Banana Pancakes

I found this recipe in an old kids cookbook, that we actually had growing up, that mom gave to the boys. I'm not the hugest fan of bananas, but I really enjoy these and all my boys LOVE them. They are super moist (mashed up bananas will obviously do that) and taste extra yummy with syrup. But they're also a great one for younger babies cause they aren't too dry so they don't need syrup. I just give them whole to Brock and he gobbles up just as many as the other boys.

Banana Pancakes
2 medium bananas (perfect to use up the ones that are going brown, but most recently I used green-ish ones and they were just fine)
2 cups baking mix (like Bisquick, or I'm pretty sure there are recipes on how to make your own Bisquick out there, if I ever try one out, I'll let you know)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbls. sugar
1 egg

Mash bananas in small bowl.
Beat the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Fold in the mashed banana into batter with rubber scraper.
Pour batter into hot griddle and cook like you all know how. ;)

Enjoy this quick, easy and NOT sugar-filled breakfast!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Picture and recipe from LDS Living.

If you came to the temple picture making class I did, these are some of the cookies I made. They are some of my most favorite cookie. They're unique, light, and full of yummy flavor. If you like lemon, you'll LOVE these. ;)

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

 Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

MY TIP- the first time I made it was doubling it, so I used 1/2 cup butter AND 1/2 cup margarine (cause I'm cheap like that) and I thought they were delish. The next time, I used only margarine and I could definitely tell they weren't as good. I've never made it with all butter, but I'm sure if you're a butter lover, that would probably make them divine. But using half butter and half margarine is a great alternative. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches

Recipe and picture taken from Six Sisters' Stuff.

This was a dinner that all my boys loved, especially Cole, which is saying something since he's the pickiest. It's also very versatile, but I'll give you those tips at the end.

Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite Caesar dressing
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I did use the actual shredded kind, rather than the dried crumbly kind, but then I just put the rest of the cheese in my freezer for next time)
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (if you don't have fresh use around 2 teaspoons of dried parsley)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
12 slider buns or 4-6 regular sized hamburger buns

1. Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. I also seasoned the chicken with a little bit of minced onion and garlic powder.

2. Remove chicken from cooker using a slotted spoon and drain the water from the slow cooker. Place chicken on a cutting board and pull chicken into shreds, discarding any fat.

3. Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper over the top. I really make sure that I discard any fat pieces so by the time I was done I only used about 1/2 cup of dressing but you make need more if you have more chicken. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot.

4. Spoon 1/4 cup mixture onto each slider bun if you are making sliders or more for regular sized buns. Top with extra shredded Parmesan cheese and lettuce to serve (we also added a little bit of dressing on on the buns).

MY TIPS- I only used maybe 1/4 cup dressing because I was very worried about the taste being too strong for my boys. So it did seem somewhat dry but I just spread some extra dressing on my own bun. Obviously, just remember it's much easier to add to it than take away. ;)

The day later I had some for lunch. I toasted a bun, spread dressing on it, put some lettuce and then the chicken and didn't put on the top bun (trying to eat just a little less carbs when I can stand it :). And I thought that was SO much yummier! I think it was mostly the toasted bun that did it. Delish!

As I was eating it for lunch, I realized this could totally be wrapped up in a lettuce leaf and be so yummy and actually healthy. I'll definitely be trying that next time.

Add some fresh fruit and baked chips as sides and you have an incredibly easy and healthy meal!

This is definitely one I'm adding to my normal list of dinners. :)

Chocolate Chip Scones

Picture and recipe taken from Creations By Kara.

I love making breakfasts for my boys and when I saw this I knew I had to try it. It's a very easy breakfast to put together and is very delicious. Just make sure to add in some fresh fruit (to your breakfast, not the scones!), so it's not all sugar. ;)

I did not include any toffee because I didn't have any and actually don't really care for the toffee flavor, but I'm sure if you like it, that will only make them tons better.

Toffee Chocolate Chip Scones
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
5 Tbsp butter- frozen or very cold
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
1/2 cup Heath toffee bits
1 cup cream (don't skimp or dough is dry)
Sugar for tops
Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Grate the butter in. (You want it very cold!) Stir in the chocolate chips and toffee bits. Add the cream and stir gently. Knead a few times till dough comes together. It will be crumbly at first, but it will come together. Pat into a 1" thick circle. Cut in wedges and place on a cookie sheet about 1" apart. Brush tops with cream or milk. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400° for about 15-18 minutes or till light golden brown.

TIPS - I did learn that there is a substitute for cream. Use 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup melted butter/margarine. The "recipe" said you should not use skim or 1% milk, but some of the reviews said it turned out okay. So now I'm sure you all have these ingredients on hand and can easily whip these up.

Also grating frozen butter is SUPER easy and cool. So much easier than cutting it with a pastry cutter like other recipes call for.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Picture and recipe from Creations By Kara.

I made these the other day when we were having presidency meeting at my house so I wouldn't be tempted to eat them all alone. :) And they were super yummy!! And they were all very impressed as they look pretty fancy. They are very rich though, so definitely only make them when you have lots of people to share with.


Magic Middle Cookies
Peanut butter filling:
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Dough:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
Sugar for rolling
For filling, stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar till smooth. Cover and chill while you prepare the dough. Beat sugars, butter, and peanut butter till creamy. Beat in vanilla and eggs till well combined. Stir together dry ingredients and add. Stir till well mixed. Roll dough into 24-26 balls. Remove filling from fridge and roll into balls.
To make cookies, take a ball of cookie dough and flatten it out in your palm. Place a ball of filling in the middle. Wrap the dough around the PB filling and pinch together to seal. Roll the ball in your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Roll the cookie dough balls in sugar and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Flatten to about 1/2" thick using the bottom of a glass. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

MY TIP- scoop out all the cookie dough into balls so you'll know how many cookies you'll be making. Then roll the peanut butter mixture into a long snake and cut it into the correct amount to match up with the cookies. Otherwise you'll be like me and have some in the beginning with very little filling cause you have no idea how much to put in and then some at the end with TONS.

These are really quite easy for how impressive they look. Enjoy!!