Category Archives: cooking

Banana Bread

In the midst of this pandemic, I’ve noticed a lot of people baking banana bread – some for the first time! Banana bread is so comforting, and honestly, that’s what we need during these unpredictable times. I’ve made countless loaves of banana bread and tried tons of different recipes. A few years ago, I figured out my perfect recipe and today I’m sharing it with you. I hope you try it out and enjoy!

Print Recipe

Banana Bread

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Room Temp Salted Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Very Ripe Bananas
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
Cinnamon to Taste

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 and prep a loaf pan by spraying cooking spray on the inside.
Cream room temperature butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs to butter and sugar mixture. Mix until eggs are completely combined and mixture is smooth.
Add milk and vanilla to mixture.
Add bananas. I use a stand mixer, so I just throw the bananas in. If you're hand mixing, I suggest mashing them before adding to the mixture. Mix until smooth.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to mixture.
Add cinnamon to taste. I love lots and lots of cinnamon.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 55-65 minutes. Bake until the top of the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Let loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
Remove loaf from pan and allow to cool. Enjoy!

Easy and Delicious Cranberry Sauce

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There’s something special about homemade cranberry sauce accompanying a Thanksgiving meal. While it’s incredibly easy to pick up the canned stuff at the grocery store, it’s truly not that much harder to make it at home. This sauce can even be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. My favorite way to eat this sauce is spread on a sandwich made of Thanksgiving leftovers.
Here’s what you need:
16 oz fresh cranberries
2 oranges
1 C sugar

Add your cranberries, the juice of 2 oranges, a little zest, and sugar to a sauce pot. Heat on medium high for about 20 minutes. Continue to stir. The sauce will thicken and the natural pectin in the cranberries will give your sauce a “jellied” effect. Remove from heat and serve either warm or cold.
That’s it, folks! Truly the easiest Thanksgiving recipe known to man!

Blood Orange Cocktail

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Up until a few weeks ago, if someone was to ask me what my favorite cocktail was, my answer would have been a Dark & Stormy. It’s my go-to. With dark rum, lime juice, and ginger beer, Dark & Stormies are crisp and light and a little spicey. A Dark & Stormy is essentially a Moscow Mule (which you might be more familiar with), but with dark rum as opposed to vodka.

If you saw my January Favorites post, you saw that I’ve been really into blood oranges lately. I made blood orange ice cream a few weeks ago and have been playing around with ideas for different blood orange cocktails. I decided to go with what I know and love and create a blood orange Dark & Stormy!
This drink recipe is so simple and it’s almost laughable to post a recipe, but I didn’t want to keep this masterpiece to myself!
1 shot of dark spiced rum (or 2 or 3)
Juice from 1-2 blood oranges
Ginger beer

Add the rum and blood orange juice to a chilled copper mug (because fancy). Fill the rest of the mug with Ginger Beer. Garnish with an orange slice. Enjoy!

Homemade Pimento Cheese

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Every good southern lady should have a pimento cheese recipe in their back pocket. I made this recipe for the first time a few weeks ago. My friends were having a wine and cheese party and I decided to bring a few “southern lady” cheese dishes, including this pimento cheese recipe!
Most pimento cheese recipes use mayonnaise, but in all honestly, I’m not a huge fan of mayo. I’ve used greek yogurt in place of mayo in chicken salad with great success, so I decided to use it in my pimento cheese recipe as well! It’s healthier and I think it tastes better!

8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz pepper jack cheese
1/2 C plain greek yogurt
1/2 t ground pepper
dash of salt
dash of cayenne

Mix and refrigerate! This recipe is perfect for any party or tail gate!

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

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Key Lime Pie is the quintessential Floridian dessert. I, however, prefer ice cream to pie- thus I’m sharing Key Lime Pie Ice Cream with you today! I’ve made this recipe several times this summer, and it’s been a big hit!
Here’s what you need:

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup bottled Key lime juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
Dash of salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
12 graham crackers (3 full sheets), coarsely crushed, divided
lime zest and wedges (optional)

In a bowl, combine milk, lime juice, heavy cream, salt and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk and combine. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker (I use the Kitchenaid ice cream attachment) and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Stir graham crackers into ice cream. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container ( I just use a loaf pan), cover, and freeze until firm. Sprinkle each serving with a few graham crackers, lime zest, and wedges when you’re ready to eat! It’s soooo easy!