Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I always buy too many bananas.  I eventually forget that I even have them and they just sit on the counter screaming "Please use me!"

Days later my girl's finally see them and start screaming for bananas.  I pull them out of the bag the grocer packaged them up in and TADA!...they have black polka dots, are extremely squishy, and I have to somehow think of a way to destract the kids with some other type of snack.

This bribing doesn't work for them.  They don't forget anything and they aren't going to just let me get away with this. I tell the husband to occupy them for a little bit and I make something they will agree with.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread!!!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

We have a winner ladies and gentlemen!!

The bread wasn't even out of the oven yet before everyone started shouting and jumping up and down in anticipation.  I had to fight my husband off quite a few times just so I could take a picture!  My own piece of bread?....HAHAHA yea right! Mom's don't get anything "food related" to their own.  Especially when it is filled with bananas and warm melted chocolate chips!

They keep calling it cake.  Which I can't totally disagree with.  It was pretty delicious and super moist!  They have had 3 pieces this morning and are currently jumping up on the table telling me.... "Mommy! More cake!!"

I don't know what excuse I am going to use when it's all gone! HELP! 

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread:

Takes about 1 hr 30 min

Makes 1 bread pan 

You will need:

3 old very ripe bananas

1 tsp lemon juice

2 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

8 tbsp softened butter

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

1 c chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 c sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 F

Grease and flour bread pan.

In a medium bowl mash he bananas until they are creamy.  Stir in lemon juice and set to the side.

In a seperate medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a large bowl cream the butter with the eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.

Fold in bananas.

Add vanilla and sour cream.

Mix well.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Add dry ingredients and fold very gently.

Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the center an it comes out clean.

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

 Muffins.  They are easy, fast, and incredible on the go!  Even better...my 1 year old loves them!  Especially since they can be made "mini"!  Which I do :)

I started off with a Betty Crocker recipe for banana muffins...but with my own additions and changes, I created my own yummy muffin!  The banana chocolate chip oatmeal muffin!

I made 10 big muffins and filled an entire mini muffin pan with this recipe and I was scared to death they wouldn't last until the morning!

Remember when I was telling you my husband use to hate sweets? Well guess what...he's not a muffin lover either...UNTIL NOW!

I kept begging him to try one when they were hot and straight out of the oven and he just wouldn't give in.  Finally I begged so much he told me to go get him one off of the stove.  So I did!  I sat quietly, staring, waiting for his first bite and approval....

and he made the "MMMM!" sound! EEEK!  I was so thrilled.  Before I got too excited too soon I asked what he thought.

He asked me to go get him another one!  Then 5 minutes later...2 more!

YAY!  I have not only converted him to cookies, pies, and cupcakes....but now muffins!

My work here is complete :)

Here's the recipe:
2 medium bananas - I like the wait until they have browned a little.  They taste better and are easier to mash.
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 vegetable oil or melted butter
1 egg
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 salt
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 oats

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grease your muffin cups or pan.

In a large bowl, mash the banana's and mix well with milk.

Beat the milk mixture with the egg, oil, and vanilla with whisk.

Stir in flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder all at once.  Stir just until moistened.

Fold in the oats and chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly to the muffin cups about 3/4 full.

Top with oats or granulated sugar if you wish.  Adding sugar on top will add extra crisp and sweetness to the muffin when it is done.

Bake in oven for about 20 minutes.  (If you are making mini muffins it will be about 12 - 15 minutes)

When the muffins are done, take them out of the pan and let them cool.

Enjoy :-)

Peanut Butter Cups

My husband and I are supposed to be on a diet.  A weight diet AND a money diet!  For Valentines Day though, I figured we could splurge just a little on calories and sugar, and I could save money by making a little treat from things we already had at home. 

Peanut butter cups are SO easy to make and I always have the ingredients! After trying it out this time it made me wonder why we ever buy Reese cups in the first place!  You can even buy Reese peanut butter in the store to make your own cups with...so why not?

I decided to make both white chocolate and chocolate peanut butter cups. For 8 white chocolate peanut butter cups follow the recipe below.  You can always double the recipes, use different kinds of chips, whatever you wish :)

This is how I did it:

mini muffin pan
mini cupcake liners
2 c white chocolate chips (divided)
1 c peanut butter
2 tbsp sugar


I lined my mini muffin pan with my mini cupcake liners. At first I wasn't sure if the paper cups would work...but after the white chocolate dried...they were perfect!

Melt the white chocolate chips according to the package.  Heat until smooth and creamy.

Take a spoon and drizzle the chocolate into the liners.  Make sure to push the chocolate onto the sides of the cups as well as the bottom.  The chocolate should form a "bowl" in the liners.

Let the chocolate dry and harden.

If you are doing white chocolate peanut butter cups, the white chocolate hardens within a few minutes.  If you are using regular chocolate it takes a while.  You can speed up the process by placing the muffin pan in the refrigerator for a few minutes.  Be careful not to leave them in there too long though because the chocolate will become very very hard.






Mix peanut butter with sugar (optional).  With two baby spoons I filled the chocolate with peanut butter.  Leave rims of chocolate exposed so when you add the other layer of chocolate, it will make a peanut butter cup.

Melt the remaining white chocolate chips and drizzle on top of the peanut butter, covering the whole cup.  You can decorate them now like I did if you would like.



Let harden. 

Eat.

Get a sugar rush! lol