Sour Cream Banana Pudding

With summer quickly approaching, desserts should be a little lighter and not quite so rich. We love banana pudding. Of course, I prefer the cooked custard pudding, complete with meringue on the top. But, all of the kids in our family love the sour cream banana pudding. I first found the recipe in the "What's Cookin in the Mountains" recipe book. The recipe was from Babyland General Hopital in Clayton, Georgia - the home of the original Cabbage Patch dolls. No wonder it is a child's delight!

Sour Cream Banana Pudding

4-5 bananas - sliced

2 - 3.4 ounce boxes instant vanilla pudding

2 cups milk 

1 box "Nilla" wafers

1 12 oz container Cool Whip

1 8 oz carton sour cream

Mix vanilla pudding with 2 cups milk - will be very thick. Stir in 8 oz of Cool Whip and 8 oz of sour cream. Place a layer of vanilla wafers on bottom and up sides of trifle bowl. Add 1/3 of banana slices. Top with 1/3 of pudding mixture - Repeat two more times - ending with pudding mixture. Spread remaining Cool Whip over top of pudding and top with crumbled vanilla wafers - Chill for several hours before serving.

Macaroni Chicken Casserole at Work on Manic Monday

Everyone is very busy at our stores with Easter quickly approaching. I took lunch to work for all of my favorite girls today. Sometimes, we just get tired of "What do you want for lunch?" "I don't know, what do you want?" "I want something good, but I don't know what it is." You all know the  routine.

I even brought real plates and cloth napkins-

On the menu, we had Macaroni Parmesan Chicken Casserole and Company Salad with Horseradish Dressing.

Macaroni Parmesan Chicken Casserole

1 8 ounce box elbow macaroni, cooked and drained with salt added to the water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 3 ounce can mushrooms
11/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup Duke Mayonnaise
1/4 cup green pepper
1/4 cup onion
I sauteed the pepper and onions in a tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped pimientos
1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese - I always get parmesan cheese in the deli section with the gourmet cheese
1/2 cup saltine cracker crumbs

Combine Mayonnaise, soup, mushrooms and chicken in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients, except macaroni and cracker crumbs - . Stir in macaroni. Place in 2 quart casserole dish. Top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly - about 30 minutes.

Company Salad with Horseradish Dressing

 2 cups torn spinach leaves
2 cups torn red leaf lettuce leaves
2 cups torn bib lettuce
Combine all greens in large bowl
Add 1/2 thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese

Horseradish Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon horseradish
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
a few drops of hot sauce

This dressing is tangy and a little spicy - I love it!

Bon Appetite to all of you working girls - Take lunch to work for your friends!

Cream Cheese Squares

When I was a little girl my mother would take crescent rolls, cream cheese, and cinnamon sugar and create a delight just for me. Sometimes, she would make them after school while cooking supper, or sometimes we would have cream cheese squares with Saturday's breakfast. I don't have her recipe, but I have watched her enough to perhaps replicate these delicacies. All of the basics are found in your refrigerator or the pantry. Here is my updated version

2 Cans original crescent rolls

2 8 oz packages cream cheese 

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

1/2 cup margarine - I know that she used margarine, because butter was too expensive, and we never had real butter unless it was a holiday

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 9X13 pan - I used Baker's Joy, but she always used margarine

Lay one can of Crescent rolls to cover bottom of pan and up the sides just a bit - press together any perforations from the rolls. 

Beat the two bricks of cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and the vanilla ( I never measure vanilla - I always fill the cap- someone once told me that the cap holds one teaspoon of vanilla)

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the first layer of rolls

Open the 2nd can of rolls, and carefully place them over the cream cheese - Do not press down

Melt the stick of margarine and pour over the top layer of rolls

Stir in a small bowl the remaining sugar and cinnamon

Sprinkle over the top

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until the top is brown and crispy

Let cool completely before cutting

The top layer will be crispy and will taste just like cinnamon toast. This pretty much needs to be eaten the day it is prepared, as it tends to get soggy fast. Boy, is it good when it is fresh, sugary, and crisp. 

Please share any special treats that you mom made from leftover pie crusts, biscuits, rolls, or even light bread-