I enjoyed making this no-bake dessert for a work picnic, and everyone enjoyed eating it! It is light and creamy, perfect for a hot day. The bananas worked well, but I think many other fruits would be good too!
Ingredients:
4 bananas, sliced
1 box Honey Graham Crackers
16oz Cool Whip
1 box vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk (to make pudding)
Instructions
1. Prepare the pudding.
2. Slice the bananas
3. Mix the pudding with the cool whip.
4. Spread a thin layer of cool whip mixture in a 9x13 pan just to coat the bottom.
5. Create 1 layer of graham crackers in the pan.
6. Spread a thick layer of whip mixture over the crackerss and top with a hearty layer of sliced bananas.
7. Place graham crackers on top of bananas, then whip mixture, then bananas.
8. Top with crunched up crackers and refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight.
This may be the best thing I’ve ever made. The reason why I think so: my fiance ate all of the leftovers for lunch the day after I made it. He never eats leftovers! I couldn’t believe this simple, vegetarian dish was such a hit!
Ingredients
3 T butter, divided
2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4” slices
2 medium summer squash, sliced into 1/4” slices
½ cup diced onion
½ cup shredded carrots
1 can of low-fat Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 cups Stuffing Mix, divided
Directions
1. Slice the onion, zucchini and summer squash.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Warm 2 T of butter in a large skillet over medium heat until melted. Add the onion, zucchini, summer squash and carrots and saute for 3-4 minutes.
4. Cover the pan and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes until the zucchini and summer squash are tender.
5. Remove the squash mixture from heat and stir in the soup, yogurt, and 1 ¼ cups of the stuffing until well combined.
6. Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish (I used a 3qt dish) and spread evenly.
7. Melt the remaining 1 T of butter in a medium bowl and combine with the remaining ¾ cup of stuffing mix. Sprinkle the stuffing across the top of the zucchini mixture in the casserole dish. Bake for about 30 minutes and serve warm.
From Emily Bites
This light and easy summer dinner is the perfect meal for two! My fiancé and I both enjoyed the warm spicy shrimp on top of crisp, citrusy veggies. It was the perfect amount of spice for me, but if you like a lot of heat, feel free to add more sriacha sauce. My fiancé covered his shrimp in sauce!
Ingredients
1 14 oz bag coleslaw mix
4 T toasted sesame oil
1 lime (1 t zest and 1 T juice)
2 1/2 T sriracha sauce
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Directions
1. Prepare the lime zest and juice, set aside.
2. In large skillet, cook coleslaw in sesame oil over medium-high, stirring, 2 minutes; season.
3. Stir in lime zest and juice; divide among plates.
4. In the same skillet, simmer remaining oil, sriracha and 2 T water over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
5. Add shrimp; cook, stirring, until opaque in center, about 3 minutes.
6. Top the coleslaw mix with shrimp, serve warm.
From Rachael Ray
I’ll be honest, this dish takes some work, but it’s worth it! It tastes like your favorite taco filling served with sweet, fluffy corn bread instead of a plain old tortilla. The cheese and onions on top give the casserole a unique look, and they taste delicious!
Ingredients
1.5 lb ground beef
1 can (15oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
½ cup water
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 package corn bread mix
1/3 cup French fried onions (divided)
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Chop green pepper, measure the ½ cup and set aside (or, like me, serve strips of green pepper with the casserole).
3. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, drain.
4. Stir in the corn, tomato sauce, water, green pepper and taco seasoning; mix well. Spoon into a greased 2-qt baking dish.
5. Prepare corn bread mix according to package directions. Stir in half the onions.
6. Spread the corn bread mix over beef mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining onions. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
6 servings
From the Taste of Home: Family-Favorite Casseroles (2006)
Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine recently published a bunch of muffin recipes and this one looked like the best to me! I love anything with coconut, and the tangy lemon zest goes great with it. I used applesauce instead of vegetable oil to make these muffins light and healthy. This is a nice alternative to those overly sweet muffins at the store!
Ingredients
• 2 cups flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, plus more for topping
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup applesauce
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 T lemon zest
• 2 eggs
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners
3. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, coconut flakes and salt.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk, applesauce, sugar, lemon zest and eggs.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold until just barely blended.
2. Divide the batter among the liners (fill about three-quarters). Top each with coconut flakes, pressing to adhere. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 13 to 17 minutes. Cool in the pan.
My mom made this dish growing up and I always loved it, especially when it was served with cheesy green beans on the side! It is tough to find cans of Spanish rice these days, so when you do, stock up! This extra healthy version fills you up with plenty of veggies and lean ground turkey. My fiancé enjoyed his topped with lots of hot sauce!
Ingredients
1 can of Spanish rice (I found it in the international aisle at Hillers)
1 green pepper
1 white onion
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 T vegetable oil
Hot sauce (optional)
Directions
1. Slice the green pepper and onion.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced pepper and onion and cook until the onions are soft.
3. Add the ground turkey to the skillet and brown.
4. Open the can of Spanish rice and mix into the skillet. Stir occasionally until the rice is warm. Serve warm.
Hot and cheesy dips are always a hit at get-togethers, and this dip was no exception! It disappeared fast at my book club last weekend; I may make a double-batch next time. I love the flavors of supreme pizza, but this could easily be altered to include any pizza toppings.
Ingredients
1 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced black olives (I skipped these)
14 slices pepperoni
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 t Italian seasoning
Pretzel-thins, for dipping
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a 9-inch pie plate (or brownie pan), spread the cream cheese in an even layer.
3. Top with the marinara and half the mushrooms, peppers, olives and pepperoni.
4. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Top with the remaining veggies and pepperoni.
5. Bake until the cheese melts, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Serve with the pretzel-thins.
From Rachael Ray
