Monkey Bars

I found this recipe on a blog a few years ago, but I can't remember which one. This is kind of like banana bread but baked in a cake pan. Annabelle calls them brownies, except they're much better for you than brownies! All the kids love them, it makes a big pan so I just store the rest in the fridge. They're good warm or cold.

1 2/3 cups mashed banans (about 5, when my bananas are over ripe I stick them in the freezer and pull them out when I need them)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup oil (I always use applesauce)
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (I made them with oat flour this last time which was much better. You can grind up your oats in a blender for oat flour if you don't have a grinder.)
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2 tablespoons ground flax

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan. Whisk all ingredients except flour and chocolate chips. Gradually add in flour just until blended, and then mix in half the chocolate chips. Pour into the pan and then sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top. Bake 15-20 min or until done.

Herb Rolls

2 packages active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups warm water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey or molasses
1 T salt
2 tsp dill weed
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp basil
1 tsp onion powder
1 egg, beaten
4 cups whole wheat flour
4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add the oil, honey, salt, seasonings, egg, whole wheat flour and remaining water. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. (I use instant yeast-so I add that to a cup of flour, then mix the other ingredients then add the yeast mixture to it, mix, then add the flours.

Knead until smooth and elastic, 6 to 8 min. Place in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise about 1 hr. Punch it down, divide into 6 portions and shape into rolls, makes around 24 depending on how big you make them. Cover and let rise until doubled-20 to 25 min. Bake at 375 for 12-15 min, mine took about 15-20 min until the tops are golden brown.

Tasty Biscuits

We've tried a lot of biscuit recipes-this one's the

tastiest.

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

3 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening (or butter, I use shortening because I have a lot of it in food storage. Here's my secret tip: there's a shortening made from meat fats and vegetable oils. Also included in that is BHA, and other man-made chemicals I can't pronounce. This goes against everything I believe-but they make the best biscuits!)

1 egg

2/3 cup milk (I use our food storage a lot on this one, too

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-inch thickness; cut.

Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet at 450 for 6-8 minutes or until done.

Makes 1 dozen.

Amazing Blueberry Muffins

Muffin Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1 Egg
1/3 cup Milk
1 cup Blueberries

Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Flour
1/4 butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan or line with muffin liners.

Muffin Directions:
Combine 1 1/2 cups Flour, 3/4 Sugar, Salt and Baking Powder. Place 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil into a 1 cup Measuring cup, add 1 egg (in the same measuring cup) and top off the 1 cup measuring cup with Milk. Fold in Blueberries. Fill muffin cups to the top.

Topping Directions:
Mix together sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. Mix with fork and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown.

Pizza Crust (Jinny)

Here's a wheat pizza crust recipe we really like. We topped ours with Alfredo, Chicken, Bacon, Spinach, and Onion. Also, my sister Jessie has a really good regular Pizza Crust recipe on her blog (along with other awesome recipes, she is such a good cook/baker!) Click here.




1 cup warm water
1 tsp honey
1 package dry yeast
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and forming dough
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt

In a small bowl, combine water, honey, and yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, oregano, crushed red pepper and salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed if dough is sticky, about 10 minutes. Coat the bowl with vegetable spray. Form the dough into a ball, put it in the bowl, turn, and cover, let rise until doubled, about 1 hr.
Punch down the dough, let rest for 10 minutes. Stretch the dough into a 12-inch circle, top with your toppings and bake 35 minutes until cruse is golden brown in 450degree oven.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (Jinny)

SCRATCH MY OTHER BANANA MUFFIN RECIPE, THESE ARE WAY BETTER.

3/4 cup unbleached flour
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c wheat bran
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c skim milk
1 1/3 c mashed bananas
1/3 c unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c miniature semi-sweet choco chips
1/3 c chopped pecans

Combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine eggs and milk; add bananas, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir into dry just until moist. Stir in choco chips. Sprinkle pecans on top. Bake at 375 for 18-22 min.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:
Combine all ingredients reserving the 1/4 cup of butter. Knead for 5 minutes in a stand mixer. Let rise for 30 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire rounds. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

Works great to make dough let it rise the first 30 minutes. After rolling out the dough and forming the rolls you can freeze the rolls. It works best to put them on a cookie sheet for the first 30-45 minutes then you can put them in a ziplock bag. That way they don't sick together and freeze as one big ball. Then just pull them out like you would Rodes dough to thaw and rise(about 3-4 hours).

Southern Cornbread Stuffing-(Paula Dean)

1¼ hours | 20 min prep
SERVES 6 -8

Ingredients:
cornbread (any recipe making one pan will do)
7 slices oven-dried white bread
32 saltine crackers (1 sleeve)
8 tablespoons butter
2 cups celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
7 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sage (optional)
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (optional)
5 eggs, beaten

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350°F.
2.In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, dried white bread slices, and saltines; set aside.
3.Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
4.Pour the vegetable mixture over cornbread mixture.
5.Add the stock, mix well, taste, and add salt, pepper to taste, sage, and poultry seasoning.
6.Add beaten eggs and mix well.
7.Pour mixture into a greased pan and bake until dressing is cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Cinnamon Apple Pancakes with Cinnamon Apple Syrup (Jinny)

This is an awesome healthified version of pancakes and syrup. Not only is there no added sugar in the pancakes or the syrup (they are sweetened with apple juice concentrate, apples, and honey), the pancakes are whole wheat. Love it.

2 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups skim milk
2 T honey
1 T canola oil
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped finely

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Combine eggs, milk, honey and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Add apple.

NOTE: You can also omit the apples and add about 1/4 less cup of milk for the pancake/waffle batter.

Cinnamon Apple Syrup
2 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 C water
3/4 c unsweetened apple juice concentrate
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, cinnamon and salt. Gradually stir in water and apple juice concentrate until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

1 package dry yeast (about 2-1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup warm water (100 to 110 deg. F)
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1-1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces


Glaze:3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar1 Tbsp hot water1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1- Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes. Lightly spoon 3-1/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add 3 cups flour, canned pumpkin, and next 5 ingredients to yeast mixture, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes) and add enough of the remaining flour, 1 Tbsp at a time to prevent the dough from sticking to hands. The dough will feel sticky.

2- Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 deg. F), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until dough is doubled in size. (To test readiness, press two fingers into the dough. If the indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)


3- Combine 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, brown sugar, 2 Tbsp flour, and ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in chilled butter pieces with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

4- Punch dough down, cover and let rest 5 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up rectangle tightly starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets. Pinch seam and ends to seal. Cut roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place the slices in a 11x7 or 9x13-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise for 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

5- Preheat oven to 375 deg. F. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack

6- Combine powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp water and vanilla in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over buns. Serve warm. If, for some reason, not all the buns are consumed while warm, about 10 seconds in the microwave will make a bun warm and soft.

Yield: 12 buns

CHEESE BISCUITS LIKE JIM N NICK'S

A restaurant I go to has these cheese biscuits. The restaurant is Jim n Nicks BBQ. They aren't biscuits at all and should be called cheese muffins.

From Scratch:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup 2% milk
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp. butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients together, pour into greased muffin pan and at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done.

OR....

The EASY WAY!!!:

1 box of Jiffy Cornbread Mix

1 Egg

1/3 cup Milk

1 cup Shredded Cheese

1 cup Sugar

Bake at 350 for 10 mins or until golden brown.

These are fantastic and will make 12 muffins. Serve with butter and enjoy!

Carmel Rolls (Debbi King)

Carmel Topping:
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 pkg Dry Butterscotch Pudding (regular, not instant)
1/4 cup White Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Nuts (optional)
3/4 cup Melted Butter

Other Ingredients:
Rhodes Frozen Rolls

Directions:
The night before you want to serve these rolls, grease a bundt pan and dump 12 frozen rolls in the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the topping over the rolls. Place another 12 frozen rolls on top and sprinkle the remaining topping. Cover with plastic wrap and put in your refrigerator.

The next morning, take the pan of rolls from the refrigerator and let stand on counter for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Bake 30-40 minutes or until rolls are browned and cooked through. Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes. Turn out of pan and serve.

Good4U Banana Muffins (Jinny)

I make muffins every week for Mick to take to work and for the kids to eat for breakfast and for snacks. After trying a lot of recipes, trying to find a healthy one, I found this recipe and they are quite moist and tasty.

2 cups organic all -purpose flour or regular unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 beaten eggs (or 3 egg whites for lower cholesterol)

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (5 medium)

3/4 cup organic agave nectar (this is a natural sweetener, I buy it at our Target, located next to the honey)

1 1/2 c organic (or regular) milled flax seed (this can be used as a fat substitute in baking, it works quite well)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Grease muffin tins. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, agave nectar, and milled flax seed. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy.) Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into muffin tins; bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes about 2 -2 1/2 dozen.

Corn Cake (Maureen Moore)

Ingredients:
1 can corn
1 can cream corn
1 8oz sour cream
1 egg
1/8 cup sugar
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
1/3 cup butter

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Pour in a greased 8x8.
Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

Miss Annie’s Pumpkin Bread

This pumpkin bread is amazing. Someone from church made it for me.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
5 eggs
1-16oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
2-3oz package vanilla pudding
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Mix oil, eggs, and pumpkin in mixing bowl and beat well. Add flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda to pumpkin mixture. Blend well with hand mixer. Add pudding mix and nuts. Blend one last time with hand mixer. Pour into greased pans. Makes two large loaves. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

HOMEMADE PIZZA CRUST(J&GKING)

This is a family favorite for me and Josh. I am not a huge pizza person, but when it is homemade it makes all the difference. Don't take our word for it, try it.


left side: no meat pizza w/pesto sauce (great w/chicken)
right side: sausage, pepperoni, bell peppers w/tomato sauce

Pizza Crust
The crust is best if done on a pizza stone, but it is optional.

Ingredients:
1 packet active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup for working all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Dissolve yeast in water. Set aside and allow mixture to begin to bubble (foam). (about 10 mins.)
In large bowl stir together flour & salt. Form into mound in bowl with hole in the middle. Add yeast mixture into the hole. Use a fork & stir in a circular motion. Stir until dough consistency.
Lightly flour workspace. It's best if you put down some wax paper. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Be careful not to over-knead. If you do the dough won't rise. It's like beating up the yeast.
Brush a large bowl w/ olive oil & place the dough in the bowl. Cover w/ plastic wrap & let rise until double in size. 1-2 hours.
Use work space to knead dough in the desired shape.
Transfer dough to pizza stone or cookie sheet. Top as desired.
Bake @ 350 for about 15 minutes.


Josh and I like to top our pizza with Tomato Basil pasta sauce, pepperoni, bell peppers and sausage. There are times that we have had Chicken Pesto Pizza which is another favorite. Just use pesto pasta sauce and top with grilled chicken and bell peppers.

The picture posted is of a half and half pizza. One side is tomato sauce and the other is pesto. We love the variation without having to cook two pizzas for just two people. It keeps everyone happy.