Sweet Baby Ray's Pulled pork

2 lbs - Pulled Pork
3 c. - Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce*
1 each - Onions Julienne
2 each - Red Peppers Julienne
1 T. - Cumin

Place pork in a large crock pot. Add peppers, onions and cumin.

Then add sweet baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce

Heat at 160 degrees. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour minimum.

Keep at 140 degrees until served.

* You can probably use whatever sauce you want. I got this recipe off the packaging that comes with it at Costco, so I thought it best to give them credit!

Unbeatable Banana Bread

Let's not say I never post anything on here!

Unbeatable Banana Bread

Those neglected bananas may be too brown to peel and eat, but they're soft and sweet and make banana bread moist. Toss in chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, or mini chocolate chips for a wholesome lunch box treat or after-school snack.

Best Bananas for Bread

As bananas ripen, their starches turn to sugar and the pulp softens. To ripen bananas more quickly, enclose them in a brown paper bag with an apple, which releases a natural gas (ethylene) that hastens the process. (Halt ripening by storing them in the fridge; the skin will brown but the fruit inside won't change.)

What makes a banana bread light?

For a light, quick bread, handle the batter gently, mixing it just enough to incorporate wet and dry ingredients. Overmixing strengthens the gluten, the protein in flour that gives yeast bread its chewy texture -- which you don't want in a quick bread. Finishing up with a wooden spoon helps ensure that the batter isn't overmixed.

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium-large very ripe bananas (1 cup mashed)
1/2 cup sour cream

Step 1 Heat the oven to 325°. Line a 5- by 9-inch loaf pan, preferably one with a light interior, with enough waxed paper to drape over the long sides. This will make the baked bread a cinch to remove and the pan easy to clean. Set the pan aside.

Step 2 Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, add the vanilla extract and blend briefly. Set both bowls aside.

Step 3 Peel the bananas and place them in a separate bowl. Mash them with a fork or a potato masher and measure out 1 cup. Add the sour cream and stir to blend. Set the bowl aside.

Step 4 Using a wooden spoon, blend a third of the dry mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients in this order, stirring well after each addition: half of the banana mixture, half of the remaining dry mixture, the rest of the banana mixture, the rest of the dry mixture. Next, add mix-ins if desired (see below).

Step 5 Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Bake on the center oven rack until a tester inserted deep into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 70 to 75 minutes.

Step 6 Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool it in the pan for about 20 minutes. Using the waxed paper, lift the bread from the pan and place it on the rack. Pull down the sides of the paper and allow the bread to cool thoroughly before slicing. Makes 10 or more servings.

Step 7 For custom flavors that are sure to please everyone in your clan, try these fun variations.Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread: Follow steps 1 through 4, then stir 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips and 1/3 cup chopped walnuts into the batter.Cranberry Banana Bread: Follow steps 1 through 4, then stir 1 cup dried cranberries into the batter.

Here's the link to the site. http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50117

It's from a Family Fun Magazine I was looking at when I visited the dentist. A very good visit!

Cheese Manicotti

Cheese Manicotti (serves 7-8, if you are a small eater, Evan and I eat half a recipe for one meal with a little leftover Ü)
14-16 Uncooked Manicotti Shells
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (1 c.)
15 oz ricotta cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
dash of onion powder
32 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce (I use a 26 oz. can)

Mix all cheeses and spices and egg together. Pour a small amount of sauce in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Fill uncooked shells with cheese mixture. (I find that a fork works really well). Line up filled shells on top of sauce and pour remaining sauce down the middle of the row. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Take out of the oven, leave foil on, and let steam for 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Variation: thaw some frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out excess water, add to cheese mixture.
Hint: ricotta is expensive but it keeps for quite a while unopened in the fridge (look at dates on carton), so I only buy it on sale, then you can keep it for a little while if you'd like and make it cost less.
Hint #2: This Recipe also freezes well. I frequently make a whole batch and divide it into two pans (7 shells in each) then I cover them in foil and put one in the freezer for later. When you bake it later either take it out of the freezer the day before or bake it a little longer.

Burrito Sauce (from Better Homes and Gardens)

In a medium saucepan melt 2 tbsp butter. Stir in 1 tbsp all purpose flour. Gradually stir in 1 cup chicken broth. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir 2 tbsp all purpose flour into 8-ounces of dairy sour cream. Stir sour cream mixture and 2 tablespoons canned chopped green chili peppers into sauce. (I use whole can unless the burrito recipe calls for some, or I use taco time green sauce (they give out lots of packets and we used to eat there a lot)). Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.
Enjoy over any burrito.

Chicken A La King

This is a super high fat recipe. If I made it again I think I'd maybe use more milk and flour to thicken it and cut the butter by at least half. This is the original recipe.

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup chopped celery
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms or 1/4 lb. fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped pimento, if desired
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
Cooked rice
slivered almonds, for garnish
Melt butter or margarine in a large skillet. Add celery and mushrooms. Saute until tender. Blend in flour and let simmer 1 minute. Slowly add chicken broth. Cook about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly until thick. add chicken, milk , pimento, and parsley flakes. Simmer 10 minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice or baked puff pastry shells. Garnish with almonds. Makes 6 servings. ( I think I doubled it for the 8 of us).

Hawaiian Haystacks

2 (10 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
4 cups cooked rice
chow mein noodles
3 medium tomatoes sliced (I dice them)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 (20 oz. ) can pineapple chunks (I like the tidbits)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup coconut
1 (2 oz. ) jar pimento drained and diced, if desired (I don't even know what these are)
Combine soup and chicken broth in a medium saucepan to make gravy. Stir to blend. Add chicken or turkey. Simmer about 8-10 minutes, until heated through. Layer all ingredients to preference. (This says it makes 8 servings from this recipe. I would say it probably really makes four. When I make it for the 8 of us I two and a half times the gravy and rice to make sure there is enough.)

Pizza Dough (From Becki Underwood), Calzones, Breadsticks

1 cup water
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups flour (plus 1- 1 1/2 cups more until thick and manageable)

Mix and knead. (The best dough was probably 2/3 to 3/4 whole wheat flour with the last bit white flour. When I make it I use my mixer and just add enough flour for the dough to clean the other dough off the sides. I think it tastes kind of metallic and it's flat when I have used 100% Whole Wheat flour. Becki uses all white.) Let raise. Punch down and spread for pizza. Grease hands with oil, shortening, or pan spray to make easier to handle. Bake at 425 degrees without toppings until surface is crisp. (it makes it crispier crust if you use a hot pan to spread the dough on, we use one with holes in the bottom that cost 5$ at Shopko.) Top and bake until done.
I also used this same recipe for bread sticks. I brushed olive oil soaked with garlic, pepper, salt, basil, and parsley on them before I baked them. They don't work very well if you don't have time to let them raise. Ü

Calzones

Make dough above.
For filling mix in big bowl add in whatever proportions seem right:
Chopped fresh spinach
diced Zucchini
sprinkle of dried basil
sprinkle of black pepper
sprinkle of salt
shredded mozzarella cheese
shredded Parmesan cheese
Take portions of dough and spread out for size of calzone you want (the above recipe is only for one pizza so it probably makes about 8 small calzones or six slightly larger ones). Layer what ever kind of meat on bottom of circle (pepperoni, Canadian bacon, ham, Italian sausage). Put a hand full of filling mixture on top and then fold dough over and seal. I didn't have to use any water or anything I just pinched it together. Put on greased sheet and bake at 425 for about 15 minutes until browned.