Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

As most of us do at one time or another (or quite often) I had some bananas that were past the point that anyone in our house would eat. I made some banana bread the other day and usually make muffins but had cake on my mind today. It made a great dessert for Sunday dinner. After a short search, I found this really easy, quick recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker blog. Just a note about the frosting, you can double the recipe easily and that will actually take it to what she had on her blog. Although I love cream cheese frosting, I found that half the recipe (which you'll find below) was perfect.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
serves about 12

For the cake:
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 c sugar
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c buttermilk

For the frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
pinch salt
2 c powdered sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375*. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Using a mixer, beat the sugar and oil together on medium speed until completely combined. Add both eggs and beat, then add the mashed bananas and vanilla; beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing until combined. Pour into pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and salt. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it has all been combined. Add the vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy.

Spread the frosting over cooled cake, cut into squares and serve. Leftovers should be covered with plastic wrap and kept at room temperature or in the fridge for up to four days.

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

Thanks to Lynn's Kitchen Adventures, I know now about making baked potatoes in the crockpot. Never would have thought of it, but it sure is a great way to make baked potatoes in the summer. I also think it will be nice in the winter, throw them in at breakfast, eat at lunch.

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

Four baking potatoes fit nicely in the bottom of my crock. I'm not sure how it would work if you stacked them, they'd probably need to cook all day. You'll have to figure out how many will fit in your crock.

Wash the potatoes and stab them with a fork a few times. Rub with olive oil, put in the crock and sprinkle with sea salt. You can also salt first, then wrap in foil. Cook on high 6-7 hours.

Steak and Spinach Pinwheel with crockpot baked potato

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I had a hankering for some homemade ice cream the other night. We've got a small ice cream maker, which works great. The only problem I ran into was that it was filled with an inch of ice (it has a canister you have to put in the freezer and somehow it got a bunch of water in it). Once that defrosted and I could get it out, I refroze the container and we were good to go.

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
makes 1 quart

1 1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 c whole milk
1/2 c sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions, stirring in the chips towards the end (before it gets too hard).

Cucumber Salad

I'm not sure you could really call this a "salad" since it's really just marinated cucumbers but that's what it was called in the cookbook. It came from a Swedish cookbook my mom has and it's one we've enjoyed for years. The nice, cool, crisp cucumbers really are enjoyable during the hot summer months.

Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/2 c vinegar
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c sugar
chopped parsley for garnish

Mix vinegar, water, and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the sliced cucumber to the marinade and chill in the fridge for several hours. You can reuse the marinade.

Blueberry Buckle

I got this recipe from friends several (many) years ago when I was still working. Kevin must have brought it in to the office one morning when we were doing a potluck and I got the recipe from his wife. A yummy way to use the abundant blueberries at this time of year.

Blueberry Buckle

2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c shortening or butter
1 egg
1/2 c milk
2 c blueberries

topping:
1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1/2 - 1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c soft butter

For the cake part, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a small bowl. Cream the sugar and shortening or butter. Add the egg and milk. Mix in the dry ingredients. Fold in the blueberries. Spread into a greased 9" pan.

Mix together the topping ingredients with a pastry blender. Sprinkle on top of the blueberry mixture.

Bake at 375* for 45-50 minutes until cake tests done.

You can also double this for a 9x13 pan.

Chicken and Sausage Skewers

This recipe is from the Food section of The Washington Post from a few years ago. I saw it, thought it sounded good, made it a few times and found it to be delicious, then forgot about it. For some reason it came to mind again last month, but it took me a while to find the recipe. Turns out it was in my recipe box. I made it a few weeks ago for the family and again Saturday night when we had friends over. It was a big hit both times. So glad I found it again.

Chicken and Sausage Skewers
serves 6

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 c mild olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 to 2 lbs mild link sausage*


In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the mixture into a large ziploc bag and add the chicken pieces. Close the bag and gently shake to combine thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

If using precooked sausage, cut into 3/4 inch pieces and refrigerate until ready to use. If using fresh sausage, poach the sausages in simmering water for 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the water and let cool, then cut into 3/4 inch pieces and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the grill. On one skewer thread a piece of chicken, then sausage (sideways, through the skin), repeat ending with a piece of chicken until you have skewered all the meat. Cook on the grill over medium heat about 6 minutes per side.

*You can use any type of sausage you like, pork, turkey, chicken sausage w/seasoning, or sweet Italian, which is what I usually use.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

We made these tonight for Sarah to take to bible study with the youth. I snuck one before she left and I think they'd be a fun eat for a snack or appetizer or they'd make a great lunch with a salad. They're also quick and easy, bonus! We found this on Pinterest.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
makes 24

3/4 c flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
pinch of salt

pinch of red pepper
3/4 c milk
1 egg
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 c cubed pepperoni (I cut sliced pepperoni into quarters)
1/2 c pizza sauce

Preheaet the oven to 375*. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan, and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and put into the pan. Bake until puffed and golden, 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Note: we had extra batter and made one in a regular size muffin pan. You could make these regular size; if you do, you'll need to bake them for 5-8 minutes longer.