Brilliant Banana Bread

I never used to be a huge banana bread fan, but Mikey Jr LOVES it so I have made it frequently for him over the years, especially when we have bananas that have gone brown. This recipe is so fantastically yummy that it makes me actually want to buy too many bananas so that I know I will have brown ones soon! It has the most amazingly wonderful, tender, moist texture and the perfect balance of sweetness making it my number one go-to recipe for banana bread.

Did you know the more ripe your bananas are, the more flavorful your bread will be? Are they almost black? PERFECT! Your bread will be moist and delicious! You can do several different variations of this bread. Add chocolate chips, walnuts or pecans, a combination of chocolate chips and nuts or nothing at all! When I make it I divide the batter in half and do two different variations to appease all the people in my house. This recipe makes two loaves.

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 1/3 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 overripe bananas, mashed in a small bowl with a fork till nice and mushy
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk*
Optional Mix-Ins:
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

*If you don't have buttermilk on hand, put one tbsp of lemon juice in the bottom of a measuring cup. Fill with milk to the 1/2 cup line and let sit for about 5 minutes until it starts to curdle. (This is what I usually use when making it.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two regular sized loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes in your mixer. Beat in your eggs one at a time.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. Add in the mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla and mix well.

At this point stir in your mix-ins. (You can do mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, a combination of both or nothing at all.)

Pour batter evenly into the two greased loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes then run a knife around the edge and remove from pans. Let cool completely then slice and enjoy!

Instant Pot Turtle Cheesecake

It has been instant pot cheesecake world in my house for the past couple of weeks and believe me, no-one is complaining. My hubbies favorite cheesecake has always been turtle, so I thought, why not? Let's change up the crust and topping and see how it turns out! How it turned out was that this is his FAVORITE flavor thus far. (Not to mention it looked pretty impressive.)

I'm telling you, instant pot cheesecake is my favorite texture cheesecake. I don't know that I will be able to buy store bought ever again. The number of flavor combinations you could do with this base is unlimited. (Think any kind of fresh fruit, pie filling, baking chips, nuts - what couldn't you do?)

As always, remember that it is super important to have room temperature ingredients. This helps the cheesecake be smooth and creamy and NOT grainy! Also, you don't want to over mix the cheesecake batter once you are adding in eggs, so beat it as smooth as you can with the other ingredients…

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Now this is not the kind of meal you make every week. It's the kind of meal you make when you just need complete comfort food. I have been making homemade mac and cheese for years now and I always make it exactly the same, but for some reason I decided to switch it up a little bit this last time and make a couple of tweaks. All I can say is WOW... we were in gooey cheese heaven, so here is my new and improved recipe with a few tweaks from my original. It is hands down the best mac and cheese I have ever made. The family agreed.

Note: If you want to add in some different cheese, feel free to switch out 8oz of the cheese in the sauce for your favorite. My two favorites are Gouda or Gruyere and if I have one of those on hand I will use 8oz of one of those, replacing half the sharp cheddar in the sauce.

18-24oz of your favorite pasta, (penne, cellentani and rigatoni are our favs)
1 stick butter (8 Tbsp)
4 Tbsp cornstarch
4 cups milk
16oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (or 8oz …

Easy No-Knead Artisan Bread

I've been wanting to try a no-knead overnight bread recipe for months but never tried it until Dee's sweet newly-wed friend, Addison, made us a loaf. I could kick myself for not trying this sooner!! I love artisan bread - the fermented flavor of it, the crisp chewiness of the outside crust and soft, delicious inside. Smother a piece of that bread with butter and jam and I'm in complete heaven.

This bread is SO quick to throw together and requires simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. Just flour, salt, yeast and water! The hardest part is letting it do it's thing for a minimum of 8 hours but up to 24 hours. (Every recipe I have read says the best flavor starts with at least 12 hours of counter time.) Best practice for me is to just mix the ingredients together the night before you want to eat it, cover in saran wrap and leave it to do it's thing till you are ready to bake the next day!

Is it bad that it's becoming a habit to m…

Caramelitas

Layers of rich chocolate, gooey caramel and buttery oats... Caramelitas are one of my hubbies favorite cookie bars. They are so easy to make and so gungy delicious, it's hard to stop eating them.
You can actually half this recipe and put it in an 8x8 pan if you prefer not to make so many, but I love to make this in a big 9x13 pan and share with the neighbors. Seriously, you can't go wrong with this caramel and chocolate treat.
These bars get even better the longer they sit, so it is better to make them the night before you want to serve them and just cover them with a small, clean towel once they have cooled a bit. I know, I know... how are you supposed to resist eating them? Trust me... they are worth the wait!
Ingredients:
2 (11oz bags) caramel bits (in the baking aisle)
1 cup whipping cream 2 cups quick cooking oats 2 cups brown sugar 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) melted butter 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Melt the caramel bits and whipping cream toge…

Nestle Toll house Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

The only way I can describe this pie is "a little slice of heaven." This is the first pie I ever made for my hubby when we got married because how can you go wrong as a new bride with chocolate chips and chopped nuts in a pie topped with cream? It is so deliciously rich and decadent, but sooooooooooo incredibly easy to make.

I got this recipe from Nestle Toll House years ago, in fact the original recipe was a cut out from somewhere and stuck on a piece of paper in a make shift recipe box because there were no recipe websites back then! I knew when I saw this recipe that it was something I had to try and that it would be something my hubby would love because he LOVES warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies. I was not wrong in my assumptions. This pie is definitely as good as you think it's going to be. A flaky crust, gooey filling and slightly crispy top makes it heavenly!

Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie shell, (you can use a store bought or your favorite recipe OR there is …

The Absolute Best Massive Chocolate Chip Cookies

My son brought home the most MASSIVE cookies from a place called Chip in SLC a few weeks ago. I'm not going to lie, they were absolutely delicious. So I did what I always do and looked for a copycat recipe. No such luck, but I set to work anyway! After a few test runs, I got the cookie exactly as I wanted... stuffed with chocolate and nuts with a perfect crunch on the outside and a soft, slightly gooey center. These are complete heaven, and we all agree that it is the best cookie I've ever made hands down. I have made and delivered literally hundreds of these cookies to friends, neighbors and co-workers and everyone loves them. I've even been told they are better than Chip or Crumbl! (You will have to be the judge.) Give them a try and be everyone's favorite baker! (If you aren't grasping how big these suckers are, check out the 16oz glass of milk behind them!)
Ingredients:
1 cup cold butter, cut up into cubes
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated s…

Sweet Cream Pancakes (Copycat Black Bear)

I don't know what it is about Black Bears pancakes that make them so much more delicious than most pancakes, at least I didn't know until I did a little digging and and found out they are what they call "sweet cream" pancakes! Have you ever tried sweet cream pancakes? They are made with heavy cream which gives them a light, fluffy texture with golden edges that just melt in your mouth.
I've never met anyone who doesn't love a good pancake. It's perfect for a crowd as you can just get out a big griddle and set out all kinds of different toppings to make it fun. These are my families favorite and we love sprinkling them with pecans, chopped bananas and pure maple syrup, or serving them with fresh raspberries and whipped cream. You do you though! The possibilities are endless!!
My daughter, Dee, was very skeptical that we could recreate such deliciousness at home, but we both felt like this recipe absolutely nails it. Black Bear likes to make their pa…

Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels

I've always wanted to try and make soft pretzels. There is something about a soft, warm pretzel dipped in mustard or cheese sauce that just makes your soul happy. However, the shaping of the pretzels and the baking soda bath seemed a little intimidating to me! Well guess what? It turns out they aren't intimidating at all. These pretzels come together quickly and are absolutely delicious.

This recipe makes 8 pretzels and I will admit to you that each of us ate two, no problem at all. In fact, it's a good thing it only makes 8 or we would have probably kept eating them. My seasoning of choice is the everything bagel seasoning, (I get mine at Trader Joes), but you can use coarse sea salt or even sesame seeds if you prefer.

Ingredients:
1 cup very warm water
2-1/4 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar - I like brown, but either works
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp salt
2-1/2 to 2-3/4 cups AP flour

8 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda

1 egg whisked together with 1 Tbsp water
Everything bagel …

Cheesy Funeral Potato Casserole

I have had many different kinds of "funeral potatoes" but this is by FAR my favorite and one of my most requested recipes. The name "funeral potatoes" is just so morbid to me, so I prefer to call them cheesy potatoes myself. I have been making these this way since we got married and have never changed the recipe. They are requested for EVERY family gathering we have, and I usually have to take at LEAST two pans. If I'm asked to take in dinner to someone, there is a 95% chance they are getting ham and these.

These cheesy potatoes are full of shortcuts including using a bag of frozen southern style hash browns so you don’t have to chop up all those potatoes!! Just mix everything together, dump in a casserole dish and let the oven do it’s thing. These are a.maz.ing!! They are super easy to assemble, but don't skimp on the cooking time. The longer in the oven, the better. This cheesy funeral potato casserole is to die for!!

Ingredients:
1 28-32oz pkg fr…

Copycat Lipton Dry Beefy Onion Soup Mix

I was in the middle of making beef with au jus for french dip sandwiches when I realized I was out of Lipton beefy onion soup mix, a main ingredient in my au jus drippings. Not wanting to stop what I was doing to run to the store, I decided I would quickly try and make my own. All I'm going to say at this point is that I will definitely not be buying those little packets again. I can make a TON of this with ingredients I already have in my spice cupboard, and it was soooooo good. The best au jus I have ever made!
Ingredients:
8 Tbsp beef bouillon powder (I like the Knorr beef granulated bouillon for this)
1/2 cup minced onion flakes
3 tsp parsley
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper

Place all the ingredients in a mason jar or other airtight container, secure the lid and shake till well combined. Keep in your spice cabinet or another dark, cool place.

2 Tbsp of this mix should replace 1 package of soup mix in your dip, …

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