Easy 2 Loaves Banana Bread

When I make quick breads I like to double the recipe and make two loaves. One for now and one to freeze and have later. Lots of times I unfreeze banana bread to put in my kids lunches. Banana bread smeared with peanut butter is a favorite lunch around here. So this recipe is for two loaves and it's a great, easy, traditional, banana bread. It's moist and yummy and bakes perfectly every time without the wet part in the middle that some banana breads tend to have.

Easy 2 Loaves Banana Bread

1 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
5 tablespoons milk (that's 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 350 and spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray (I use non-stick loaf pans as well for this recipe to ensure the loaves will release easily.)

In the bowl of a mixer combine oil and sugar and beat until combines. Add mashed bananas, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add this dry mixture to the wet mixture in the mixer and beat until completely combined, but don't over mix. Pour mixture evenly into the 2 prepared loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean. Remove from pans and let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy one loaf now and, if desired, wrap up the other in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze.

Crock Pot Lasagna Soup

This is such a great soup - lasagna in soup form and it's delicious! A huge bonus is that it takes such little effort. It really does taste like lasagna. I served it with homemade Italian bread and it was a hit. I think everyone had seconds. The melty cheese on top is the best! I combined a couple of recipes I found on Pinterest to create this recipe and it turned out great. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Crock Pot Lasagna Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
28 oz can petite diced tomatoes (I used Hunts)
6 oz can tomato paste (I used Hunts)
1 cup spicy V8 juice
2 cups uncooked shell pasta
salt and pepper to taste
shredded mozzarella, for topping

Brown ground beef with onion. Pour ground beef and onions into a slow cooker. Add beef broth, garlic, parsley, basil, tomatoes, tomato paste, and V8 juice. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Add uncooked shell pasta and cook on low for an additional 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with shredded mozzarella on individual servings.

My Favorite Gooey Rice Krispie Treats

This is my favorite version of Rice Krispie treats. I love them a bit on the gooey side and that's what these are. You can make them with regular Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies and both are delicious. My kids like the chocolate ones better and I like regular old Rice Krispie ones the best. Either way they are so good. So so good. I want one right now!

My Favorite Gooey Rice Krispie Treats

16 oz bag large marshmallows
12 oz box Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies (about 10 cups)
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

Place marshmallow in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir the mixture well until combined and smooth. Pour in cereal and stir well until cereal is completely coated. Spread evenly in a greased 9x13 pan and pat down with greased hands. Allow to cool and then cut into squares.

Easy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

I would have to say that mashed potatoes has got to be one of my favorite foods and it's been a favorite, like most people, since I was a little kid. Oh the sweet ambrosia that is creamy mashed potatoes. Growing up my Mom always made real mashed potatoes. I had no idea what instant potatoes were until I was served them, ice cream scooper style, in my elementary school cafeteria. Oh my Mom loathes instant mashed potatoes and when I got married I found out my husband also loathes instant mashed potatoes. He doesn't even like the Kentucky Fried Chicken version, which I have cravings for every now and then. The only reason I keep instant potato flakes around is to make potato rolls. Any who, making real mashed potatoes can be time consuming, so here's an alternative, crock pot mashed potatoes! Genius. The only problem is that they aren't quite so fluffy as the time consuming, boiled, then mashed potatoes. If you are ok with that this is the recipe for you. They cook all day and then when you are ready to eat, it only takes a matter of minutes to mash them up and serve them. They are certainly better than instant potatoes.:) I served these potatoes with the crock pot roast and gravy that I posted earlier this week. These potatoes were awesome with that gravy.

Easy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs red or yukon gold potatoes, chopped (unpeeled)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 - 1 1/2 cups cream, half and half, or milk, warmed

Place chopped potatoes into slow cooker, add chicken broth, and butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 - 7 hours or until potatoes are tender.

Mash potatoes with a potato masher right in the slow cooker. Add some of the warmed cream (or half and half or milk) and beat with a hand held electric mixer. Add more cream until you get the desired creamy texture. Serve right away or cover and keep warm on the warm setting until serving time (up to 2 hours).

Souper Easy Crock Pot Roast and Gravy

This year we have church from 1:00pm - 4:00pm. It really feels late when we get home from church, especially on fast Sundays (when we abstain from eating or drinking until dinnertime). So almost every Sunday I am making slow cooker meals, so that when we get home dinner is ready. Yay. I made this super easy crock pot roast recently because I just didn't feel like chopping up a lot of veggies and this recipe also makes it's own gravy, another time saver. It's probably going to be my go-to roast recipe this year. I served it with slow-cooker mashed potatoes, recipe coming later this week, the gravy made from the juices and soups in the recipe, and steamed, buttered peas. It was a great, easy, comfort food meal.

Souper Easy Crock Pot Roast and Gravy

3-4 lb pot roast
Montreal steak seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 packet dry onion soup mix

Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick spray. Season both sides of pot roast with Montreal steak seasoning. Place pot roast in crock pot. In a bowl combine soups, water, and onion soup mix. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

When you are ready to serve remove roast and pull apart into big serving size chunks. Cover with foil to keep hot. Strain juices from crock pot into a pot and skim off some of the fat (or you can use a gravy fat separator), and bring to a boil. Serve this gravy over the roast and potatoes.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

This is the yummiest way to cook broccoli. It totally changes the flavor and texture and it's delicious. I really do love roasting veggies and the bonus is that it's so easy. You can leave out the Parmesan or sprinkle with a little fresh lemon juice as soon as it comes out of the oven. I served this along side the glazed pork chops I posted earlier this week and it was so good.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

4-5 cups fresh broccoli florets (3 heads of broccoli with stems trimmed)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pepper
1-2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 425. Place broccoli on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until stems are slightly browned and crisp looking. Remove broccoli and immediately sprinkle with Parmesan.

Apricot-Ginger Glazed Pork Chops

My husband really loves pork chops, but I've found that pork chops tend to be dry, at least the way I've been cooking them. This is a MUCH better way to cook pork chops - pan frying with a sauce. They stay moist and tender. I don't know if I'll ever bake pork chops again. I'll keep frying them. This recipe is from Our Best Bites cookbook and I changed it slightly to add more servings to the recipe and tone down the ginger a little. My family loved this and it ended up having a very Asian flavor which was very tasty. I served it with Parmesan roasted broccoli - recipe coming later this week.

Apricot-Ginger Glazed Pork Chops

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
7 boneless loin pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick
4 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/2 cup pineapple jam

Combine salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Sprinkle one side of the pork chops with some of the spice mixture. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add pork chops (spice side down). Sprinkle the other side of the pork chops with spice mixture. Cook the pork for 3 minutes on each side. Remove pork chops from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium and add butter to the skillet. When melted add garlic and ginger and saute for 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits form the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 1 minute. Whisk in the jams. Bring to a simmer and return pork chops to the pan. Cook for an additional 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve pork and sauce over rice.