Whole-Grain Banana Nutmeg Coffee Cake

3Tb butter, softened
1 C. Quick Oats
1/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 C. br sugar
1 C. Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. sugar
1 Tb. bk powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C. veg. oil
1 C. milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 mashed bananas
1/4 C. chopped pecans

-Mix butter, oats, 1/4 C. whole wheat flour and brown sugar in small bowl until crumbly. Set aside.
-Mix flours, sugar, bk powder, nutmeg, and salt.
-Mix egg, oil, bananas, vanilla and milk.
-Combine last two steps.
-Spread half of mixture in greased 9-in springform pan (or any 9 in pan). Sprinkle half of oat mixture on top.
-Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oats and nuts. Bake at 350 for approx. 40 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

Tried this out today (a rainy day - perfect for baking, of course), and mmmm - I like it! Might try a little more nutmeg next time. Good thing we had 8 brown bananas sitting around waiting to be mashed! The fruit slush recipe (6 bananas) I tweaked a little also looks like it will be yummy.
Coffee cake recipe adapted from one found at Green Mountain website.

Mocha Truffle Cookies

1/2 C butter
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tb instant coffee crystals
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C br sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bk powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C choc chips ( I like the white/milk choc swirl chips!)

-Melt butter and 1/2 C. semisweet choc chips over low heat in saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in coffee crystals and let cool 5 min.
-Mix eggs, sugars and vanilla. Add to coffee mix.
-Mix dry ingredients.
-Combine all ingred.
-Drop by rounded tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets.
-Bake at 350 for approx 10 min. Let cool 1 min and remove from sheet.
Y: 30

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

Mmmm Lemonade!

Lemonade
Originally uploaded by jamieanne.

3/4 - 1 C. Sugar
1 C. Lemon juice concentrate
6 C. Water

Mix together and enjoy!!!

I love this easy lemonade that our friend Dana made recently! Since I rarely buy lemons, I enjoy how close this tastes to real lemonade without actually buying the fruit. And lemon juice is a staple in my fridge. Mmmmm mmmmm, 5/5 for both Jonathan and me I think!

Mom's Potato Salad

This is truly a "little bit of this and a little bit of that" recipe from my Mom. I really enjoy her potato salad and this is her recipe...

-Boil a bunch of peeled potatoes until soft.
-Rinse in cool water and dice.
-Boil a bunch of eggs approx. 10 min.
-Let cool and chop after peeling.
-Chop some celery.
-Mix above ingredients.
-Mix approx 1/2 jar mayo, 1 Tb sugar (to taste), some mustard, and a little milk. Add to other ingreds.
-Mix in small amount of dehydrated onions, and some salt and pepper.
-Can sprinkle paprika on top. Keep cold.

Sorry for the lack of details, but it will taste yummy regardless of the ratios:).

Whole-Grain Apple Coffee Cake

3Tb butter
1 C. Quick Oats
1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. br sugar
1 C. Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. veg. oil
1 C. milk
1 Tb. bk powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 C. chopped apples
1/4 C. chopped pecans

-Mix butter, oats, 1/4 C. flour and brown sugar in small bowl until crumbly. Set aside.
-Mix flours, sugar, oil, milk, bk powder, cinnamon, salt, and egg in large bowl until well blended.
-Stir in apples. Spread half of mixture in 9-in springform pan (or any 9 in pan) that has been greased. Sprinkle half of oat mixture on top.
-Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oats and nuts. Bake at 350 for approx. 40 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

I have made this once, and I really liked how it looked in the springform pan! Beautiful! Tasted good, too:)! Might be even better with a little powd. sugar frosting drizzled over it. A 4/5 for me, Jonathan maybe not so high of a rating.
Recipe adapted from one found at Green Mountain website.

Ginger Cake

1/2 C. boiling water + 2 Tb.
1/2 C. canola oil
1/2 C. br sugar
1/2 C. molasses
1 egg
1 1/2 C. whole wt flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bk powder
1/2 tsp soda
3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon

-Boil water. Pour water carefully over oil. Set aside.
-Beat egg, sugar and molasses. Mix with oil/water.
-Mix dry ingredients.
-Add wet ingreds to dry ingreds.
-Bake at 350 for 30 min in 8-in greased pan.

- Serve with applesauce (unsweetened or sweetened) and whipped cream!

Y: 8

Mmmm! This dessert was a treat we enjoyed while having dinner with Blake's parents in Minnesota! The recipe is from his mother, Elaine. Her recipe was called "Ginger Bread," but I switched it to cake.

Freezer Corn

Sweet Corn
Sugar
Salt
Pint/Quart freezer bags
Ice
Large pot
Cooling bowls
Angel food cake pan
Knives

-Place cobs on angel food cake pan and slice sides off into bottom of pan.
-Measure 9 Cups corn and place in saucepot.
-Mix with 1 Tb salt, 1/4 C sugar, 2 1/2 C water.
-Stir and heat to a boil. Boil 5 min.
-Pour into bowls and place in sink with small amount of ice water to speed up cooling process.
-Bag and freeze!!
-To serve, place in saucepot with small amount of water, heat on high until completely thawed, then turn off.


This recipe is from my mother-in-law. She taught me so much about preserving. This corn is wonderful!!!!

Blueberry Morning Glaze

Mix 1 Tb Cornstarch with 1/2 C water until smooth. Add 1/2 C sugar. Heat in skillet with bottom covered in blueberries until boiling. Boil 1 minute. May mash blueberries if desired. Serve with blueberry pancakes of course!:)

Garlic Bread

1 loaf French Bread, sliced
1/4 C. Butter, softened
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp oregano
4 tsp parsley (dried)
3 Tb parmesan cheese

-Combine butter and spices and cheese.
-Spread mixture on one side of each bread slice and place on foil.
-Wrap reconstructed loaf in foil and bake at 400 for 12-15 min or until butter melts and bread is crusty.

Mmm!

Graham Cracker Crust

18 single graham crackers (~ 1 1/2 C crumbs)
2 Tb sugar
1/3 C. melted butter

Crush crackers in bag using rolling pin. Mix with other ingreds. Press into 9" pie plate. Chill as is, or bake at 350 for 8 min.


Recipe shared from Mennonite Country-Style Recipes & Kitchen Secrets by Esther Shank

Simple French Toast

4 Eggs
1 C. Milk
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
cinnamon (optional)
powdered sugar
8 slices bread

-Beat eggs until mixed in wide bowl. Add and mix milk and flavoring. Quickly dip bread slices in egg mixture one at a time to moisten, then place on skillet (lightly greased if needed). Heat each side until browned at 350. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with syrup.

Beef Roast with Veggies

Roasts are always an experiment for me - I usually just add to them whatever veggies are around and vary the spices/sauces depending on my mood. This recipe I actually wrote down once, so we must have liked it:). My mom taught me that you can throw a frozen roast in the oven, and my planning ahead was all over from then on...the only difficulty is getting the wrap off of the roast!

1 frozen roast (sirloin, chuck, pot, etc...)
veggies (red potatoes with skins on, green/yellow fresh beans, green pepper, onions, carrots)
garlic salt
pepper
paprika
dried parsley
butter
worcestershire sauce

Place frozen roast in roaster pan. Liberally squirt with worc. sauce to coat. Add hot water to pan to lightly cover bottom and a dash over the roast. Sprinkle spices over roast. Cover and bake at 400 for 10 min, then turn oven down to 350. Bake for approx. 1 1/2 hours, then add veggies around roast. Dot with little bits of butter. Sprinkle some more spices over veggies. Bake another 45 minutes (covered) or until roast is done to your desire.