Tennessee Peaches & Cream Pie

This is one of my favorite summer pies, passed down from my Great Aunt Bobbi. It is wonderfully refreshing on a warm, sunny day and a great way to use fresh peaches.

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
3 1/2 c. whipped cream, divided
1 pie shell, cooked and cooled (I use a homemade tart pie shell)
2-4 medium peaches, diced
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 c. cold milk
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. Fold in 2 cups whipped cream. Spread on crust. Top with diced peaches, pressing down into cream mixture. Chill while making the top layer.

Prepare pudding using 1 cup cold milk. Add extract and let stand for 5 minutes. Fold in remaining whipped cream and spoon over cream cheese mixture. Decorate with fresh peaches on top. Freeze for 1 hour or refrigerate for 3 hours.

Yield: 1 9" pie

Banana, Banana, Banana Cake

I am always on the lookout for new recipes for ripe bananas. The girls love bananas, but I can't seem to find the right amount to buy. We either don't have enough, or we have lots of very ripe bananas. I tried this recipe today and took it to a play date. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, so hear it is.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar (I used organic!)
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. confectioners' sugar (about)
1/2 ripe banana
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Combine the flours, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in banana(s) and lemon juice. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To make the frosting: In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, vanilla, confectioners' sugar, 1/2 banana, salt and lemon juice. Mix until smooth. Spread over cooled bars.

Homemade Strawberry Pie

After picking over 12 lbs. of strawberries last week at a local farm, I couldn't help but crave this recipe of my youth. The strawberry pie is amazing. Don't forget to add a big spoonful of whipped cream on the top.

1 qt. strawberries
1 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 c. water
1 small pkg. strawberry Jell-o
2 tsp. butter
Red food coloring

1 c. plus 1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preheat the over to 450 degrees. To make crust, mix melted butter and powdered sugar together until dissolved, cool. Add flour. Shape into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. After crust has cooled, fill with diced strawberries.

In a saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water. Bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in Jell-o packet, butter and food coloring to get a bright red color. Mix together then pour over the top of the strawberries. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Enjoy!

M&M Sugar Cookies

I have searched high and low for a best M&M cookie recipe out there, and here is the result. These cookies remind me of the yummy M&M cookies you can get in the mall. The best part is you can make them as chocolaty as you would like, since you put most of the M&M on top before baking.

1 c. shortening (can substitute real butter, but I found shortening works best)
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. M&Ms candy

Cream together shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Add 1/2 c. candies and mix until candies are incorporated. Drop by teaspoon into cookie sheet and decorate with remaining candies (just push them into the top). Bake at 375 for 9-12 minutes - they should be a golden color. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing.

Hint: Since I have OCD tendencies, I like to make sure each cookie has every color of M&M. Sounds silly but they look so pretty when they have a rainbow on top. The girls love to put the M&Ms on the top, so this is a great recipe for little hands (and little mouths!).

Li'l Bit O Lemon Sugar Cookies

This recipe is actually a mistake that turned out great. I was making sugar cookies and didn't have any cream of tartar, and I had already started. I decided to substitute lemon juice and add a little zest and viola - delicious sugar cookies with a little zing!

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. butter-flavored Crisco

2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Zest of two lemons

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

4 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

Cream butter, Crisco and sugars together. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, zest, soda, juice and salt. Mix well. Add flour slowly. Chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into a walnut-sized ball. Dip in sugar. Place on a greased cookie sheet and flatter with a spatula or your hand. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to wire cooling rack. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk

Yield: About 4 dozen cookies

Banana Split Cupcakes

Today Avery is celebrating her birthday at school and she picked out these cupcakes for her school treat. I haven't tried one yet, but they look so cute. Mia helped me finish them up this morning and she had a blast. Who knew chocolate drizzle and "putting a cherry on top" could be so fun. I would recommend this as a fun cupcake recipe for kids to help out with!

1 yellow cake mix, divided

1 c. water

1 c. mashed ripe bananas

3 eggs

1 c. chopped maraschino cherries, drained (I omitted)

1 1/2 c. miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided (I used the regular big guys)

1 c. vanilla frosting

1 c. marshmallow creme

1 tsp. shortening

30 whole maraschino cherries, drained and patted dry

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 30 regular-sized muffin cups with liners.

Reserve 2 tbsp. cake mix. Combine remaining cake mix, water, bananas and eggs in a large bowl. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Combine chopped cherries and reserved cake mix in a small bowl. Stir chopped cherry mixture and 1 c. chocolate chips into batter.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake 15-20 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Combine frosting and marshmallow creme in medium bowl until well blended. Frost each cupcake.

Combine remaining 1/2 c. chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 - 45 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds. Drizzle chocolate mixture over cupcakes. Place one whole cherry on each cupcake.

Hot Cocoa Microwave Cake

My sister-in-law sent me this recipe and it was so fun with the kids. Yes, you cook it in the microwave!

9 Tbsp. hot cocoa mix (3 individual packets)
4 Tbsp. flour
1 large egg
3 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. water

Spray a large mug with cooking spray. Mix cocoa mix and flour together. Add egg, oil and water and mix well. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Eat.

Spicy Pumpkin Bars

This is a recipe I have enjoyed since childhood. My mom always made these yummy bars for our fall bonfire. They are delicious!

1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. pureed pumpkin
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 1/2 c. four
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla and pumpkin. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture and blend. Spread in a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes.

Glaze:
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Cook brown sugar, butter, milk, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a sauce pan until bubbling. Stir in vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar. Pour and smooth over cooked bars.