Banana Pancakes

Classic Betty Crocker style pancakes with mashed bananas - a quick and easy way to use your overripe bananas!

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3 Tbsp. oil
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat eggs; add milk, oil and bananas. Add dry ingredients and stir until smooth - do not overmix. Delicious with caramel syrup.

Croutons

I should have started making my own croutons a long time ago! They are so easy and delicious!

-Bonnie James, also allrecipes.com

4 thick slices white bread (french), or two hamburger buns work great - any bread about to go stale
1/2 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced

Cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add bread cubes, and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crisp and dry. (Turn half way through). Check frequently to prevent burning. Cool. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Guacamole

I'm not sure you can really call this a recipe, but this is the way my family has always made guacamole! :)

2 large avocados
Pace picante salsa and/or El Pato for more heat
Garlic Powder, dash or so to taste
Salt, to taste

Halve avocados and remove pits. Roughly mash with a fork. Add salsa (approximately 1 Tbsp or so), and season with garlic powder and salt to taste. Best if eaten right away, but if you need to keep it for awhile, one of the avocado pits will help the guacamole from turning brown.

Naan

I have a very unusual stovetop that only has two burners and the other half grill top. It is extremely messy to use for burgers, etc, but it was perfect for the naan! A delicous accompaniment for our tikki masala!

-Allrecipes.com

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp.)
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour (all-purpose flour + 1 tsp. wheat gluten per cup)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls (about 16), and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.

At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Deep Dish Caramel Apple Pie

A yummy variation on a traditional apple pie! I used caramel ice cream topping in place of dulce de leche. If your family likes dulce de leche go for it!

-RecipeGirl

½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
7 to 8 cups of peeled, sliced apples (I like Granny Smith & Braeburn) (Approx 5 apples)
½ cup dulce de leche (canned or homemade) or caramel topping
2 Tablespoons apple cider
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
double crust for 9-inch pie (purchased or homemade)
egg white mixed with 1 teaspoon of water

coarse sugar for top, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Center rack in oven.
2. In a small bowl, mix sugars, cornstarch, spices and salt.
3. In a large bowl, toss together apples, dulce de leche, apple cider and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients and toss to combine.
4. Between waxed paper, roll out pie dough as large as possible keeping it a good thickness. Line deep dish pie pan with crust and let it hang over the sides. Brush with egg white mixture. Add filling and spread out evenly.
5. Roll out 2nd crust a little bit too & place on top of pie. Crimp edges together in a decorative fashion to seal. Brush with egg white mixture. Cut a few holes in the top crust for venting. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. If pie is browning, cover it with foil and top with a pie crust shield to prevent crust edges from burning. If you don’t have a pie shield, just cover the whole thing with foil. Bake for another 30 minutes.

7. Remove pie from oven and cool on rack for several hours to allow filling to set.

Pioneer Pie Crust

Pie crust has never been one of my strong points, but I thought I'd try to make it one! My mom shared this recipe with me and it's a winner for flaky crust. I decided to use lard because it was what the pioneers would have used. At my mom's suggestion I rolled it out between layers of a clean trash bag. It was the easiest dough I've ever worked with. The crust came out beautiful and flaky, but it was not very flavorful. I think next time I'll try butter-flavored Crisco.

-Mom Pulsipher

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup lard or shortening (butter-flavored Crisco)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. vinegar
Approx. 4 Tbsp. cold water

Mix flour with salt. Cut in shortening. Mix egg and vinegar in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and fill to top with cold water - about 4 Tbsp. Drizzle into flour mixture and mix with fork. Chill while preparing pie ingredients. Roll out in between sheets of a clean trash bag. Brush with egg white mixed with 1 tsp. water.

Snickers Bar Pie

I am still not confident in my crust-making skills, so I decided to make this pie for the Boy Scout dinner and fundraiser last night. It brought in $75! :) I love that it makes two pies - one I can take to a special event and one for the family to enjoy at home. This is definitely sweet, but super yummy! I reserved all of the candy bars for the top, and think I prefer it that way.

-RecipeGirl

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup chunky or creamy peanut butter
16 ounces Cool Whip, thawed (or about 8 cups of stiffly whipped, sweetened cream)
Two prepared chocolate cookie pie crusts*
4 regular-sized Snickers candy bars, chopped
chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, chopped peanuts (optional) for garnish

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese sugar and peanut butter until creamy.
2. Gently fold in the whipped cream just until mixed.
3. Divide between the two crusts. Drizzle chocolate and caramel syrup on top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and additional chopped snickers. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

*For two oreo pie crusts, crush 1 pkg. Oreo cookies and stir in 6 Tbsp. melted butter. Press into two pie plates and bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Cool completely.