Coconut Banana Bread With Lime Glaze

This is a twist on banana bread, but oh so yummy!

2 C flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C sugar

1/4 C (4 Tbs) real butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)

1/4 C sour cream or plain yogurt

3 Tbs apple juice or milk (id you don't have juice, milk is fine)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C coconut


Topping: 2 Tbs additional coconut

Glaze: 1/2 C powdered sugar whisked with 1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until blended. Add eggs and beat to combine. Add banana, sour cream or yogurt, apple juice (or milk), and vanilla. Beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat at a low speed until just combined. Stir in 1/2 C coconut. Pour batter into a 9×5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle additional 2 Tbs coconut on top. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean.



Note: Check bread after about 40 minutes. If the top has browned and the coconut pieces are looking toasty, cover top of bread lightly with a piece of foil. Continue baking until done.


When done, remove pan from oven. Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then carefully remove from pan.


Whisk powdered sugar and lime juice together for the glaze and then drizzle over top. Cool for another 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

"Breaded" Baked Chicken

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup almond meal
1 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Black pepper to taste
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts, legs, etc)
Coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk eggs in one dish and in a separate dish mix dry ingredients. Dip chicken pieces one at a time into the egg, then roll in breading mixture until covered on both sides.
Place chicken in a glass baking dish that has been lightly greased with coconut oil (important if you want it to brown). Bake for 45-60 min or until juices run clear.

Serves 4-5

(I would 1/2 this recipe for my family of 4. It breads a lot of chicken.)

Patriotic Cake

Cake:
Use any cake mix in a 9x13 pan and follow directions. Let it cool.

Frosting: (This was our experiment that turned out so good and naughty at the same time!)
6 oz cream cheese
1/2 cube butter
Vanilla
Cool Whip (just a couple of big spoonfuls)
Powdered Sugar
Milk

I apologize that there are no measurements. I just dump things in and experiment with frosting. My kids think I'm a genius, but how can you go wrong when you add all those things together? That's right, you can't.

We used the pampered chef tool to make the design in the frosting.

Finish by designing the flag with blueberries and strawberries.

Parmesan Chicken

As my daughter says "Mom, this is delicious!" I do believe that this will something that I will be making again. This is from my sister who does catering. I forgot to take a picture before we started eating. I'll try to remember to take it next time.

2 chicken boneless chicken breasts cut into strips

1/2 cup milk

1 TBSP minced garlic

1 cup Parmesan cheese (not the fresh kind. In the bottle kind.)

1 cup crushed Garlic & Cheese Croutons (I used my baby food processor. My sister uses her blender)

3-4 tsp lemon juice

3/4 stick of margarine or butter

After you've crushed the croutons, add the Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Dip chicken into milk and then into the croutons/Parmesan mixture. Place into a baking dish. Melt butter. Once the butter is melted, add lemon juice and garlic. Pour mixture over each piece of chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until it is cooked all the way through. I turned up the oven to 450 to brown the crust.

Another Peanut Butter Bar Recipe (No Bake!)

Fair warning: this recipe is sinfully delicious.

(You can find the original here.)



No Bake Reece’s Peanut Butter Bars



1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs

1 lb (3 1/2 C) powdered sugar

1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter

1 C (2 sticks) real butter, melted

1 12oz bag chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or dark, you pick!)

2 tsp shortening



In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and butter and beat until combined. Press into a parchment (or waxed paper or foil) lined 9×13 pan.



Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over peanut butter mixture and spread out evenly. Place pan in the fridge just until chocolate is set and then cut into bars. Tip: If the bars chill until the chocolate is too hard to easily cut, use a sharp knife and score the cuts first, then gently cut through. Can be stored in the fridge or at room temp. They will stay firmer if stored in the fridge.