For my step-dad’s birthday this year he requested banana pudding instead of a cake. So, as usual, I went on the hunt for the perfect (and easiest) banana pudding recipe. I found this gem, and oh what a gem it is. This is really really good banana pudding. Everyone raved about how amazing it was and, of course, it was all eaten right up!

You Will Need:
-2 boxes of instant french vanilla pudding
-2.5 cups of milk
-16oz heavy whipping cream
– 1/3 cup powdered sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
– 1 package of cream cheese (8oz)
– 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
-2 boxes of Nilla Wafers
-7 bananas

Directions:
-In a large bowl mix together pudding and milk. Set aside
-In another bowl beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. This is easiest in a stand mixer because it can take a little bit
-Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla into the whipping cream.
-In another bowl ix the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until well blended.
-Fold in about 2/3 of the whipped cream mix into the cream cheese mix. Then fold that mixture into the pudding and blend together.
-Now you’re ready to fill your trifle bowl. When starting from the bottom of the bowl the layering should go like this: Nilla wafers, bananas, pudding mix, Nilla wafers, bananas, pudding, Nilla wafers, bananas, pudding, bananas, Nilla wafers, leftover whipped cream.
(I didn’t add any whipped cream to the top because no one in my family likes it)

I’m always on the hunt for dinner dishes that are super easy, super fast, and require very little ingredients because I am absolutely not going to the grocery store after I’ve been at work since 6 in the morning. I do all of my grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday so if there’s something I need for a recipe that I don’t have during the week, the recipe will either go without it, or we will not be eating that. This little gem of a dish only requires 4 ingredients, all of which I almost always have at the house already, and it’s literally the easiest thing ever to make and so good!

You Will Need:
-Boneless skinless chicken breasts. I used 3 because there’s just 2 of us & 1 for my lunch the next day. Use however many you need to feed your family that will fit in a 9×13 casserole dish.
-1 large jar of Pace picante sauce
-1 Bag of mexican blend shredded cheese
– 1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
-1/2 cup water

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degree
-In a medium bowl mix together water, rice, picante sauce, and about a handful of cheese
-Season chicken breast to taste. I sprinkled them with a little salt, pepper, and paprika
-Pour rice mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish
-Place chicken on top of rice
-Bake for 45 minutes
-Cover top of casserole and chicken with cheese & bake for a few more minutes until the cheese is melted.

My mom’s 50th birthday was April 2nd so we all got together to have a little party for her. This year she wanted a chocolate cake, but she wanted it to be homemade. This is not cake mix from a box! It’s the best chocolate cake though! It makes a 3 layer cake, so be sure you have 3 cake pans. I used 9 inch pans, but 8 inch would be fine too!

You Will Need:
Cake:
-2 1/4 cups flour
-2 1/4 cups sugar
-1.5 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
-2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
-2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
-1.5 teaspoon salt
-3 eggs at room temperature
-1 cup and 2 Tablespoons buttermilk
-1/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons plain greek yogurt
-3/4 cup vegetable oil
-1.5 Tablespoons vanilla extract
-1 cup and 2 Tablespoons strong hot brewed coffee
-3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Icing:
-4 sticks salted butter softened to room temperature….yes, that says 4 STICKS
-4 cups powdered sugar
-1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon vanilla
-5 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 8 or 9 inch cake pans
-In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
-In a stand mixer bowl beat together eggs, buttermilk, greek yogurt, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth.
-Slowly add in the dry flour mixture with the mixer on low until there are no clumps of flour
-Add the hot coffee and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips
-Pour the batter evenly into the 3 cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center.
-Remove cakes and let stand for 5 minutes.
-Flip the cakes over onto parchment paper and let cool completely.

-In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
-Add cocoa powder and vanilla until completely mixed
-Mix in heavy whipping cream until frosting is mixed and fluffy.
(You can add more powdered sugar to make it thicker or sweeter. I added a little more to mine until I thought it tasted right)

-Place the first layer of cake flat side up on a flat plate or cake stand (Whatever you’re serving the cake on). Ice the layer completely. Place the second layer on top with the rounded side facing up (The two flat sides should be touching) Ice layer completely. Place the final layer on top and ice it and the sides of the entire cake.

Who wants a …reasonably…healthy delicious dessert/snack?! Yay for oatmeal! These little cookies are so sweet you’ll probably only be able to eat one at a time! They’re so good and not nearly as unhealthy as regular cookies! Also, staying true to my style, they’re really easy to make!

You Will Need:
-1.5 cups flour (The original recipe called for whole wheat flour, but umm, I don’t use that…)
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 cup vegetable oil (I know, this sounds like a lot, but it’s not a typo. I used olive oil. Not because I was trying to be healthy, just because I was out of regular vegetable oil.)
-1 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 cups oatmeal
-3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
-3 teaspoons honey

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-In a small bowl mix together flour, salt, and baking soda.
-In a mixer bowl mix together vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and oatmeal
-Add in the flour mix until well blended
-Place dough balls on a greased cookie sheet
-Bake for about 10 minutes until the edges are just starting to turn golden
-While the cookies are baking mix together the peanut butter and honey
-After the cookies are completely cool make cute little sandwiches with them using the peanut butter as filling.

This recipe makes about 30 sandwiches.

I have never cooked any kind of fish before. Andrew will fry fish at the farm every once in a while, but I personally have never cooked any kind of fish. Andrew and I both love salmon though so the other day at the grocery store he grabbed 2 salmon fillets and said we were going to try them. I found a few recipes on the internet that looked pretty good, but they each had something missing. So…I just combined all the things I liked from each recipe and came up with this one. It was the bomb! Seriously, these salmon fillets were so easy to cook and they turned out amazing.

What You Need:
-Salmon fillets
-Whole lemons
-Butter
-Salt
-Pepper
-Thyme

Directions:
-Spread parchment paper out on a baking sheet
-Lay salmon fillets skin side down on the parchment paper
-Season salmon with salt, pepper, and thyme
-Lay about a tablespoon of butter on each salmon filet (You don’t have to spread it out, just drop a spoonful in the center, it will melt and run across the filet)
-Cut lemons into thin slices and cover the salmon with the lemon slices.
-Set oven to 400 degrees. Put salmon in the COLD oven, don’t preheat it, let the oven heat up with the salmon in it.
-Bake for 25 minutes then enjoy!

I thought I posted this recipe a long time ago, but I can’t find it on here so I must have just meant to and never did. Anyway, I made these the other night and what brought to my attention that I hadn’t posted this yet was that I could not find the dang recipe on here. I had to resort to my old fashioned hand written recipe for it. I’m sure most of you have been to Red Lobster…if not, please go, it really is delish. So Red Lobster is pretty famous for their wonderful “cheddar bay biscuits”, well this is a copy-cat recipe and it is just as good! This recipe makes about 10-12 biscuits. They’re so good Andrew and I usually eat all 12 of them by ourselves. 6 for him and 6 for me is only fair.

What You Need:
Biscuits:
-2.5 cups of Bisquick
-4 Tablespoons of cold butter
-1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
-3/4 cup of milk
-1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

Glaze:
-3 Tablespoons of melted butter
-1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
-3/4 teaspoon of parsley

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Grease a large cookie sheet
-Combine Bisquick and cold butter in a medium bowl. (I used my stand mixer, but before I had one I just used a fork)
-Add cheese, milk, and garlic. (I used the dough hook on my stand mixer otherwise mix by hand)
-Place dough balls (They won’t be round. The dough is sticky & that’s what makes them look not perfectly shaped) on the cookie sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes.

-Mix together melted butter, garlic, and parsley
-While the biscuits are in the oven cooking, brush the glaze over the tops of them and continue cooking.