Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

This is my recreation of a delicious chocolate bread pudding I had at a local restaurant. I added the semi-sweet chocolate chips and lowered the sugar in this recipe. I also smash the bananas and stir the bread a little more than necessary so that it has more of a pudding consistency.

1 loaf of French Bread or any other firm white bread

3 not overly-ripe bananas
4 large eggs
2 cups whole milk, half and half, or light cream
1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 – 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

– Cut bread and bananas into 1 inch pieces.
– In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and sugar.
– Gently stir in bread, bananas. and chocolate chips.
– Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
– Bake covered for 35 minutes.
– Uncover and bake an additional 45 minutes, or until inserted knife comes out clean.

Ranch Chicken-Cheese Ball

This is another great recipe for parties and pot-lucks that I got from one of my co-workers. It’s really easy, tastes great, and it much healthier than a lot of other holiday dip recipes.

1 (5 ounce) can chunk chicken, drained
1 (1/2 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted

– Combine chicken, salad dressing mix and cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
– Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer just until blended.
– Chill in the refrigerator or freezer until mixture is more stiff and can be molded.
– Shape into a ball and roll in pecans.
– Cover and chill.
– Serve with wheat crackers.

Linda’s Notes:
– You can use low-fat cream cheese in this recipe to cut a few extra calories.

Lemon-Raspberry Cream Bars

This recipe is adapted from one of the older Betty Crocker quarterly cookbooks. I am definitely not a great cake baker and these squares turned out looking just like the picture in the book. The only tricky part is spreading the cake batter in the pan, but I used cooking spray with flour on the pan and a big silicone spatula and it was pretty painless. These can be made a day in advance and they taste even better after a night in the refrigerator.

1 box lemon cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons milk
12 oz white chocolate
2 to 3 teaspoons powdered sugar

– Preheat oven 350°F.
– Grease bottom only of 15x10x1-inch pan with shortening.
– In large bowl, mix cake mix, butter and eggs with spoon until well blended.
– With greased or floured fingers or a spatula, press evenly in pan.
– Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.
– Spread evenly with preserves. Cool 30 minutes.
– In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and milk with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
– Heat white chocolate in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave until melted.
– Add warm melted white chocolate to cream cheese mixture; beat on medium speed until creamy (mixture may look slightly curdled).
– Carefully spread over preserves and refrigerate about 1 hour or until set.
– Sprinkle powdered sugar over top and cut into squares.
– Store covered in refrigerator.

Linda’s Notes:
– Do not use reduced fat cream cheese because it will cause the icing to not fully set.
– You can use any flavor berry preserves for a different variation. I used no-sugar all fruit preserves to cut back on the sugar.

Confessions of a Salad Hater

Although they are generally healthy, and don’t make you heat up your kitchen with an hour-long oven bake… I just don’t like salads. I definitely like most of the ingredients in most salads, but the large amount of lettuce and lack of bread just kind of leaves me unfulfilled. If I do order a salad at dinner I like a nicoise or a crispy chicken salad because they are really a three course meal in a bowl. So this little confession leads me to this recipe idea… the cobb salad wrap. All the great things that make up the salad, but in a nice chewy, healthy wrap. The amount of wraps that this makes depends on how full you stuff the tortillas.

Cobb Salad Wrap

1 package of flavored tortillas (I like spinach)
4 hardboiled eggs, chopped
4 pieces of crumbled crispy cooked bacon
1 package of dark green lettuce in a bag (I like romaine mix)
1 diced tomato
appr. 1/2 cup low fat bleu cheese dressing
4 pieces of ham, diced
Salt and Pepper
1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
1/2 cup of cooked chicken breast, chopped
1/2 avocado, chopped

– Combine all ingredients, except lettuce and tortillas in a large bowl.
– Mix ingredients well and salt and pepper to taste.
– Warm tortillas gently in the microwave until they are soft.
– Put a large spoonful of the salad mixture on each tortila and top with lettuce.
– Wrap up tortilla and cut in two pieces.

Whole wheat pasta… it’s actually good!

In the interest of being a bit more health-conscious and possibly losing those last 5lbs before a vacation to the beach, I’ve been substituting whole wheat in most of my pasta dishes. I’ve actually decided that in some cases I really like whole wheat pasta better. It’s chewier, has a more earthy flavor, and holds up to almost all sauces.

During the week we barely have time to eat, let alone take artistic and appealing photos, but I wanted to share my whole wheat successes from this week even if I don’t have a picture.

Nearly Sinless Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

1 (8-ounce) package uncooked whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 (8-ounce) packages mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (15-ounce) containers light ricotta cheese
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained very well)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
3 large egg whites
1 -2 jars of marinara sauce (depends how saucy you like it)
Cooking spray
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

– Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside.
– Head oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
– Add mushrooms to skillet and sauté 3 minutes.
– Add nutmeg and garlic to skillet and cook 5 more minutes.

– Combine ricotta and next 5 ingredients (ricotta through egg whites) and set aside.

– Preheat oven to 375°.

– Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
– Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce.
– Top noodles with half of ricotta cheese mixture, half of mushroom mixture, 1 1/2 cups sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
– Repeat layers, ending with noodles.
– Spread 1/2 cup sauce over noodles.
– Cover and bake at 375° for 40 minutes.
– Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
– Bake 10 minutes and let stand another 10 minutes before serving.

Key Lime Mini Tarts

These are awesome little snacks for parties or dinner any time of the year courtesy of an old Betty Crocker cookbook. They’re a great way to fulfill that key lime pie craving without all of the sugar, egg yolks, and guilt. They’re really, really easy to make too, but the key is some pretty garnish to make them look like you spent more time baking. The filling is also really versatile and can be a great cake icing (add some coconut) or use it for a unique icebox cake filling.

1 can sweetened condensed mil (14 oz)
1/2 cup Key Lime Juice (regular limes are fine too, but use key limes if at all possible))
3 drops green food color
1 container frozen whipped topping
4 packages frozen mini fillo dough shells (I substitute puff pastry shells because they hold up better after being in the refrigerator)
Fresh berries for garnish

– In a large bowl, beat together the milk, lime juice and food color with an electric mixer on medium speed until thickened and smooth.
– Spoon heaping teaspoonfuls of the mixture into the shells and refrigerate for at least an hour.
– Garnish with pieces of lime and berries

Linda’s Notes:
– I highly recommend not leaving out the food color. If not, people will think that you are just serving them scoops of Cool Whip in a pastry shell.
– The original recipe suggested raspberries for the garnish, which ended up bleeding red juice all over my nice green filling. I suggest blueberries or strawberry pieces.
– I use a cookie dough scoop to get the right amount of filling and use the end of a spoon to get the filling into the shell. This saves a little bit of time with the teaspoon.

Chicken Cordon Bleu for the Lazy

I updated this recipe and reposted it since it really is a nice quick winter meal. I also finally added a photo!

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 slices deli ham
4 slices swiss cheese
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup (yes, sometimes cream-of-something soup is good!)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 (6 ounce) box seasoned stuffing mix

– Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
– Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
– Place chicken on bottom then layer with ham and cheese.
– Mix cream of chicken soup with milk and pour over chicken.
– Melt butter and mix with stuffing mix and place on top.
– Cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 hour or until juices run clear.

Linda’s Notes:
– You can easily change this recipe for fewer calories and the same taste by using skim milk, butter substitute, and low-fat ham and cheese.
– Try to get ham and butter that is lower in salt because the seasoned stuffing will give you all the salt you need.
– I use provolone cheese also in this recipe and it’s a nice variation.
– Take the cover off for the last 20 minutes if you like crunchy stuffing.

Herb-apricot Chicken and Butternut Squash Risotto

This recipe is two of three parts of a Rachael Ray show. The risotto was really, really good. The best thing about it is Rachael’s method of using cooked, frozen squash. Peeling a whole butternut squash will remove all fun from the meal.

The chicken was pretty good, but I think it had a little too much fruit in with it. I read some of the Food Network reader reviews after I made it and they offer some good suggestions to counter the “fruitiness.” I think next time I am going to try pairing the risotto with a pork tenderloin in an apricot sauce.

Butternut Squash Risotto

1 quart chicken stock
1 cup water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated or chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 (10-ounce) box cooked frozen butternut squash
Nutmeg, grated, to taste
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
7 or 8 leaves fresh sage, slivered
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

– Bring 1 quart stock plus 1 cup water to a simmer in a sauce pot then reduce heat to low.
– Heat a medium skillet over medium to medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil.
– When oil ripples, add the onions and garlic and soften 2 to 3 minutes.
– Add rice and toast 2 to 3 minutes more.
– Add wine and cook it out completely, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes.
– Ladle in stock in intervals, a couple of ladles at a time.
– Allow liquids to evaporate each time.
– Risotto will cook 18 minutes, total, from the first addition of liquid.
– Defrost the squash in the microwave in a dish to collect any liquids.
– Stir the squash into the rice the last 3 minutes of cook time.
– Season with nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste.
– In the last minute of cooking time, stir in the butter in small pieces, sage and cheese, serve.

Herb-apricot Chicken

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds chicken breasts and boneless thighs, cut into large chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
2 cups chicken stock
20 to 24 dried apricots, chopped
5 to 6 sprigs thyme
A generous handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped chives
1 lemon, 2 teaspoons zest and the juice

– In a large skillet with high sides, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
– Season chicken with salt and pepper liberally.
– When oil ripples, add chicken and brown it on both sides, 7 to 8 minutes total.
– Add balsamic vinegar and stir 30 seconds, add stock, apricots and thyme and reduce heat to medium-low to low.
– Place a lid on the pan and simmer 10 minutes.
– Take lid off, stir in the parsley, chives, lemon zest and juice and turn off heat.
– Let stand a couple of minutes, remove the thyme sprigs and serve.

Linda’s Notes
– Even though you might be tempted to substitute chicken breasts for the dark meat, I recommend not doing that for taste’s sake. That fruit will really overpower the generally tasteless white meat.
– This risotto recipes makes a TON of rice.

Pierogi Casserole

I made this casserole for a Christmas party with an international theme. No one really had a clue what it was supposed to be, so it’s best labeled as “mashed potato lasagne.” It’s tasty and a kid-favorite, but it’s also really rich. The picture was taken just before I put the casserole into the oven and I forgot to take an after picture!

1 lb lasagna noodles
3/4 lb grated extra-sharp white Ccedder cheese
1 sticks of butter or margarine
2 large onions finely chopped
8 cups instant potatoes (6 servings according to package)
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream (optional)

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees,
– Cook noodles according to directions.
– Make instant potatoes according to package.
– Add cheese to instant potatoes and beat well.
– Saute’ onions in butter until soft.
– Add 1/2 of the onion mixture to the potato mixture.
– Salt and pepper to taste.
– Spray a 9x13x2 inch pan with cooking spray.
– Place a layer of noodles on bottom of pan and then a layer of potato mixture.
– Repeat, ending with a layer of noddles.
– Pour remaining onions over entire top.
– Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.
– Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.
– Cut into squares and serve with sour cream.

Linda’s Notes:
– This is fine to put together the night before, just don’t put it in the oven completely cold or the noodles will have a horrible consistancy.
– After baking it’s better to let this stand until it’s just barely warm to touch so it’s easier to cut. It will still be nice and warm in between the noodle layers.
– This could be made super, super easy by just cooking frozen good-quality pierogies and layering them with cheese or just butter.

Parmesan Chicken and Rice

I’m a little behind on my posts because of the holidays, but this is one of the easier meals that I made in the last couple weeks. I think this time of year I feel less motivated to make complicated dinners so that I have more time/effort for the awesome desserts. I got this recipe from one of the special edition Cooking Light magazines, but really the method is suspiciously similar to Rice-a-roni.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
3/4 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked instant rice
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup (2 oz.) grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

– Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
– Add the onion, garlic, thyme and mushrooms.
– Saute 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
– Add chicken and saute 4 minutes or until the chicken is lightly browned.
– Add wine, salt, and pepper and cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.
– Stir in rice and broth.
– Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is absorbed.
– Stir in cheese and parsley.

Linda’s Notes:
– I pretty much followed this recipe’s directions except… I didn’t use fresh cheese 😦 In dishes like this I can never really taste the difference.