BANANA APPLE MUFFINS

 1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 bananas, mashed

4 cups all-purpose flour

5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

6 TBS sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup milk

3 cups Gala apples, peeled and small diced

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray cups with baking spray.

Cream butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl.

Add eggs and bananas; mix well.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.

In a small bowl, mix 6 TBS sugar with cinnamon... coat apples with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Gradually add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on medium speed until combined.

Stir in coated apples and vanilla.

Spoon batter into muffin cups until half full.

Sprinkle tops with additional cinnamon/sugar if desired.

Bake for 20 minutes, then cool for 10 minutes on a rack

Makes about 30 muffins

**From Costco magazine

 

AVGOLEMONO SOUP

 INGREDIENTS:

6 cups chicken broth                                                                                             

1/3 cup long grain rice

1 tsp salt - or to taste

3 whole eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup FRESH lemon juice, about 2 lemons

*May add 2 cups diced, cooked chicken at the end

DIRECTIONS:

Combine broth, rice, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a full boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to simmer; Cover and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.  

Remove pan from heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until pale yellow and fluffy.

Whisk in lemon juice.

SLOWLY ladle about 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup at a time, drizzling into the egg-lemon mixture while whisking vigorously.

Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the rest of the soup and whist until slightly thickened.

Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until icy cold, several hours or overnight.

Soup will thicken as it cools.

Stir before serving, add chopped scallions and parsley if desired.

Serve with toasted, crusty bread for dipping.

**Recipe from 4 Seasons Breeze Magazine

 

IMPOSSIBLE QUICHE

Ingredients

• 12 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled, fat drained) May use 5 slices deli ham, cut up
• 1 cup freshly shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/3 cup yellow or white onion (diced)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup Bisquick *
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C).
2. Lightly grease a 10-inch pie plate (I recommend glass or metal, but I don’t recommend ceramic).
3. Evenly spread the onions, shredded Swiss cheese, and cooked and crumbled bacon over the bottom of the greased pie plate. 
4. To a medium bowl, add the eggs, salt, and pepper. Whisk until the eggs are fully mixed, then whisk in the milk.

5. Add the Bisquick to the eggs and whisk for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is clump free and smooth (don’t stop whisking until it’s totally smooth!).

6. Pour the Bisquick mixture into the pie plate over the other ingredients.

7. Bake for 35 minutes. Check to see if the quiche is done by inserting a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean the quiche is finished baking. (If the first poke comes out a bit wet, check another spot, the cheese is gooey and might fool you into thinking it's not ready.)

8. Once the quiche is done, place onto a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.

9. Once the quiche has set and cooled a bit, slice and serve warm!

Chicken, Cranberry, Pecan Salad Wraps

 

INGREDIENTS

o  3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (Rotisserie is great!)

o  ½ cup dried, sweetened cranberries - Craisins

o  ½ cup chopped pecans

o  ¾ cup diced celery

o  ½ cup mayonnaise

o  Salt and pepper to taste

o  1 teaspoon fresh Parsley, chopped

o  4 large tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  In a large bowl combine chicken, cranberries, pecans & celery

2.  Stir to combine

3.  Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper and mix well

4.  Place a spoonful of chicken mixture on tortilla, sprinkle with a pinch of fresh parsley

5.  Roll wrap, cut and enjoy

BAKED SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

 tasty hot spinach & artichoke dip recipe never disappoints. Filled with hearty, leafy spinach, artichoke hearts and savory Monterey Jack cheese.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
• 1 bag (9 oz.) coarsely chopped baby spinach leaves or 1 box (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, cooked, cooled and squeezed dry
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese or cheddar or Swiss cheese, divided
• 1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
• 1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon into a 2-quart casserole or cast-iron skillet, then top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
3. Bake for 35 minutes or until dip is hot.

SALSA

 1 garlic clove

1 can diced tomatoes, drained well

1 small handful cilantro, leaves and tender stems

1/2 small white onion, chopped

1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed

juice of 1 lime

Salt to taste

Pulse garlic in food processor until minced.

Add remaining ingredients and pulse about 10 times until coarsely chopped.

Season to taste with salt.

BEST APPLE CRISP

                    For 8" X 8"                                                        For 9" X 13" 

Filling: 

            5 cups fresh apples, peeled & sliced                        10 cups fresh apples

            1/2 cup granulated sugar                                           1 cup granulated sugar

            1/2 tsp cinnamon                                                       1 tsp sugar

            1 tsp vanilla                                                               2 tsp vanilla

Topping:

            1/2 cup AP flour                                                         1 cup AP flour

            1/3 cup oats                                                                2/3 cup oats

            2/3 cup packed brown sugar                                      1-1/3 cups packed brown sugar

            1/4 tsp salt                                                                  1/2 tsp salt

            1/2 tsp cinnamon                                                        1 tsp salt

            1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted                               1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Instructions:

         Preheat oven to 359°.  Prepare a baking dish with butter or cooking spray.

        In a large bowl, combine sliced apples with SUGAR, CINNAMON, and VANILLA.

        Mix until apples are evenly coated.  Pour into prepared baking dish.

        In a separate medium sized bowl, combine FLOUR, OATS, BROWN SUGAR, SALT and                      CINNAMON.  Pour in melted butter an stir until well coated and crumbly.

        Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the top of the apples.

        Bake in preheated oven 45 - 60 minutes until apples are soft and topping is golden.

        Allow to cool slightly before serving.  (Cover with foil and place in 175° oven to keep warm)

        Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Notes:
        Slice apples evenly!  May use apple slicer and then cut in half again lengthwise, to roughly 1/2                 inch wide slices.

        To prevent over-browning if topping is browning too quickly and apples need more cooking time,         place aluminum loosely over top and continue baking.