Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake

Maybe it's because I'm seven months pregnant but this cake blew my mind this week. I had a load of overripe bananas and couldn't handle another banana bread. I saw this on Food52 recently and gave it a try. WOW. Not only is it the best cake I've had in a long time, but it took like 15 to make. It's like one big banana sticky bun. Amazing.

Caramel & Bananas
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 bananas, sliced lengthwise either in half or in thirds

Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking pwder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a 10 inch cast iron pan, melt the butter of medium high heat. Add the brown sugar and stir occasionally until it dissolves and is bubbly. Remove from heat and add the banana slices, flat side down, in one layer over the caramel so that all of the caramel is covered.

3. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs and whisk. Slowly add the buttermilk until combined. Fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined - don't over mix.

4. Pour the cake batter over the bananas and put in the oven for 35-40 mins.

5. When done, remove from oven and run a knife around the edge of the cake. Let it sit for 5 mins and then carefully invert the cake onto a platter.

Sloppy Joes

I hadn't had a sloppy joe since...3rd grade? Just hearing the words make me think of the smell of the school cafeteria on sloppy joe day. And it was gross. But these are amazing and one of Jack's favorites. I make the sauce on the weekend and then throw it together during the week in a flash... These would also be good with ground chicken or turkey.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp molasses
Hamburger buns

1. Cook the beef in a large skillet until lightly browned. Remove from pan.

2. In the fat/juice still in the pan from the meat, cook the onions and garlic until soft. Add the spices and cook until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients until well incorporated.

3. If eating right away, add the beef back into the sauce and bring to a simmer. If making ahead, put the beef and sauce into separate containers and when you're ready to eat it, throw it all in a pan and bring to a simmer. Serve on hamburger buns.