The Best No Bake Banana Pudding - What advice do you have for new bloggers?

Banana pudding has to be my all time favorite Southern dessert.  My mom's is the best!  Nilla Wafers...bananas...from scratch pudding...topped with real meringue, hot out of the oven it can't be beat.  Well it's not my mom's, but this recipe is still REALLY GOOD!  And it's no bake and so simple...so simple this would be a great recipe to let the kids help out with.

Now I usually don't like desserts with instant pudding in them, but when you mix the pudding with sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, and cool whip...It doesn't taste so instant. 

No Bake Banana Pudding

1- 11 oz box vanilla wafers (you will not use the entire box)

6 bananas, sliced

2 cups milk

1- 5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding

1- 8 oz package cream cheese

1- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1- 12 oz container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Line the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch dish with vanilla wafers; top with the sliced bananas.  In a bowl combine the milk and vanilla pudding mix; mix with a hand mixer.  In another bowl mix together the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.  Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture; add to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended.  Pour the pudding mixture over the bananas and top with vanilla wafers.  Refrigerate until chilled.  This tastes and looks best the day it is made.

Changing Subjects...on Tuesday evening, I'll be speaking with the Tuscaloosa Christian Writers Club...Talking about blogging, the basics of it...how to get started...that kind of stuff.  And I know we all have had different experiences and I'd like to share more than just my own with them...Your's too!  So what advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a blog or to a new blogger.  Maybe things you would do different...why you keep doing it?  Share whatever...Just leave it as a comment.  I'll share all the comments with them.  And if you are in Tuscaloosa and want to attend, just send me an email.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

It seems like I'm always making appetizer-ish things for dinner...but hey that's what I like.  This is actually one of those tried and true recipes that I have made a ton of times...I can't believe I'm finally just now getting around to sharing it.  It's one of Ina's recipes the only change I really make is to use hot Italian sausage, but use whatever kind of sausage you like.  And there are quite a few substitutions I have made over the times I've made them...to keep from going over my grocery budget, swapped the mascarpone for cream cheese...no Marsala, substituted balsamic vinegar...every time they have always come out perfect.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

adapted from Barefoot Contessa

16 extra-large white mushrooms
5 tbs olive oil, divided
2 & 1/2 tbs Marsala wine
3/4 lb hot Italian sausage, removed from casings
6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
5 oz mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 & 1/2 tbs minced fresh parsley leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the stems from the mushrooms; chop the stems finely, set aside.  In a shallow bowl, toss the mushroom caps with 3 tbs olive oil and the Marsala; set aside.  Heat the remaining 2 tbs of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the sausage and brown, breaking up as it cooks.  When the sausage is browned, add the chopped mushroom stems; cook 3 more minutes.  Stir in the garlic and scallions; cook 2 to 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the panko breadcrumbs, stirring to combine.  Add the mascarpone; stirring until the mascarpone is melted.  Remove from the heat; stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Cool slightly.  Generously fill each mushroom with the sausage mixture.  Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish.  Bake for 50 minutes, or until the stuffing is browned.

Trisha Yearwood's Baked Spaghetti

Yet another recipe from Homecooking with Trisha Yearwood...And I have to say I absolutely love this book!  So far I've tried her Chicken Pizza, Slow Cooker Pork Loin, Baked Spaghetti.  All of them have turned out great...so great I ordered a copy of her other cookbook this morning.

Now I love all kinds of pasta dishes...especially the baked ones.  But this was my first time making baked spaghetti.  It's pretty much the same as the regular spaghetti, only creamier.  Basically you layer the spaghetti with sauce and cheese, then top it off with a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I was sort of hoping the pasta would stay in the layers when you scooped it out, but it looked just like regular spaghetti.   Sill it tasted great...My only complaint is that it seemed like I had a ton of pots and pans to wash, but it was worth it.

Trisha Yearwood's Baked Spaghetti

adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

1 lb ground beef

6 slices bacon

1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 small bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 garlic clove, minced

3- 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with liquid

1- 2.25 oz can sliced black olives

2 tbs dried oregano

12 oz thin spaghetti

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1- 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13x2-inch baking dish; set aside.  In a large skillet, brown the beef; drain the fat and set aside.  In another large skillet (or just rinse out the one you browned the beef in), cook the bacon until it is slightly crisp.  Remove the bacon; cut into smaller pieces and set aside.  Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet; saute in the bacon drippings until tender.  Add the tomatoes, olives, oregano, bacon, and cooked beef.  Simmer the mixture, uncovered for 10 minutes; taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.  Meanwhile boil the spaghetti in a pot of salted water, according to the package instructions; drain well.  Place half of the spaghetti into the prepared pan.  Top the beef-tomato mixture.  Sprinkle this layer with 1 cup of cheddar cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Mix the can of mushroom soup with the water, and pour over the casserole.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top and bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until heated through and bubbly.

Trisha Yearwood's Crock Pot Pork Loin

Have you ever just grabbed a cookbook and stuck Post-it notes all in it, marking the recipes you want to try?  I do it all the time, but usually never get around to making those recipes.  Well this week I picked one of my favorite cookbooks Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood, and decided to cook a few of those bookmarked recipes.  First one up was Trisha's pork loin cooked in a crock pot.

Now I don't do a whole bunch of crock pot cooking.  No real reason...It's just not my style.  But the results are usually pretty good, the meat is always tender and this recipe was no different.  The meat was so tender it just fell apart when I tried to cut it...But what set this recipe above the others was the gravy!!!  I love anything smothered in gravy!

Trisha Yearwood's Crock Pot Pork Loin

adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

2 & 1/2 to 3 lb pork loin, trimmed of all visible fat
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp  black pepper
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbs lemon juice
3 tsp soy sauce
3 tbs cornstarch
salt and pepper, to taste

Season the pork loin lightly with salt.  In a small bowl combine the garlic powder, ginger, dried thyme, and black pepper.  Rub the seasoning over the surface of the pork loin.  In a skillet heat the oil and brown the pork loin on all sides.  Transfer the pork to the crock pot.  Combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, and soy sauce; pour over the pork loin.  Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours or on high or 4 to 5 hours on high.  After cooking, transfer the roast to a platter and keep warm.  To make the gravy, pour the liquid from the crock pot into a measuring cup.  Skim off the fat.  Measure two cups of the liquid, adding water if needed.  Transfer to a sauce pan reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid.  Stir the cornstarch into the reserved liquid, then stir into the liquid in the sauce pan.  Heat, stirring frequently, until the gravy is thick.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.  Serve the roast with the gravy.

Black Forest Ham and Fig Chevre Crostini

I always try my best to share recipes that have easy to find ingredients, that everybody can get their hands on.  But some things are worth seeking out...So today I want to share with you two of my favorites, both from right here in Alabama.

The first being Belle Chevre Fig Breakfast Cheese...made in Elkmont, Alabama.  I've always been a fan Belle Chevre goat cheese, but I recently tried the Fig Breakfast Cheese.  It's a mix of fig preserves and goat cheese...only slightly sweet...still very savory...and very tasty.  It's perfect for bagels or toast, but I found this recipe for this crostini using the fig cheese.  So last weekend I tried it...so good and almost effortless.

Black Forest Ham and Fig Chevre Crostini

adapted from Southern Lady March/April 2012

1 French baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds and toasted

1- 6 oz package Belle Chevre Fig Breakfast Cheese

10 thin slices of Black Forest Ham

chopped green onions, for garnish

Spread each baguette round with about 1 tablespoon of fig breakfast cheese.  Tear or cut each ham slice in half, then place on top of the baguette rounds, draping artfully.  Garnish with chopped green onions.

*Local Whole Foods carry the Belle Chevre Fig Breakfast Cheese, but it can also be purchased from their website.

And of course I needed something to wash them down...Alabama Muscadine Wine!  And my all-time favorite spring/summer wine is Carlos from the Morgan Creek Vineyards.  It's a sweet wine...the flavor actually reminds me of eating fresh muscadines...and I know some people might disagree with me, but it's sort of like sweet tea...you can drink it with anything.  Actually all the wines from the Morgan Creek Vineyards are wonderful...and the winery is in Harpersville, about an hour drive from Birmingham.  So if you are looking for a fun afternoon trip, head there for a wine tasting.

And while I'm talking about Alabama...I think I should shine the spotlight on a few of my favorite Alabama bloggers...Be sure to give them all a visit!

Sandi @ Whistlestop Cafe Cooking

Phillip @ Dirt Therapy

Katrina @ Susie Homemaker MD

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

I'm not really a morning person...so breakfast is usually rushed.  And if it wasn't for smoothies, there probably would be no breakfast at all.  Usually I make a green smoothie, but there were no greens to be found in the fridge.  So this is what I came up with.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

2 frozen bananas

1 cup skim milk

1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup oats

4 tbs peanut butter

honey, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 

Makes 2 smoothies.

Book Review: Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes

Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes

Author: Joy Wilson

Publisher: Hyperion

The Good: 100 recipes, a beautiful photo of each recipe.  A huge variety of recipes...cakes, cupcakes, smoothies, pancakes, bacon, chili cheese fries...just a little bit of everything(Maybe too much, see The Bad).  And it's enjoyable to read!

The Bad: It's hard for me to find anything wrong with a cookbook, but I wish this book had less variety and more baking.  I also think the book could have used a little bit of extra proofreading, just to be sure all the recipes were easy to follow.(I received my book before the release date of the book, so corrections could have been made)

Recipes from the book I've already tried:

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Mini Chamomile Cakes with Honey Frosting

Pineapple Malted Milkshake

and the Araby Spice Cake with Lemon Glaze (not posted, only eaten)

Recipes that Sound Good to Me: Peanut Butter Birthday Cake, Giant Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Glaze, Single Girl Melty Chocolate Cake, "Man bait" Apple Crisp

Thumbs Up or Down: Honestly If I just saw this book in the bookstore...I probably would not buy it.  Due to the fact that so many of the recipes I would never care to make, example: Parmesan Seaweed Popcorn, Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes, Avocado Pound Cake...But I do know a ton of people who would love every recipe in the book...So thumbs up.

*I received a free copy of the book from the publisher, but the opinions in this review are my own.

*This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.

Bunny Trail Mix - White Trash Recipe

Whether your seven or forty-seven, you can't resist this sweet and salty mix.  I make a version of this(White Trash) for every holiday, but since this one is for Easter...I think Bunny Trail Mix just sounds better.

And this stuff is so easy to make...15 minutes of effort produces a tasty little treat that every one loves.  I used Crispix, pretzels, M & M's, pastel candy corn, and peanuts...but you can mix up the ingredients to suit your tastes.

Bunny Trail Mix

6 cups Kellogg's Crispix Cereal
3 cups mini twist pretzels
1- 12.60 oz bag Easter M & M's candies
1 cup pastel candy corn
1 cup cocktail peanuts
1- 24 oz package white almond bark

In a large bowl combine the cereal, pretzels, candies, and peanuts.  Meanwhile melt the bark according to the package instructions.  Pour the melted almond bark over the cereal mixture and mix well.  Be careful not to crush the cereal and pretzels.  When well coated, pour onto wax paper to cool.  After it has cooled break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage and Ricotta

Sometimes I feel like I need to say something really profound and compelling in these posts...ha well I don't know if I ever get there.  But today I have nothing to say at all...I worked night shift last night, so I'm pretty sleep deprived.  But this was Sunday dinner and it sure was GOOD!  Actually it was "Linner"...you know when you eat lunch so late it becomes dinner.

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage and Ricotta

1 lb ziti pasta

1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed

4 cups jarred marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)

1 small onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, use less for a milder flavor

15 oz ricotta cheese

8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pan over medium-high heat, add a small amount of oil and brown the sausage; breaking up any large chunks as the meat browns.  When the sausage is no longer pink, add the onion, red bell pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper; saute until the onions are translucent and begin to brown.  Add in the jarred marinara sauce and bring to a simmer.  Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the instructions on the package; Drain the pasta.  Ladle a thin layer of the sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish.  Drop 1/2 the ricotta cheese by spoonfuls over top the sauce; top with half the Parmesan cheese.  Add the pasta to the remaining sauce and toss until mixed well.  Now add the pasta to the baking dish.  Drop the remaining ricotta by spoonfuls onto the pasta.  Scatter the remaing Parmesan cheese; then top with the mozzarella.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until it's all nice and bubbly.  Then I usually stick it under the broiler for a minute, just because I like a little crispy brown cheese.

Serves 8

Nutter Butter Easter Chicks

These were just too cute not to share!  And so simple...no recipe required to make these little Easter chick cookies.  All you need is Nutter Butter cookies,white almond bark, yellow food coloring, black icing to make eyes, and orange icing for to make the beaks.

Melt the almond bark in the microwave, according to the package directions.  Then add a little yellow food coloring to make it pale yellow, but you could make bright yellow or even pink and blue...like Peeps.  Then dip the Nutter Butter cookies into the almond bark and place on waxed paper to cool.

When the almond bark coating has hardened, decorate each chick with two black icing dots for eyes and a small orange triangle for a beak.  Simple enough to let the kids help with.

Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls

It's amazing all the things you can do with crescent roll dough!  Crescent rolls were even one of the basket ingredients on Chopped the other night during the dessert round.  Neither of those chefs were very creative...Because on Pinterest, I've seen them turned into chicken and dumplings, french dip sandwiches, and even creatures...snails.

This morning for a weekend breakfast treat I made these Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescents.  They are so good!  This morning I was lazy so we had these with just a fruit smoothie.  But these go so well with scrambled eggs, grits...They are like a sausage biscuit substitute.

So for the recipe you need...

First brown the sausage and drain any grease.

Mix the sausage with the cream cheese and

spoon a heaping tablespoon onto each roll.

Then roll up and bake.

Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls

2- 8 oz cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb breakfast sausage
8 oz cream cheese, softened

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a skillet brown the sausage and drain any excess grease.  In a bowl mix together the cream cheese and browned sausage.  Separate the crescent rolls in triangles.  Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the sausage mixture on to each crescent roll.  Roll up.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Makes 16 crescents

Be sure to pick up a couple cans of crescent rolls to make these sausage and cream cheese stuffed crescents...plus a few extra cans for these recipes...Pepperoni Pizza Crescent Roll-Ups, Mini Pigs In A Blanket, Chicken Bacon Ranch Crescents.

Black Bean Dal - Indian Spiced Black Beans

While I am not known for my healthy cooking, there are many vegetarian dishes that I enjoy.  Indian dal is one of them...Dal is just a generic word for beans/legumes.  This is a dish that I usually make when it's only me at home, since it comes together in only a few minutes...and I always have the ingredients on hand.

So black beans are not something you find in Indian cooking, they do work well in this kind of dish.  Canned Kidney beans would also work very well in this recipe.

Black Bean Dal

1- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbs vegetable oil

a pinch of asafetida, optional (found at Indian grocery or online)

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 onion, diced

1/4 to 1/2 hot green chile, left whole with seeds

a handful or cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric

salt, to taste

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil.  When the oil it hot, add in the asafetida and cumin; let sizzle for about 5 seconds.  Add the onion and green chile, saute until browned.  Add the chopped tomatoes and turmeric, saute until the tomatoes begin to soften.  Add the black beans and 1/2 cup water.  Mashing some of the beans with a wooden spoon gives it a better texture.  Bring to a simmer.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.  If necessary add more water and continue cooking until the desired consistency is reached.  Season with salt.

Pineapple Malted Milkshake

So it's week three of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off...This week we could choose any recipe from the book we wanted to make.  I chose the Pineapple Malted Milkshake!  I guess you could say I took the easy road...since I chose a no-bake recipe, but it sure did taste good!

Now I didn't take the time to measure the ingredients...who does that for a milkshake! 

Just Dump it in!  But if you need a recipe to follow...it's below.

Pineapple Malted Milkshake
adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

1 cup low-fat milk
2 cups vanilla ice cream
3 tbs malted milk powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh pineapple

In a blender combine all the ingredients.  Blend until thick and creamy.

Makes one 3-cup milkshake

*This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.