Banana Cookies!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon, stir into the creamed mixture. Then add the mashed bananas, rolled oats and chocolate chips, mix until well blended.
3. Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto unprepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove cookies from pan to cool on wire racks.

Notes

Alright...so I had some ripe bananas and really didn't feel like baking banana bread. I happened to hear Ooh and Aah, the two adorable monkeys that host Playhouse Disney, talk about banana cookies. I wondered, is there such a thing? I also remembered that I was babysitting 3 additional kids tonight, which meant 5 kids in total...which then means baking is a necessity! I looked up banana cookies and stumbled upon this recipe on allrecipes.com. I was a bit nervous, but THEY WERE DELICIOUS and so moist. The original recipe called for cloves instead of nutmeg. I didn't have cloves, so I substituted the nutmeg. I also spray my cookie pan, just in case. They turned out fabulous, there were a ton in this batch, & most importantly was a HIT FOR THE KIDS! I will definitely be doing these cookies again soon. YUM!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Munchies

INGREDIENTS

5	cups Corn Chex® cereal
2	cups pretzel sticks, broken in half
1/2	cup butter or margarine
1/2	cup creamy peanut butter
1	bag (11.5 oz) milk chocolate chips (2 cups)
1	cup powdered sugar
1	cup candy-coated milk chocolate candies

DIRECTIONS

1.	Cover 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper. In very large bowl, mix cereal and pretzels.
2.	In medium microwavable bowl, microwave butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips uncovered on High 45 seconds; stir. Microwave 15 to 45 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Immediately pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated. Spread evenly on cookie sheets. Refrigerate uncovered about 20 minutes or until set.
3.	Break into bite-size pieces. Divide mixture evenly into 2 resealable 1-gallon food-storage plastic bags. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar to each bag. Seal and shake each bag until well coated. Add 1/2 cup candies to each bag. Seal and gently shake each bag to mix. Store in sealed bags in refrigerator up to 4 weeks.

NUTRITION INFO

1/2 Cup: Calories 290 (Calories from Fat 140); Total Fat 15g (Saturated Fat 7g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 20mg; Sodium 230mg; Total Carbohydrate 35g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 23g); Protein 4g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 8%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 3 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 MyPyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils
*% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

NOTES: I have made this a long time ago. Actually I made this as a snack for our family when we drove from Florida to Utah. It is DELICIOUS & ADDICTING....so be careful. We were doing yummy after-school snacks today for the young women in my church. I remember this recipe and needless to say...IT WAS A HIT! I added a bit more chex so they weren't drowing in chocolate. Just a preference. The above is taking straight from the chex website: http://www.chex.com/recipes

Apple Crisp

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prep: 20 minutes
bake: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teasp. ground cinnamon
1/8 teasp. salt
9 c. sliced, peeled apples (9 medium apples/3lbs)
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 teasp. baking powder
1/4 teasp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter, melted

Vanilla ice cream (optional MUST)

Directions:

ONE In a very large mixing bowl combine granulated sugar, the 1 tablesp. flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add apples; toss gently to coat. Spread apple mixture in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish.
TWO In a medium bowl combine the 1 cup flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Sprinkle over the apple mixture. Drizzle melted butter evenly over all.
THREE Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes or until bubbly and apples are tender. Cool for 30 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes. If desired, serve with ice cream.

Notes: DELICIOUS. It was soooo good. Great for company for a Sunday afternoon. I got this recipe from a PUBLIX newsletter. I finally got the nerve to make it, (since I'm a chicken when it comes to baking). It was very easy and tasty. Thanks publix!

Campbell's Slow Cooker Savory Pot Roast

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Ingredients

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request)
• 1 (2 ounce) pouch Campbell's® Dry Onion Soup and Recipe Mix
• 6 small red potatoes, halved
• 6 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 (3 pound) boneless beef bottom round roast or chuck pot roast
• 1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms
  

Directions

1. Stir the soup, onion soup mix, potatoes and carrots in a 4 1/2-quart slow cooker. Add the beef and turn to coat.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours* or until the beef is fork-tender. Faster results: on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours

NOTES: I found this recipe on the side of my cream of mushroom can, and I thought it sounded good for an alternative Easter fest. Unfortunately my crock pot was too small for the amount of meat, SO i ended up baking in the oven all the above ingredients together in a pan covered with foil. I had the oven on 350 degrees and cooked it for 2 hours. It tasted great! Oh and i actually added the sliced mushrooms so you'd just mix that in when you do the potatoes and carrots. Enjoy!

MISO soup

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Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup miso paste
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/3 cup diced firm tofu
• 2 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• dried seaweed
  

Directions

1. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Add the seaweed, reduce heat to low, and simmer 4 minutes. Stir the miso paste and soy sauce together in a small bowl; add to the broth along with the tofu and continue cooking for 1 minute more. Pour the soup into bowls and top with the green onions to serve.

NOTES: Mmmmmm! This is our family's favorite Japanese soup. Our kids LOVE it! We always order it when we go out to a restaurant, and I was determined to learn how to make it at home. I scored some tofu for 2 for $5...so I HAD to make it! The miso paste I actually had to go to a asian market to buy, but I got a large bag of it for only $5. The paste can last up to a year in the frig, so you can save LOTS of money with it! The seaweed I actually added to the ingredients. I basically bought dried seaweed (like the ones you make sushi rolls with) and tore piece to put in the soup. Next time I'm going to make the soup with shitake mushrooms. It was DELICIOUS and a hit in our home! YEAH for homemade Japanese soup!! Thanks to allrecipe.com for providing the basic recipe.

PS. If you live near me and would like to try this recipe...I have tofu and paste you can use if you'd like!