Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Wonderful smoothie for breakfast of before a workout.  Very yummy.

2 bananas sliced and frozen
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk

Throw it all in a blender and mix it up!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

• 4 cups of cooked, chopped chicken (about 4 to 5 breasts halves)
• 2 cups of instant rice
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup frozen diced onion
• 1 can Ro*Tel tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients and half of cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Mix well.
2. Turn out into a greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Cake Batter Dip

This recipe is easy, quick and really yummy (if you ate cake batter as a child like I did!) 

 

3tbsp cake mix

2tbsp plain yogurt (feel free to use fat free if you so choose)

1 tbsp cool whip

 

Mix it together and enjoy with some animal crackers.  This is a single serving, double, triple or quadruple the recipe for more!

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 1/12 large onion diced
• 2 1/2 cups Salsa
• 1/2 can (15 ounces) black beans
• 1 1/4 cup Italian dressing
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cuim
• 3 (8 inch) corn tortillas
• 1 can of corn (drained)
• 2 cups shredded Mexican Cheese
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• Sour Cream

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat, until meat is no longer pink; drain.
2. Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, dressing, sour cream, taco seasoning and cumin.
3. Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
4. Place a flour or corn tortilla on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like. 
5. The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
6. Cover with foil that has been sprayed with pam or other and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly. 
7. Let stand for 5 minutes be serving with lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Yield: 8 servings.

 

 

I made this for dinner one night and brought the left overs into work with some tortilla chips, it was gone in 5 minutes and several people wanted the recipe.  It was very good!

Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Snickerdoodles

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets. 

 If the dough still looks a little wet go ahead and add a little bit more flour.  I kept running into that problem.

Getting vanilla extract in Mexico was the best idea ever, it really makes a difference in taste.  If you ever visit Mexico make sure to pick up a huge bottle.  You won't regret it!

Doggy Treats

 Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, margarine, and boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Thoroughly stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk, Cheddar cheese, and egg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until a stiff dough has formed.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, mixing in additional flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2" thickness. Cut with cookie cutter (I prefer bone shaped), and place 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool before serving. Store in a loosely covered container. 

I found this recipe off of allrecipes.com.  For these since it is Christmas time I molded the dough into pans with Santa faces, snowmen and Christmas trees.   My mom and I had been making cookies all day and her dogs were calm until these came out of the oven.  They knew these treats were for them!