Banana and Chocolate Upside Down Cake

This recipe caught my eye for two reasons: 1. it simply sounded good and 2. I seem to always be looking for ways to use up a few ripe bananas before they have to be tossed. I made this for dessert one night, served with a little vanilla ice cream on the side and it was so good! And even better, there were enough bananas in it that I was able to convince myself that it was an appropriate breakfast food, too, and it was just as delicious the next morning (sans the vanilla ice cream since that would probably be a little bit harder to justify!).

For the topping:
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2-3 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas, about 2 bananas
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons low fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the topping, place the brown sugar and butter in an 8-inch square baking pan (I used a round pie pan and that worked out just fine). Set the pan over a burner set to medium-low heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter melts and the brown sugar is thoroughly moistened. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Arrange the banana slices over the bottom of the pan, overlapping them slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, banana puree, sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Stir until just combined, then gently fold in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the cake pan, being careful not to disturb the banana slices. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until the center is just set and firm to the touch, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the cake pan, and invert onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: pink-parsley.com

Breakfast Biscuit Sandwiches

Ok, there's really not an actual recipe here, but these were just too good not to share. Once again, it was so clear to me how much better homemade anything is. This was pretty much inspired by the classic McDonald's egg McMuffin, but it was a million times better and so easy! We just made some biscuits (ok, full disclosure, I used the store bought refrigerated biscuit dough, so I'm not sure this can even really qualify as "homemade"!), fried a couple eggs, cooked some bacon, put it all together and then popped them in the oven long enough for a slice of cheddar cheese to melt on top. Seriously couldn't be easier or more delicious!