Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

A throwback recipe to when my oldest kid looked like this:

Here's my little buddy helper. I gave him some more celery to play with and when I looked over later he'd balanced it perfectly on the side of his chair. Weird.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

¼ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
½ - 1 cup frozen corn
4 stalks of celery, sliced

2 cups carrots, sliced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth (can use bouillon)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large)
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups nonfat half-and-half

Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Add remaining spices and incorporate. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer. Add chicken breasts to the low simmering pot, cook uncovered, stirring occasionally. Don’t let soup come to a real boil at this time to keep the chicken tender.

 

Once chicken is cooked through (160 degrees) remove to a plate. Next, add the rice, and corn, allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Chop or shred the chicken into bit sized pieces and return to soup pot. Let simmer, covered, for another half an hour or until ready to eat.

*Notes: For those of you out there who may not be curry fans, DON'T leave it out! There isn't a strong curry flavor, but it does add a sweet kick that was amazing! I also don’t measure these veggie amounts, I just load it up! 

*Could be made GF, by taking out flour completely or by subbing in some tapioca startch or rice flour.

Protein Packed Ginger Snaps

I adapted this recipe from my regular ginger snap recipe that I've been using for years. Make these switches that I have noted for a whole grain, protein packed, no refined sugar, healthy-fat cookie that tastes awesome (and not at all coconutty if you're worried about that)!

Protein Packed Ginger Snaps

• 1/3 c. coconut oil 
• 1/2 c. no salt pinto beans, blended with about 1 Tbs water (measure beans after blending/mashing)
• 2/3 c. coconut sugar 
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 whole egg or 2 egg whites
• 1/4 c. dark molasses
• 1.5-2 c. whole wheat white flour 

• 1/4 c. coconut sugar 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Using a small food processor, blend the beans with water until there are no chunks remaining. You can hand mash them with a potato masher as well, but you need to keep working them till they are VERY smooth. Will have the consistency of soft PB. Measure 1/2 c into your mixing bowl.

Then combine the coconut oil with the coconut sugar, baking soda, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, egg and molasses. Blend until all is moist and mostly smooth, then add flour.  Start with just 1.5 cups of whole wheat white flour, then add more as needed to create a stiff dough (I used about 1 3/4 c total for mine). Stir until well combined then cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until you're ready to bake.

Combine the 1/4 coconut sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon on a plate or bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture, then place 2 inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet (use parchment paper, rubber mat, or non-stick foil). Press down lightly on the cookie with fork tongs. If there's dough that isn't being used during a baking cycle, cover it and return to fridge or freezer.  Bake cookies in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 11 minutes or until set and tops are cracked. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

Swiss Pork Chops (slow cooker)

Here's some comfort food at its best:

I recommend to lessen the number of potatoes in the pot and make mashed potatoes on the side.  We eat the fresh mashed potatoes with dinner, then send the roasted ones with Hubby to work as leftovers.

Slow Cooker Swiss Pork Chops

• 1.5 lbs pork chops, trimmed of fat
• pepper
• 2 medium red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces (or more if not doing mashed potatoes)
• 1.5 c. baby carrots
• 1 med onion, cut into wedges
• 1 can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
• 2 packets pork gravy mix
• 1 c. cold water
• mashed potatoes, if desired

Layer potatoes, onion and pork in your slow cooker. Sprinkle chops with pepper.  Add tomatoes.  Mix up one packet of gravy with 1 cup cold water and pour into crock pot.  Top everything with the baby carrots.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until pork and vegetables are tender. I did 5 hours on low, then one more hour on high with great results.

Kim’s notes:  If you want to serve this meal with mashed potatoes, then make them near the end of your cooking time.  Use the second packet of gravy for serving, or add liquid from the slow cooker to the package gravy and and then thicken it.

Never thickened your own gravy? It’s easy as can be – add 1/4 c. of flour to 1 c. of water, shake until combined, or if you don’t have a shaker of some sort you can use a wire whisk to get the clumps out.  Add just a little of the flour mixture at a time to your gravy so that you don’t over thicken it.  Be sure to taste the gravy along the way so that you don’t over flour it or so that you can add spices/pepper if desired.

French Dips (Slow Cooker)

French Dips have always been one of my Hubby's favorite sandwiches, so when I saw this recipe that was so easy & delicious looking I just had to give it a go.

I even made fresh rolls with my French Bread recipe and the results were INCREDIBLE!  As I prepared things I tasted the meat & thought "Uh oh, bland." Then I tried the sauce and thought, "Uh oh, is that right?" Then we put them all together and it sang.

We ate it so fast we didn't even get a picture. : )


French Dips (Slow Cooker) - from blogchef.net

• 1 (4 pound) boneless beef roast
• ½ cup soy sauce (I used light, low sodium)
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (crushed)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 onion, quartered, 2 handfuls baby carrots, 3 stalks celery
• Bread for serving - I used this recipe to make 8 buns

Cooking Instructions:

Remove any visible fat from the roast and discard the fat. Place the roast into a slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine soy sauce, beef bouillon cube, bay leaf, black peppers corns, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour the mixture over the roast. Add enough water to almost over the roast. Add any vegetables if you desire. Cover and cook in the slow cooker for 10 hours* on low heat until the roast is very tender. (*Know your cooker! Mine was done in 8 hours, maybe less.)

Remove the roast from the broth (reserving the broth). Shred the roast with two forks.  Set aside.

Remove broth from slow cooker and strain - the finer mesh the better! I strained mine right into a sauce pan and let it simmer on low until time to serve. Discard veggies, or eat them as sides - I chopped my onion and put it back in with the meat to serve.  Put meat with a few ladles of liquid back in the slow cooker and keep it on warm until time to serve.  Stuff your bread with meat and serve with broth for dipping.

Sweet Citrus Kabobs

This marinade was called "Unbelievable Chicken" on allrecipes.com, and it is just that - especially now that I tweaked it to be healthier and turned it into kabobs!

These were so unreal, that now my Hubby is talking about getting a decent grill just so we can eat these more often.

Sweet Citrus Kabobs

For Marinade:

• 2 Tbs cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoons prepared coarse-ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbs lime juice
• 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2  teaspoons salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 Tbs olive oil

For Kabobs: Pictured above are kabobs made of 2 chicken breasts, 1 red pepper, 1 small onion, 1 zucchini (made 3 large). BUT other possibilities could have other meats, whole small tomatoes, mushrooms, whatever you like.

Prep chicken and veggies the night before, run them on the skewers (if using wood skewers, soak them in water for 10 minutes).  Mix the marinade, pour over kabobs and seal them all together in a bag or container. Place in the fridge and let marinade all day, turning the bag or container from time to time to make sure everything gets saturated.  Grill over med flame until done (or broil in your oven).
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Wonder Bars

Wonder Bars, a classic treat from my childhood.  They are a wonder, because they are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – homemade style.  They are wonderfully tasty, but also wonderfully fattening, so proceed with caution.

Wonder Bars

• 3/4 c. margarine or butter
• 1 3/4 c. graham crackers, crushed (11 crackers)
• 1 c. peanut butter
• 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 16oz. milk chocolate chips

Melt margarine, add peanut butter and mix. Add graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar to butter mixture then blend well. Pad “dough” into a 13×9 in pan. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Spread on top of PB mixture. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to help the chocolate set.

Kim’s tips:  Doing half of this recipe in an 8×8 square pan is great for smaller families.  Also, if you choose to chill your wonder bars to help the chocolate set faster, let them come back up to room temp before cutting them so that the chocolate doesn’t crack.

Orange BBQ Pulled Chicken

This recipe can be served over rice or in a bun.  It's not a favorite of mine, but it does add some variety from normal BBQ dishes.

Orange BBQ Pulled Chicken (adapted from Sparkrecipes)

• 5 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of gristle and fat
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 c. Orange Marmalade
• 1 c. favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/4 c. + 1 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce

Put chicken breasts in a bag or tupperware with the powdered ginger and shake until coated.  Put the chicken into your slow cooker.  Mix the remaining ingredients, then pour over chicken. Cook on low 4-6 hours, or until chicken is cooked.  Remove chicken from pot, use a fine strainer to clean sauce if desired. Shred chicken and return to slow cooker, mix with sauce.  Keep on warm setting until ready to serve.

Serve over rice or on buns.

Manhattan Meatballs

We first tried this no fry meatball recipe during our move to Texas because our pots were lost. It's a tangy BBQ recipe for beef, but turkey could be a fine substitute. This is the recipe that I first came across, but we prefer to make it with more sauce.

*No Fry* Manhattan Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey (get the leanest meat possible since you don’t get to drain it)
• 1/2 c. onion, chopped
• 2 c. soft bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbs fresh parsley (I substituted about 3/4 Tbs dried)
• 2 tsp salt
• 10 oz apricot preserves
• 1/2 c. BBQ sauce

In a large bowl combine beef, crumbs, onion, eggs, parsley, and salt. Form into balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Combine preserves and BBQ sauce in separate bowl. Brown the meatballs in the oven at 350 degrees (this doesn’t take too long, 5-10 minutes, just keep an eye on them). Place the browned meatballs in a casserole dish and cover with the sauce mix. Put back in the oven and cook for another 40 minutes or until cooked through. Serve meatballs with sauce over rice.

My Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

My mom is a lot of things – among her traits and talents she happens to be a world class cookie maker (at least in the eyes of her family and friends).  These cookies have been bringing my family happiness and good luck for years, and now I’m passing the recipe on to you.  When I told my mom that I was going to take her recipe public she said, “Be sure to tell them how I halved the fat from the original recipe.”  See where I get it. : )
My Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 stick margarine, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• ¾ c. sugar
• ¾ c. packed brown sugar
• 2 ½ c. flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir together margarine, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Add flour and baking soda and stir thoroughly. (My mom always sifts them in, but if you don’t have a sifter that’s ok – you may just need to add a little water to moisten the dough if the unsifted flour makes it too dry.)  Add chocolate chips and stir to mix them in evenly.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees.

The baking time is my mom’s big secret.  She doesn’t like hard or overdone cookies, so she bakes hers for only 7 minutes, then sets them on top of the stove to continue warming/cooking for about 3 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

When I make these cookies Hubby prefers that I cook them a little longer, so I let them go 9-11 minutes, then do the same cooling method my mom uses.

Here’s the side by side comparison:

 

My mom’s cookies are done when there’s just a little browning on the edges.  They are very chewy and go great in the freezer because they are still soft right out of the cold.  My cookies are done when there’s coloring on the edges and on the top cookie peaks.  Mine are better right out of the oven, but aren’t as chewy.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is an American classic, and one that my husband loves. But, pot pie can be a lot of work, so I threw together this simple way to make it that is wonderful the first and second time eating it.

Kim’s “Easy as Pie” Chicken Pot Pie

• 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked, shredded
• 20 oz frozen mixed veggies
• 1 1/2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 c. milk
• 3/4 Tbs onion powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 box prepared, refrigerated pie crusts (there’s 2 in a box)

If not using leftover chicken, I’d suggest boiling it ahead of time. Boiling is an easy way to cook chicken, make it moist, easily shredable, and doesn’t add fat or calories. Allow the veggies to thaw slightly, then mix all ingredients except crust in a large mixing bowl. Unroll the first pie crust and press it to sides of a pie dish (glass preferred). Add filling mixture until evenly dispersed in the crust. Top with second pie crust and pinch sides inward to close. Cut venting slits. Bake according to package directions (generally that’s around 425 degrees for 60-90 minutes until done).

Special notes: Sometimes I have some of the sauce escape, so to save myself a dirty oven, I put the pie dish on top of a cookie or pizza pan. Also, if you’re out of foil, or just hate to make the tents for crust, you can cover the whole pie with an oven-safe plate, then remove it after a half hour so the top can cook.

Key Lime Pie

One of my father-in-law’s favorite desserts is Key Lime Pie, so when I heard he would be visiting over his birthday I set to work finding the perfect recipe for him.

I got this from the Pioneer Woman, but tweaked it to be a little easier and cut a few calories too. It turned out wonderful, and with a little cool whip on top we had authentic tang mingled with perfect sweetness.

Key Lime Pie

• 1 extra large store bought graham cracker crust (you could make yours yourself, but I’ve never been good at them and I didn’t want to botch my FIL’s dessert)
• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk (I used one regular and one fat free, and it was perfect)
• 2 heaping Tbs. key lime zest
• 1 c. lime juice
• 4 egg yolks

Combine all ingredients but crust in a large bowl and mix until blended and thick. Pour lime batter into crust and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Test for ‘doneness’ by pricking with a toothpick – if it feels solid throughout and comes out without looking wet, it is done. Refrigerate the pie at least 4 hours before serving.  Top with cool whip if desired.

*Kim’s notes: Key limes are little ping-pong sized limes. I bought 10 (only a dime each) and zested them using the smallest grate on my cheese grater. They gave a little juice, but then I added store bought juice to make up the difference. If no key limes are available in your area, then any lime will do or zest can sometimes be found in the spices isle.

Hot Fudge Slow Cooker Cake

I love using my crock pot for unexpected things.  Not the best cake I've ever eaten, but when paired with vanilla ice cream it is the essence of comfort food.

Hot Fudge Slow Cooker Cake (adapted from Betty Crocker)

• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 Tbs baking cocoa
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 Tbs canola oil
• 1 Tbs natural applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c. baking cocoa
• 1 1/2 c. hot water
• possible add-ins: 1/2 c. chopped nuts, or 1/4 c. chocolate chips, or nothing at all

Mix together first 8 ingredients.  Once combined add your chosen mix-in, or move on to the next step.  Spread batter evenly in the slow cooker (will be kind of thin, don’t worry).  Next mix the brown sugar, 1/4 c. cocoa in a small bowl, add the hot water stirring until dissolved and smooth. Pour sauce evenly over batter in the slow cooker.

Cook on high for 2 hours, or until cake passes the toothpick test.  Turn off the slow cooker and allow cake to rest 30-40 minutes.*  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Kim’s note:  When I opened my slow cooker I thought I’d burnt my cake!  But it turns out that the sauce settles to the bottom and the cake rises up to the top during the baking process.  The top will look dry, but the gooey sauce is just down under the surface.

Soft Pretzels

Confession time:  When I was pregnant with Cee all I wanted to eat were soft Pretzel Bites from the mall.  I drove by a mall on my commute and had to force myself with all my pregnant-lady rationality (which wasn’t much) not to go there everyday and blow my paycheck.

So, when I saw this recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe (a favorite food blog that I stalk), I got so excited.  Just think of all the money I’ll save if those same cravings come back in my next pregnancy? Woo!

Now, as a connoisseur of soft pretzels, let me say just a couple of things.  First, these pretzels were not like Pretzel Time in the mall – more like soft pretzels at sporting events, which made them a little too pretzely for my liking.  I think that I will lessen the amount of baking soda in the wash next time to see if I can soften them up a touch.

Second – since these pretzels cook very hot (500 degrees!) this recipe has a HIGH SMOKE WARNING! The pretzels were perfect, but the cooking spray that I greased the pan with set my fire alarm off when I opened the oven for the first batch.  I’d suggest making these on parchment paper to save yourself the smokey headache.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or regular yeast
• 7/8 c. warm water (can use up to a cup in needed)

Topping:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• salt, you can just use plain table salt, or get some coarser salt for a fun look
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and cover it.  Let dough rest for 30 minutes or longer if not using instant yeast (dough should almost double).
Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper (I’d say paper over spray – note my high smoke warning).

Divide dough into eight equal pieces. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn’t, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. I only baked one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them with the melted butter. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Stuffing Casserole

We had a box of stuffing.  Stuffing that didn’t get used at Thanksgiving and that I didn’t know what to do with now.


I’m not roasting another turkey just to make dollar stuffing, I thought.

But Hubby told me that men need stuffing sometimes and that he knew I’d come up with something.
I usually don’t even like stuffing, but I do like experimenting, so I took him up on the challenge.  I looked over all of the recipes on the box, threw together the parts from all of them that I liked, added what I had in my average pantry and ended up with, Stuffing Casserole:

Easy, tasty, flavorful.  Not a bad use of lost, abandoned, forgotten, stuffing mix.

Stuffing Casserole

• 4 Chicken Breasts, cut into bite size pieces or 1.25 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, sliced or chopped depending on your preferences
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 can reduced fat cream of chicken or mushroom soup
• 1/2 c. skim milk
• 1 c. frozen peas and carrots
• 2 celery stalks sliced lengthwise then chopped medium-thin
• 1 package turkey stuffing (I used Stove Top)
• 1 2/3 c. hot water

Saute meat with onions until mostly cooked, then add celery slices for the last few minutes.  Mix stuffing with hot water and let stand, covered for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile drain excess moisture from the chicken and veggies, then mix them with remaining ingredients.  Prepare a 2 quart baking dish with a little cooking spray, put down a thin later of stuffing, top with chicken mixture, then top chicken with remaining stuffing.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Happy Cooking!

Chicken Ranch BLAT

Moving to Texas has introduced me to a whole slew of new things. Davy Crockett, H-E-B, strange German and Spanish pronunciations of names, and the BLAT.

Step aside BLT, there’s a vowel in town and this A stands for AVACADO.  Yum!

But what I’ve never understood is why BLTs are so popular when they are so flat and slim.  I like sandwiches with some girth to them.  I like to pick my sandwich up and think, “Crud, how am I going to fit that into my mouth?”

So a combo of this and a combo of that and I give you; the Chicken Ranch BLAT.

What else is awesome about this sandwich?  Besides the taste, it’s the fact that you can make this as fatty or as light as you would prefer.  I went light and used turkey bacon, low-cal sour dough bread, and fat-free ranch dip, and still I wanted to do flips for the flavors of this sandwich.  Here’s the idea:

Chicken Ranch BLAT

• Chicken breasts, cut to bite size pieces (2 breasts = about 3 sandwiches)
• 3 slices of bacon, halved to fit sandwich size
• Ranch sauce (I used fat free sour cream mixed with a ranch flavor packet with great results)
• lettuce
• tomato, sliced
• avocado, sliced
• bread – rolls, slices, hoagie style, whatever you like.
• other condiments that you may prefer – Hubby liked a little mayo, I liked cucumbers

Cook bacon until crisp, set aside.  In same pan cook chicken pieces until no longer pink.  In a bowl combine cooked chicken with ranch sauce until coated.  Toast bread, then layer all ingredients as you like.
Happy Cooking!

Easy Peasy Creamy Pasta

I wanted to make some Italian chicken, but needed a side dish to match. I hadn’t been to the store yet this week, so I had to come up with something with what was in the cupboards, and was pleasantly surprised with the results.

Easy Pea-sy Creamy Pasta

• 2 c. pasta (I used corkscrew since that’s what was on hand)
• 1/2 c. frozen sweet peas
• 1 1/3 c. skim milk
• 2 oz. fat-free cream cheese
• 2 Tbs Parmesan cheese
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese (I used a cheddar/Monterrey blend since that’s what I had – cheddar alone or mozzarella would go well too).
• 3 Tbs crushed fat-free herbed croutons, divided

Cook pasta according to package instructions. While pasta cooks, combine milk, parm cheese, cream cheese,garlic, and shredded cheese in a sauce pan and cook on med heat until cheeses melt together. Add peas, trying not to add too much extra water (no big ice pieces). Drain cooked pasta and add that to the sauce/pea mixture. Stir together and let simmer and few minutes as sauce thickens. Add about half of the crushed croutons and stir into dish. Top dish with remaining crouton crumbs before serving.

Easy Oreo Fruit Salad

In my house, if I suggest that we have fruit as a side dish I usually get met with dull, bored stares.  But when I threw this little treat together I had both of my guys scraping the bowl for every last drop.  The thinner Oreo crackers really soak in the moisture from the cool whip and become a smooth chocolate – delicious!

Easy Oreo Fruit Salad

• 3-4 c. fresh fruit cut to bite size pieces
• Light Cool Whip
• 1 – 100 calorie package Oreo snacks (these are the Oreos that are more like crackers)

Put all fruit in large mixing bowl.  Add cool whip until everything is just coated.  Crush Oreo crackers into crumbs of all sizes and mix in to salad.  Chill until time to serve.

*Kim’s notes:  For my salad I used 1 apple, 2 bananas, and 1 mango, but you could use any fruit based on your family’s preferences.  Can be served as a dessert or side.  Also, if you aren’t trying to be calorie conscious, another fun way to make this salad is replacing the Oreo crackers with chopped Snicker’s bar.
Happy Cooking!

Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread

Very few people love banana bread as much as my hubster – I’d say in the history of Banana Bread Lovers he’s easily in the top 5.

Because of the crumble topping we make the “bread” brownie-style and cut it into squares. It’s moist, delicious, and if you chose to cut out the oil, it’s a healthier alternative to normal baked goods. My Banana Bread Monster gives it the Two-Helpings-in-One-Sitting approval.


Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread**

For the bread:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup natural applesauce, oil, or a combo of both
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water

For the topping:

• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease pan with cooking spray.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the banana, eggs, applesauce, honey, and water. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake bread about an hour, or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

**  I've never understood why sweet banana recipes always call for so much sugar!  Today I healthified this recipe and I wanted to note what I did for future reference or for others that are looking for ways to cut out the excess.

I used VERY ripe bananas, and cut back my sugar to only 1/2 c + 1 Tbs
I used 1 c whole wheat white flour, and 1/2 c bread flour (all purpose would work just as well)
I used 1/4 c natural applesauce and 1/4 c canola oil 
I used 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites
For the topping I used 3 Tbs packed brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp white sugar (and I stopped sprinkling it on once the batter was well covered, I had a lot left over).

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

A different twist on classic dessert flavors. More steps involved than your average cookie, but more unique too.

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

• 1 package banana bread mix (I used Pillsbury)
• 3 Tbs water
• ½ banana, mashed
• 4 oz plain, fat free yogurt
• 2 Tbs natural applesauce or oil
• 2 servings of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all wet ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined.  Add wet ingredients to banana bread mix and stir until mixed.  Chop half of the chocolate chip pieces until slivered, then add them and the rest of the chocolate chips to the batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Since I took all of the oil out of the recipe, I sprayed the foil with cooking spray until well coated for ease of removing logs.  Divide dough in half and form two rectangular logs (about 4.5 inches x 8 inches) – dough will be sticky, but touchable (use wet hands if needed).

Bake logs for 30 minutes, remove from oven and cookie sheet, and allow to cool on wire racks.  Once the logs are cooled cut them into ½  inch strips.  Put strips back on the cookie sheet, cut side down, and bake for another 10 minutes.  Flip strips to other side and bake another 10 minutes.

Kim’s note:  Mine were crisp on the outside with a chewy center using the method described above, but have softened even more as I’ve stored them.  If you want them to be truly crispy throughout like a coffee house biscotti, I’d suggest baking the strips longer, but still doing the 10-minute flip so that the edges don’t have the chance to burn.

Cheesy Burger Chowder

The weather has turned cold, even down here in Texas.  The time has come for me to unveil a Mama D classic, Cheesy Burger Chowder (AKA Cheeseburger Soup, but I’ve never liked that name since it sounds like a burger, bun, and mustard in a blender – ick).

This soup is seriously out of this world.  It’s creamy, flavorful, loaded with veggies, but it’s also bad… so, so bad for you.

I almost chickened out of posting this recipe, it’s THAT bad.  I told Hubby that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to make it again in good conscience and he nearly cried.  So for him, I’m putting this recipe out there, and promising to keep on making it from time to time, but I’m also going to put my notes about how to cut out some of the fat and calories (both versions have been tested on us and both were considered delicious).

**Going to a potluck sometime this month?  This soup will make you a rock star, I guarantee it.**

Cheesy Burger Chowder – Mama D’s version, with Kim notes for cutting back fat

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 3/4 c. chopped onion
• 3/4 c. shredded carrots (the amounts of veggies don’t need to be exact, I usually add a bit extra)
• 3/4 c. diced celery
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. parsley
• 4 Tbs. butter/margarine, divided (I don’t use any butter in my version)
• 3 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 c. peeled and diced potatoes (small bite sizes work best so that they cook faster)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 8 oz. Velveeta (I use the 2% milk variety that has less fat)
• 1 1/2 c. milk (skim)
• 3/4 tsp. salt (I skip this)
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 c. sour cream (I use fat-free)

Brown beef, drain, set aside.  In a large soup pot saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 Tbs butter (or just use some cooking spray if omitting butter) until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add broth, potatoes, and beef.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender (this time will really depend on the size of the potatoes you cut).  Meanwhile, melt remaining 3 Tbs butter in a small saucepan and add flour.  Cook and stir for about 3 minutes or until bubbly, then add it to soup and bring to a boil.  (If not using butter, just throw the flour in the soup, but be very attentive for lumps and smash them out on the side of the pot with a fork if necessary.) Boil for 2 minutes, stirring well.  Reduce heat to low, add cheese in small chunks, milk, salt and pepper.  Cook and stir until cheese is melted, remove from heat and blend in sour cream.