Beach Gypsies: Going BANANAS....Banana Split Dessert, Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake and...Easter Fun!

Hey Y'all......thought I better stop by and send a shout-out to my PEEPS:)

I hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for SPRING!!

I didn't mean to be gone so long but with a few health problems,
birthdays and busyness in general............life happens.
I promised myself that I would try to do more frequent,
short posts but I find myself
with a ton of stuff to share and I figure I better
cram it all in, once again:)
So here we go..........

First up, one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE desserts,
and perfect for Easter!
Banana Split Dessert
We've made this in our family for years and I cam across it recently in
one of our old cookbooks.
Everything about this is pure YUM.
TRUST ME:)

Seriously, this is so good I think you just need to try it:)
Banana Split Dessert

2 cups graham crackers

1/2 cup butter melted

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 eggs

5 bananas

1 15 1/2 ounce can crushed pineapple, well drained

1 8 ounce container frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed

semisweet chocolate, shredded

1/3 cup chopped nuts optional

maraschino cherries

In a mixing bowl toss together the graham crackers and the melted 1/2 cup

butter. Press crumb mixture onto the bottome of a 13X9X2 inch baking

pan. In a small mixing bowl beat the remaining 1/2 cup butter about

30 seconds til softened. Add powdered sugar; beat till fluffy. Beat in eggs.

Spread egg mixture over crumb mixture.

Slice bananas lengthwise into halves

and arrange over egg mixture. Spoon pineapple over bananas. Spread with

dessert topping. Sprinkle with chocolate and the nuts, if desired. Cover

refrigerate at least four hours before serving., Cut inot squares to serve.

Top each square with a cherry. Cover and chill to store. Serves 15.

From the Avon International Cookbook 1983

Ready for more banana goodness?

How does Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake sound?

Pretty good if you ask me:)

So here you go........

Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake

1 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup butter, softened and cut into pieces, (divide 1/4 cup for sauce and 1/2 cup for cake)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 large bananas, yellow but firm, sliced diagonally into 1/4-inch pieces

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

Place brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the butter and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Heat over medium low heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.

Pour into a 9-inch round cake pan or a 9" square pan.

Arrange banana slices over brown sugar mixture.

Place remaining 1/2 cup butter and sugar in a large bowl;

beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

At low speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with sour cream,

beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spread batter over bananas.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 min or until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minute.

Run small knife around edge of cake; carefully invert cake onto serving plate. Serve warm.

Before we get to the fun stuff,
here's another cute idea for Easter.......Deviled Egg Chicks!

Simply make your usual recipe for deviled eggs but instead of slicing the egg
lengthwise, slice it horizontally and scoop out the filling that way.

(Does that make sense?))

Add peppercorn eyes and a tiny carrot nose and you have the perfect brunch dish:)

Okay.......moving on to some fun stuff!
I think I am desperate for little kids again.
I know this for sure.......
if i did have a little one, I would grab some cotton balls,

cut out bunny shapes and make a bunny photo frame of my kiddos!
Like it?

Using those plastic eggs and some pipe cleaners, make some egg bunnies to hold
a little treat. This would be a great way to share treats with the rest of the class:)

Next is one of my favorites.......
Now you can "egg" your neighbors (without getting in trouble:)
I made this one because to me, it's the perfect combo of Easter Bunny fun
with a lesson/reminder on the TRUE meaning of Easter.
The reason we celebrate...........our risen Savior.

The obvious thing to do would be to share this with families with children.
However, I think the opposite would be a wonderful treat.
Do you have an elderly couple or someone living alone, who may like to wake up to some eggs in their lawn on Easter?
Now that would be a special treat:)

If you do a search online for "you've been egged", you'll find many variations on this.

Easter treats.........

these are so adorable!

I tried looking around for the exact instructions but came up empty.

However, it looks like these cute faces were made with pumpkin cookie cutters!

CLEVER!!