banana Pudding. As soon as the  pudding is unveiled the mad dash begins.

This is hands down the best no bake banana pudding around. It can be made up to a day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Banana Pudding
Yields 8-10 servings

Ingredients:
- 1 can sweet condensed milk (14oz)
- 1 1/2 cups cold water
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding (5.1 oz. box)
- 2 containers of cool whip
- vanilla wafers
- 3-4 bananas

Directions:
- Mix water, milk and pudding mix in a bowl and place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Fold in 1 container of the whip cream.

- In a 9 x 13 casserole dish cover the bottom with vanilla wafers, add half of the pudding mixture over top, then add a layer of bananas. Repeat by adding another layer of vanilla wafers, the remaining pudding mixture and banana slices.

- Add the other container of whip cream as a topping.

- Chill until ready to serve

Poppy Fruit Salad

 I am a little late in posting my recipes from Easter but we have had a lot going on in the past two weeks. Hopefully I can begin blogging again on a somewhat regular basis. I have not done much cooking since Easter so I am itching to try some new things. Until then here is a crowd pleasing recipe that calls for fresh fruit and topped with a smooth vinaigrette dressing.

The combinations of the sweetness from the fruit, sharpness from the cheddar, and crunch from the pecans has this salad bursting with different taste and textures. Refreshing and delicious, it's perfect for these warmer days. Since I was making this salad for a large crowd I played around with the ingredients, basically tripling the recipe, but I am including the original.

Poppy Fruit Salad:
- 2 tablespoons Cider Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 2 medium pears (chopped)
- 2/3 cup grapes (cut in half)
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar
- 1/2 cup crushed pecans

Directions:
- In a bowl mix together the vinegar, honey, dry mustard, and oil.

- Add the chopped pears and grapes to a separate bowl and top with the cheddar cheese, pecans, and poppy seeds. Drizzle the dressing over top.

Serve chilled or at room temperature

A Wonderful Easter Sunday

Happy Easter a day late.
We started our day yesterday with a wonderful church service then quickly rushed home to get everything ready for our family that was coming over for Easter lunch. It was a great day spent with wonderful family, good food, laughter and the Masters.:)

We all pitched in to come up with this yummy spread of food. It was a good ol'southern feast.

Ham, Potato Salad, Deviled Eggs, Macaroni and Cheese

Spinach Casserole, Fruit Salad, rolls and a tossed salad (not pictured)

My contribution was the fruit salad, Banana Pudding and a Dump Cake (recipes coming this week).  I also made these festive cookies that I found on Pinterest that were very yummy.

I hope however you chose to spend your day yesterday it was just as wonderful.

Crab Dip

Last weekend we had a family get together at my aunt and uncles house to visit with the foreign exchange student from Germany that they hosted several years ago. She had been spending the past month here doing an internship for a local law firm and visiting with her American family.

Jason and I were in charge of bringing the appetizers, which gave me the perfect reason to make this dip that I have had my eye on for a while now. I am a sucker for hot crab dip served with good toasted bread.

I tried to lighten the crab dip by using reduced fat cream cheese and skim milk. The end result was a big bowl of warm, creamy goodness.

 Crab Dip
- 2- 8oz. packages of imitation crab meat
- 1 10oz. can of diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
- 3 -8oz. packages reduced fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1 cup chopped green onions
- 1- 4oz. can green chilies

Mix all the ingredients together in a dish. Bake on 350 for 30 minutes.
Serve with toasted bread or crackers

World's Best Cookie

When I came across the name for these cookies I knew I had to try them because who doesn't want to know what the world's best cookie taste like. I came across two copies of this recipe in the file box and noticed that  Phyllis even made the following comment on one of the recipes. 

She also noted that the cookies take a while to make, probably because the recipe yields 110 to 120 cookies. Holy Cookies! I chose to cut this recipe in half but if you stick with the original amount it is also noted on the card that they will freeze well after they have been cooked and cooled. If you are in need of a tasty cookie recipe that makes a ton then this one is definitely for you.

 I would not say this is the best cookie in the world but I personally do not know what the world's best cookie is because there are so many wonderful and completely different cookies to choose from.
These cookies are tender and sweet like a sugar cookie with a nuttier flavor and a bit more crunch. I think Phyllis and I would both agree that they would make the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea. I may or may not have grabbed one before I even had my first sip of coffee this morning.

I honestly have no clue what the real name for this cookie is so I am just going to leave it like it as is.
Besides, some of you may agree this is the world's best cookie.Whatever you choose to call them, you will not be disappointed and you will keep coming back for more.

This is the original recipe but you can also cut the ingredients in half. (I still used 1 whole whole egg when I  did so)

World's Best Cookie
Yields 110-120 cookies

Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup uncooked oatmeal
- 1 cup crushed cornflakes
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar
- Add egg
- Add vegetable oil and vanilla
- Add oats, cornflakes, and nuts
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt
- Mix well

- Place about a teaspoon full of the dough on an ungreased cookie sheet
- Flatten each cookie with a fork to thin
- Bake 12 minutes at 325 degrees

 

Stuffed Pork Chops

Stuffing chicken or pork is a quick and easy way to take a simple dish and make it into something a little more fancy.

Make it fun by allowing yourself to be creative and use ingredients that you already have on hand. For these pork chops I used 1/3 cup diced pear, 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries, and 2 tablespoons Roquefort cheese, split among two pork chops.

Butterfly the pork chops then salt and pepper both sides. Mix the stuffing ingredients into a separate bowl and place inside of`the meat.

Close the pork chops using a toothpick to secure the stuffing. Add butter to a skillet and saute until brown. (About 2 minutes per side). Place the pork chops in an oven safe dish and bake in the oven on 350 for 25 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burger

Its been a glorious week here in Charlotte and spring has officially arrived. Welcome warm weather, longer days and lots of grilling out. After my last several post (seven layer cookies, chocolate cake, and Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones) it is time that I share a healthy, veggie packed recipe with you. And boy is it good.  

 I found this recipe on Pinterest recently and since I had some sweet potato's on hand I wanted to give it a try. I honestly wasn't sure  I would be able to pull this off with my meat loving husband but even he was a fan. Jason and I both love black beans and I knew they would go perfectly with the sweet potatoes so I chose to use those instead of the cannellini beans like the recipe called for. I also made a few other minor adjustments using what we already had on hand.

**Side note** This recipe makes five patties but between me and the mister we only had one leftover**

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burger

Ingredients:

- 1 large sweet potato, cooked and peeled

- 1 can black beans, drained

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon honey

- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

- 2 tablespoons wheat flour

Directions:

- Bake sweet potato, peel and place in a mixing bowl. Add beans (drained) and mas together.

- Add remaining ingredients and mix together.

- Form into patties and bake in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle of cheese on top (optional)