Best-Ever Banana Bread!

1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. banana
1/4 c. sour milk (add 1/4 tsp lemon juice to milk & let sit a few minutes to make sour)

*Mix all ingredients together. Pour in greased bread pan.

Topping:

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 TBSP cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

*Sprinkle topping over top of bread mixture. (This topping MAKES the bread!)

*Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Chocolate Cheesecake

This recipe is also from Amy:)

Crust
1 package (9 oz) graham crackers
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons powder sugar

Filling
2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 325 degrees. In medium bowl, combine crust ingredients.
Press crust mixture in bottom and 2 inches up the sides of an
ungreased 10-inch springform pan. Refrigerate. In a large bowl,
combine cream cheese and sugar, beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a
time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beat
well. Add all remaining filling ingredients, beat until smooth. Pour
into crust-lined pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until
edges are set, center of cheesecake will be soft (To minimize
cracking, place shallow pan half full of hot water on lower oven rack
during baking). Cool for 20 minutes. Refrigerator overnight. Store in
refrigerator.

Oreo and Fudge Ice Cream Cake

1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 8oz. tub Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (4oz.) Chocolate Instant Pudding
8 Oreo cookies chopped
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped

Pour fudge topping into medium bowl. Add 1 cup of the whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in chopped cookies; set aside.
Arrange 4 of the ice cream sandwiches, side by side, on 24 inch long piece of foil; top with half of the whipped topping mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches. Frost top and sides with the remaining whipped topping. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet. Freeze at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftover dessert in freezer.

This is a Cool Whip recipe.

Jenny's Corny Corn Bread Pudding

2 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1 stick melted butter
1 box Jiffy mix
1 can regular corn (drained)
1 can cream corn

Mix well and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

My mother in law made this for us while we were visiting her once. It sounds different, but was really good. She put them in a muffin pan to bake them.

Pumpkin Muffins

3 ¾ c pumpkin (1 large can)
2 cups sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
3 tsp baking soda
2 ¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp cinnamon
6 eggs beaten
5 cups flour
¾ cup oil
¾ cup applesauce
1 bag chocolate chips

Mix all together and bake at 325 for 30 minutes (or 18 minutes for mini
muffins). These freeze really well. I like to use a little wheat flour since the
muffins are already dark in color from the pumpkin the kids don’t suspect
the wheat flour. I have also tried adding 1-2 cups of flour and making
cookies instead of muffins. I baked them at 350 for 11 min. Enjoy!

By Andrea Peterson

Fudgy No-Bake Cookies

In a pan on the stove combine and cook until smooth:
¾ c. brown sugar
½ c. cocoa
½ c. milk
½ c. peanut butter
¼ c. powder milk
Add 3 cups oats and cook for 1 minute. Take off heat and add 1 tsp.
vanilla. Spoon into balls on wax paper to cool.

By Andrea Peterson

Cinnamon Roll Frosting

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

This is so good that by the time I got my camera to take a picture of it, it was already half gone! Luckily, Emily had made a spare:

1 pkg. 8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
1/4 t. vanilla
2 T. brown sugar
3/4 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Beat softened cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Slowly add sugars until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Place mixture on plastic wrap and form into a ball. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll ball.

Serve with graham cracker sticks.

Paul's Crepes

1 cup flour
3-4 eggs
1 1/2 c milk
vanilla
salt
3 T honey
1/4 inch melted butter

Spray pan with pam
350 degrees electric skillet

May be served with cool whip and any fresh fruit.

Oatmeal Scotchies

When we last went to visit my sister Alesha in Washington, she made these awesome crazy good cookies. I'm not sure what they are called, but they are Sooo good!
UPDATE- Emily now tells me they are called Oatmeal Scotchies, funny cause I would have named them 'Super-awesome-really-yummy-good-cookies-with-toffee-in-them'. Here's the recipe:
2 c. brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. fine coconut
2 1/4 c. flour
2 c. oatmeal
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
2 t. baking powder
1 c. heath toffee bits

Mix in order given after creaming butter, eggs, and sugar. Form into balls and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Brownies

2 c. sugar
2/3 c. cocoa
1 c. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 c. flour

Mix all ingredients well. Put in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Carmel Delights

1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c old fashion oats
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/8 c melted butter
14 oz bag Kraft caramels
1/2 c whipping cream
12 oz bag of milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine the first 6 ingredients to make mix. Melt caramels and whipping cream in a saucepan over low heat. Sprinkle 1/2 of mix into 9 x 13 ungreased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked mixture and top with melted caramel mixture; sprinkle remaining mix on tip. Bake at 350 degrees for another 15 minutes.