Banana Pudding Cake

2 ripe Banana's mashed

3 eggs

1/4 cup oil

1 cup water

1 pkg. instant vanilla or banana cream pudding

1 yellow or white cake mix (name brands work best)

Mash banana's, add eggs, oil & water, mix till smooth with mixer, add cake mix & pudding, mix together for two min or so till smooth and pour into an ungreased angel food pan or if you have a bundt pan that would work great as well. Bake 350 for an hr. or when toothpick comes out perfectly clean and top is all golden. Cool and then take sharp knife cut around edges and take out of pan, cover to store. I like to eat mine plain, hubby spreads his with lots of butter

Gallo Pinto

pronounced: Guy-yo pin-toe
- a signature Costa Rican dish... It's quite fantastic!

Ingredients:
3 tbs oil
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
1/4 red pepper (chopped)
1 stalk celery (chopped)
3 tbs Lizano salsa
1/2 bullion cube/packet (chicken flavor)
handful of cilantro (chopped)

Cooked rice (about 3-4 cups)
Cooked black beans (about 3-4 cups)

Directions:
Saute garlic, onion, red pepper, and celery in oil. Add cooked black beans (along with the thick 'juice' that accompanies cooked beans. ie - do not drain). Stir in Lazano Salsa (this may be a problem to find in Canada in regular grocery stores, maybe in the ethnic section??? I heard worcestershire sauce can work as a replacement) and bullion seasoning. Let simmer for a few minutes, but stir often (beans have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan). Add rice and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Serve with: poached egg, chicken, or sausage.

This dish is most often served at breakfast, but can also be found at the afternoon and/or evening meal.

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

I enjoyed this dessert at my sister-in-law's this last weekend and promptly asked for the recipe. So delicious!! The guys were sneaking extra pieces while she was out of the room. :)

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

Cake:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves*
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup pure pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 15 x 10 pan, line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle clean tea towel with icing sugar. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 13-15 minutes or until it springs back when touched lightly. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting at the narrow end.

Filling:

• 1 pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 6 tbsp margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla

Beat cream cheese, icing sugar, margarine and vanilla until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refridgerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

*I didn't include the ground cloves. If you want an extra tasty dessert, try adding a tsp or so of Epicure's pumpkin spice. Divine!!

Chicken Supreme

This is one of my favorite ways to do chicken. Absolutely delicious and a perfect match to dirty rice. This is also one of my top picks when bringing a meal to someone else. Nothing too spicy to upset the newborn of a nursing mother (although you may want to opt for a white rice instead of the dirty rice). Also a very tender chicken which means it's easy to eat for all ages. From the MacGregor Bergthaler Mennonite Church cookbook, submitted by Sharon T.

Chicken Supreme

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 tbsp butter of margarine
• 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 10 oz can mushroom pieces (drained)*
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1 medium carrot (cut into thin strips)**

Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika in bag. Shake to mix well. Add damp chicken breasts, one at a time. Shake to coat. Melt butter in frying pan. Add chicken and brown well. Transfer to casserole. Empty soup into bowl and add drained mushrooms and apple juice. Stir well. Pour over chicken. Cover. Bake in 350 oven for one hour. Peel carrot and cut into 2 or 3 inch lengths. Cut into very thin strips. Add to chicken. Continue to cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until chicken is tender. Serve with brown rice. Serves 4.

* I prefer mushroom pieces, but my mushroom loving husband prefers whole mushrooms. I make it according to what I have on hand.

**I often add more carrots, just to get in some vegetables. I slice them as it's easier for my three year old to eat.

Buffalo Chicken Nachos (www.franksredhot.com)

This recipe is credit of http://www.franksredhot.com/

I made these nachos the other day, so fantastic! If you have leftover roast chicken, or just want to use grilled chicken breast, delicious! Cut chicken in small diced cubes, gives more chicken pieces over the nachos, I did 2 layers of: taco, chicken, veggies, cheese - all baked on a stone.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey

1/2 cup any flavor FRANK'S® REDHOT® Cayenne Pepper Sauce (I used Frank's RedHot Buffalo Sauce)

1 (10 oz.) bag tortilla chips

2 cups shredded Cheddar or Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1.TOSS chicken with Frank's RedHot Sauce. (again, stressing cut chicken is small diced cubes, then mix with hot sauce)

2.Layer chicken mixture with chips and cheese in baking dish or on pizza pan. (veggies too)

3.BAKE at 350°F for 5 min. until hot and cheese melts. (I baked hotter and for 10-12 mins, depends on your oven I guess and if you like the chips a little crispier)

Tips

1.Variations: Add 1/2 cup of the following to nachos along with chicken: chopped bell peppers, sliced green onion, sliced black peppers or diced jalapeno peppers.

2.For a change of pace, substitute 2 cups diced shrimp.

Habanero Gold Pepper Jelly

This a sweet, yet somewhat hot jelly that is so delicious! Can be served with cheese or melt it onto grilled or sauteed dishes to add sparkling flavor highlights. I've never tried it any other way than on crackers with cream cheese. So good! Tasted it at my mother-in-laws and promptly asked for the recipe. :)

Habanero Gold Pepper Jelly

• 1/3 cup finely sliced apricots (dried)
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup each: finely chopped red onion, red bell pepper & seeded habanero or jalapeno peppers
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 pouch liquid pectin

In large stainless steel saucepan, combine apricots and vinegar. Cover, let sit for at least 4 hours. Add red onion, red and habanero peppers and sugar. Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir in pectin. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat, skim off foam and stir to disperse peppers. Ladle jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Heat process. Boil filled jars in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 x 125ml or 3 x 250 ml jars.

Laundry Detergent

You may not "Wanna Lick the Spoon" on this recipe, but it's a good one. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me a few months ago. It's a homemade laundry detergent with ingredients that you can easily buy at Wal-mart (although I never knew they existed until now!). The ingredients cost about $12 and will make you multiple recipes worth. Definately cheaper than the liquid Gain detergent I'd beenusing until now. I've been using this detergent to wash laundry during potty training and it's been great. And I think if there's ever a true test to a laundry soap, this would be it! ;)

Laundry Detergent

• 1/3 cup washing soda
• 1/3 cup borax
• 1/2 sunlight laundry bar
• 6L water

Grate 1/2 laundry bar into 1L of boiling water. Stir until no lumps remain. Remove from heat. Stir in washing soda and borax. Mix until well combined. Add remaining 5L of water. Mix well.

Makes almost 2 ice cream pails full. Add 1/4 cup detergent for each wash load.

*This is a rather gelatenous detergent once it's cooled. But hey, we're washing laundry, not entering a beauty pagent. :) :)