Peanut Butter and Almond Granola Bars

Here's another batch of granola bars I came up with. I used almond extract instead of vanilla and added chopped almonds. I also did more cereal and left out the oats, and I switched the brown sugar for a no calorie sweetener. They were tasty but didn't hold together as well and I was missing the chocolate factor.

Father's Day Requests

For Father's Day I wanted to make something delicious for Travis. This was his request...

Cinnamon raisin bread in the afternoon...

Then I used some of the same dough to make hoagies for Philly cheese steak sandwiches for dinner...And those yummy, soft, chewy cherry macaroon cookies for dessert!

M&M Granola Bars

Remember those granola bars I made a while back? I did them again using the basic recipe and just added M&Ms. Super yummy! They were gone fast.

Monkey Banana Cake

My little boy turned two this weekend! And the same day also happens to be two of his cousin's birthdays too. So, I figured we could have a funky monkey party! And monkeys eat bananas so...I went with banana cake! I used Travis' grandma's recipe and added dried bananas on the side for extra effect. And more banana chips and chocolate covered banana chips were on the side.

Grandma Doreen's Banana Cake
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 C shortening
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C mashed bananas
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 C buttermilk
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Grease and flour pans (I used two 9 inch rounds for my layered cake). Mix dry ingredients. Add shortening and bananas. Beat on low speed. Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Bake at 350 for 3o minutes.

Frosting
6 T soft butter
4 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 egg (optional-I left it out)
1 1/2 ts vanilla
milk to desired consistency

Beat all together, slowly add milk until you get the consistency that you want.

Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips

I made these for a treat last Sunday when Travis' family came for dinner. I really enjoyed them! I got the recipe from a Baker's Chocolate book, but the original called for chocolate chips and walnuts. I felt like switching in the peanut butter chips and it definitely worked well! I loved this recipe too because you do it all in one bowl and makes the clean up easy!
Chocolate Cookies with Peanut butter Chips
1/2 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 C flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 bag peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350. Microwave chocolate chips for 2 minutes, stirring after 1. Stir until all is melted. Add brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla and stir til well mixed. Add flour and baking powder, mix well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-13 minutes until puffy.

Fudge Nut Pie

Here it is, the yummiest pie of all! I made the family favorite, fudge nut pie, for some friends who came over for dinner on Saturday night. It was a hit! It's rich, thick, nutty, fudginess won their hearts! I know the original recipe calls for meringue, but I don't care for it. And some people serve it with whipped cream, but I just don't think it needs anything else except maybe a tall glass of cold milk.

Note: This recipe makes one really big heaping pie. I cut the recipe in half and it fit well into my pie crust.

Fudge Nut Pie
1 baked 10" pie shell
2 2/3 C sugar
1/2 C flour
1/2 C cocoa
2 cans evaporated milk
6 egg yolks, slightly beaten
4 T butter
3 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 C chopped walnuts

Sift together sugar, flour and cocoa; gradually stir in milk. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Reduce heat; cook and stir 4 minutes. Add a small amount to the egg yolks, then return it all to the pan. Cook and stir another 1-3 minutes until very thick. Remove from heat; stir in butter, vanilla, and nuts. Cool 5 minutes and turn into pie shell. Cover with meringue and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Monte Cristo

So I don't know if many people are familiar with a Monte Cristo sandwich, but my impression of them comes from Disneyland, where it is a deep fried ham and Swiss sandwich topped with powdered sugar and served with jam. I've been craving one terribly and I have no idea where else to find one.

I saw a recipe in a magazine for one, but it wasn't quite what I consider a Monte Cristo. It called for dijon mustard and had no powdered sugar or jam (so what would be the point?!). But it did have instructions for dipping it in a milk and egg mixture and frying it in oil, much like a French toast.

So we did these for dinner one night last week and really enjoyed it! It wasn't quite the deep fried version, but it certainly satisfied my craving!

Cinnamon and Raisin Swirl Bread

A few days ago we almost bought some cinnamon raisin bread, but decided it was kind of pricey. So I figured, why not try to make some? I know there are lots of recipes out there, but I turned to my good old favorite bread recipe that I make all the time. And when it was time to shape it, I rolled it out and filled it with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins. I topped it with a little sugar and cinnamon too. It turned out really yummy!