Not your usual supermodel bananas, but these babies are so ready to make some fantastic banana bread

There always seem to be plenty of brown bananas lying around my house and this recipe is the perfect way to use them. Not only will you have a yummy snack and tasty breakfast the next day (if your family can resist eating it all), but your house will smell awesome!

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

Serves 8

Ingredients

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 3  ripe bananas
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Equipment

• Pastry blender
• Large mixing bowl
• Rubber spatula
• 5”x9” loaf pan

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Spray your loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

Peel your bananas and place into the mixing bowl.  Using the pastry blender (or a fork), mash the bananas until there are very few lumps and they look gooey.  Add the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla to the bananas, using the rubber spatula to stir well to combine.

Add the flour, followed by the baking soda, and salt.  Use the rubber spatula to stir until just combined with no lumps of flour remaining. Be careful here, because you don’t want to over-mix it either. That will make your banana bread tough.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place on the middle shelf in the oven.  Bake for 50 minutes to one hour or until cooked through.

Remove pan from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes; remove loaf from pan.  Let the loaf cool the rest of the way, or dive right in and eat a piece while it’s warm.  Just be sure to share!

Time: 10 minutes prep, 1 hour active cooking time

Get permission for: oven use (baking)  ­

Popularity: 2% [?]

A few of the things you'll need to whip up your own homemade pizza sauce

Making your own pizza sauce is super easy, plus you’ll have the chance to slice and dice your way to pizza stardom by using fresh onions and garlic (totally necessary to good sauce). Here’s what you’re gonna need:

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Enough for 2 large pizzas

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed or whole
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat on the stove. Add olive oil to pan, then add onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, or until beginning to become fragrant. Add the sugar and cook one minute more. Pour tomato sauce into the pan, then add the thyme, basil, fennel seeds, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. (This freezes great!!)

Popularity: 2% [?]

You’ve seen the video, now it’s time to knead your way to pizza goodness. You’re just going to need a few things to get you started.

Homemade Pizza Dough

Makes 2-10″ pizzas or one big pizza

• 2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water (not too hot–you’ll kill your yeast and your dough won’t rise)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour, plus a little more for kneading
• cooking spray
• large bowl
• plastic wrap
• rolling pin
• baking sheet

Place the yeast, sugar, and warm water in the bowl and stir to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes.

If bubbles have formed after 5 minutes, woo hoo! Your yeast is alive and ready to do it’s thing.

Add salt and olive oil to the yeast/water mixture, then stir to combine.

Add 1 cup flour to the yeast mixture, then stir well again. Your dough will be super soft and very sticky. Add the second cup of flour and stir until it gets really hard to do. Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto the counter top and dump dough onto the counter. Begin to knead the dough (take a look at the video again here if you need a reminder), adding a bit of flour if it gets too sticky to work with or begins to stick to the table. You may use all of the flour you measured out, or you may not. It all kinda depends on the weather or how you measured the water.

Kneading the dough

You’ll knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until it starts to look nice and smooth.

Clean your bowl and dry it well. Spray the bowl lightly with the cooking spray, then place the dough in the bowl. Flip the dough over, just to make sure it’s lightly coated with cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the bowl in a warm, but not hot place for about 45 minutes, or until the dough has just about doubled in size.

Punch the dough one time to release some of the air, then set aside for 5 minutes to let it relax (hey–you’d want to relax too if someone just punched you!).

Punch down your dough

Sprinkle some flour on the table, and some on your rolling pin too. Cut your dough in half and gently shape into a ball. Set one ball of dough aside, covered, until you’re ready to roll it.

Roll your dough into a circle, or whatever shape floats your boat, being sure to add some flour to the table or rolling pin if it starts to stick.

Preheat your oven to 450-degrees.

Place your pizza on a baking sheet and top with your favorite toppings–get crazy!

Bake your pizza for 12-15 minutes, until the edges have started to brown and your cheese has melted.

Gooey, cheesy goodness!

Now…wasn’t that easy?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Vanilla milkshakes, fancy straws optional :)

It’s true. Sometimes you want a treat. You know that you should eat healthy foods, and that they’re an important part of every meal you eat. But if you eat right, and load up with all those super yummy fruits and veggies, it’s ok to have a treat every once and a while. Especially if you make it yourself.

So today, I propose a little warm weather treat for you and a friend: vanilla milkshakes.

Vanilla Milkshakes

Serves 2

• 2 cups vanilla ice cream
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• a good pinch of salt

Place all ingredients into a blender. Place the lid on the blender, and hold. While holding the lid, turn the blender onto it’s highest setting for 30 seconds. Pour into two glasses and enjoy!!

Popularity: 2% [?]