June Cleaver’s Moist Banana Snack Cake

ok – this cake isn’t really June Cleaver’s recipe…it isn’t even called that - but for me it represents the mom/homemaker I want to be in my dreams. I want the kind of kitchen that is always spotless while hiding a delicious three course meal and the perfect dessert. I want the kids to run into the kitchen eagerly anticipating the home baked goodness that awaits them under the crystal cake plate after a long day at school….hello….wake-up….it just isn’t going to happen around here that often. I managed to clean one bathroom today and it completely wore me out. I only cooked supper because someone left the freezer open and the thawed fish couldn’t be wasted. I did manage to place a yummy snack cake under the glass cake plate though – just what I needed in this season of dieting. I wanted to find a cake that could be sliced for easy snacking and I found the perfect one. Really, this banana cake was VERY good and super moist which is a must. I really liked that it called for average everyday ingredients! I even used a stick of parkay margarine instead of the usual butter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I left the nuts out and we still LOVED it)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9 x 13 inch cake pan.
2. Cream together the butter or margarine and the sugar.
3. Add eggs, bananas, flour, soda, salt, nuts, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (don't over bake). Dust with powdered sugar if you so desire.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice – good stuff!

You just never know what is going to grab the Hedger clan’s picky palate – I just had a feeling about this dish and my instincts were right! My crew loved it and have already requested it multiple times. I have to say it falls into the category of “not much to look at!” or a “crock pot-hot mess”- but it makes up for it with good old fashioned flavor. I found this recipe on my new favorite food blog – The Southern Plate. She has replaced the pioneer woman for me – I prefer a more down home blog and this one fits the bill! Be warned….if you mosey over for a quick visit – you may end up staying awhile.

     Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, chopped (I used a sweet yellow onion)
• 1 -8 ounce box Zatarain’s Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to directions
• 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 – 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (regular or fat free)
• 1 -15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. Scatter chopped onion over top. Spoon cream soup over top of that. Cover and cook on low 5 hours or until your chicken is super tender.  A few minutes before serving, add in cooked rice, corn, and cheese. Stir to combine. Serve hot. (I add my corn and a little juice from the can in at the beginning stage...we like a veggies well done)

It is a great meal served with green beans, salad and hot rolls.

Blueberry Cream Scones for the Blogging Blues

Dear self, Please find something else to blog about besides food!

Signed, Bored with Blogging

I found this recipe via the blog, Tongue and Cheeky (on my sidebar under cooking blogs) It is a superbly delicious recipe that is unbelievably simple. You may never make a box mix of blueberry muffins again after trying this recipe  - it is that good and that easy!

Blueberry Cream Scones

For the Scones:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 lemons (I just added a tsp. of lemon juice from the fridge)
1 1/2 c. frozen wild blueberries (or fresh blueberries)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream (at my store this was expensive so I substituted whipping cream and they still turned out great)

For the glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
Juice of 2 lemons ( I used 2 T. of prepared lemon juice)
1/4 c. heavy cream (again – I subbed whipping cream)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.  Add the blueberries and heavy cream and stir together gently with a fork.  You don’t want to over-mix the dough, so just stir your fork in a circle around the bowl, until the dough starts to follow it and lump together slightly.  Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead it two or three times.  Shape the dough into a large, evenly 1 1/2 to 2″ thick circle.  Slice into serving sized pieces. 

At this point, you can brush the dough with a bit of cream and sprinkle sugar on it.  If you plan to glaze your scones, you won’t need to sprinkle them with anything.  Place scones on a cookie sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degress for 13-15 minutes, or just until the edges begin to brown.  Spoon glaze over hot scones.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.

To make glaze: whisk together all ingredients until a smooth, slightly-runny consistency is achieved.

*** Next time I will make sure to bake mine a few minutes longer – they were done but not really browned at all – they were so soft and tender that you had to eat them with a plate and fork. During the school year, I will need something that can be eaten on the go!

*** Also – while the glaze was super yummy – I plan to try them with just the sugar for a more simplified version. I think the sugar topping will allow them to be stored longer.

Bacon Tomato Pasta and My Last Day of Freedom

Tomorrow I will be returning to the working world. I can’t believe that it has been over 8 years since I last walked into a school and walked to my own classroom. I never thought I would take off for that long. Where did the years go? Eight years is a long time in the “education world”. I have much to catch up on and many new things to learn. I hope with all my heart that I still have time to blog. I know I will make time to some extent….just not sure how much. Keep stopping by…don’t give up on me. I am sure after some adjustment time…I will be back to my regularly scheduled BLOGGING ways.

Now, I am going to share a recipe that my family may be sick of by the time this next year concludes (it is that easy and could easily suffer from recipe abuse…as in being made way too often). It is a recipe that I got from my sister-in-law, Jana. Her blog is Home on The Range and can be found on my sidebar. This is a recipe that you could alter or change to suit your family's needs. My family LOVES it and I usually make it at least once every two weeks.

Bacon Tomato Pasta

1 pkg. of bacon (cooked and crumbled)

1 large can of petite diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons minced or diced garlic (I use the garlic already prepared in a jar)

1 pkg. of fresh grated parmesan cheese (refrigerated cheese section)

1 box of mini pasta (penne, bow tie etc – or Jana just uses regular spaghetti)

Cook bacon and reserve 3-4 tablespoons of bacon grease. Let bacon cool and then crumble and set aside. Add bacon grease and garlic to skillet and very lightly saute for a couple of minutes. Careful not to burn the garlic. Add your can of diced tomatoes and let this mixture simmer. I usually do a taste test and add a little garlic salt if needed and a generous amount of black pepper (you could use the peppered bacon too) Cook your pasta until done – I always have to cook my pasta a few more minutes than the box suggests if I am using the shaped pasta. The mini pasta says that it will be done in 7 minutes and I cook mine 9-10. It is not mushy…just a little more tender than  what they consider al dente.

Place your drained pasta in a large bowl and add your tomato sauce mixture, top with your parmesan cheese (I use almost the whole bag – but add according to your taste) and then add your crumbled bacon. Toss together and serve with garlic bread and salad. The leftovers are great too!

Thanks Jana for a wonderful recipe….even though it has done nothing for my weight loss goal!

P.S. If you are not baking your bacon...you must give it a try. I LOVE it. I just can't stand to fry bacon and suffer with a greasy stove and hot grease burns. You just line a cookie sheet with foil and bake at 350-400 for 30-40 minutes. I sometimes need to drain off a little grease and flip the bacon. Remember that when you get it good and done and you drain it on a paper towel...it should get crispy.

Latest Obsession: Buttermilk Biscuits

 I have never been a biscuit fan. I am not a huge fan of jellies or jams or any of the things that go with the likes of biscuits…not counting gravy….love love love cream gravy! Sad news for my thighs and rear region – I think I discovered the problem….canned biscuits! Now, there is nothing wrong with canned biscuits. They have served me well in the last 19 years of my married life, but I decided not long ago that I needed a good homemade biscuit recipe in my arsenal of “go-to” recipes. I played around with several and finally settled on the recipe below. I love the way it fluffs up and seems almost cakey…without losing its biscuity qualities. {I love inventing words like biscuity}!

One subject that will always inevitably be mentioned anytime Nano’s (Chance’s sweet grandmother) name comes up – are her delicious home baked biscuits. She had such a knack for creating yummy memorable foods. I just can’t help but want to be like her. I know that not long after I married Chance I tried to make her biscuits and failed miserably! I should have kept trying because they truly are a cinch to make and ohhhh so yummy! I am including in this post a picture of Nano’s recipe that has been scaled down for two people. It is in her own handwriting and is a treasure for sure.

Jerilynn’s Buttermilk Biscuits

2 C. flour

1 T. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 to 3 T. sugar (to taste – I like a sweeter biscuit)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter (cubed and cold)

3/4 C. buttermilk

*** Mix dry ingredients – cut in butter with pastry blender or with your fork/fingers until crumbly. Add buttermilk and mix until smooth and sticky. Roll out to about 3/4 to an inch thick and cut with biscuit cutter or knife (I just roll out into a rectangle and then cut with a knife…square biscuits are really cool looking plus you don’t have to re roll your dough. The less you handle your dough the more tender your biscuits. Place them close together (they rise higher when placed close together on the baking sheet) Bake at 450 for approx. 10 minutes. Brush with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven.

 

Uncle Jeremy’s Favorite Cookie

otherwise known as the easiest cookie on the planet! My little brother LOVES these cookies. It must be for their simplistic peanut buttery goodness because it is most certainly not because they are a culinary challenge. Chance’s grandmother, Nano, also used to make this cookie and I think it tasted even better when she made it.

Cap’n Crunch Cookies

1 c. white Karo
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
5 c. regular Cap'n Crunch cereal

Heat Karo and sugar for 30 seconds or until bubbly.

Then add peanut butter, mix well, and pour over 5 cups of cereal. I just heat my mixture in a big pan and then add my cereal. Drop by spoonfuls on heavy foil. (it actually called for wax paper…but I have had them stick to it) This recipe makes a ton of these drop cookies. You could easily half the recipe.  I think I love this recipe because it is so reminiscent of the peanut butter balls my elementary school used to serve rolled in powdered sugar…yum – Bivins peanut butter balls…ohhh the memories!

P.S. to someone who lives in NEW YORK…I will make you a big batch of these next time you come home….unless you can’t wait….then you can use the above recipe….to make your own….love you!

A Surprise 4 Day Weekend and Chicken Stew

Well there is nothing like the feeling of waking up on a cold cold morning prepared to get your gang up and off to school and then hear the words “ school is canceled!” We got to hear it two days in a row! The R&R was much needed and appreciated. It is really nothing like the snow days when we were kids – talk about bored out of your mind. We had one telephone line and 3 t.v. channels. These days we all stayed busy playing on the internet, facebooking, texting, conquering the Winter Olympics on the Wii, watching endless amounts of recorded shows on the DVR, playing in the snow, and sleeping of course! Are we not a spoiled generation?

 

One thing I really love about winter and cold and snow – is cooking winter food. I especially love soups and stews. I realize that most people know how to make a basic stew – so mine is nothing out of the ordinary. I am really putting it here so that my kids can have the recipe someday. I know they are going to call me and I am going to at the movies, getting a pedi, having a facial, or any other numerous activities that I have put off while they are home – yup…I plan on living it up. Ü

And seeing how Cambry ate 4 bowls of this stew…she’s going to need the recipe one of these days.

Basic Stew Recipe

• sliced cooked chicken or stew meat
• onion
• carrots
• canned corn
• canned green beans (any style)
• cubed potatoes
• tomato sauce (small or large can depending on how big a stew)
• seasonings :salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 1 can chicken stock or beef stock (optional and I was out of it this time)

If you are making beef stew then brown your meat and onions along with a tab of butter – if you are making chicken then just saute  the onions until slightly softened in a large stock pot. Add your tomato sauce, stock,  green beans, corn, sliced or shredded chicken, and carrots. I then add enough water so that my stock pot is about 3/4 full. I also add some seasonings at this point. (you can always add more later). I put our carrots in early as my family really likes them well done. I let this simmer on low for several hours.  About 1 and 1/2 hours before I am going to serve I add the potatoes. Just check it every once in a while to make sure that you don’t need to add some water. You can also substitute different vegetables to your own liking. When Chance and I were first married neither of us liked any veggies in our stew. We made big pots of stew that only had meat and potatoes in it! LOL I am pretty sure my mom was horrified by that – thankfully we have learned to like a few veggies!

 

Delish: Grape Salad

I made this dish for Christmas Day and it was super yummy. It is a great salad addition and could easily take the place of a fruit or jello salad. I made it the day before and it was just great - so for sure you can make it ahead of time.

Grape Salad

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 lbs seedless grapes

( I used all purple, but you could do half green and half purple)

3 T. brown sugar

3 T. chopped pecans ( I toasted mine)

beat cream cheese cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until blended. Add grapes and toss to coat ( I added a handful of pecans to this mixture also - not included in above recipe)

Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle top with brown sugar and chopped pecans.

Look: even my snowman punch bowl is "eyeing" it.

Creamy Ramen Noodles

This may be one of the strangest recipes I have ever put on this blog, but it has become one of  Chesley's favorites and so therefore must be SHARED! I found this recipe on a message board and was touched by the story that it was made for a girl that had just been placed in her 4th or 5th foster home. The foster mother made her this dish accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich. The back story

 had that Campbell's soup/ Hallmark feel to it. The ingredients are cheap and handy...so give it a try at least once. Chesley says you won't regret it!

Creamy Ramen

Pot 1

Mix together in small saucepan:

2 T. butter or margarine (not tub butter)

2 T. flour

1 Cup milk

chicken  flavor packet from ramen

***bring to a boil and let thicken

Pot 2

Cook noodles in 1 and 3/4 cups of  boiling water for 3 minutes. Add creamy mixture to pan of noodles and stir together. Pour into serving bowl and garnish with black pepper.

Yummy Bowl of Creamy Ramen

Welcome Fall: Baked Potato Soup

I love Fall! I love falling leaves, caramel apples, pumpkins, sweat pants, football games, popcorn balls, Halloween, sweater weather, and FALL FOODS! I just love the simplicity of soups and stews. This soup is so simple that it just doesn't even seem possible that it could taste so delicious. My family has always loved potato soup and it was one of my least favorite to make because I could never seem to chop enough potatoes. I know you will never go back to your old fashioned spud cutting ways after trying this recipe that calls for frozen hash browns. It is unbelievable to me that you can't even tell the difference. We serve ours with a big bowl of shredded cheddar cheese and fresh crumbled bacon. Another favorite variation is to add Velveeta cheese instead of cream cheese. I can usually get two meals out of this recipe. The first night we serve it with crusty french bread and the second night we have it with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Jason's Deli Chicken Salad

We discovered while living in Lubbock that the local Jason's Deli let an unlimited number of kids eat free on Monday nights - so all five of us could eat and we only paid for two meals. Let's just say that there was only a handful of Mondays missed! LOL It was our known Monday night destination. The funny thing is...it was the same for many other local families. You started to notice the same people week in and week out!

My usual Monday night fare was the chicken salad sandwich - so light and refreshing. I decided not long ago that I wanted to recreate it at home. It is super easy and really taste better than the original version.
Side Note: Cambry always called it Jason's Jelly. Ü

Recipe:

cubed or shredded cooked chicken
crushed pineapple, drained
crushed slivered almonds
miracle whip (try not to use low-fat)

Now, I don't have exact measurements. I just start with whatever amount of chicken I have, add the amount of pineapple and almonds I want to taste - and then just add enough miracle whip so that the ingredients bind together. My estimate would be 2-3 cups of chicken, 1/2 cup pineapple, and 1/4 to 1/2 cup crushed almonds. You can salt and pepper to taste.

Really yummy - may seem like "chic food"...but Chance LOVED it! We served ours on these really cool Sara Lee sandwich rounds that I found at the grocery store. They were very good!

Warning - Martha Stewartish helpful hint below:

***I always buy the cheap frozen chicken breasts (green bag) from walmart and I bake them in foil with a little salt, pepper, and a T. of butter for 30 minutes. I place them in the freezer (still in foil) and then just thaw out how many I need for any given recipe. I place them back in the oven (set to 300) and warm them up so they are easy to slice or cube. It is so nice having cooked seasoned chicken ready whenever I need them.

This picture shows about 10 chicken packets ready for the oven - I can get around three meals out of this amount.

Chile Rellenos

Chile Rellenos....yum!

Ingredients:
12 chile peppers, charred
and peeled
1 pound Cheddar cheese, cut into
strips
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating
Directions:
1.Remove seeds and membranes from peppers. Stuff each pepper with a strip of cheese. (leave some of the seeds if you want more heat)
2.In a small bowl combine milk, the 1 cup flour, egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt and canola oil; mix well to make a batter.
3.Pour enough oil in heavy frying pan to reach 1 inch in depth and heat over medium-high heat. Roll each pepper in the remaining flour and dip in the batter. Fry until lightly browned on both sides.

**** do not fry these in a counter top fryer...they stick to the basket (don't ask how we know that)
**** We usually only eat two per person, but it was just easier to give the original recipe. You can always alter it to make less. We also make things easier by getting our beans and rice at Rosa's Mexican Cafe - sorry we are lazy cooks (plus it gives us an excuse to pick up a piece of their delish carrot cake to share). Ü

**** also - if you have a question about one of my recipes or posts...I have added by e-mail address to my sidebar.

A Taste of New Mexico

Some may or may not know that when Chance and I had been married just 11 months, he took a local job with his company in Roswell, NM. I am sure my parents wanted to hang him out to dry for moving their 21 year old daughter to another state almost 4 hours away.

It was hard and yet I think it bonded us in a very special way. We only had each other to depend on and we had two cute schnauzers that depended on us.

We often talk about Roswell as being the place we miss the most - not for the town itself...LOL. It is a little lackluster...but, for the wonderful friends we had there, the wonderful church and Sunday school we attended (still have never found one that compares), the people we worked with, just the fellowship in general. Roswell has always been the keeper of some of our favorite memories. We also became addicted to Hatch green chile...the "real" stuff...not from a can...not frozen...REAL!

So, Thursday my sister and I made it over to Fiesta Foods, the local mexican grocery store, and picked us up a bag of chiles roasted nice and toasty black! It took Chance and I an hour to peel, sort, and freezer bag these New Mexico delicacies. It has been two years since we had some in our freezer and we were like two kids in a candy store. Soon, I will post my recipe for chile rellanos....uummmm uuuummmm gooood!

Coffee Cake

Just sharing a recipe that I have had for years. The yummy smell of cinnamon spice that wafts through the house while it is baking always reminds me of the very special friend that gave it to me. I hate what time and distance sometimes does to a friendship. The promises to always call and keep up stay strong for years, but eventually turn into rushed and hurried answering machine messages and then eventually just a signed Christmas card. The end result leaves you with a handful of special memories and if your lucky....some recipes too!

This coffee cake is so moist and yummy and just gets better the longer you have it. It freezes wonderfully too!

mmmm...cupcakes

I've been wanting to try my favorite chocolate cake recipe as cupcakes and finally made them this past Sunday. I must say this recipe is great for cupcakes. I love how the cake is sooo moist and yet not crumbly at all. We topped them off with homemade cream cheese icing that was so creamy. I think it may be my new favorite icing. Chesley took them to her Broadway class to share...and only came back with a few.

Favorite Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz) devil's food cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
3/4 cup hot water
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour bundt pan or prepare cupcake tins, or cake pans
2. Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. The batter is pretty thick.
3. Bake according to what size pan you are using. 15-18 minutes for cupcakes, 45 minutes for bundt, or 18-22 minutes for round cake pans.

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup real salted butter, softened

2 packages cream cheese, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

1 bag of powdered sugar

add top three ingredients in mixer and mix until smooth, slowly add powdered sugar until all has been added and icing is nice and creamy.

Navajo Tacos

formed dough round

Shape all of your rounds ahead of time. Make sure to dust with flour so they don't stick together.
Taco Toppings - YUM!
Taco meat mixture - notice this is not a dry taco topping.

A finished Navajo Taco -please take notice of the "fancy" paper plate Ü
This is a major family favorite that is really super easy...but makes you look like a "real" pro in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

Basic Taco Toppings: cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream...and anything else that is tradition with your household.

Taco Meat: 2 lbs of hamburger meat, browned and drained, 1 can rotel tomatoes (do not drain), one can of Bush's Pinto Beans (I drain off some of the liquid, but not all). You can make as much topping as you like...just increase the beans and rotel. This is not an exact recipe and feel free to experiment. I always add some cumin and garlic powder to mine.

Indian Fry Bread: 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 T. baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of milk, and oil for frying.

Fry Bread Directions:

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, and mix until the dough comes together. Add more flour if necessary to be able to handle the dough. On a floured surface, knead the dough until smooth, at least 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
Heat oil in a large, deep heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). Oil should be about 1 1/2 inches deep. Break off 3/4 cup sized pieces of dough, and shape into round discs 1/4 inch in thickness. Fry breads in the hot oil until golden on both sides, turning only once. Drain on paper towels.

If you are lucky enough to have left over dough. Make smaller round pieces, fry them and then toss them with cinnamon and sugar. They are delicious with butter and honey too! These are similar to a sopapilla...but have a thicker texture.

These are wonderful to make for a crowd. You can prepare the meat mixture ahead of time. Have all of your topping prepared early. I formed all of my dough rounds ahead of time and it only takes a few minutes to fry each piece.

Lip Licking Good - Lemon Cake

This is a recipe that is very similar to the chocolate cake that I have become so enamoured with...until I recently over baked it....that wasn't my finest culinary moment! This cake uses simple ingredients that produce a cake that is so moist that even Chance declared it the most moist cake he has ever eaten. We had it as dessert after our Easter Steaks (we went nontraditional this year) and it was the perfect end to a spectacular meal. I found the recipe here:

http://realmomkitchen.blogspot.com/2009/04/perfect-lemon-cupcakes-with-lemon.html

***Please note that I made mine in two 9 inch cake pans and I cheated and used 1 tub of store bought lemon icing and 1/2 tub of store bought cream cheese icing mixed together. It was delicious, but I am looking forward to trying the real lemon buttercream included in the recipe.

Cake:

1 package lemon cake mix

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup oil

4 eggs

1 small package lemon instant pudding

Directions: Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For 9 inch cakes bake for 25 minutes or until done. ***For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. ***For regular cake, pour into a greased 9x11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don't over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they're done.

The Hedger Family wishes everyone a Happy Easter!