Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

This one's an award winner!  Sure to win any ward's pie making contest!

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 package (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 C cold milk

1 package (5.1 oz) vanilla or white chocolate or banana cream instant pudding

2 medium bananas

Strawberries for garnish, if desired.

1.  Heat oven  to 425 degrees.  Bake pie crust 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool completely.

2.  Place 1 1/2 C of the whipped topping and chocolate chips in a microwave safe container and microwave, uncovered, for 30 seconds.  Stir.  If there are still bits of unmelted chocolate, zap it again for another 20 - 30 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  Put 2 Tablespoons of the chocolate mixture into a small, ziplock bag and set aside.  (I usually stand it up in a small cup so that it doesn't spread all over inside the bag.)  Spread remaining chocolate mixture over the bottom and sides of the pie crust.

3.  Slice the bananas and place slices on top of the chocolate.

4.  Whisk the pudding and the milk for 1 minute or until mixture begins to thicken.  Fold in 1 1/2 C of the whipped topping.  (There should be just a bit of topping left to use as garnish).  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

5.  When ready to serve, garnish the pie by snipping a small tip off the corner of the ziplock and squeezing the chocolate mixture over pie in a decorative design.  Pipe rosettes of whipped topping around the edge of the pie (I usually do 10 - 12).  Place sliced strawberries, pointing up, just in front of, or in the whipped topping rosettes and you can place a slice of banana too (but those can turn brown rather quickly, so unless you're serving it right away, I'd hold off on the banana slices.)

Poor man's fluffy rice & chicken

I was craving rice tonight and came up with this little gem.

2 cups rice - cook in rice cooker
1 can cream of mushroom soup + 1 soup can milk
1 can chicken chunks

Heat the soup and milk together - stir in drained chicken chunks.
Serve hot over rice.

Enjoy!

A quick way to enjoy that taste we all love w/o all the waiting.

Tomato and Olive Penne

Original Recipe:

Salt and Pepper
1 lb Penne or other short pasta
1/4 Cup olive oil
2 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2/3 lb cherry tomatoes (2 cups), halved or quartered
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 Cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1) In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne according to package instructions until al dente, about 13 minutes. Drain

2) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 1 minute. Add the cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring, until tomato juices run, about 3 minutes.

3) Add the penne, olives, parsley, and 1/4 cup Parmesan to the skillet and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese if desired.

For kids:
If you're cooking for children who don't like black olives, toss the olives in for the adults after you've served the kids.

Serves 4


Melissa's Version:

Use any kind of tomatoes (smaller ones are tastier, but anything works), slice larger ones into wedges, or half-wedges.
No red pepper, olives, or parsley.

Follow directions as noted; I typically add more salt then the recipe calls for - just to taste.

Tempura

 Batter:

1 egg

1 C ice water

1 C flour

Beat egg in a bowl.  Add ice water in the bowl.  Be sure to use very cold water.  Add flour in the bowl and mix lightly.  Be careful not to over-mix the batter; it will be lumpy.

Items to fry

Choose any of the following:

*Sweet potato

*Broccoli florettes

*Carrots

*Zucchini

*Onion

*Green Beans

*Mushrooms

*Shrimp

Cut vegetables up into thick slices or chunks.  Dip the "wet" items into plain flour before dipping into batter so that the batter will stick.  Dip items just before placing in the hot oil.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan - around medium high heat (whatever temp you think that might be - 350ish?).  Drop dipped items into batter and let fry, turning over at least once, until veggies are tender.  Remove with slotted spoon and put on a cooling rack over paper towels to catch oil.

Dipping Sauce:

Plain soy sauce will do, but this is yummy!

2 T rice wine vinegar

1/2 C soy sauce

1 T ginger, grated

Mix together.  Ta da!

Serve all with a plate full of hot rice.

Hot Wassail

1 C. Tang

2 C. Sugar

1 1/2 C. Country Time Lemonade

1/2 C apple cider drink mix (10 envelopes)

1 T. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

Shake or stir all ingredients together well.

To serve: Stir 2 - 3 T of mix in 1 cup of hot water.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb. cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded

1 C salsa, divided

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1 T chopped cilantro

1 t. ground cumin

1 C shredded cheese (Cheddar & Monterey Jack is yummy)

8 flour tortillas

1)  Heat oven to 350

2) Heat large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat.  Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 min.  Add chicken, 1/4 C salsa, cream cheese, cilantro and cumin; mix well.  Cook 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.  Add 1/2 C shredded cheese; mix well.

3) Spoon about 1/3 C chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.  Place seam-sides down in 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining shredded cheese and salsa.

4) Bake 15 to 20 min or until heated through. 

Salmon Asparagus Pasta Salad

1 lb. of pasta (I use bowties - large or small - called Farfalle, I think)

1 bunch of asparagus (the thinner the spears, the better)

1 fillet of Salmon - around a pound

dressing: 

3 T mayonnaise

1/2 C sour cream

3 T lemon juice

1 1/2 T Dijon mustard

1/2 t dried dill

optional:

ground black pepper

green onions

1.  Cook the pasta until at dente, rinse, and drain well.  While the pasta is cooking, microwave or steam the asparagus for 3 minutes and either grill or broil the salmon.  (My hints:  I cut the asparagus up into bite sized pieces, put it in a microwave safe container with a couple tablespoons of water, put on a lid and vent the corner and microwave for 3 minutes.  The Salmon, I put into a tin-foil "box" that I make by folding up the edges of the foil.  I put a couple pats of butter, some garlic salt, & some onion powder on top and then grill outside so my house doesn't smell like fish.  When it's done, I flake it with a fork.)

2.  Combine the cooked pasta, asparagus, salmon flakes and green onions if desired, in a large serving bowl; toss to mix.

3.  Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Pour over the pasta salad and toss.  Add back pepper to taste.

4.  Serve right away, or it may be chilled and served cold as well.  (I like it warm better, but it's yummy both ways!)