St. Patrick's Day Muffins

I found this recipe in a magazine around Halloween and was reminded of the bright green color as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  I made them back in October but didn't get a chance to post them so here they make their debut!

Not only do they match the color of the holiday, but I consider them healthy using a banana for some sweetness and half whole wheat instead of all white flour.  Can you guess where the green color comes from?

Nope, it's not food coloring or anything artificial...

It's SPINACH!

Don't tell your kids and they'll never know! ;)

Here is how to make them:

St. Patrick's Day Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup milk

6 oz (6 cups packed) fresh baby spinach

1 large banana

2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees and coat 16 muffin cups with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  In a blender, puree the oil, milk, and spinach until smooth, then blend in banana and vanilla.  Fold the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients.  Fill each prepared muffin cup 2/3 full.  Bake muffins until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 15-18 minutes.

May the Lord bless you

and keep you;

May He make His face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

May the Lord turn His face toward you

and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Blueberry Banana Bread

I have made this amazing bread twice already and cannot wait to make it again!  I was a little disappointed when my friend at church said they already had enough treats for this Sunday morning because I thought I had an excuse to make this bread yet another time. :(  I might make it again anyway just because my little guy and I love it SO much!

Every oven cooks different so be sure to check your bread with a toothpick before removing it from the oven.  The loaf pictured above was from my mom's oven (electric) and was baked for exactly 60 minutes.  Came out perfect!  The loaf below was from my oven (gas) and could have gone about 10-15 minutes longer as it was still a little doughy in the middle.  Although, I didn't mind! :)

The difference could also have been the bread pan I used in each setting.  At my mom's, I used a 9x5 glass loaf pan.  At home, I used this new adorable ceramic orange ruffled loaf pan I found at World Market. :)  Whatever the case, double check your bread using a toothpick inserted into the middle.  It should come out clean.

Look at those fresh,whole blueberries bursting from inside!  Give me a slice now!

Here is the recipe...Giada's Blueberry Banana Bread!

Enjoy!

Banana Hershey Bar Muffins

One afternoon I set out to make banana chocolate chip muffins.  After mixing all the ingredients together, I opened the drawer to pull out the bag of chocolate chips, but they were nowhere to be found!  Who is to blame?!  Was it my husband and kids who like to eat them right out of the bag or was it me who used them all in the last batch of chocolate chip cookies?!  Guess I should gather all my ingredients before I start baking...lesson learned.

Luckily, in that same drawer is where we keep the Hershey Bars for making s'mores so I chopped some of those up and added them in place of the missing chocolate chips.

That is how these Banana Hershey Bar Muffins were born. :)

Here is how to make them...

Banana Hershey Bar Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Hershey Bars, chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine brown sugar and butter in larger mixer bowl.  Beat at medium speed until creamy, scraping bowl often.  Add bananas, eggs, and vanilla.  Continue beating until well mixed.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir flour mixture into banana mixture just until moistened.  Gently stir in chopped Hershey Bar.

Spoon batter into greased muffin pans.  Bake about 18 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Let stand 5 minutes before removing from pans.

Delicious but next time I'll add crushed graham crackers and tiny marshmallows make the flavor complete. :)

Enjoy!

Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins

As you may know, I LOVE blueberries!  See just how much here!  I always have fresh blueberries in my refrigerator for breakfast, snacking, and now for baking!

The lone very ripe banana on my counter had my brain and taste buds going.  What could I make with one banana?  I could make The Best Banana Bread Ever but it takes two bananas and I just made it recently.  I knew Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction would have something for me.  So I headed over there to search and not only did I find an easy recipe for banana blueberry muffins, they are healthy!  BONUS!

Here is my version:

Since I only had one banana, I made 1/2 of her recipe which gave me 8 delicious muffins!

I followed her recipe by cutting each ingredient in half.  I used only all-purpose white flour (instead of whole wheat flour).  I used plain Fago 0% Greek Yogurt instead of a vanilla flavor and skim milk because I always have those two items in my frig, too!

If you aren't using any of the cups in your muffin tin, make sure you fill the empty ones halfway with water to ensure even baking for the rest of muffins.

These are perfect for breakfast warmed up with a little butter, my favorite granola, and a cup of coffee. :)

The next afternoon I topped one with the leftover vanilla buttercream frosting from these Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting!  Yummy!

You can find the full recipe for these awesome muffins here.

Enjoy!

The Best Banana Bread Ever!

Don't throw out your ripe bananas!  Make banana bread!  You must try this recipe!

It really is The Best Banana Bread Ever!  I've tried many different recipes.  They are all too dry, too hard, too chewy, or too bland.  But, not this one!  This one is perfectly moist and has a yummy banana-ie sweetness.

I can't wait to share it with you!  Here it is!

The Best Banana Bread Ever

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/8 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cup shortening (like Crisco)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs

6 tablespoons milk (I used whole this time because I had some leftover.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 medium-sized)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line your bread pan(s) with wax paper, spray with non-stick spray, and lightly dust the bottom with flour.

With a mixer, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, and shortening.  In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda, eggs, milk, and vanilla.  After mixing well, add to the creamed mixture.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and cinnamon.  Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture.  Mix just until combined.  Do not over mix from this point forward.  Fold in the mashed bananas.  Pour the batter into loaf size baking pan(s).

Bake for about 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for at least 30 minutes.  Run a butter knife around the edge to loosen the loaf.  Carefully flip the pan over onto a plate or flat surface and let the loaf gently fall out.  Peel off the wax paper and flip the loaf back over to right-side up.  Slice with a serrated knife and enjoy!  Makes 2 loaves or 1 larger loaf.

I prefer mine warmed up with butter and honey!