You Need These Recipes In Your Life: PB Banana Bars and Sensational Cauliflower

First batch. The second batch came out even better.

GF (and Vegan) Peanut Butter Banana Bars Dipped in Chocolate

First up, this insanely good recipe for peanut butter banana bars dipped in chocolate. I've now made these multiple times to the appreciation and joy of my friends and family.

Instead of typing out the whole doggone thing on here, I'm just going to direct you to the link because A) I didn't have to edit/alter anything to make these gluten free and B) the recipe is actually really easy to follow and finally C) this lady is a genius for creating these babies and y'all should check out her site.

Tip #1: Follow her directions. She's telling you not to omit things for a good reason. Also, give yourself time to make these. It's a process, but if I can make them look pretty, anyone can. I will also say if you're not a professional chocolate dipper (as I am not) add more chocolate chips. I went with the amount instructed on the first round, but found I needed more because my chocolate coating skills needed a little help. The second batch was gorgeous simply because I had made sure I had extra chocolate to dip into.

Tip #2: Consider making the bars smaller. These babies have a fine line between too hard and too soft to eat once taken out of the freezer and left to defrost a tad. I've decided making them smaller, square bite sized pieces will do a world of good.

Sensational Cauliflower 

I've been seeing a lot of cauliflower recipes around, so I took a few (like the one below) and combined them together to make the seasoning for this recipe. The hubs isn't even a fan of cauliflower, but after this, he's in love. We've gone cauliflower crazy over here!

Here's my take on the cauliflower:

- One large head of cauliflower

- 4 to 5 TBSP olive oil

- 1/2 TSP salt

- 1/2 TSP black pepper

- 1/2 TSP garlic powder

- 1 TSP paprika

- 2 strips of cooked bacon diced up (optional, although let's be honest, bacon makes everything better)

- Fresh thyme

1. Slice the cauliflower like you would bread and place all pieces on a non-stick bake pan.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine: olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika. Mix together.

3. Coat the cauliflower slices, front and back, with the mix of seasonings by brushing it on each piece.

4. Bake on 425 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes. At the halfway mark flip over the cauliflower so each side gets a nice toasty look going on. You don't want it burned, but you want it good and brown at the tips and edges. (If you're adding the bacon, start cooking it during this process so it's ready to go once the cauliflower is done.)

5. Then, chop up some fresh thyme and sprinkle it all over the cauliflower when done. (If you're going the bacon route, dice it up now and add it to the cauliflower.)

6. Finally, have those delicious PB bars for dessert. *wink wink*

We also tried out a pork chops and bacon recipe, with cauliflower of course, which was pretty darn good. As for the pork chops and bacon, you can just follow the directions exactly outlined here. Depending on the size of your pork chops, you may want to cook the cauliflower separately. I say this because some of it got burned just waiting for the pork chops to finish up. While you want your cauliflower good and baked, you don't want it turned to char. (Also, don't buy gigantic pork chops if you want the bacon to actually wrap around it. LOL *facepalm*)