Banana Bread

Money Saving Mom has baking days a couple times a month, and she makes this every time. I didn't substitute any of the oil with apple sauce, but I'm going to try it next time for a little healthier version.

Banana Bread
Money Saving Mom

Ingredients
2 cups flour (all-purpose, whole-wheat, or a mixture of both)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons milk

Directions
Stir together dry ingredients. Beat together remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

**I made the banana bread again this week with half wheat/half white flour and half oil/half applesauce, and it is still good. It is heavier/denser, but still yummy for breakfast.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into with these. They remind me of the quesadillas at Freebirds. (This is how they make them, except they fold the tortilla in half rather than into a burrito.) mmm. These turned out a lot better than I thought they were going to. Brett asked me if they reheat well if we could triple the recipe and make it a staple. Apparently, he thought they were pretty good. :o)

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
Tasty Kitchen member Melanie

Ingredients
1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
½ Tablespoon (1 ½ tsp) chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoons garlic salt
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 whole green onion, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
½ cup diced red or green bell pepper
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 whole lime, juiced
6 whole burrito-sized flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (combination Of monterey jack And sharp cheddar)
½ cup sour cream (optional)

Directions
Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for tortillas, cheese, and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Drop a little bit of sour cream in a line down the center of each tortilla, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle some more cheese on top of the chicken and rice mixture (to ensure the tortilla gets cooked shut).

Fold the two sides of the stuffed tortillas over, leaving edges open. Spray the top (folded) side with cooking spray (I sprayed them with olive oil with my handy dandy sprayer from Bed Bath and Beyond). Heat a large nonstick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp (2 to 3 minutes). While that side is cooking spray the opposite side. Flip the burrito over and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

New Orleans Style Shrimp Creole

I have been in a cajun mood recently, but all of the authentic recipes that I was finding had clam sauce or shrimp shell stock... not too appealing. I ran into this recipe on Tasty Kitchen this weekend. Granted, I don't know what authentic shrimp creole tastes like, but this is really good and really easy.

New Orleans Style Shrimp Creole
Adapted by Tasty Kitchen member Frank

Ingredients
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped (I used five)
8 oz can tomato sauce
14 oz can chicken broth
1 tsp lemon juice
2 whole bay leaves
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/4 tsp - warning - spicy!)
salt, to taste
2 cups boiled rice (I used two success boil-in-bags)

Directions
In a black cast iron pot, melt butter. (I don't have a black cast iron pot, so I used a 12" frying pan with lid.) Add the oil. Over medium heat, saute the onion, celery, green bell pepper, and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the flour and blend well. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaves, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Bring to a low boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add shrimp, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes longer. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve over cooked rice.

Pasta with Classic Pesto

This is a great meal for a busy night. You can make the pesto in the time it takes to cook the pasta. It may be cheaper to buy bottled pesto, but this is so much better!

Classic Pesto
The New Best Recipe

Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves (optional)
7 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste
1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
1 lb pasta (long & thin or fusilli)

Directions
1. Toast the nuts in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until just golden and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a plate.

2. Add the garlic to the empty skillet. Toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and the color of the cloves deepens slightly, about 7 minutes. Let the garlic cool, then peel and chop.

3. Place the nuts, garlic, herb(s), oil, and 1/2 tsp salt in a food processor. Process until smooth, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the workbowl. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, stir in the Parmesan, and adjust the salt to taste. (The surface of the pesto can be covered with a sheet of plastic wrap or a thin film of oil and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

4. Bring 4 quarts water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add salt and pasta to the boiling water and stir to separate the noodles. Cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.

5. Stir 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into pesto. Toss the hot pasta with the thinned pesto, adding the remaining pasta cooking water as needed. Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature.

Cheap Swanson's Chicken Broth at CVS

Swanson's Chicken Broth is on sale for $0.50 each this upcoming week at CVS. There is a limit of 10 instead of 4 (at Walgreens). They won't have that many, but you can get a rain check that doesn't expire. You can also take the ad to Target or Walmart, and pick up some for the same price.

Go here to see the ad.

Taco Chili

A wonderful coworker of mine, Monique, gave me this recipe along with all of the ingredients in a basket. So easy and so good. It's a keeper!

Taco Chili
Paula Deen
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
1 cup dried kidney beans
1/2 cup dried pinto beans
1 (1 1/4-oz) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-oz) package buttermilk salad dressing mix
3 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp chili powder (or more, to taste)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 (16-oz) can tomato sauce
1 (11 3/4-oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
4 cups water
1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained

Directions
Place beans in a large bowl, cover with water and soak 6 to 8 hours, or overnight. Drain and add to a Dutch oven. Add seasoning packet, water, diced tomatoes and green chilies, tomato sauce, and ground beef.

Heat to boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Serve with corn or tortilla chips.

King Ranch Chicken

We had this for dinner this weekend at Brett's parents' house. I've heard about this casserole many times, but I've never had it before. I was really excited to see the first 3 ingredients because I bulk up on them when they are on sale. Every two or three weeks, Walgreen's has Swanson's chicken broth on sale for 2/$1 (it's usually $1.29 a can at the grocery store!) and Campbell's condensed cream soups on sale for $0.79 each. You can usually find a $1 off of two Campbell's coupon on the internet, leaving the soups at $0.29 each. If you don't have a Walgreens near you, Walmart and Target both do price matching. All you have to do is take the Walgreens ad to either store and get the same deal there. Enjoy!

King Ranch Chicken
Sandy Hern
Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients
1 (10 3/4-oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4-oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 can Swanson's chicken broth (or 2 cups chicken broth)
1 (10-oz) can crushed tomatoes and green chilies
1 package of 12 to 20 (6 inch) corn tortillas, torn into small pieces
1 large (3-pound) chicken, stewed, skinned, boned, and cut into bite-size pieces, or 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 to 1 pound cheddar cheese, grated
1-1/2 tsp chili powder
Garlic salt to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine condensed soups, broth, chili powder, garlic salt and tomatoes; set aside. Oil a 9x13 inch pan. Layer half of the tortillas, half the chicken, half the onion, half the bell pepper, and half the cheese in the pan. Pour half the soup mixture over layers. Repeat layers of tortillas, chicken, onion, and bell pepper; pour remaining soup mixture over top with remaining cheese. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let sit 15 minutes before serving.

*Sandy seasons her chicken breasts with Tony Chachere's and lemon pepper, and then she cooks them on a George Foreman grill.

**If desired, dip tortillas in hot stock to soften, or cut tortillas in pieces. Casserole can be frozen. Reheat at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Mexican Rice

Mexican Rice
Ree Drummond

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons canola oil
½ whole large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups long grain rice
1 (10 oz) can mild rotel
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 cups low sodium chicken broth (I use a whole can of Swanson's)
1 teaspoon cumin (more To taste)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions, then cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add rice and garlic. Stir constantly, making sure the rice doesn’t burn. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Add Ro-tel and tomatoes. Stir to combine and let cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add broth, cumin, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low (I leave it at 2.5), cover, and simmer for 15 additional minutes or until rice is done. Add more liquid as needed; rice shouldn’t be sticky. If the rice is still a little crunchy, turn off the heat and let it sit with the lid on for at least 5 more minutes.

Just before serving, sprinkle lots of freshly chopped cilantro over the top. Serve immediately.