Banana Split Dessert!!

This is such an easy, delicious recipe...I promise it will be a hit with your family! It's like a banana split in a big ol' pan!! And it's so pretty and colorful...the red cherries make it!

Banana Split Dessert

Crust

• 2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 c. butter, melted

Mix together. Press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling

• 16 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together. Spread over cooled crust.

Layers (on top of cream cheese filling)

1. Three sliced bananas.
2. 12 oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained
3. 12 oz. whipped topping
4. 1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
5. Chocolate syrup (drizzle over all)
6. 4 oz. maraschino cherries, halved

Refrigerate several hours, until served.

*** Make sure the pineapple covers the bananas well. Theyll keep the bananas from getting brown too fast.

*** This is a good one to make for a crowd, because it needs to be eaten about 24-hours after being made again, because of the bananas.

BBQ Chicken Cornbread Pie

This is a moist, delicious pie! With such great flavor. I made this last night and my husband kept going back for more! I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, and just deboned it and chopped up all the meat. (Which saves alot of time) It was so addicting! It only takes about 40 minutes to prepare.

BBQ Chicken Cornbread Pie

Ingredients:

1 8.5 oz box corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy)

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

For the topping:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, deboned and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, diced

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce

1 cup tomato sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9 inch pie pan. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the cornbread mix, egg, butter and milk. Then fold in corn.

Pour mixture into prepared pie pan and bake for 15 minutes or until top is just about set and golden brown. Here it is before going into the oven.

Remove from oven and set aside. Now it's time to saute the veggies.

In a medium skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil and add the onioin and red peppers. Cook until they are soft. Add chicken and garlic and saute for a couple minutes.

Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. Stir to combine and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 5 more minutes. MMMM! I wish you could smell how wonderful this is!

Top cornbread with chicken mixture and sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Turn the broiler on high and put the pic back in the oven for about 3-4 minutes, or until cheese has melted over the top. Watch closely!

Cut into wedges and serve with a nice salad.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine did!! It's very tasty!!

Grilled Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

Fire up your grills!!!!!! Here is a wonderful, easy and TASTY recipe! It's made with good old Frank's Hot Sauce, stuffed with cheese, that melts and oozes out! It's kind of like eating Buffalo wings, but it's a chicken breast that's cheesy, spicy and perfect! You can either use mozzarella cheese or blue cheese. (Blue cheese and Buffalo chicken go hand in hand.) Both are delicious. My family went crazy over this recipe! And if you are watching your carbs, there are very few in this recipe.

Grilled Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts

black pepper (to taste)

1 cup mozzarella or blue cheese, shredded, divided

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce

2 teaspoons celery seed

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat grill to medium low heat.

Butter fly your chicken, but cutting it horizontally. Don't cut all the way through.

Sprinkle the insides with pepper.

Evenly top the chicken with cheese -you can use blue cheese or mozzarella! Here I used blue cheese.

And here I used mozzarella cheese. The mozzarella melts well and oozes out and looks so yummy!

Fold chicken over and close it. It should look like the chicken breast before you butterflied it. Melt butter in a microwave bowl or Pyrex measuring cup. Stir in hot sauce, salt and celery seed. Brush the chicken with the hot sauce mixture.

Here's the chicken all ready for the grill!!

Place the chicken on the grill. Brush more hot sauce over the top of the chicken. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes. Flip chicken and brush on the remaining hot sauce and cook until no longer pink--about 5 or 6 minutes more. Serve with a side salad and enjoy!

Here's one that was stuffed with the mozzarella. The cheese melts so nicely and oozes out! It is so delicious!

Miss Cindy's Sausage Gravy

With the 4th of July upon us, many of us will have family visiting from out of town, and you always need to think about what to feed your quests for breakfast. Here's my recipe for my good, old fashioned Southern Sausage Gravy. My mother-in-law, Wanda is a true Southerner, she taught me how to make this wonderful, tasty, decadent gravy many, many years ago. It's a quick and easy breakfast for your guests! Just toss a can of biscuits in the oven, and maybe fry or scramble up some eggs and you have a quick and easy breakfast! All you need is a pound of pork sausage, flour, water and milk.

Just crumble up a pound of sausage in a skillet.

I like to use my pastry cutter to get the sausage crumbled up nice and fine. You might need to add a bit of vegetable oil if the sausage is lean. You'll need that grease to create your roux.Once the sausage is browned, sprinkle about 4 tablespoons of flour over the sausage.

Stir the sausage around until it absorbs the flour.

Cook until the flour is slightly "scorched" --that's the key because it gives it a good flavor.

Next add 1/2 cup of water, stirring constantly. Then slowly add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk.

Stir! Stir! Stir!

Add fresh ground pepper and salt too taste! If it gets too thick before you are ready to serve it, just add a little more milk.

Serve over hot biscuits and enjoy!!! I loves me some good ol' Southern Sausage Gravy!!

Zesty Cajun Shrimp

This is a quick, easy shrimp recipe! With just enough spice, but not too much! And very delicious!!!!

Simply melt a stick of butter, and add about 1/2 cup of Frank's Hot Sauce, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and salt. Mix well.

Pour half of this in a medium size baking dish. Layer half the shrimp and half the lemon slices in the dish.

Make another layer with the remaining shrimp and lemon slices. Pour remaining sauce over the top.

Bake, in a preheated oven, uncovered for about 12-15 minutes.

Zesty Cajun Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 lb. shrimp, (I used precooked, deveined and shelled)

1 stick butter, melted

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon pepper

salt to taste

1 lemon, thinly sliced

French bread for dipping

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper, hot sauce, garlic and salt. Pour half this mixture into a medium sized baking dish. Layer half the shrimp and half the lemon slices in the dish; then make a second layer with the remaining shrimp and lemon slices. Pour remaining sauce over the top. Bake, uncovered, for 12-15 minutes, stirring once. Pour the sauce into individual serving bowls. Serve with French bread for dipping in the zesty butter sauce.

Hamburger Broccoli Alfredo with Roasted Garlic Herbed Tomatoes

This is a new recipe I tried last night, my husband and I are trying to cut out white flour and sugar from our diets, this turned out delicious! And low carb! The roasted roma tomatoes really added some amazing flavor!

Start out browning 2 lbs ground beef in a large skillet.

While that's browning, chop up 1 medium onion.

Add onion, cook for a couple minutes, then add 2 cloves of minced garlic, a little salt and pepper. Drain the fat.

Cook the broccoli until tender crisp, drain very well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 45 seconds, until soft. Whisk until creamy and smooth.

Gradually add in 1/2 cup of heavy cream, mix until smooth.

Next stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. I didn't have any of the good Parmesan cheese, so I used the cheaper stuff you get in the canister....it was still delicious!

In a large mixing bowl, combine the hamburger mixture and broccoli.

Pour in the cream cheese mixture and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place in a greased 13x9 greased casserole or baking dish. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded Italian blend cheese over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes.

While the casserole is baking, chop up 3 or 4 Roma tomatoes (grape, plum or cherry will work too!) Place tomatoes in a small bowl and add 1 clove of minced garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top, and mix well, making sure to coat the tomatoes.

Place tomatoes in a small baking pan and top with 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil and 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme. Place in an oven preheated to 450 degrees (I used my toaster oven) roast tomatoes for about 15-20 minutes.

When casserole is finished cooking, top it with roasted tomatoes! The roasted tomatoes make this dish!!!

Serve immediately. Makes 6-8 servings.

SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

10 oz. frozen chopped broccoli

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For Roasted Tomatoes:

3-4 roma tomatoes (you can use cherry, grape or plum)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped basil

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped thyme

1-2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

NOTE : If you don't have double ovens or a toaster oven, start out by chopping tomatoes, garlic, basil and thyme. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste and place in a small baking pan and bake at 325 for about 2 hours. If you do have another oven, then you only need about 15-20 minutes of roasting at 450 degrees.

In a large skillet, brown the hamburger. Add onion and cook until onions are tender. Add garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Drain fat. Cook the broccoli until tender-crisp: drain well and season with salt and pepper. Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 45 seconds, until soft. Whisk until creamy and smooth. Gradually whisk in the cream until smooth, then stir in Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Mix the hamburger and broccoli in a large mixing bowl. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the top and blend well. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9 baking pan that has been greased. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until brown and bubbly on top. Spread roasted tomatoes evenly over the top. Serve!

Cobb Salad Dip

Cobb Salad Dip

I love this dip! Everytime I make it and take it to a party or get together, it's gone before you know it! If you like cobb salad, you'll love this recipe!  It's so wonderful!!

Cobb Salad Dip

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup blue cheese dressing

1 cup finely chopped iceburg lettuce

1/2 cup chopped turkey breast

2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped

2 small plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1 avacado, chopped

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

snack crackers (I like wheat thins with this)

Mix cream cheese and dressing until blended, spread on the bottom of a serving plate. Refrigerate 1 hour. Top with layers of all remaining ingredients. Serve with crackers! 

Creamy Chicken In Swiss Cheese Wine Sauce

Creamy Chicken In Swiss Cheese Wine Sauce Recipe

This surprisingly easy recipe is a combination of cream of chicken soup, Swiss cheese, white wine, butter and seasoned croutons with chicken breasts. The gravy it makes is divine, and it tastes delicious with mashed potatoes or rice.

Start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Place in a 9 X13 baking dish.

cover each breast with a think slice of Swiss cheese. It doesn't have to look perfect, the cheese is going to melt!

Next, spread 1 can of cream of chicken soup over the top of cheese and chicken.

Evenly pour 2/3 cup of dry white wine (chardonnay works very well)

Melt 1 stick of butter and pour evenly over the top.

Top with 1 bag of seasoned croutons. Spread over the top. The croutons will soak up most of the wine and butter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Serve and enjoy!!!

Creamy Chicken In Swiss Cheese Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

5-6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5-6 slices of swiss cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 stick of butter, melted

2/3 cup of dry white wine (Chardonnay works very well)

1 5 oz bag of seasoned croutons (I used garlic butter flavored)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place chicken breasts in 9 x 13 baking pan. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of cheese. Spread 1 can of cream of chicken soup over cheese and chicken. Evenly pour 2/3 cup of white wine over the top. Pour melted butter over the top. Sprinkle croutons over the top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Serve.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

This is such a simple, easy recipe...I love the combination of the sweet strawberries along with the tart and tangy rhubarb! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam (this will make around 12 half pint jars)

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped

4 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced

8 cups white sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2  (1.75 oz) packages of powdered fruit pectin

12 half pint  canning jars with lids and rings

Instructions:

Place rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, fruit pectin into a large pot over medium heat. Stir the fruit mixture to help the juice start to form, then add sugar, about 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved and the juice is starting to simmer. Turn heat up to medium-high, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, and cook and stir for about 1 minute. Skim off any foam that forms.

Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. With a soup ladle, fill the jam into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any residue. Top with lids and screw on rings.

Place a rack in the bottom of a large pot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between jars. Pour in more water if needed to make sure that water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil. Cover the pot, and let process for 5 minutes.

Remove the jars from the pot and place onto a surface covered with a towel. To help the jam set, don't move or touch the jars until cooled. Once they are cooled, press the top of each lid with a finger, making sure that the seal is tight. The lid should not move up or down at all. Store in a cool, dark area. 

Skillet Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

Skillet Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes

Tuesday, June 02, 2015 10:32 a.m. by Cindy Rippe

Skillet Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes 

This is such a great recipe if you have access to fresh cherry tomatoes, green beans and onions. SO tasty!!!!!

I used my cast iron skillet for this recipe, I don't know why, but things just taste better when cooked in my old skillet!

Start out by snapping or trimming 1/2 lb fresh green beans into 1 1/2 inch pieces.

Fryabout 4 slices of bacon, cut in half in the skillet.

Remove browned, crisp bacon from skillet, drain on a paper towel lined plate. Drain off bacon grease and leave about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add 1/2 chopped onion, cook until tender. Add beans, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for about 40 minutes. Stir in cherry tomatoes and crumbled bacon, and increase heat to medium high. Cook until tomatoes are heated through. Don't you just love how colorful this dish is???

Ingredients:

4-5 slices bacon, cut in half or pieces

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Instructions:

Cook bacon in large skillet (cast iron if you have one) until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve drippings in skillet. Add onions, cook and stir until onions are tender and slightly browned. Add beans, chicken broth, vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for about 40 minutes or until beans are tender. Stir in tomatoes and bacon, increasing heat to medium-high. Cook about 5 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and serve warm.