Monkey Squares (Banana Bread Bars)

What is up with bananas and their incredibly short edibility window? Nobody in my family cares much for bananas except me, so I don't buy them often, but when I do it seems like I never actually get to eat more than one of them before they're brown and mushy! I've tried buying them green to give myself a little more time, but somehow they manage to go from under-ripe to overripe in less time than it takes me to convince myself to snack on a banana instead of a bag of chips.

I used to turn my brown bananas into a loaf of banana bread, but this recipe takes it up a notch with the addition of a browned butter icing that is freaking awesome! Even better, I've learned that I don't have to use my over-ripe bananas immediately, I can stick them in the freezer and pull them out when I'm good and ready! This is great for when you only have one sad, little banana left and the recipe calls for three.  The skin turns completely brown when you freeze them, but the inside is just the right kind of mushy for this yummy treat.

Monkey Squares
Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 25 min
Serves 24

1-1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Brown Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
4 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs milk

Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.

For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas and vanilla extract.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and mix just till combined. Stir in walnuts.

Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately. (The color change happens in an instant so watch carefully or it will burn!)

Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).

286 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Blackberry Crumble Bars

They say you appreciate things more if you have to work for them. If that's the case, then this ought to be the best dessert my family has ever had, especially for my mom!

Every summer, my husband and I pick blackberries from a tangle of bushes that grow wildly along the path we like to walk each night. I've never been to a blackberry farm, but I can only hope that cultivated bushes are a little easier to pick from than the unruly snarl we try to harvest. We usually leave bloody and covered in scratches and splinters, with purple fingers and torn clothes, but also with full baskets and happy smiles.

This year, my mom was visiting, so she agreed to help us with our endeavor, but her enthusiasm got the best of her when she tried to climb a little too deep into the maze and fell flat on her tushy, right in the middle of a thorny bush! She lost her whole bucket of berries, and her pride, but Allen and I managed to pick enough that she still got to enjoy this delicious dessert.

If you don't have access to your own berry patch, or prefer not to injure yourself in the quest for fresh berries, you can certainly go buy them.  I'm sure they'll taste almost as good! Actually, this recipe would work just fine with lots of different fruits, so feel free to try whatever kind you like!

Blackberry Crumble Bars

Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 40 min
Serves 16

3/4 cup + 1-1/2 tbsp sugar, divided
2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs lime juice
2 cups blackberries
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg yolk
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment and spritz lightly with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lime juice. Add blackberries, toss to coat, and set aside.

In larger bowl, whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add egg yolk, vanilla and butter cubes. Using a pastry cutter, work the mixture together until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Spread 2/3 of the mixture into prepared pan, pressing down to even out and flatten. Top with blackberry mixture, spreading into an even layer.  Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over top and then sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick test is clean and top is golden brown.

Let cool completely before cutting and serving unless you are serving with ice cream, which is better with a warm bar. Cool about 15 minutes in pan before cutting if serving with ice cream.

117 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Shrimp Cakes with Cajun Mayo

My family lived on the Gulf coast for several years when I was a kid, and my dad caught shrimp for a living, but I completely missed out on all the great shrimp recipes the Gulf area is famous for. Why? Because I was a picky little kid! I wasn't quite as bad as my own daughter is, but I still regret all the amazing dishes I avoided. My daughter does like shrimp, but she still wouldn't touch this recipe with a 10-foot pole because of all the "yucky" vegetables in it, but the hubs and I thought they made it fresh and fabulous, even though I used frozen shrimp instead of the incredible fresh catch I passed up as a kid.

Shrimp Cakes with Cajun Mayo

Prep time: 20 min  Cook time: 20 min
Serves 4

6 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and chopped
1 cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbs lemon juice, divided
2 tsp Cajun seasoning, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large heavy skillet, such as cast iron, or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

Add shrimp, breadcrumbs, egg, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and salt to the bowl. Thoroughly combine, then form into 8 cakes, 3 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick.

Wipe out the pan, add another 2 teaspoons oil and heat over medium heat. Add 4 shrimp cakes and cook, turning once, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining 4 cakes, reducing the heat as necessary to prevent overbrowning.

Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise and the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Serve the mayonnaise with the shrimp cakes.

384 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Pistachio Fluff Salad

I try really hard to make my menus seasonally appropriate, I really do, but sometimes you just have to satisfy a craving, regardless of what time of year it is!  In the summer, when you can actually get fresh, local fruit, I try to make all my favorite fresh fruit dishes and save the canned fruit for the dead of winter, but when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I couldn't wait till winter.  This brings back great memories of my childhood when a can of fruit cocktail made a recipe seem gourmet and all the best salads had marshmallows in them.

Pistachio Fluff Salad
Total time: 5 minutes
Serves 10

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple (drain and reserve juice)
1 (3 oz) pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1 (12 oz) container Cool Whip, thawed
2 large bananas, sliced
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (15 oz) can fruit cocktail, drained
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained

Place Cool Whip in a large mixing bowl.  Add instant pudding mix and stir gently to combine. Add drained pineapple, marshmallows, drained fruit cocktail, and drained mandarin oranges.

Slice bananas and swirl in reserved pineapple juice to prevent browning. Add to bowl and mix everything completely. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. (If you refrigerate your cans of fruit beforehand, this can be served immediately.)

251 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list! 

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

I have to admit, this recipe is TEDIOUS. Usually I scoff at any recipe that takes more than a half an hour and has more than a handful of ingredients. Call me lazy, call me a busy working mom, or just call me practical, but that's the way I roll. At first glance, this recipe seems pretty easy, and I'm sure that's why I tried it in the first place. Just cut up some fruit, sprinkle on some seasonings, and serve!  Sounds pretty simple, but when you look a little closer, you'll notice that this calls for all the ingredients to be finely chopped. This is a salsa, so the chunks have to be small enough to balance a bunch of them on a thin little chip. About half way through the recipe I wanted to chuck it all in the blender and call it a smoothie! However, once I finished this and gave it a taste, it was all worth it.

This has the perfect balance of fruit, sweet, and spice. And the cinnamon chips? TO DIE FOR. You might as well make a double batch of those because you will find yourself wanting to dip them in everything. Actually, you might as well make a double batch of the salsa, too, because you're gonna have a half a cantaloupe and honeydew left over if you only make one batch. Be careful with the cayenne, though. I usually half the amount it calls for and it's still plenty spicy to me.

You can also feel free to substitute other fruits if you want, just make sure you dice them super fine. Here's a tip I figured out after making this a couple times: watch a really absorbing movie while you do all that dicing and you'll be done before you can say hand cramp!

Fruit Salsa

Prep time 30 min
Serves 16

1 cup finely chopped cantaloupe
1 cup finely chopped honeydew
1 cup finely chopped peeled mango
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Chill until serving. Serve with cinnamon tortilla chips.

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
Prep time: 10 min  Bake time: 10 min
Serves 16

16 small flour tortillas
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine cinnamon and sugar in a shaker or a small bowl.  Brush one side of each tortilla with melted butter then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Cut into wedges or strips and spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for 8-12 minutes or till golden brown.

178 calories per serving (salsa and chips.)  Click her for more nutritional info and shopping list!