Maple Bacon Pancakes

My brother was home from college this weekend and I wanted to make him a yummy home-cooked meal. It was lunch time so I asked him if he had any requests. He couldn't think of anything, so I asked if he wanted bacon and eggs...no. Waffles....no. Pancakes...maybe. Pancakes with banana...no. Pancakes with bacon...YES!

Maple Bacon Pancakes

Pancake mix of your choice (or from scratch if you so choose....I usually use Fiber One Pancake mix, but I used Aunt Jemima this time and I followed the recipe on the box for 12-14 pancakes)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 pound cooked bacon crumbled

1. Preheat griddle or pan over medium high heat.
2.Mix ingredients to make pancake mix according to directions on package.
3. Stir in maple syrup and crumbled bacon until well combined.
4. Spray griddle or pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour pancake mix into pan to make pancakes to desired size. Cook until bubbles form on surface and pop and edges look dry, then flip and cook until cooked through.

Yum.

Cookies and Cream Frosting

If you don't have any reason to make cake....FIND ONE. This frosting is SO good, that you will want to make it right now to try it. We were having a farewell party for one of our nursing staff and I came across a recipe for oreo cupcakes . When I heard this nurse liked chocolate cake, I knew this would be the perfect time to try it! Now, it is in the middle of the work week, so I had to used a box cake mix. I used Duncan Hines dark chocolate....YUM!!! I am stocking up next time it is on sale. It is SO moist. I got so many compliments...wish I could say it was my own cake recipe.

Cookies and Cream Frosting

2 cups whipping cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 package of chocolate sandwhich cookies (approx 12 cookies) crushed

1. In a large bowl, pour whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip with mixer fitted with whisk attachment on medium high until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Viola- you have made homemade whipped cream. Now to make it cookies and cream flavored...
2. Fold crushed cookies into whipped cream. Carefully fold in the cookies so as not to mash the air out of the cream (or you will end up with milk again).
3. Apply to top of your favorite cake recipe. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cream Pies

I was just searching the web for new and interesting recipes when I came across this yummy looking recipe for oatmeal cream pies. I LOVE the Little Debbie pies, so I decided to try to make these. I didn't love the filling and am on the prowl for a new recipe for the filling, but the cookies were SO good! I had to bring them to work to avoid eating the WHOLE plate!

Oatmeal Cream Pies
From The Amish Cooks Baking Book courtesy of the nest.com

Cookies:
1 and 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp boiling water

Filling:
1 egg white
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup shortening, softened

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Grease baking sheet and set aside.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, and 2 eggs. Add in the salt, flour, and baking powder and beat until well incorporated, scraping sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the oats and cinnamon and mix until combined.
3. In a small bowl, put baking soda and boiling water together. Add to batter and mix to combine.
4. Drop dough by the Tablespoon onto greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 425F until light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
6. Cream the egg white, vanilla extract, milk, and 1 cup powdered sugar. Add in the shortening and remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
7. When the cookies have cooled, match up with similar sized cookies (using a cookie scoop makes most the same size). Spread the filling on one cookie bottom and put other cookie together to make a sandwich.

YUM! So addicting, but I will work on the filling some.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

So last night I wanted to make a homemade gyro. I needed some type of side dish recipe to go along with it. I knew I wanted to use up some rice I have and I also had 2 zucchinis that needed to be used up. Then I remembered watching 10 Dollar Dinners on the Food Network where she made stuffed veggies (peppers, zucchini and tomatoes). They were super easy and so good!

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

3/4 cup cooked rice (use whatever kind you like)
1 large zucchini cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup baby portabello mushrooms
2 small garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Scoop the seeds out of the zucchini using a spoon. Make a boat in the center of the zucchini to fit the filling. Place the meat and seeds into a food processor. Place the zucchini on baking pan.
3. Put mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper into food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
4. Mix rice and chopped veggies in a bowl until well combined.
5. Fill zucchini boats with filling. Bake at 400F until filling is heated through and zucchini is at desired texture.

Tzatziki Sauce

Since I am now living at my mom's house and have other people besides my hubby and myself, I can make some recipes I have been wanting to try. As you may remember from previous posts, my hubby is a super picky eater. Normally I will make something he likes and add a few twists to make it interesting for me. Now with my brothers and parents here, I can make a more elaborate meal and have Scott help whip up something for him. So tonight I wanted to tackle homemade Gyros. I have made this in the past and it was so yummy. Tonight though, it didn't come out so good, so I am going to only blog about the yummiest parts.....the Tzatziki sauce and in the next post, stuff zucchini.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 6oz container plain greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
2-3 small garlic cloves finely chopped
1-2 tsps red wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt to taste

1. Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine drained cucumber, garlic, red wine vinegar, oil, oregano, greek yogurt and salt. Mix well to combine.

So easy and so tasty! Zucchini boat recipe tomorrow!

Caramelized Banana Upside Down Bread

During our most recent cruise aboard the Carnival Legend, we had a pretty busy day at one of our stops. We hadn't eaten lunch and by the time we got back on the ship, it was getting near dinner time. We had to pass the buffet to get back to our room, so I decided to pick up a quick treat to get me through until dinner. When I saw this treat, I knew it had to be mine....there was what looked like banana bread (yummy enough in itself) topped with caramelized bananas. OMG! It was one of the top 5 most yummiest things I ate during that cruise....and I ate a lot, so it is really saying something! I had to have another piece, so after dinner I went back up to the buffet, but alas, it must have been a lunch treat, and there wasn't any to be had for dessert :(. I have been dreaming of this treat since we got off the cruise. We had friends over and my brothers were both in town, so I decided to try to recreate it. I found a few recipes and decided to try the following Rachel Ray recipe. I loved the caramelized banana topping, but was not 100% crazy about the banana bread...I think she makes a banana cake, and it was just too soft for me. I will definitley try again and repost, but if you want a banana cake try this one out!

Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake (bread recipe to follow when I have more people to experiment on/feed)

4 bananas (yellow spotty ones)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp butter
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used applesauce instead)

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
2. Trim both ends off of 3 bananas and place ends in a separate bowl. Slice banana lengthwise into 3-4 long strips.
3. In a heavy skillet, put 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 Tbsp water over medium- medium-high heat. DO NOT STIR. Allow to come to a boil. Cook until water is evaporated and mixture comes to an amber color. Remove from the heat and add in butter. After butter has melted, add bananas cut side down into caramel mixture. Put over low heat for 1 minute. Transfer the bananas to the prepared loaf pan. Arrange cut side down trying to completely cover bottom of pan. Drizzle caramel over bananas.
4. In a medium bowl, mash remaining banana and trimmed edges. Add in 1/2 cup and mix well. Beat in the whole egg, egg white, and vanilla.
5. Mix together dry ingredients -flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt-in separate bowl (I never do this). Add to wet ingredients and add oil/applesauce. Stir until well combined. Pour batter over bananas and caramel in loaf pan.
6. Bake at 325F 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes, then invert over a platter.

YUM!!!

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Homemade Salsa

I first had fish tacos at Hooters and they were so yummy. Since having them, I was inspired to try them at home. I have made them a few times, but tonight they came out so good.

Mahi Mahi Tacos

1 lb mahi mahi
1 tsp season all (we use lowry's)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Tortillas
Toppings of your choice (I used cheese, shredded cabbage- or use coleslaw mix with no sauce- sour cream, and the homemade salsa)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Combine all spices with lime juice (will be like a paste) and rub on mahi mahi. Place on baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes or until fish flakes with fork.
3. Put cooked mahi mahi along with toppings in tortilla and enjoy!

Homemade salsa
1 medium-large tomato
1 small piece jalapeno (I cut a small piece off the jalapeno and freeze the rest)
1/4 small onion
1 garlic clove
Small bunch of cilantro
Salt to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in blender and pulse until chopped to desired consistency.