Banana Bread

For Christmas, I made banana bread for my boyfriend, Stephen's parents. When we went to his parents' house at Easter, his little sister waited until Stephen walked out of the room, turned to me and said, "Now that he's gone... do you think you could make some more of that bread?" She asked me to make 2 or 3 loafs of the bread. I only agreed to making one, and it took me a while to get around to that. So this is for you Lillian.

I have had this recipe for well over 10 years and I have no idea where I got it from. So, unfortunately, I cannot give the source credit for it.

Banana Bread

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 c. oatmeal

4-5 overripe bananas, smashed

Mix together. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Hotdog Mini Corn Muffins

There are very few things that my niece, Siena, will eat. Hotdogs is one of them. She pretty well likes anything involving hotdogs and some sort of bread. So I mixed cornbread mix with cut up hotdogs and cooked them in mini muffin tins. They are the perfect size for her and my nephew, Luke, to munch on.

Hotdog Mini Corn Muffins

2 boxes cornbread mix

2 eggs

2/3 c. milk

4-5 turkey hotdogs, cut up

Mix cornbread mix, eggs and milk together. Add hotdogs and mix. Put into greased mini muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-15 minutes, or until done. Makes 48 mini muffins.

Chicken Satay Noodles

I enjoy the process of cooking, I love providing food for people and I think that I am a good cook. But I still love to be validated for everything I make. I could say that I only want the feedback to improve my recipes and cooking, but that wouldn't be true. Sure, I do like that kind of feedback, but mostly I just want to hear that people like it. My family is the best at this. I partially think it's just to ensure that I keep making Sunday lunch, and hey, it works.

Chicken Satay Noodles

Wheat spaghetti noodles

Chicken breast, cooked and shredded

Matchstick carrots

Bean sprouts

Green onions, cut on the bias

peanuts

Sauce:

1/4 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. coconut milk

1 T. soy sauce

1/4 c. oil

1/3 c. warm water

Mix all sauce ingredients well. Cook noodles, drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with sauce. Top with carrots, bean sprouts, chicken, green onions and peanuts.

Turkey Club Burger

Unfortunately, neither my boyfriend or I have a grill. So, our Memorial Day meal did not have the yummy char grilled taste, but it was still very good.

I roasted potato slices, onions, poblano peppers and mushrooms. I topped the burgers with mashed avocado, lettuce, tomato, red onion and chipotle ranch. I made the chipotle ranch specifically for my boyfriend, Stephen. He loves ranch dressing and he's my spicy boy, so it's a perfect match for him.

Chipotle Ranch

1 bottle ranch

4 chipotles

Mix well in a food processor.

Turkey Burger

2 lbs. ground turkey

3 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. grill seasoning

1 T. chili powder

2 t. cumin

Mix well. Make into 4 burger patties.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Ok, are you ready for this? It is my boyfriend's, brother's girlfriend's birthday... Did you get that? Stephen and I were not able to stay and try the cake with them yesterday, so I hope that she liked it.

Though I don't mess with baking recipes, I did get a little creative with this cake. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe, added fresh raspberries in between the layers and on top, and used a meringue from Rachael Ray mag in between the layers and on top.

Chocolate Cake

Meringue

Adapt from Rachael Ray Magazine

4 egg whites, at room temperature

2/3 c. sugar

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar and the egg whites. Place over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl, and heat just until the sugar dissolves, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Chili Rubbed Fajitas

As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of repeating meals. But this post is really much more about my boyfriend than it is about what I cooked. So, please bare with me for a minute as I am going to be a cheesy girlfriend... My boyfriend, Stephen, loved the Chili Rubbed Steak and Shrimp so much, he said it was 'The Bomb'. He then took some to work to show off the meal to his coworkers and asked me to make more for him to take for everybody at work. I think it is the cutest thing that he gets so excited about the meals I cook for him and wants other people to try my food too. I think that is the biggest compliment. He is so adorable! ... Ok, I promise I'm done with my cheesy girlfriend moment.

So, I made them some more steak and shrimp. I also made some sauteed mushrooms, onions and green peppers, and sent tortilla shells and sour cream to make fajitas.

Jazzed Up Shrimp Cocktail

I wanted to do something different with shrimp for dinner. So I decided to make an old school favorite a little more fancy. I made the cocktail sauce thinner by using tomato juice. And obviously cooking for my boyfriend has carried over to what I make for just me, because I made this spicier than I usually do. And why, if I made this for just me did I put it in a martini glass? Because it looks pretty...

Jazzed Up Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp, cooked and chilled

Avocado, cubed

Celery, cut on the bias

1 can tomato juice

2 T. horseradish

2 t. worchestershire sauce

Juice of 1 lemon

1 t. hot sauce

Mix together tomato juice, horseradish, wochestershire sauce, lemon juice and hot sauce. Add in shrimp, avocado and celery. Mix well. Chill slightly before serving.

Greek Salad

I saw a picture of a Greek salad on a TV commercial last week and have been thinking about it ever since. I used all my favorite Mediterranean toppers: kalamata olives, red onions, pepperocini peppers and tomatoes. It would also be great with artichoke hearts and feta cheese. I used the Greek seasoning on the chicken and dressed the salad with a balsamic drizzle and extra virgin olive oil.

Chili Rubbed Steak and Shrimp

As I've mentioned before, my boyfriend Stephen, loves his food spicy. So I have started to use a lot more ground red pepper when I cook. For this rub, I use primarily chili powder, but I also add some of my new staple (ground red pepper) to add a little more heat for my spicy boy. For the mashed potatoes, I added some shredded cheese and green onions.

Chili Rub

Chuck steak

Shrimp, thawed

Grill seasoning

Chili powder

Garlic powder

Ground Red Pepper

Season and cook separately.

Pork Chops with Creamy Balsamic Mushrooms and Potato Croquettes

I'm a big fan of sauteed mushrooms and onions with balsamic vinegar. For these, I added a little cream. It's a great combination, on that my boyfriend, Stephen, enthusiastically proclaimed, "I like it!" I adopted the recipe for the potato croquettes from Rachael Ray's magazine. I added cheese and green onions to my mashed potatoes. I recommend getting the mashed potatoes as cold as possible so they will be easier to handle.

Pork Chops

Thin cut, bone-in pork chops

Ground Red Pepper

Garlic Powder

Dried Thyme

Dried Rosemary

Salt and pepper

Creamy Balsamic Mushrooms

1 container mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. heavy cream

In skillet, caramelize onions. Add mushrooms until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add balsamic vinegar and let it reduce, add cream and reduce.

Potato Croquettes