Banana Bread

For the record, I am not a baker. I do not enjoy the process and I do not enjoy following recipes to a T. I like to be able to improvise and add in things as I see fit which is why I prefer to cook. That said, this is a very good banana bread. I usually make it into muffins since the kids think they are getting a super special treat when they have anything remotely shaped to a cupcake!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour for all or some of the flour to make it healthier)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter (I usually do 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup applesauce to make it healthier)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups mashed bananas (I do not measure this but usually use 5 bananas).

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease loaf or muffin pan.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl cream together butter and sugar. Stir in mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture --- do not over stir, just moisten. Pour batter into loaf pan.

3. Bake in a preheated oven for about an hour if you are using a loaf pan. Approx 25-30 minutes for muffins.

4. Cool & Enjoy.

You can also add other things into this banana bread to make it even more delicious. Fresh blueberries are good and chocolate chips are even better. You can never go wrong with a little chocolate. At least not in my kitchen. ;)