Grilled Peanut Butter/Banana and Yogurt!

Yum! Ok this might sound nasty, but it is so good! My daycare kids devoured these sandwiches! We were gonna make stuffed french toast, but this is my egg free version, mmmm!

You need:

Bread

Peanut Butter

Banana slices

butter or margarine

vanilla yogurt

To Do:

Spread generous amount of peanut butter on both sides of bread. Layer thin banana slices on one piece of bread. Put sandwich together and butter both exposed sides of bread, grill in a heated skillet as you would a grilled cheese. Make sure both sides are golden brown. put some yogurt on your plate, slice sandwich in half, dip in yogurt if desired or eat separately. mmmm! Makes a good treat for breakfast or a snack anytime! Have fun!!!

Chicken and Rice with aTwist of India

I know you have all had chicken and rice, or cheesy chicken and rice, it seems like an old fashioned staple in most areas of the country. I prefer to use fresh ingredients and real ingredients. I am not a huge fan of processed foods, however I try to adapt my recipes so that they can use either grade of ingredients in case some of you like them. I love Indian, Thai, and Japanese food. I like Italian and German food too, ha ha, ok so there isn't much that I don't like, except any form of seafood! ANY! I know most people enjoy it though, so I will be sharing some seafood recipes in the future. Today I will be sharing a classic dish with an Indian twist.
Alot of food that is considered from India contains certain spices that are harder to find in smaller ares like my rural town. Often you can make the spice mixtures at home. This recipe is easy and I was able to find all of the spices at our small grocery store with ease. I fed it to my daycare kids and they loved it, my five year told me that the kitchen smelled so good and it was making him hungry! Ha ha!
You Need:
2-3 cups cooked rice ( I use jasmine rice, it is sticky, tender and has a sweet aromatic flavor)
1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts ( use a full pound if you like more meaty dishes)
1 1/2 C - 2 cups milk (use your judgement, if your sauce is too thick add more)
1 cup frozen peas or sugar snap peas
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 C - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or about 1/2 cup cubed velveeta. (velveeta will make this dish sweeter for some reason and not as easy to reheat later, but it works)
1 teaspoon each of the following spices: yellow curry, cumin, corriander, garlic powder ( or 2 cloves)
2 tablespoons or so olive oil for frying/browning chicken
corn starch

you can use more spices if you taste test it and find you want more... I never measure, I just add until it looks good, so use your taste buds, I like stronger flavors, so my measurements might be more than you like, or less.

To Do: boil chicken in a few inches of water in a covered frying pan for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. After sides are white(inside will still be pink) drain chicken and chop or shred meat into tiny bite sized pieces. Add a few drizzles of olive oil to the frying pan ( empty the water first) and add shredded or cut chicken to the pan. tossing until starting to brown. add garlic salt and pepper and stir or toss until all is coated. After a few minutes of cooking, when chicken is almost done, add remaining spices and stir wildly until all is coated evenly. Turn pan off and allow to cool for 5 minutes or so, add milk and stir quickly to warm the milk without curdling. Add peas, turn heat back on to low to heat the milk, as milk is warming mix small amount of milk with cornstarch ( use some and if your sauce isn't as thick as you like, add more.) add cheese then add cornstarch mixture to sauce and stir often until sauce comes to a boil, turn off and keep stirring until sauce is thick and smooth. Add in cooked rice and serve immediately! Enjoy!!!

Butterfinger Dessert

This is really good and super easy! It can be made in about 5 minutes if you need a quick dessert for unexpected company, or the "Oops I forgot to cook for the potluck!" moment. If you have the time, this dessert can be made the night before and will really have time to soak together!

You Need:

2-3 king sized Butterfingers

1 small tub Cool Whip ( I like the Cool Whip Free style)

1 angel food cake loaf ( Of course homeade is better if you have time, but store bought is fine too) You can use yellow cake as well, if you have time.

1 Large box vanilla instant pudding, or cook and serve if you have the desire

To Do:

• cube the cake in about 1 inch chunks and fill cake pan with cake pieces



• whip up the pudding and crush the candy bars in a zip loc bag, mix 3/4 of the candy pieces into the pudding



• pour pudding over cake pieces so that all are evenly covered, no need to mix, just let lay on top, it will soak and slide down into place on it's own



• spread cool whip over top to cover entire pan, sprinkle with remaining candy bar pieces

Ta-Da! You are done, now either refridgerate or serve immediately! If you make it the night before, wait to top with cool whip until before serving. This is so yummy and so easy, everyone will ask where you got your idea! ha ha! Have fun!

Note: The easiest way to crush candy bars, to me, is the food processor, but a ziploc will work too. I use a gallon size ziploc, put my candy in, press out the air, seal bag, cover with a piece of wax paper, or paper towel, use a meat mallet, or jelly jar to pound gently on bars. It doesn't take much force, more aim than anything! Good luck!

Super Yummy Grilled Eggplant Parmesian

Ok..for those of you who looked at this title and said...oh yuck!, please rethink that thought and give it a try...even my husband ate this and HE said he wouldn't. He said it looked and sounded gross, but overall, tried it and liked it, not loved, but liked. I LOVED it, as did my best friend, mother in law, and father in law, and whoever else was at the BBQ. Ha ha! Sorry i didn't have a picture of the whole sandwich! I actually saw this on the Food Channel, The Sam the Sandwich Guy Show. He is all about healthy, low fat, lower sodium alternatives to traditional grilling. Everything he cooked is usually on the grill, but not always. We kind of altered this recipe a little, as always, I don't think I have ever cooked anything exactly to recipe, LOL! Anyways, my BFF was up for Memorial Day last year when we saw this show, literally 5 minutes later we were at the store buying the ingredients! If it had been August, we would have picked the ingredients from grandma's garden! This is quite possibly the BEST thing I have ever had on the grill... yes, it even rivals a good rib eye! I have since then adapted the size for appetizers, served full sized as a meal, and simply craved it all winter long!!! ( We had an EXTREMELY long winter this year!) Yes I supped you could use a counter top grill, like a George Foreman, but I don't own one. Ok people, here it is, the Holy Mecca of Sandwiches!!

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

You Need:

1 medium eggplant. (Should be heavy for their size, not be mushy, if they fell a bit "springy" when gently pressed, they are ripe. Mushy is bad, it will be bitter and seedy)

2 rounded Hot House tomatoes (larger on the vine would be good too, Roma are too small)Fresh Basil Leaves ( Our store had none, so we bought a basil plant from the green house)

FRESH Parmesan cheese, whole or shredded, NOT powdered

Crusty Bread ( We used LA Brea Bakery Bread, mmm! Baguettes, Ciabatta, Foccacia, or antipasto loaves all work well! Slice thin and at an angle to get maximum size and shape.)
Olive Oil
sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Some people have used fresh mozzarella in addition to the Parmesan, but I have not tried that yet. I do like fresh mozzarella, however, it is a bit goopy for me.I think I would prefer just the Parmesan. The cool part about this sandwich is that the tomatoes actually caramelize themselves and make a marinara type sauce all on their own! The fresh basil just cannot be beat. I don't know what it is, but it makes for an amazing flavor!!!

To do:

Slice eggplant in 1/4 inch thick slices ( no more than half inch thick), slice tomatoe into equally sized slices ( not more than half inch thick) brush olive oil on both sides of eggplant and tomatoe. sprinkle lightly with sea salt and crushed pepper ( very lightly) . On medium heat grill, cook eggplant on both sides until tender and branded with grill marks, ( a few mins on each side, do not let it mushy.) do the same to the tomatoe slices. For the tomatoes, I like to use one of those mesh like grill grates for veggies, available at grocery stores and walmart. This way they don't accidentally slip into the grill. I like to use a tongs for this sandwich, it is easier, but a spatula will work just fine as well. Slice and toast your ciabatta, or whichever style, bread . a few seconds on the grill on each side usually works, I brush mine lightly with olive oil first. Finally, just before your tomatoes and eggplant are done, grate fresh parm over them while still on the grill. Yes it makes a mess, but it all burns off quickly anyways! as soon as cheese is melting, layer crunchy bread, eggplant, tomatoe, fresh basil leaf or two, then top crunchy bread. TA-DA! Now eat it before it gets cold, you will not be able to have just one! :) Chinese eggplant works well for this too, if sliced at an angle,, but may require two slices per sandwich. ENJOY!!!!