Italian Cream Sodas

I've always enjoyed Italian Cream Sodas - so I requested them for my Mother's Day Dinner. Mmmm...

For each soda:
2-4 Tbsp. Torani flavored syrup (buy this at World Market - we used strawberry)
2 Tbsp. cream, or ice cream :)
8 oz. sparkling water

Pour syrup in the bottom of your glass, add cream/ice cream, top with sparkling water and stir.

Banana Colada Sundaes

Easy and delicious! Think cinnamon roll meets banana split. The original recipe had too much cinnamon and it was overpowering, so I decreased it - adjustment is included in the recipe below.

-Taste of Home, Kristin Kossak
Serves 8

6 Tbsp. butter, cubed
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 medium bananas
1/2 tsp. rum extract (imitation)
3 pints vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, organge juice and cinnamon. Cook and stir over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until sauce is smooth. Stir in bananas; heat through. Remove from the heat; stir in extract.

Serve warm over ice cream. Sprinkle with coconut.

Creamed Corn

I love creamed corn - especially with mashed potatoes. It's one of those comfort foods from my childhood. I've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now, but wanted to use fresh corn instead of frozen, and have been patiently waiting for fresh corn to make an appearance at the grocery store. It's still a little early in the season, but keep this one handy for your summer BBQs!

4 ears corn, shucked
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. white pepper (regular will work too)
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. flour

Cook corn in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes. Cool slightly and cut corn off ears. Combine corn, cream, milk, salt, sugar and pepper on stove top. Simmer 5 minutes. Blend butter and flour together in a small bowl; add to corn to thicken. Mix well. Remove from heat.

Skillet Lasagna

This is a quick and easy alternative to a traditional lasagna. It's also great when you don't want to turn on your oven and heat up your house! I didn't have any lasagna noodles, so I substituted some rotini and it worked just as well.

-The Best 30-Minute Recipe by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated.

1 pound meatloaf mix (OR use 1/2 pound EACH lean ground beef and pork)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt
6 ounces curly-edged regular (do not use no-boil) lasagna noodles (8 noodles), broken into 2-inch pieces (or 2 cups rotini pasta)
1 (26-ounce) jar tomato sauce, such as marinara (about 3 cups) (Prego)
2 cups water
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper
3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese (cottage cheese)
1/4 cup minced fresh basil

Cook meat in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, breaking it into pieces with a wooden spoon until fat renders, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain meat and return it to skillet. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Sprinkle broken noodles into skillet, then pour in tomato sauce and water over top (you may need to add extra water if noodles are especially dry). Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.

Off heat, stir in half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Dot heaping tablespoons of ricotta over noodles, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and let stand off heat until cheeses melt, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil before serving.

Makes 4 servings

SKILLET LASAGNA WITH SAUSAGE AND RED BELL PEPPER: Substitute 1 pound hot OR sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, for meatloaf mix. Add 1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped fine, to skillet with sausage.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Here's another great way to use your over-ripe bananas. The cinnamon adds an interesting touch to these moist and chocolaty muffins!

-Thomalee Abraham

2 extra ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ¼ cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cup chocolate chips (I used mini)

Mash bananas well with fork or potato masher. In a bowl, beat mashed bananas, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla until well blended. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips after adding flour mixture to banana mixture. Mix until all blended. Spoon into well greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Baked Berry French Toast

This is a delicious make-ahead breakfast great for the weekend. It will easily feed 8 people.

-Mary Lou Roberts

1 loaf French bread cubed
1 cup frozen mixed berries

Grease bottom and sides of 9 x 13 pan or use Demarle Grande mold.
Layer 1/2 of bread cubes, and sprinkle with berries. Top with remaining bread.

In blender, blend:
8 extra large or 10 large eggs
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
2 cups milk
1/3 cups maple syrup (no need to use real maple syrup here)
Touch of Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Pour liquid mixture over bread. Cover with greased foil and refrigerate over night.
Cook covered 30 min at 350. Remove foil and cook another 30 minutes.

Syrup (prepare while it's baking)
Mix 1 cup sugar and 2 TBSP corn starch in cold sauce pan. Put on stove, add 1 cup water and 2 cups berries. Mix until thickened.

Sloppy Joes for 8 dozen

I wouldn't hurt to have this recipe in your back pocket if you ever need to make a meal for 96 people! I made these last night, estimating the ingredients for 4 servings, and they were delicious!

-Taste of Home, Wanieta Palmer

For a crowd:
15 lbs ground beef
6 medium onions, chopped
1 gallon ketchup
3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp. chili powder
96 hamburger buns, split

My approximations for a small family:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. chili powder

In two soup kettles over medium heat (this is for the large batch), cook and stir beef and onions until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Spoon 1/3 cup onto each bun.