Best Ever Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

George Oman asked for banana cake for his birthday and he loved this recipe. He is somewhat of a banana cake aficionado.

Ingredients:

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°. (Yes, that is correct)

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 (mine took 1 1/2 hours) 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.

Scottish Shortbread

I just love Scottish Shortbread cookies and I found this recipe that I made with my kids when they came down for the summer from Chicago. Everyone loved this recipe, so I thought I'd share it.

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 20 min./batch

Ingredients

2 cups butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add 3-3/4 cups flour and mix well. Turn onto a floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

2. Roll to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut into 3-in. x 1-in. strips. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. (parchment paper optional) Prick with fork. Bake at 325° for 20-25 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Yield: about 4 dozen.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

This is my absolute favorite meal! Every year I want sour cream enchiladas and strawberry cake for my birthday. Yuummmy!

And to show you how simple they are I took step-by-step photos. You're welcome.






1 dozen corn tortillas

Sauce:
2 Tbsp minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 large can whole tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
dash black pepper

Filling:
1 8oz carton sour cream
4 oz monterey jack cheese, grated
4 oz cheddar cheese, grates
garlic powder and onion salt to taste

To make sauce saute onion and garlic in oil. Add flour and blend well. Put tomatoes and spices into a blender and blend until pureed. Pour mixture into sauce pan with onion and simmer.

To make filling combine sour cream, cheeses and spices in a large bowl.

Melt lard or Crisco in a frying pan (I prefer this but you can use oil too) and dip tortillas to soften.
















Then dip tortilla into the sauce.
















Fill with heaping Tbsp of filling.
















Roll up and place in a baking dish.
















Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas.
















Top with grated cheese.
















Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes at 350
















(serves six - but of course I always double the recipe.)

Veggie Yummy

At the request of several siblings, may I present the incredibly simple, yet delicious Veggie Yummy.

What you need:
2 med zucchini, quartered
2 med yellow squash, quartered
1 red or yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans Rotel tomatoes (as spicy as you like it)
olive oil

In a large saute pan, saute onions and garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once the onions are translucent add the chopped zucchini and squash. Cover and let simmer until squash and zucchini are soft. Add cans of Rotel tomatoes (sometimes I only need one can depending on the size of your veggies, but usually it's two) heat through and serve.

I love this recipe because you can use it a ton of different ways, so your left overs never go to waste. You can serve it on it's own as a side, over rice, in an omelet, or in a burrito with refried beans, cheese and sour cream -my personal favorite. Mmmmmm! Now that's why we can it veggie yummy! (And now I'm hungry and really want to make it.)