Merry Christmas 2009

I made my first Buche de Noel last year and even though it was gorgeous, it was like sucking on a stick of butter. Everything was fabulous but the butter cream icing. This year I was determined to do it again only tweak it a bit. I used my pumpkin roll recipe as a jumping off point and away I went. I 86'd the nuts, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. I added tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup cocoa. Instead of the usual filling, I used a new recipe. (1/3 cup peanut butter, tsp almond extract, 1 package cream cheese, 1 cup confectioners sugar) I also used a new butter cream icing recipe. The one on the back of the powder sugar package. lol Tomorrow is Christmas day and hopefully dinner will be fierce. We are having more of a Thanksgiving dinner so I won't be posting any of that. Been there done that last month. But I had to post this years buche de noel. OK I know I am a little too excited about this cake. Maybe next year I will try a gingerbread house. I hope you had a great Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas, and don't forget tomorrow is Kwanzaa. However you choose to celebrate may it be yummy, safe, and fabulous. Mele Kalikimaka!

As a special mention I made Paula Deans Coconut Flan last week. As always it was fabulous. When it comes to sweet goodness its hard to top Miss Paula. Enjoy.

Hawaiian bread

My cousin Chris gave me the recipe. I took the liberty of adding some crushed pineapple.

Wonderful Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 1/2 cups flour

4 eggs, well beaten

3 cups of mashed ripe bananas (6 bananas)

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

8 oz crushed drained pineapple

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F (180°C Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add bananas and eggs and beat until well mixed. Mix dry ingredients and blend with banana mixture, but do not over mix. Pour into 2 lightly greased loaf pans or a bundt pan. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour; test for doneness (toothpick inserted in middle and comes out clean) and cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Freezes beautifully

I can't wait until I have enough to freeze some.
Thanks Chrissy it was delicious!

Honey's Birthday sweets

My Honey loves pumpkin so this year for his birthday I went all out pumpkin. We had a lunch for the November Birthdays up at Mom and Dads. I took these Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes, courtesy of Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine. I neglected to put icing on the top, but they were good just the same. I did make icing....

I just used all the icing for Honey's birthday cake. He called this "Pumpkin Roll on Steroids". So that's the name of this cake. It was marvelous but definitely a diabetic coma waiting to happen. I used my Pumpkin Roll Cake recipe, just tweaked it a little.



I doubled the Pumpkin Roll recipe. Instead of pouring the batter onto a large prepared cookie sheet, I used two 9 inch round cake pans. I put wax paper on the bottom of the cake pans to help in getting the cake out after it was baked. I also sprinkled some sweetened cranberries on the top.

Thanksgiving 2009

Pumpkin Roll

We kept it very low key this year. We only had a total of four people for dinner. I did not make all the traditional fixings this year, however we had some great food with plenty of leftovers. Especially with the green beans dish. I don't know what the issue is with me and green beans, but this is two years in a row that my green bean dish sucked. Others seemed to like it, but they were either being nice, or just outright lying.

The Menu

Turkey
Candied sweet potatoes
Apple and cranberry dressing/stuffing
Green bean casserole
Dinner rolls

Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin roll

I usually follow a recipe and adjust to my personal taste/needs. I definitely take after my mother who is the queen of substitutions. Well this Thanksgiving dinner I went completely off script. With that being said this is my attempt at remembering what I did with each dish.
After last year I knew I would brine the turkey again. It makes the difference in my opinion. If you have never brined a turkey, its easy. The short version is simply put a turkey in a container, (I used a throw away cooler) mix some ingredients with water and ice and cover turkey, let sit overnight, and viola, a brined turkey. The ingredients I used; salt, sugar, peppercorns, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, molasses, and soy. I then made a rub for my bird which consisted of; butter, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt, pinch of red pepper flakes and black pepper. Its amazing with the Cranberry Chutney. I use the same recipe as always, but this time I used fresh pineapple. It makes a difference, it was better this year than last. The chutney is another dish that is really not hard to make, it just takes commitment.

Cranberry Chutney

4 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup raisins
2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 8oz can crushed and drained pineapple (I used 8oz fresh pureed pineapple)

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan except the pineapple. Cook on medium high until the cranberries start to pop, about 17 minutes. Add the drained pineapple and continue cooking until the desired consistency, about 15 minutes. Let cool and chill in refrigerator for up to two weeks. Like I said its not hard, but I will tell you that there is alot of stirring involved. But well worth the effort. I got this recipe out of a Junior League Cookbook.

Smashed sweet potatoes with bananas.
Again I did not measure any of the following ingredients this is merely a guess.
4 large sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
about 1 1/2 dozen homemade marshmallows.

Homemade marshmallows

This is another dish that there is a process to it, but it is very easy. The mixer and the gelatin do all the work for you. I recommend that everyone attempt this sweet treat. You will be happy you did.

1 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 packets of unflavored gelatin
corn starch
powdered sugar

Mix the powdered sugar and corn starch in a small bowl and set aside. This will be used to line your baking dish. So when I say flour your pan, I really mean use the corn starch and sugar mixture in place of flour.
Put the unflavored gelatin in the bottom of the mixer and add half the water. Let it sit. Meanwhile add the corn syrup, sugar, remaining water and salt to a small sauce pan cover and cook on medium high for about 3 to 4 minutes. Just leave it alone until your timer goes off, then uncover and drop in you candy thermometer and let it do its thing until it reaches 250 degrees. Once it has reached the correct temperature, start your mixer on the very lowest setting and start pouring the sugar mixture into the mixer. Be extremely careful, that stuff is HOT. Once you have it in the mixer give it a moment, then I flip my mixer to high and stand back and let it do its thing for 12 minutes. While the mixer is working its time to get your pan ready. I use a 9 x 13 in baking dish. Grease your pan, then instead of using flour to prepare your pan, use the cornstarch sugar mixture. During the last minute of mixing add the vanilla to the mixer. Lightly spray a spatula. Dump mixture into prepared baking dish, sprinkle with powdered sugar mixture and let set from 4 hours to up to overnight. I just realized that I should have simply put Alton Browns Marshmallows. That is the recipe I use, I should have gave him the proper props. lol

Cranberry and Apple Dressing

OK First of all, what the hell is the difference between dressing vs stuffing. Is it the same thing? Oh well moving on. I will say that I loved this dish. I sauteed up 4 ribs celery diced, a large handful of baby carrots diced, 2 apples diced and 1 large pureed onion. I threw in 1 bay leaf, a couple stems of fresh thyme and salt and pepper. Let cool. In a large mixing bowl I dumped 2 bags of Stove Top Stuffing. I don't care what anyone says, I love some Stove Top. Anyway I mixed in about 3 cups chicken broth with the cooled veggies. I added 1 egg (I think 2 would be better) and sweetened cranberries, mixed it all together. Put it into a greased baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

As for the green bean, broccoli, and yellow pepper casserole with roasted garlic, I will not go there. The concept was great but the outcome of this dish was not a success. IMO. I am not saying it was horrible, but it was not worthy of a repeat performance.

Pumpkin Roll

My Mom is the one who taught me how to make pumpkin roll cake. This is really her recipe with a couple changes. Let's see how long it takes her to realize I changed her recipe. We will see if she frequents this site. lol

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
powdered sugar for dusting

preheat oven 375 degrees.
Grease and flour a large cookie sheet. Then line with wax paper.
Beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Add the sugar to the beaten eggs, then the pumpkin and lemon juice mix just to incorporate. Add the flour, then fold in the nuts. Spread onto the cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. While the cake is baking, lay down a clean kitchen towel and dust with powdered sugar. When the cake is ready turn out onto the towel and roll up and let cool. I use to put it into the refrigerator at this point but over the years I find that if you keep it on the counter to cool first it prevents cracking. Once the cake has cooled unroll, ice the cake and reroll, then refrigerate.

icing
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Fried Green Tomatoes

Sweet Grass is a new restaurant that opened up down the street. We of course had to pop in and try it out. We ordered fried green tomatoes for an appetizer and was blown away. I immediately had to come home and try to recreate this dish. Here is what I came up with. All I can say is OMG. Not to toot my own horn, but this is a dish I can get behind. Delish.


I did not measure anything in this dish. This is a rough guess as to how much of each ingredient I used.

3 medium green tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup flour with
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
minced garlic for sprinkling after frying
2 eggs beaten with a splash of milk
1 container of Buttermilk dressing.
a few Basil leaves chopped

Dredge the tomato slices in the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture then into the Panko bread crumbs. Fry on med to med high four a couple minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with the minced garlic while they are hot. Dress with corn salsa and serve with Buttermilk Basil dressing. I just threw chopped basil into the store bought buttermilk dressing.


Corn salsa garnish
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley chopped
2 ears of corn cut from the cob
1/2 of a large red pepper, or maybe 1 small red pepper diced
1 small red tomato seeded and diced
1 to 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
A few Basil leaves diced

I wanted fresh corn, but the store did not have any so i used the prepackaged mini cobs. I just kept them in the package and nuked them for a couple minutes. In the future I will use fresh like I wanted to and roast the corn first. Anyhow mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and let stand while you prepare the tomatoes.

Can you say GARLIC

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 garlic bulb (I know that sounds crazy)
salt and pepper to taste
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 pound linguine
1 medium sized onion
1/4 cup asiago cheese
A couple basil leaves torn

I love garlic and I can easily put it in about every dish I make. Roasted garlic is simply the best of the best. This is one of those dishes that I just threw together because I needed something I did not need to babysit. I cut 5 chicken breast in half to cut the baking time down. I put a slit in each piece of chicken and stuffed a garlic clove in the slits. I added some salt and pepper to the chicken. I put a little diced tomato on the bottom of a grease baking dish, placed in the chicken and poured the remainder diced tomatoes over the chicken. I then threw in a few garlic cloves in fear I might not have enough garlic. I baked for about 40 minutes @ 375 degrees. After I got the dish thrown in the oven and baking for a few, I started some water for pasta. Linguine. Just a note, I always salt the pasta water when it comes up to a boil and then put in a drizzle of olive oil to help prevent the pasta from sticking together. I then pureed an onion and yes, some more garlic. I softened the onion and garlic in saute pan on a low heat while I smoked a cigarette. About 7 minutes for non smokers. lol Then I turned up the heat and hit the pan with some chicken stock and let it come up to a simmer and cook off just a touch. I then tossed the onion with drained linguine and served the chicken up on top. Garnish with fresh basil. Delish. By the way, this basil was grown from seed and is the first of my fresh basil for the season.

Not Pork Chops and Mashed Potatoes

I was going to make a RR meal, and for the most part I did, but I drifted. RR meal, now for my take on the meal. I didn't have the ingredients for the pork chops so I marinated mine in Spicy Mango Hawaiian marinade. I did not smash up the peas as she did, I just sauteed some shallots, threw in the peas let them cook for a few then threw in the mint and some salt and pepper. viola. I have to say about the sweet potato hash. OMG I loved this dish. I didn't have the Smoked Paprika, however I did have a dash of liquid smoke. I also let my potatoes cook a little longer than she did. If you think you might not like these potatoes, make them anyway, you might be surprised.

Chicken Lasagne

2 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 lb roasted garlic chicken
1 jar any spaghetti sauce (I was a little lazy)
1 handful Sun dried Tomatoes reconstituted
Ricotta cheese
6 oz chopped Spinach drained
Spinach Lasagna noodles Mario Batali recipe
Bechamel Sauce
One 8 oz shredded Mozzarella
Oregano
Garlic
Salt
Pepper

These were the ingredients that I used for the lasagne. I loved it, however, my honey wished I had not put the chicken in it. So next time I will leave it out. You gotta please the honey. lol

Christmas cookies and candy 2008

My Christmas cookies and candies are a group effort. Thanks to Paula Dean for her Monster cookies. I added a few more secret ingredients to the monster cookies. Its a secret for now. But when Christmas rolls around I'll add them to the blog. Thanks to Ina Garten for her Outrageous Brownies and her Rugelach. Thanks to a magazine recipe and my twist for the coconut macaroons.
Thanks to my Dad and a couple aunts for the inspiration for the peanut butter fudge.
This upcoming Christmas season I am going to use a couple of my mothers cookie recipes she made this past year.
And as for the lemon cookies, well lets just say, take a good look. You won't be seeing them again.

I know this is not an appropriate time for this particular post. But persaonally I can eat these sweets any time of the year. I hope you enjoy them whenever you make them. I will post the fudge and the macaroons and moms cookie recipes later.

Birthday cake

I made this cake for my cousin and my friends birthday. Its just a basic cake mix for a half sheet cake plus basic cake mix for the two coffins. The icing is my aunts recipe.

I used the green to represent grass plus it was Christmas time so I needed some red and green. You can use your own cake mix or icing, this is not a recipe but an idea. Hope it inspires someone. lol

Buche de Noel

I saw this recipe on Sara's Secrets. I was going to make this on Christmas 2007, but got very busy and ran out of time. So I knew that I was going to make it Christmas 2008. This cake took me some time. A lot of time. Did I mention how long it took to make this cake? LOL Seriously it did take me some time but I will do it again. It is going to be a new tradition. I do have to make some changes. I haven't completely decided on what changes, but here is my thought at the moment. For starters I will not make the buttercream icing. Sorry Sara, I love ya gal, but I either really screwed it up or your recipe calls for way to much butter. I love some butter but this was like putting a spoon in a tub of butter. But lets just pretend I messed this recipe completely up. It is entirely possible if not probable. lol I enjoyed the cake itself, and it was very reminisent of my Moms pumpkin roll cake. Which got me thinking hmmmm. So next time I will use moms pumpkin roll recipe with a different icing. But I am going to keep the look of the cake. It will still be a process, but given thought to some planned prep work, it won't be bad. Last time I did the entire cake in one day instead of breaking it up. I will not make that mistake again.

I loved the chocolate ganache. I thank Sara for her technique of painting the ganache on the cake. I will invest into a holly leaf cookie cutter. That was a little time consuming.

The powdered sugar really sets it off in my opinion. I can't wait to make the new version. I hope I didn't discourage anyone from attempting this cake. It is totally worth it. I did not make Sara proud with this cake stay tuned for my own recipe.

A little Italian

Almost Italian





2 chicken breasts
1 can (14 ounce) fire roasted tomatoes
6 roasted garlic cloves
cooking spray
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

I only had 2 chicken breasts in the refrigerator and 4 people to feed. I decided to fillet the chicken to make four pieces. I then put each piece in a plastic food storage bag and pounded them out to make cutlets. I then seasoned with salt and pepper and oregano, added 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese, a few pieces of pepperoni and mozzarella. I wrapped the chicken around the filling and held it together with toothpicks. Spray a baking dish (I used an 8 x 8 inch pan) with cooking spray. Put the wrapped chicken in dish and pour 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes over the dish. I then added about 6 cloves of roasted garlic, a little more S and P. It was delicious, easy, and worthy of making again in the future.

Special Rice and Lemon Chicken

I have made this dish many many times and it is always a hit. In this particular picture I did not use any chives because my sister has onion issues of any kind. lol I think this dish must have the green onions to make it sing, but its a keeper regardless.

Special Rice

As always here is the original RR recipe.

My way:
2 cups rice
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup currants
1 Tablespoon cumin seed
1 Tablespoon butter
pinch of salt and pepper

Bring stock up to a bubble. Dump in all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or rice package directions. I top with chopped green onion. How simple is that. That is what I call special.

Lemon chicken
Click here for RR recipe.

Here is how I make this dish.

5 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts diced.
1/2 jar lemon curd
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 Tablespoons flour
pinch of salt and pepper
olive oil for frying

heat large skillet over medium high. Add olive oil.
Put the chicken in a large zip lock bag. Add the flour, salt and pepper. Shake the bag around moving the chicken to ensure it coats with flour.
Drop the chicken in skillet and lightly brown. You might have to cook the chicken in a couple batches.
In a medium size bowl add the lemon curd and stock. Beat together until smooth.
Pour the mixture over the chicken and let simmer until desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Top with chives.

Roasted Broccoli and Garlic

a couple heads of broccoli cut up into bit size pieces
8 roasted garlic cloves cut in half
1 tablespoon of roasted garlic Montreal chicken seasoning (McCormick)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lay the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Season with salt and pepper and chicken seasoning.
drizzle with olive oil and toss with your hands to get it all incorporated.
Bake for about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle in the garlic and bake another 5 minutes.

It might think this dish has a lot of garlic, but you can never have too much garlic.
I always make extra when I cook this meal. It never goes to waste.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 package frozen chopped spinach
2 (13 3/4 oz) cans artichoke hearts
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 (16oz) jar roasted red pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven @ 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish.
Nuke spinach in microwave for 5 minutes, then let cool for a few minutes. Wrap spinach in clean dish towel and wring out until drained of all liquids.
Drain artichokes, then coarsely chop.
Remove 1/2 of the red peppers from jar and dice.
Combine all ingredients except cheese and place in casserole dish. Top with cheese and bake about 30 minutes. Serve with chips veggies or a spoon. If you like a little more heat to this dish, try it with Habanero cheese. Of course this recipe started as a Paula Dean recipe.

Paula Dean and Grandma

Not your mommas Banana Pudding

As usual I changed this recipe just a bit, but here is the actual Paula Dean Recipe.


I've always loved banana pudding. My grandmother made the best banana pudding I had ever had. I used the vanilla wafers instead of chessman cookies in honor of my grandmother. I can't help think of grandma any time I ever have this dish.

2 cups cold milk
1 large package of vanilla pudding mix
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz package softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
6 to 8 sliced bananas
1 box vanilla wafers
1 16 oz container of cool whip, or equal amount of sweetened whipped cream.

Grease a 13 x 9 inch dish. Line with vanilla wafers. Then add bananas.
In a large bowl mix the cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Fold in 1/2 whipped cream.
In another bowl mix pudding mix and milk with electric mixer. Then fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over bananas. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic is directly on the filling.
Refrigerate until set, then top with whipped cream, cover and serve cold.
I find that this dish is best when refrigerated overnight.
Don't forget to make sure your eatin dress is clean because you will be sliding it on and diving into this dish. lol Enjoy.

Greek night

Greek Chicken Wellingtons

I wanted to make a RR take on a Beef Wellington for dinner. Well my pantry had other ideas. That is when this dish was born. lol I love it, it is one of my favs, hope you love it also,.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion
1 8 oz package cream cheese cut into slices
two roasted red peppers diced
1 package frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
3 cloves garlic chopped
salt to taste. I happen to love salt, so I tend to go heavy. oops
pepper to taste. Again I am the same with pepper as I am with salt.
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Phyllo dough
handful crumbled Feta cheese
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter for brushing Phyllo
Preheat broiler.
Grease a sheet pan.
Set the Phyllo dough from the freezer to the counter to thaw.
Throw the spinach in the microwave and set to 5 minutes.
Heat a large skillet.
Season chicken with salt and pepper and saute until almost done. Remove from pan. Toss in onions and cook for a couple minutes. Add red peppers, garlic, thyme and cook for a minute.
Put the spinach in a clean dish towel and squeeze all the liquids out. Toss in the the skillet with peppers and onions. Add the chicken and cook until chicken is just done. Toss in Feta cheese and set aside.

Unwrap Phyllo. Use 3 sheets per wellington. Lay one sheet of phyllo down and brush with butter between sheets. Lay 3 slices of cream cheese right in the center, top with a spoon of the chicken, spinach mixture. I wrap them by folding over the phyllo so all the edges end up on the bottom. I set them on the sheet pan. I brush them with more butter. I do use Smart Balance butter so I have less guilt. lol

I set them under the broiler just until browned. A couple minutes. Keep a close eye on them or trust, you will be mad. They might not seem like much food, especially if you have your eatin dress on. But they are Filling. Enjoy.

love this dish

Parmesan chicken

4 chicken cutlets
1 package shredded parmesan cheese (I use Sargentos)
2 ripe tomatoes diced and seeded (optional)
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup fresh cut basil
salt
Cracked pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus twice around the pan

In a small bowl mix the tomato, onion, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper, set aside.l
heat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.
wash and dry chicken, coat chicken with cheese, pressing the cheese into the chicken.
cook a couple minutes on each side. Top with tomato mixture.
Yum Delish!!! This is even delish cold.
This was a Rachel Ray dish from a few years ago on 30 minute meals. It seems now I cannot find it but I need to give credit where credit is due.

sandwiches

Turkey Melt

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, grated
1/4 cup sour cream
pinch of poultry seasoning
salt and pepper
1/2 package frozen chopped spinach. thawed and drained
8 slices pepper jack cheese
whole wheat bread
butter
olive oil, twice around the pan


Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
In medium bowl, mix the first seven ingredients. divide into 4 patties.
Fry patties about 6 minutes per side.
Wipe out pan and return to heat, lower heat a little.
Butter bread and place in skillet buttered side down.
Place a patty on top of bread, followed by two pieces of cheese then another piece of bread, buttered side up.
cook a couple minutes on each side.

I was originally going to make a Rachel Ray turkey melt. I did not have pumpernickel bread, or muenster cheese. That when the dish took a life of its own. Beware it is very filling.

Oscar Time

Kate Winslet and Sean Penn both won an Oscar tonight. Hip hip hooray!!!! In honor of the Oscars, I was inspired to make something sinful. And this led me to.......

Banana Tiramisu

• 2 packages ladyfingers
• 2 packages softened cream cheese
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon Amaretto liqueur
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup sugar for topping
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 3 bananas
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup coffee (vanilla nut)
• 1 teaspoon cocoa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla then eggs one at a time. Add Amaretto and mix until well blended.

Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan. Line the pan with Ladyfingers, then drizzle with coffee.
Slice Bananas and arrange on Ladyfingers, then pour the cream cheese mixture over bananas.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes until the center is almost set. Let cool off on the counter then refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Whip the heavy cream with the remaining sugar.
Put whipped cream in zip lock bag, snip the corner and pipe onto dessert. Dust with cocoa.

Stuffed Peppers

• 8 large green peppers
• 6 garlic cloves grated
• 1 medium onion diced or grated
• 1/4th jar (20 oz) roasted red peppers diced
• 2 cups rice
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage
• 2 chicken breast
• salt and pepper to taste
• teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• handful of Mozzarella cheese
• 2 cans fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Cut the tops off the green peppers and remove the seeds and ribs with a spoon and set aside.
Poach or roast the chicken then let cool and dice or shred.
Cook the rice as per package instructions. I add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of Tomato Bouillon with chicken flavor to my rice water.
Brown the sausage then add spices and add the onion and garlic, let cook for a few minutes then add the red peppers and cook another couple of minutes.
Add the tomatoes , then combine with the cooked rice and chicken.
Grease a baking dish. Stuff the peppers with the mixture, top with cheese and place the lid (the top of the pepper) on top.
Put the extra mixture around the peppers in the baking dish, cover and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes @ 375 degrees.