Yummy Nutter Butter Banana Pudding

So tomorrow we are having a Bridal Shower for one of our employees.  All of the girls signed up to bring something for our luncheon and then we are also bringing desserts for the whole company to eat during their lunch hour.  I volunteered to make the Nutter Butter Banana Pudding, a recipe I found in a Southern Living Magazine while getting my hair done one Saturday.  Here is the recipe and pictures to help you out!

3 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

5 medium ripe bananas

1 pound package of nutter butters

2 small packages vanilla pudding

8 ounce container Cool Whip

Mix the pudding, milk and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir in the entire container of Cool Whip.  If you would like to leave a couple of spoonfuls out for garnishing the top, its ok!  Let that stand in a bowl of ice or I just put it in the fridge while I get the rest ready for layering.

Now take the Nutter Butters and break each one into 3 pieces...set aside.

Take the 5 bananas and slice them into 1/4 inch size pieces.

Take pudding off ice or out of fridge, and spoon half of the pudding mixture into the bottom of a 3 quart dish.  Layer in the bananas and Nutter Butter pieces.  I usually hold a few pieces of each out for garnish on top.  Now, spoon rest of pudding on top of banana and cookie pieces, garnish as you want.  Chill for 2-24 hours.

Here is my final production:

I hope you all enjoy!!  I know I will!

Freezer cooking, small scale...

So, I keep reading these blogs about freezer cooking, and I am really trying to implement it into my weekends, at least for the week.  I will eventually work my way up to two weeks, but since my freezer is small, it may take awhile before I can do a whole months worth!  Plus I just don't have that much glassware!!  Today I have cooked up some Chicken Spaghetti and yesterday I cooked up Chicken Enchiladas... I also have Baked Ziti on my list. 

This is the Chicken Spaghetti... its going into the freezer.  I'll update later and let you know how good it is.

These are the Chicken Enchiladas that are in the freezer... Before I put them into the over, I will cover them with the Picante Sauce mixture and some graded cheese.  These are good and a recipe that I found in the coupon section of the Sunday paper:

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas:
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
2 tsp chili powder
2 cups chopped chicken
1/2 cup Monterey Jack Cheese shredded
6 ( i used 9) 6" flour tortillas, warmed
1 small onion and tomato chopped for garnish

Stir together soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in medium bowl. Stir 1 cup of picante mixture, chicken and cheese in large bowl.  Divide chicken mixture among tortillas, roll and place seam side down in a baking dish.  Pour remaining picante sauce mixture over filled tortillas.  cover and bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.


Now, for dinner tonight...being Mother's Day, I've decided that my mom and I deserve some Ribeyes... So I have been marinating these since this morning, and I will post the before and after :)

I will be making a layered salad too...

And the After:

Our layered salad.... Lettuce, hard boiled eggs, tomato, peas, bacon, avocado and shredded cheese.

This was Jeremy's steak... it was SO good~ 

So, a side note! Jeremy got me The Taste of Home Cookbook: Cooks Who Care Edition for Mother's Day!! It also came with a whole year subscription to Taste of Home Magazine!  I'm so excited! I plan on going through it and marking the recipes I want to try...and hopefully posting them here!

Happy Cooking everyone!! And Happy Mother's Day!

Chicken and Broccoli Bake

Ok, so tonight was Chicken and Broccoli bake.  I know, we do eat a lot of chicken, but its so inexpensive and versatile and healthy!  We are always looking for meals that can possibly be prepared ahead of time and frozen or put in the frig.  I work 8 hours a day and commute an hour each way to work, so when I get home, I don't want to spend 2 hours preparing dinner.  Brennan wouldn't let me and I would go crazy with him whining for food at my feet.  Jeremy would be in the kitchen telling me his "belly is about to eat through his backside"...

Anyway, this is the second time we have made this and it's great!  Has a little of everything and the baby likes it. 


What you will need:

1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen broccoli florets, thawed, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese cut into cubes

Make it: 
heat oven to 400 degrees

Prepare stuffing mix as directed on box, set aside.
Combine remaining ingredients.  Spoon into 13x9 inch baking dish. Top with stuffing.
Bake 40 minutes or until chicken is done.

Enjoy!!

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

So, as I am navigating the new blogs and websites that interest me, I am finding a lot of new recipes to try and money saving ideas that I would LOVE to put into use here at home! 

I decided to cook this casserole last night that I found online on the website Recipe Lion.   It was a hit!  Now, I think next time I may add a little more salt and pepper to taste, but other than that... it was good!  You can even make it ahead and freeze or put in the frig the night before.  Best of all, there aren't a lot of ingredients that you need to go hunting for.  It says it serves 4, and it does...4 rather large portions and second helpings, with enough left over for the baby to have for dinner tonight. 

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces macaroni, uncooked
• 1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 4 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped or shredded
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups milk

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a 13 X 9 baking dish.  You can cover it and put into refrigerator for future cooking.  Make sure you take out one hour before baking.  I put mine straight into the oven which was preheated to 350 degrees.
2. Bake 1 hour.  Do not add water, the soup is enough to cook macaroni.

Hope everyone enjoys! Make sure you let me know what you think!

Learning from Big Brother

It is funny the things that our children pick up from each other.  In February, I broke down and bought a couple of baby gates.  One for the entrance to the hallway, the other for Jeremy's room since it is right off the living room.  Well, before those gates were purchased, Jeremy was constantly bringing Brennan out of his room... but it was all prefaced with "Get Ouuut" and Jeremy pointing towards the door.  So, Brennan has now picked up on this and likes to tell his Bubba to "get out"...He waves his arm around like he was pointing towards the door, and mumbles something that sounds a little like "get out".  In fact, I think Brennan has seen me having "discussions" with Jeremy so much that he gave Jeremy his own talking too last night as Jeremy was eating.  Brennan had something to get off of his chest I assume, as neither of us understood a word or mumble he was saying.  But he had a very stern look on his face and was wavin his arm around and just makin sure that Jeremy was listening to all he had to say!  It was very hard to hold a straight face!! Anyway, here is a link to some video I posted on facebook of Brennan reinacting the event...sort of.  Brennan "get out" towards the end...

So, I am headed to CA this Thursday.  Going to Stagecoach Music Festival Saturday and Sunday!  I'm so excited... need a mini-vaca from my house.  Have been looking for a laptop bag to take my computer in, but can't seem to find one that doesn't cost more than $30! I live on a budget man! LOL
I just remembered that the small little book from Stephenie Meyers came out...and I should buy it to read on the plane...

Ultimate Blog Party 2010... Wow!

So, as I was cruzing around the internet on my lunch hour at work today, clicking through some of the blogs I follow, I came across a link to this UBP10.  There are so many family friendly blogs to look at, I think it will take almost a week just to go through them!! Plus if you link in through your own blog, plus leave comments on other blogs, you can win prizes!  How awesome is that!  I really need to spruce up the place around here on my blog and make it look nice for company... we may get some! 

Anyway, I am really excited to read the other blogs listed in the links, people always have interesting thins to say!  Please go check them out!

Oh, and I am supposed to post the prizes I want to win... so, here we go!
1. $200 Apple Gift certificate from CmomGo  who is releasing a new iPhone app soon!  I need an iPhone so that I can get the app! :)
2. The 12" x 24" custom, hand painted gallery style canvas for baby nursery or kids room by October Belle Designs LLC  here are some Samples!
3. The Bailey curriculum for 18-36 month old babies from The Itty-Bitty Bookworm as my baby is 13 months old and 18 months is right around the corner!

And, if my top three are already gone, any gift card to Target, Amazon, Barnes n Noble, Toys R Us, Walmart... I can spend money anywhere! LOL

HAPPY EASTER!!

Ahh... Easter Sunday.  I really love Easter... the colorful eggs, the candy assortment, the bunnies and of course the fun of hiding all of the above!  I love hiding the eggs and watching everyone try and find my clever hiding places.  I think my favorite spot this year was on the light that hangs over my kitchen island.  It has a little flat spot on top about 6 inches from where it connects to the ceiling.  My step dad Don, who is 6'2" tall, couldn't find this egg...and it was the bright pink one!! Jeremy made this "thing" in Art class, I think it looks like a platapoose... he has no idea what it is, anyway, I was able to balance an egg on the spot between its head and neck.  Of course Brennan doesn't quite understand finding the eggs and putting them into the carton, he felt the need to throw one on the tile floor. 

Score: Brennan-1  Eggs-19.

So whatever you are celebrating today, Happy Easter or Happy Reserection Day, may it be a beautiful day spent with family and friends!

My awesome hiding place...in plain sight!

Jeremy's creation in Art class became an interesting spot...