Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding

I got this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything - she has raved about it for years and said that it's the first thing to go on Easter. She first had it in NYC and couldn't stop thinking about it. She bought the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and this recipe was inside!

My youngest and I made this and it was delicious!! None of my children even like pudding and they all loved it!

Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups ice cold water
1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups heavy cream
4 cups sliced barely ripe bananas, (see note)
1 (12 oz.) box Nilla Wafers

In a large bowl, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and 1 ½ cups ice cold water until well combined - about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well - about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set. It will be watery if you don't let it set up long enough.
In a large bowl, whip the 3 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until no streaks of pudding remain.
Dessert can either be made in individual portions or in a trifle bowl with 4-5 quart capacity (a 9x13 baking dish also works).
To assemble dessert, arrange 1/3 of the Nilla wafers covering the bottom, overlapping if necessary. Next, layer 1/3 of the bananas, and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer. Cover tightly and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, no longer - the bananas will start to brown.

Beautiful Roasted Spring Carrots

These were beautiful and delicious when they came straight out of the oven. I will definitely make them again. 

Beautiful Roasted Spring Carrots

1 1/2 pounds medium carrots (about 12 carrots), halved lengthwise with the green tops still on
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the carrots on the baking sheet.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat. Add the brown sugar and honey, and stir to combine.
Pour the butter mixture over the carrots. Sprinkle with the mint, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Roast the carrots until tender and lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a platter and garnish with fresh mint.

Brussels Sprouts Mash Up

YEAH!!! After a LONG lockdown due to COVID-19 we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! More than half of our extended family members have the antigens against the virus because they had it, or have been vaccinated or have appointments to be vaccinated within the next 2 weeks! WE ARE THRILLED!!! 

I am hosting Easter dinner at my home - and luck would have it - the weather has been beautiful and is supposed to continue to be through the next several days - so we are able to eat outside in our back yard. My sister in law and I are collaborating and as we spoke today - she said it perfectly "I am WAY TOO excited about this!"

She is doing the ham and the salad. I (well - WE) are doing the Ham Sauce, Rolls, Brussels Sprouts and Mashed Potatoes. 

I didn't link a Brussels Sprouts recipe because I'm doing a mash-up. My 18 year old son (YES! I said 18! I have an actual adult son!!) requested Brussels Sprouts specifically for this dinner. I was shopping when he called with his request and I said "there isn't another kid that would request Brussels sprouts - other than your sisters" and everyone within ear shot turned to look at me. If that isn't a testament to how good they can be - I don't know what is!!

My mash up is going to be these 2 tried and true recipes - Tina's Sprouts and Ina Garten's Roasted Sprouts  HERE'S my plan...

Mash-Up

4-5 lbs Brussels sprouts, 2 1/2 lbs halved  1/2 lbs shaved on your mandolin on the thinnest setting

3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 lb uncooked bacon, cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Halve the sprouts, cut off the brown ends and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes (or more depending on your oven), until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt.

Put the sprouts in to bake and start the bacon in a sautee pan until nice and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon. Fry the shaved sprouts in the bacon fat until almost tender. Mix the bacon, bacon fat and shaved sprouts with the roasted sprouts.

My plan is to do this as close to dinner time as possible. I plan to serve them on a ceramic plate kept warm on my electric buffet server.

Crossing my fingers - and licking my lips!!

I'll be posting updates on how things went - if I tweaked anything - and pictures FOR SURE!!

*I wrote my tweaks into the recipe above... AND... there's a bit of a story to tell - so check out the next post - Hosting Easter Dinner - what NOT to do! YIPES!!

Ham Sauce

I saw this on Pinterest and was curious. The original post is HERE - she also has an idea how to baste your ham - but I skipped that and went straight for the Ham Sauce - 

Good golly this really kicked our Easter ham up a notch!!

Ham Sauce

1 egg
5 Tablespoons water
5 Tablespoons vinegar
Then add:
¼ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon of flour
1 Tablespoon of dry mustard
¼ teaspoon (or to taste) celery seed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Cook and stir on LOW heat until mixture thickens.
Cool completely to room temperature, covering with saucepan lid.
Whip ½ cup whipping cream

When cool, fold in whipped cream.

Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette

I saw this salad on pinterest and started drooling... I got this recipe on The Cafe Sucre Farine. Recipe and photo credits to her:) Thanks for the recipe!!

Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients for the dressing:
⅓ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
½ teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried mustard
1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup white balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup vegetable oii
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Ingredients for the salad:
12 ounces baby spinach, arugula, field greens
1 small bunch cilantro, washed and dried, leaves removed whole from stems
2 medium avocados, peeled and halved
¾ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup Candied Spiced Almonds***
Directions:
1. For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a pint sized glass jar and shake well to dissolve sugar.

2. For the salad, place greens and cilantro leaves in a large bowl. Add avocado and dried cranberries and about 1/4 cup of the dressing and toss gently. Scatter candied almonds over salad and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pass extra dressing at the table.

***Candied Spiced Almonds
5 cups sliced almonds, or a 1 pound package*
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin*
1-1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika* - some smoked paprikas are quite hot, if you don't like "hot", just use 1 teaspoon and they will be mildly spiced.
1 teaspoon vanilla
sea salt

*The cumin and the smoked paprika give just a hint of mysterious, delicious flavor - even though these are savory spices, these almonds are still wonderful served with sweets like ice cream or yogurt.

Directions:
1. Place a large sheet of foil on a work surface. Spray with cooking spray or rub a teaspoon of oil over foil with a paper towel.

2. Place sugar in a large non-stick sauté pan and heat over medium heat , occasionally tipping and swirling the sugar until it is all melted into a pale golden syrup.

3. Lower heat immediately and add butter, cinnamon, smoked paprika and vanilla. Stir until well combined and all butter is incorporated into the sugar syrup.

4. Add the nuts and stir gently to coat. Don't worry if you have some clumps of caramelized sugar - they will melt as you continute to sauté the almonds. Cover and continue to cook on low, stirring every minute or so until almonds are a delicious golden brown. Watch very carefully as they can go from beautiful to burned very quickly! Turn out onto prepared foil and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Spread out on foil to cool.

Deviled Egg Chicks

Today, my girls and I made these fun deviled egg chicks! Easy peasy. Make your favorite deviled egg recipe - I made mine today with mayonnaise, mustard, pickle juice, salt and pepper... yum!

Cut your hard boiled eggs in the top section of the egg in zig zags. I used a pairing knife to make it quick work. Scoop out the yolks and add the other ingredients. Whip until smooth. I put the mixture in a small ziplock back. Squeeze all the mixture to one bottom corner of the bag and cut the very tip. This makes it easy to "pipe" the yolks into the eggs.

Use diced olives for eyes and shredded carrots for the nose. Fun, easy and delicious!

Easter Dinner

What are you making for Easter Dinner?? I just did my grocery shopping yesterday and here is what is on the menu:

For a delicious breakfast - we are having Mindi's Sausage Bread

Our traditional menu:

Baked Ham (of course)

Funeral Potatoes

Jen's Rolls (seen above)

A yummy stand by veg:

Roasted Butternut Squash

And a new salad:

Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette - which I can't wait to try!!

Sweet Broccoli Salad

I posted this recipe originally 2 1/2 years ago - but recently went to look it up and couldn't find it. So, I'm re-posting it. If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat broccoli - have them try this salad - the dressing, cheese and bacon are all kid pleasers!


Sweet Broccoli Salad
3 large Broccoli heads
1 lb Bacon, crumbled
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1 c Cheddar cheese, small cubes

Dressing
1/2 c Sugar
1 1/2 c mayonnaise
1/4 Apple Cider Vinegar
1 small purple onion, diced

Combine salad dressing components. Refrigerate for 30 - 1 hour - this dressing needs time for all the flavors to meld. *If you or your kids aren't big on onions - don't add them to the dressing - just add them straight to the salad.

Cut the broccoli down into bite sized pieces. Toss with bacon, cheese and dressing - add sunflower seeds just before serving.

You can make this up to 24 hours in advance - the longer it sits the better it gets!

Mindi's Sausage Bread

My husbands sister makes this delicious bread every Thanksgiving - either for brunch or as one of the appetizers before dinner. We all LOVE this bread - but since it's just the 5 of us in my house and we wouldn't get to dinner if this was on the table before the turkey was ready, we've decided to promote this delicious baby to be the star at the brunch table on St. Nikklaus Day.
Mindi's Sausage Bread
1 1/2 lbs Jimmy dean Sausage (ground)
2 Rhodes frozen bread dough loaves
Mozzarella cheese
12 slices of provolone cheese
2 t garlic
2 T EVOO
2 T Butter

Leave bread out the night before. Brown sausage and set aside. Saute garlic in butter and EVOO. Roll out bread dough (on a floured surface) into approx 9x13 rectangle. Brush half garlic mix over bread. Add one layer each of sausage, provolone and mozzerella. Roll up. Brush with remaining garlic mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and then slice as you would bread. DELISH!

Thanksgiving Rolls

I have also posted about my sister Megan's Famous Rolls - which are very similar and also delish - but after making BOTH my and my sisters recipes on 3 separate occasions - the verdict is in and I came out on top (thank you Kenny and Davis families!) I also prefer this recipe b/c it doesn't have eggs in it - and 2 of my kids have egg allergies... I should also tell you that I made 2 dozen (what this recipe yields) they were hot out of the oven as we sat down to dinner and were gone by breakfast the next morning (that's only 2 adults and 3 kids under 7 folks) Thanksgiving Rolls

2 T yeast

3/4 c warm water

2 2/3 c warm water

1/4 c sugar

1 T salt

3 T vegetable oil

7 - 8 c flour

Dissolve yeast in 3/4 c warm water. Add this to the rest of the water in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingred except flour and mix together. Add flour 1 c at a time and stir until you have to use your hands to mix. Knead dough for about 5-8 minutes, adding a little flour at a time to help dough not to be too sticky. Flour your hands as well as the surface you are working on. Place in bowl and cover with a dish towel, let rise about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and divide in half. With a rolling pin roll out one of the dough balls into a circle about 12" in diameter. Spread dough with melted butter. Cut into 12 pieces. Roll each wedge from the fat end inward. Repeat with other dough ball. Place crescents on cookie sheets, 12 to a sheet. Cover with dish towel and let rise until double (about 1 hour). Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

Funeral Potatoes

If you live outside Utah - you may know these by another name. I grew up in SLC and these potatoes were what I looked forward to the most for Easter and Christmas dinners.

I told a friend that I was making them and she thought they were called funeral potatoes because eating them would give you a heart attack (good one!) but they are called that because in Utah, these babies are served at nearly every dinner after a funeral. Crazy name - but these are darn good!
Funeral Potatoes
48 oz. frozen hashbrowns (the shredded kind)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 t dried minced onion (I prefer using fresh chopped onions - but I am an onion freak)
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Mix everything except the hashbrowns together - then fold the hashbrowns in. Spread into a 9x13 casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

*You can also use corn flakes cereal mixed with a little melted butter to top the casserole for the last 5 minutes of baking. I didn't have corn flakes - so I used Ritz crackers instead.

Decadent Mashed Potatoes

*Can make ahead of time – 1 or 2 days ahead!

Decadent Mashed Potatoes
5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
¾ cups Butter
1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened*
½ cups (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper
Preparation Instructions
Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.
Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

In a separate smaller pot, add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half,  ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper. Heat this up so you are not mixing cold ingredients into the hot potatoes.

Add warm liquid mixture to the potatoes and stir to incorporate, place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.
Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.