The Only Banana Cake Recipe You Will Ever Need

This really is THE BEST banana cake ever.  It just might be my most favorite dessert ever as well, and that's saying a lot since you all know I love my treats :).  It's very very moist with a wonderful texture.
One of my visiting teachers brought this cake over in cup cake form for us after Blake was born. I've made this a few times, but I don't make it often because my kitchen looks like a DISASTER after.  I think I use every bowl and dish I have by the time I'm done....that part  is not fun, but the finished product is worth it.
It refrigerates/freezes really well.  I think it actually tastes better after it's been in the fridge for a day or two.
Also, baking times can vary, I think I had to bake it longer than the suggested time.

Banana Cake
1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups icing sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275°.
Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.
Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
Stir in banana mixture.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.
Spread on cooled cake.
Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of the frosting, if desired.
Link here!

Best Pizza Crust I've made Thus Far

I haven't tried a ton of pizza crust recipes, but I just tried this one last night and we loved it! I used white flour, but I"m sure you could use wheat or a combination of the two. 

King Arthur Pizza Crust

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast
• 7/8 to 1 1/8 cups lukewarm water*
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• *Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.
• Kalli's Note:  The directions are really really long, but it's really not that hard, it's just a basic dough recipe "mix, rise, punch down, shape, rise, bake". Since they're super long, I didn't want to add them to this post, so just go here if you want to make the recipe.  I think they just wrote them out very detailed.  
• It says to shape the dough and then let it rise again, but I didn't do that because I don't like really puffy crust, and I was in a rush.  It turned out great like that.  ****I also buttered the crust and sprinkled garlic salt and a little parmesan on it before baking and it was really good!  it was like breadsticks plus pizza :).  I highly recommend doing this ****

Brazilian Shrimp Soup

This is the soup I made for Mom's birthday lunch.
adapted from annie's eats

2 Tablespoons coconut or olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
4 cups water mixed with 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 can light coconut milk
1 1/2 lbs. medium shrimp, cleaned and cut horizontally
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
salt to taste
cooked Jasmine rice 2-3 cups

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and red bell pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 3-4 minutes more.  Add the red pepper flakes, oregano, chicken bouillon, water/cornstarch mixture, and crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and cover, simmering for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add the coconut milk and shrimp and simmer until the shrimp is cooked through, 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the black pepper, lime juice and cilantro.  Salt to taste.  To serve, spoon about 1/3 cup of cooked rice in a bowl and ladle the soup over the rice.  Garnish with more cilantro if desired.  Serves 6-8.  

Jessica's note:  This is the way I should have made the recipe - with less red pepper flakes and water.  Next time I think I'll add some shoepeg corn and black beans at the end with the shrimp. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

slightly adapted from Make and Takes

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large banana, mashed

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 to 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Prepare a cookie sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. 

Cream the butter with the sugars. Add the vanilla, egg, and banana.  Mix well.  Then add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.  Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.  

Jessica's note:  I usually double the recipe and freeze the dough balls on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, I put them in freezer bags so I can bake a few cookies at a time.  I like the cookies much better when they are freshly baked. Walnuts would be yummy to add in with the oats and chocolate chips.

Grandma Joyce's Scones

Makes enough for 30+ people

4 Tablespoons yeast
1 cup warm water
12 cups flour
1 cup powdered milk
2 Tablespoons salt
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups warm water
1 cup oil
4 eggs

If using non-instant yeast, combine first two ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast is bubbly.  Then combine with the rest of the ingredients.  If using instant or bread machine yeast, just combine all the ingredients without proofing the yeast.  Dough will be sticky.  Let rise once or twice before frying the scones.  You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for a few days, but make sure the container is large enough since the dough will continue to rise.  With floured hands, flatten out golf ball-sized pieces of dough and fry the scones in 400* oil for a minute or two on each side until golden brown.  Place on a paper towel to drain and serve warm.  You can also put them in a 200* oven on a wire rack to keep warm until serving.

Jessica's note -  I only made 1/4 of the recipe and it was more than plenty for my family.  Here's the measurements:
1 Tablespoon yeast (I used instant), 1 1/4 cup warm water, 3 cups flour (one cup was whole wheat), 1/4 cup powdered milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1/4 cup oil, 1 egg.

Here's my favorite honey butter recipe. I also add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon vanilla.