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 Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies...or should I just call them "Omg Cookies" because Omg they are so good!! I came across this recipe when my husband was on his deployment to Afghanistan.  I tried to make him a care package at least once a month.

Going out buying things, decorating his boxes, and sending baked goodies made the deployment a lot easier on me because I was so excited to make them and hopefully send a smile to his face.  I would send his favorite candy bars, toys for him to play with, body care products, cute laminated pictures of us, and other things.  He wasn't big on sweets or even cookies, but I loved to bake for him anyways.

I have a food sealer so I would bake him cookies, seal them up, and send them over seas where they hopefully still tasted chewy and delicious when he got them a month or more later.  While he was gone I joined a military spouse support website where military girlfriends and wives would share stories, advice, recipes, ideas, etc.  I came upon this recipe and instantly knew I had to try them!

This cookie had everything good from other cookies all in one!  When I talked to Levi about the cookies he recieved he said my cookies had fallen apart because I vaccuum sealed them :( but the crumbs were devoured anyways by all of the guys! YAY!  I was happy I could put a smile on their face when they were so far away from home.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:


1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 c butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 c oats
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 - 3/4 c peanut butter (depending on how much pb you like)

-  Heat oven to 350

-  Stir together brown sugar and butter until blended.  Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy.

-  In another bowl mix oats, flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix into the brown sugar mixture.

-  Stir in chocolate chips and peanut butter.

-  Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 9 - 11 minutes.

- Cookies will harden up after cooled so do not wait until they are hard in the oven to take out.

OPTION:  You can add nuts or even leave out the peanut butter if you are allergic.