Banana Poppy Seed Cake

This cake is HEAVENLY!! I was surprised since it's a relatively light cake, but it's awesome. And SO easy!!

Ingredients:

1 pkg white cake mix
1 small box of Banana Cream Fat Free Sugar Free instant pudding mix
1/4 cup poppy seeds
2/3 cup no sugar added apple sauce
3 egg whites
1 egg w/yolk
1 cup water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13X9 cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine mix, pudding mix, poppy seeds, applesauce, egg whites, egg w/yolk and water into a large bowl. Mix well. If mixture is a little thick, no worries-the cake is very moist when baked. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 18-23 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serves 12

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I found a recipe that looked good, then I tweaked it to my own tastes and this is what I came up with. FANTASTIC soup!

1 cooked Rotisserie Chicken from grocery store
3 and ½ cups water
1 onion, diced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
5 chicken bouillon cubes
Salt
Pepper
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 and ½ cups egg noodles
2 tbs parsley
1 tbsp Seasoning salt

First, make the stock by combining water with cooked chicken with all juices, onion, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic, bay leaves, bouillon cubes, salt and pepper. Boil on high for 30 minutes.

Next, strain to get all solids out and pull out the chicken. Cut up into pieces and return to stock. Add carrots, celery, egg noodles, seasoning salt, parsley, salt, and pepper. Simmer until egg noodles are done.

Round Steak Italiano With Baked Potatoes

This recipe is similar to swiss steak. It is so tender that you can cut it with a fork. Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef top round steak
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp onion soup mix
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp ground oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp pepper
8 medium potatoes
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water

Directions: Cut steak into serving size pieces. Place in a slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine tomato sauce, soup mix, oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic powder and pepper. Pour over meat. Scrub and pierce potatoes and place over meat. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours until meat and potatoes are tender.

Remove the meat and potatoes; keep warm. For gravy, pour cooking juices into a small saucepan; skim fat.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with meat and potatoes. Serves 8.

Easy Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

I threw this together one night and was shocked at how great it was! I’ve found the meat to be more moist and have better flavor than a restaurant.

Ingredients:

1 16oz pkg of Chicken Fajita chicken Breast Strips
Fajita seasoning (I use the bottle)
½ onion
1 small can green chilies
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
1 8oz block of Monterey Jack Cheese
1 pkg flour tortillas

Directions: Heat up a skillet with ¼ cup vegetable oil. While that’s heating up, dice your onion and green chilies and throw into pan when hot. Add your chicken to the pan and coat everything with a generous amount of fajita seasoning. Cook 4-5 minutes or until chicken is done. (I like a little bit of black on mine). While that is cooking, start shredding your jack cheese. When your chicken mixture is done, set to the side.
Heat up another skillet on medium heat. I keep mine dry. While that pan is heating up, make your quesadilla to the side by placing a little bit of the shredded cheese on the bottom of one tortilla, then place some of the meat mixture on top of that, and then cover again with cheese. Place in the pan for about 30-60 seconds on each side or until Brown. Cut into pieces. Serve with salsa or sour cream. Serves 4-6.

Substitutes: You can substitute chicken with steak strips or ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning.