Banana Toffee Poke Cake

from lilluna.com

This is SO TASTY!

1 18.25 oz box yellow cake mix
1⁄4 cup brown sugar
3 ripe mashed bananas
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
1⁄2 cup sour cream
3 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2⁄3 cup caramel ice cream topping, plus 2 tablespoons for drizzling 

1 8 oz container whipped topping
1⁄4 cup toffee bits

In a mixer, combine cake mix and brown sugar. Add mashed bananas. Stir in oil and sour cream until blended. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Stir in vanilla. Pour cake into a greased 9 x 13 in pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cake cool completely.

When cake has cooled, poke holes in the cake using the end of a wooden spoon. Carefully pour caramel over cake; spreading if necessary, making sure caramel fills in the holes. Cover cake with whipped topping. Sprinkle with toffee bits and drizzle with extra caramel.

Boys say: two thumbs up

Green Chile Burritos

lightly adapted from lilluna.com

I love finding a new cooking blog or book that inspires me to try new recipes. As you can see from the most recent posts, I've discovered lilluna.com and have found some great recipes. I get bored easily and can't make the same thing over and over! I'm grateful for good cooks who share their talents.


When I saw this recipe I wasn't sure I'd like it but I was so wrong! I'm really glad we tried it.

1 2.5-3 lb beef roast
2 TB Italian Dressing Dry Mix
2 TB Hidden Valley Dry Mix
2 TB Brown Gravy Dry Mix
1⁄2 cup water
1 - 2 cups 505 Green Chile Sauce (or whatever great salsa verde you can find at your store)
Tortillas

Mix Brown Gravy Dry Mix, Hidden Valley Dry Mix and Italian Dressing Dry Mix together.

Place chuck roast in your slow cooker. Pour 1⁄2 cup water over your roast. Sprinkle mix all over the top of your roast. Cook on HIGH for at least 4 hours. 

Remove meat from the slow cooker and shred using two forks. Pour out the liquid from the slow cooker. Place the shredded meat back in the slow cooker.

Add your green chile sauce, mix and cook until your sauce is warm. Serve on warm tortillas. I added chopped red onion and avocado slices to mine. Cotija cheese is another good topping for these burritos/tacos. 

Husband rating: 2 stars

My rating: 4 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

Southwest Chopped Salad

lightly adapted from lilluna.com

I love to have a great big healthy salad for dinner. This is one of our family's favorites. I promise there is lettuce under all those delicious toppings pictured above!

1 large head of Romaine lettuce
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large orange bell pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
1 cup corn
1-2 grilled chicken breasts, chopped
1 avocado, cubed

1 cucumber, sliced

1 cup carrot sticks
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced (optional)
green onions (optional)

I make the Tomatillo Ranch Dressing found here to go on this salad. 

Husband rating: 4.5 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

Nutella Brownies

from thecomfortofcooking.com

Our son loves brownies and he loves Nutella. So for his birthday this year I made Nutella brownies. This recipe is so easy we could make it more than once a year on birthdays! 

1 1/4 cup (13 oz.) Nutella 
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8x8-inch (or 9x9) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into prepared dish and smooth top with spatula.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake, otherwise brownies will dry out. Let cool before cutting and serving. 

We had these with vanilla ice cream and everyone loved them.

Boys rating: two thumbs up

Grilled Huli Huli Chicken

from lilluna.com

With a big family it can be hard to feed so many mouths and keep any money in the bank! This is an inexpensive, tasty meal.

1 cup packed brown sugar
3⁄4 cup ketchup
3⁄4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce* 

1⁄3 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
12 boneless skinless chicken thighs 

Mix brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, broth, ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Take out 1 cup to reserve for basting and refrigerate this.

Place the rest of the marinade into a large Ziploc bag with the thighs. Refrigerate overnight.

Discard marinade from chicken. Grill thighs until no longer pink, basting with the extra marinade as you grill. Or, place the extra marinade in a small pan. Heat until warm then drizzle this over the chicken and rice. 

Husband rating: 4 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

*with gluten-free soy sauce this is a gluten-free meal

Snickerdoodles

from lilluna.com

My husband loves snickerdoodles. For his birthday I decided to finally find a great snickerdoodle recipe. This one is a winner! One tip-you will probably want to take them out before you think they are done. In my oven 10 minutes is perfect. Any longer and we think they are too crispy. 

For cookie dough:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3⁄4 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar 
1 tsp. baking soda
1⁄2 tsp. salt

For cinnamon sugar mix:
2 TB sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon


1. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 
2. Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and blend well.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
4. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
5. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. 

(Makes about 4 dozen cookies) 


Husband rating: 5 stars
Boys say: thumbs up