Butterfinger Brownies

Butterfinger Brownies

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 regualr sized Butterfinger candy bars, crushed

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside
In your mixer, combine butter and brown sugar and mix well. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture and 1 cup of crushed butterfinger.
Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining crushed butterfinger on top of batter.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until the bars are a bit firm to the touch. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Pull Aparts (Monkey Bread)

These are one of our favorite 'sweet' morning dishes--regular 'ole cinnamon rolls are still first but these are a close second (especially for me as they are sooo easy!!).

12-16 Rhodes white dinner rolls
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine melted
(you can add nut if you want, we never do)
Thaw rolls until soft (about 1-2 hours at room temp or put in fridge until ready to use). Quarter each roll (I actually use scissors). In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Dip rolls in butter then roll in cinnamon/sugar until thoroughly coated. Arrange in sprayed bundt pan (I usually use all the rolls called for--16 and put them in a 9"x13" pan). Cover with sprayed plastic wrap. (this is where I do it different too. I put wax paper over it and leave it on the counter all night. When I get up in the morning it is all ready to stick in the oven). Let rise until double in size (2-3 hours) Remove wrap. Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes. Cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking. Immediately after removing from oven, carefully release edges and center tube with a knife. Invert onto serving platter. (I leave mine in the pan or invert onto a tray and add frosting).
Frosting: 4oz cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups powder sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 T milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix well. Spread on pull aparts or make a little thinner and drizzle. Yum!

Creamy Mushroom and Chicken Soup

I had this at a friends house and it was really yummy. She got it from the
Family Fun magazine.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup sliced celery
3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 cups quartered baby red potatoes
1 cup chopped yellow squash
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 teaspoons thyme
2 cups light cream (I used milk instead, it made it not as thick but still good)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish if desired
2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper and mix until smooth. Gradually add the broth, then turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil. Add the mushrooms, celery, carrots, potatoes, squash, corn, and thyme. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Add the cream, Parmesan, and chicken. Heat the soup for an additional 10 minutes, but do not let it boil.

3. To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl and sprinkle it with more Parmesan, if desired. Makes about 15 cups.

Overnight Egg Casserole

(It might not look appetizing but it's one of the best I've had!)

8 slices bread, cubed
3/4 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 pounds fresh, ground spicy pork sausage
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/4 cup chicken broth

Place bread cubes in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese; set aside. In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Crumble sausage over the cheese and bread. Beat the eggs, milk, mustard, soup and broth; pour over sausage. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 2-3 hours before baking. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or just until set. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Banana Chip Muffins

I found this recipe on real mom kitchen and they turned out really good and moist!

I am always a fan of chocolate and definitely think it goes with just about everything!

Banana Chip Muffins

1 /3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1-1/3 cups)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I use regular and mix in with the dry ingredients so they don't sink)

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg, oil and sugar until smooth. Stir in bananas. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the banana mixture just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

"Firmer" Jello Jigglers

I didn't know that there was another way to make a jiggler! I got asked for a recipe and found on the internet a way to make them firmer, or able to stay in shape longer!

Thanks Raelynne for telling me about this I will have to try it!

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4 envelopes knox unflavored gelatin

3 pkg. (3 oz each) gelatin

4 cups boiling water

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Mix gelatin together. Add boiling water and mix until dissolved.

Pour into 9 x 13 pan and chill until firm.

Cut into 100 squares!

Small-fry Frittatas

I found this recipe in a family fun magazine a while back! It is a new way to do eggs for breakfast, or as we did for "Breakfast Wednesday" dinner!!
Enjoy!!

"For a fun and easy morning meal, try these small-scale egg dishes. Baked in individual muffin cups, they ensure that everyone gets the mix-ins they like--and none they don't"

Mini Frittatas

4 large eggs

1/4 cup half and half (I used milk and worked fine)

1/2 tsp salt

Assorted mix-ins (shredded cheese, diced vegies, cooked and chopped bacon, ham, or sausage, hashbrowns etc.)

Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat your oven to 350 and spray a 6 cup muffin pan. Whisk together the eggs, half and half, and salt, then evenly distribute the egg mixture among the muffin cups.

Add about 2 tbsp of mix-ins to each cup, then sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top. Bake until puffy and the edges are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Makes 6 mini frittatas!

Decadent Freedom French Toast

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
6 tbsp. maple syrup
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
24 slices of bread
8 oz. cream cheese
cinnamon sugar
9 large eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together brown sugar, maple syrup and butter. Pour onto a large cookie sheet (12X16). Note: the buttery caramel does not stick to the bottom, but it is a good idea to grease the sides of the pan. Spread the cream cheese on 12 slices of bread and put them, cheese side up, on top of the mixture in the cookie sheet, squeezing slightly to fit. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place on the other 12 slices of bread on top of the first 12 slices. Cut through each "sandwich" diagonally.
Mix eggs, milk and vanilla together and pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove the cover before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for at least 40 minutes, until the tops turn a bit brown. Serve upside down so that caramel side is up. May be served plain or with berries and whipped topping.

Basic Banana Bread

Here's a simple but delicious recipe for banana bread. It is a four and a half star recipe from allrecipes.com. I love that the recipe is so simple yet the result is full of flavor and very moist. It's a keeper. Oh, and a lot of reviewers (me included) added a dash of cinnamon and put in half brown sugar and half white sugar.

Basic Banana Bread
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed banana (I used 3)
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x5 inch pan.

Cream margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, then bananas. Add flour and soda, stirring just until combined.

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 hour (or till toothpick comes out clean). Remove from pan and let cool, store in refrigerator or freeze.

Wicked Good Marshmallow Popcorn

Warning: this stuff is soooo yummy; it's almost too good. The best advice I can give you is to make sure that you have plenty of people to share it with. Otherwise, you'll end up eating it all by yourself, which can't be a good thing. So, here goes:

Marshmallow Popcorn
1 c. margarine or butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. Karo

Melt the above ingredients, remove from heat when it starts to bubble. Add 1 bag of mini marshmallows and mix it until the marshmallows are almost melted. Pour over 3 bags of microwave popcorn or 2 bowls of popcorn (make sure to remove the kernals). Enjoy, but please, try to show a little restraint!!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Rachel found this recipe first from www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com!

I tried it and really liked it and so I made it except left out the cilantro and added yellow peppers too!!

Black bean and Corn Salad

1/3 cup lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
~~combine above ingredients and shake together until well mixed
2-3 cups black beans or 2 (15 oz) cans rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn, thawed
1 avocado, diced (I put in more because we really like the avocado)
1 small red pepper, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup cilantro
~~put together above ingredients. Pour lime dressing over and stir well to coat. Salad can be made ahead of time, but add avocado just before serving!
Makes 4-5 servings for main course, and 8-10 servings side dish!
(we ate ours with chips and inside fajitas or burritos!)

Wheat Bread

This wheat bread is from Karma and is like corn bread!

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cups honey melted

1/3 cup oil

Mix liquid ingredients. Add to sifted dry ingredients, Mix.

Bake in 9x13 pan @350 for about 25 minutes!

Meatballs

I like to use this recipe for my meatballs. I have used these meatballs in spaghetti; they would work well with any sauce. Our family's favorite is to use the Sweet Sauce listed below.

Basic Meatball Recipe
1 lb ground beef
1 c. bread crumbs
1 egg
2 tbs. minced onion
1 tbs. milk
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. salt

Combine above ingredients. Form into balls (I use my Pampered Chef cookie scoop). You can brown these on the stove in a small amount of oil, but I prefer to bake them. It is sooo much easier. I just use a cookie sheet and bake them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Turn them half way through the baking time. You can also freeze these and pull them out later & reheat in the sauce you prefer.

Sweet Sauce
3/4 c. grape jelly
3/4 c. chili sauce
Cover meatballs in sauce. Simmer covered about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I found this recipe on mykitcen cafe and copied it exactly as she had it on her blog! I followed all her directions as she added! It turned out great and next time I am going to try it in a bread bowl like she did!!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 can chicken broth
1 small onion, diced
1/3 c. flour1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
2 c. milk (I used 1% with great results)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper the better for flavor - I used sharp cheddar and hopefully next time will have extra sharp cheddar on hand)
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
steamed chopped broccoli (the amount of broccoli really boils down to preference - I wanted a lot of broccoli in my soup, so I chopped and steamed approximately 2 1/2 to 3 cups of broccoli florets)

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.Makes approximately 4 servings (with two adults and three kids, we finished the pot of soup in one dinner serving it in bread bowls, so if you are serving more adults or serving the soup in regular bowls, I would consider doubling according to the number of people)

Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo

Michelle gave me this recipe and it turned out great!! She has had great reviews from her family too!!!

Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo

8 oz. cream cheese-cut up

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk

8 oz. fettuccine; cooked and drained

Optional to add: chicken, cooked broccoli, favorite vegetables

In large saucepan combine cheeses, butter, and milk! Stir constantly until smooth. Toss pasta lightly with sauce to coat. Leftovers freeze well!!

Beef Stew

Jennifer Jones gave me this recipe, which I think she said came from Utah!

I think it is the best, and my family loves it!!

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1 1/2 lbs stew meat

1/4 onion, finely chopped

4 carrots, chopped

1 celery, chopped

5 potatoes, cubed

28 oz can whole tomatoes, not drained

16 oz. beef broth

2 tbsp parsley

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp tapioca

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Brown meat. Combine all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours and then turn to low for 4 hours!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I found this recipe on http://www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/

She has lots of great recipes and this one was really good too!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

1 recipe bread dough

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

10 t. cinnamon

Make the dough as usual and when you are ready to put it in your pans, divide it into loaves and roll each loaf into a 9X18 rectangle. Using a spray bottle, lightly mist your dough with water. It should be damp, but not wet - no puddling! Put 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture on each loaf. Make sure not to take the sugar mixture to the very edges of your dough; leave a border along all edges so you can roll and pinch the edges.

Lightly mist the dough again with water until sugar is set. Sugar mixture should not be muddy and wet - just lightly misted. You can tell from my pictures that I added to much water because after baking the cinnamon swirls were gooey - they should be dry and sugary, not gooey like a cinnamon roll. Roll up the dough and pinch all edges to seal. Place in bread pans and rise and bake like normal.

Texas Sheet Cake

I found this recipe a while ago on Heather Whites blog!

It is a great cake and really easy!!

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

Combine:
2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine in saucepan:
1 cube margarine
1 C. water
1/4 C. Hershey’s cocoa
1/2 C. oil
Stir and bring to a boil. Pour over flour mix and beat well.

Add:
1/2 C. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix well and pour into greased and floured 13 x 18 large cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Frosting:
3 1/2 – 3 3/4 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C. cocoa
1 cube margarine
1/3 C. milk
pinch salt

Melt margarine in pan. Add cocoa and mix well. Add vanilla, salt, milk and powdered sugar to a creamy consistency. Spread on warm cake. Chopped nuts are optional. Cool before serving.

Holiday Morning Buns

From King Arthur Flour Blog

I found this on another blog and had to try! They turned out really good, next time I might try using half and half to try and make them a little lighter!!

Holiday Morning Buns

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2-2 1/4 cups heavy cream
Coating:
7 tbsp butter, melted or milk
cinnamon and sugar for rolling
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Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add 2 cups of cream all at once, then toss and stir the mixture till the dough comes together. If necessary, add additional cream to make the dough cohesive. Gather the dough in your hands and knead a few times to make sure there are no dry spots.
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Place the cinnamon and sugar in a small, shallow bowl. Break off pieces of dough about the size of a ping pong ball. Dip each piece in butter or milk, then roll in cinnamon and sugar to coat.
Place the cinnamon-coated dough balls into pan in a single layer; they'll be touching one another, which is fine!
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Cover the pan with plastic, and place in freezer overnight, or for up to a week or so. If freezing longer than overnight wrap entire pan in plastic wrap, then in foil. Next day, remove the pan from the freezer, and let buns rest at room temp. while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The buns don't need to thaw.
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If you're baking the buns immediately (not frozen), bake them for 45-50 minutes, till the buns in the center are cooked through. If the buns have been frozen, bake them for 65-70 minutes. Tent them with aluminum foil after 45 minutes of baking.

Remove from oven, and serve immediately. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired!