Back to School Banana Walnut Muffins (and sister pics)

I wanted to share a yummy and easy recipe for those of you who have kiddos heading back to school on Monday. I have made the muffins the past two weeks, and everyone in the house is a fan! Add a glass of milk and maybe some eggs or some fruit and you have a delicious breakfast!

1/2 c. softened butter
1 c. sugar (I used a little less)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 to 4 ripened bananas
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 c. walnuts or pecans
Blend first 4 ingredients. Add remaining and mix until blended. Fill paper muffin cups with batter and bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees. I made half without nuts and then just added a half cup of nuts for the second half of the batch. It makes exactly 2 dozen muffins. I think next time I will add in some milled flax seed and maybe try to up the whole wheat flour. Hope you enjoy!

It's A Keeper June (x 2)

This recipe comes from the Highlights High 5 magazine. If you are not a subscriber and you have a preschooler- I would HIGHLY recommend it as a Christmas present, maybe from grandma... Nana gave it to Elizabeth for Christmas, and it is so great! She thinks it is so cool to get her own magazine in the mail, and the content is excellent. There is always something fun that is recommends. Elizabeth has gotten pretty good at following a recipe thanks to High 5. Our most recent adventure was Sweet Smelling Play Dough!

Play Dough

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 pkt unsweetened koolaid

2 T vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 t cream of tartar

Child:

Mix together 2 cups of water, the drink mix and 2 T vegetable oil.

In a 4 qt pot, mix together 2 cups flower, 1 cup salt, and 4 t cream of tartar. Slowly add the liquid to the pot and stir.

Adult:

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove the dough from the pot to cool. (I put mine in the refrigerator.)

Store in a ziplock bag.

- It makes A TON! Great for a play date to send some home with a friend.

-Or, for a really stormy night... that is when we made ours and had so much fun!

The second recipe is from my friend Christine. When I got married, Christine gave me one of the best gifts, a recipe book filled with her tried and true favorites! I recently made dinner for my friend Jen who had a baby and needed an easy dessert to make to go with it, and decided on Goodie Bars. Jen really liked them, and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them myself:)

Goodie Bars

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 box yellow cake mix

1 egg

4 cups powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325. Melt butter in a 9X13 dish in preheating oven. Pour melted butter into large mixing bowl, leaving dish "greased". Combine cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter. Stir well and pat mix into the dish. Separately, on low speed, mix powdered sugar, vanilla, cream cheese, and 2 eggs. Pour over base. Bake one hour or until golden brown. (I pulled mine about 10 minutes early.)

Happy baking!

It's A Keeper- May

Yes, I realize I failed to post a recipe in April, so I may try to post two this month... we'll see- no promises!!!  This recipe is a VERY simple one from my days as a counselor at Pine Cove.  Once a week, the girl counselors would get together for our own Bible study and time of accountability.  I do not remember one of these sessions without Apple Dip!  Unfortunately it has been a few years since those days, and that delicious recipe escaped me.  Then, a few weeks ago, I sat looking at a fruit bowl full of apples and needing a little extra something to go with my apple for the day.  The need for apple dip returned!!!  After a long overdue phone conversation with my sweet Sarah, I had my recipe.  In the 3 minutes following that conversation, Apple Dip was made and enjoyed greatly by Elizabeth and me!  I hope you enjoy this delicious treat as much as we have been!

Apple Dip

Ingredients:

Equal parts of-

Peanut Butter (we are big fans of Skippy Natural!)

Cream Cheese (I used the fat free stuff that I had on hand)

Brown Sugar (you can decrease the amount of this if it is too sweet for you)

Milk (just a little if it is too thick) 

I keep mine in a tupperware in the fridge.

Hope you enjoy!

It's A Keeper- March

Here it is... I actually threw this together on a whim a couple of years ago, and it has stood the test of time. I typically will freeze half for a quick meal down the road, or it is great for when you are having people over.

(sorry about the Mexican theme... just a fave around here!)

Chicken Enchiladas
9X13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray
12 flour tortillas
2 large chicken breasts cut in bite sized pieces
(or 2 cans chicken if you’re in a hurry!)
2 cloves garlic
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 can black beans
1 can rotel
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small jar/can salsa verde (green in spanish!)
1 cup shredded cheese (I use Colby jack)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet with some olive oil cook chicken on the stove, seasoning with garlic. Add cream cheese, black beans, and rotel with ½ the juice. Mix this together until cream cheese is melted thoroughly. While this is cooking, mix together cream of chicken soup and salsa verde and set aside. Spoon a good amount of the chicken mixture into each tortilla, roll it, and place snugly in the baking dish. Pour the salsa verde mixture over the tortillas and cover the dish with foil. Bake 25 minutes on 350. Remove and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven uncovered for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

I leave you with our most recent family pic and a couple of others from Justin's dad's retirement party. He retired after 35 years and was a captain for the Dallas Fire Department. We had a great time and really enjoyed Papadeaux afterward!

Yeah, I was "that lady" who asked the waitress to take our pic. We needed documentation of our celebration!

Jenn and Brandon:)

Elaine is looking pretty serious-
actually, she is just a couple of hours overdue on a nap!

It's A Keeper- February

So, I cannot promise how long this will last, but I am going to try to post a recipe a month that is a "keeper" for our family.
February's recipe is one I recently took to our ladies' Bible study potluck, and it got rave reviews. It is an attempt at On the Border's Chicken Tortilla Soup with a few modifications based on things I like! Hope you enjoy!!!
I am sure there are a lot of modifications that you could make based on what you have on hand or family preferences, but I just noted exactly what I used.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 large chicken breasts
14 cups water
2 tsp salt
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 bag of boil in bag brown rice
10 oz can rotel
1 cup salsa
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
8 oz frozen corn (1/2 bag)
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
½ onion chopped
1 zucchini squash, sliced thin and quartered

8 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Crumbled tortilla chips

Boil Chicken in 8 cups water with salt and 2 bouillon cubes for one hour. Meanwhile, boil the rice according to the directions and do any necessary chopping, rinsing, etc. Remove cooked chicken from water and cut or tear into bite sized pieces; return to broth with remaining ingredients including 6 additional cups water and 3 bouillon cubes. Simmer for one hour. Top with cheese and tortilla chips and serve.