Would you believe me if I said you could do something with those mushy brown bananas? No… not garden fertilizer. Some of the best (and moist) banana bread I’ve ever made was from the brownest banana in the bundle! It may sound strange… gross… or even unsafe to eat those rotting bananas, but they are safe (and tasty in bread).

My mom and I have been baking banana bread using this recipe for as long as I can remember. It makes a great holiday gift because you can buy those disposable foil loaf pans. They’re inexpensive and you can easily wrap up your loaves in some festive cellophane wrap (tied with a ribbon) for an extra touch.

It’s a cheap way to say happy holidays… or if it’s not a holiday season, it’s just a good way to remind someone that you’re thinking of them. My neighbors, especially, love these loaves!

Yield: 16 servings (note: the mini foil loaves will only have 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
• ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

1) Preheat over to 350 degrees .Combine flour, baking soda and salt and blend with a whisk. Set aside.

2) Place sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about one minute).

3) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt and vanilla and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed just until moist.

4) Spoon batter into an 8 ½ x 4 ½ -inch loaf pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

5) Cool 10 minutes in pan or on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

I especially love this bread right out of the oven and a glass of milk! For fun variations to this delicious recipe try adding a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or a cup of your favorite nut (I like pecans in this recipe.)

You can make the bread plain as well. To distinguish the loaves, sprinkle a little bit of your “special ingredient” on top of the loaves, like the chocolate chips or the pecans. Yum! I think you too will find that this moist banana bread recipe is completely worth the wait for the brown bananas!

While the flavor is simply plain, it gives you so many options as to what to use for topping. Want a cherry cheesecake? Try this recipe with a can of cherry topping (better yet, some fresh cherries!)

Maybe chocolate cheesecake is more “your speed”. This recipe with a hot fudge glaze or sauce is a great addition. Experiment with it. Have fun, bake limitlessly, and love every inch of this simple, simple cheesecake recipe!

Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust

Topping Ideas

• 1/2 cup sour cream (mixed with 2 tbsp sugar)
• 1 cup cherry pie filling
• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• prepared Jello gelatin
• a thin chocolate sauce

Directions

1) Mix cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and eggs.

2) Pour into premade pie crust.

3) Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until a 3 inch circle in center jiggles when you “give it a shake”.

4) Cool 3 hours or overnight.

5) Serve with desired topping…enjoy!

My personal favorite topping is a drizzle of chocolate sauce with some freshly sliced strawberries atop this delicious cheesecake. This recipe is perfect for any occasion where a cheesecake is needed in a short amount of time or when ingredients are running low… but cheesecake cravings are running high.

Any time, any day, any reason, any occasion, any slice, any way—it’s a yes to this simple cheesecake recipe. Give it a try for yourself.

Growing up, I used to eat strawberries by the handful. My mom could hardly even wash them off as fast as I would gobble them down.

She and I were both excited, when we stumbled across a recipe for easy strawberry cake.

I’ve always liked this recipe because I think that a strawberry cake should always have real strawberries in or on it. Obviously, this strawberry cake recipe does just that and for this reason and many others… it is delicious.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 pkg. strawberry gelatin
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup nuts, chopped
• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 4 eggs

Topping:

• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1 box confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 stick butter, softened

Directions:

For Cake:

1) Mix gelatin with flour and cake mix. Add water, oil, and strawberries. Add the eggs, mixing well after each egg.

2) Transfer batter to a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan.

3) Bake at 325F for about 35 minutes.

For Topping:

1) Mix sugar and softened butter well. Add strawberries and pecans and blend until smooth enough for spreading.

Delicious! Many other strawberry cake recipes stick solely to the gelatin. For me, the gelatin is good, but nothing is as good as having your cake and it’s topped with real, rich strawberries. I small scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and I’m a happy girl! One slice of this strawberry cake and you sure would be happy too.