Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

You know what's even better than warm, sweet banana bread?

Muffins!

Because everything is better when it comes in an adorable single-serving-size wrapper.

Also, baking banana bread takes about an hour. But muffins? Less than 20 minutes.

Which is so quick that even I could pull it off in the morning.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Adapted from Land O'Lakes with some help from my sister
Makes 12-18 muffins

You'll need:
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
2 bananas, smashed
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 c flour
1 c semisweet chocolate chips OR 1/2 c each semisweet chocolate chips and chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the brown sugar and butter until well mixed.

Next, grab a fork and mash those bananas thoroughly.

Add the smashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla to the butter & sugar and mix on low speed.

With the mixer still on low, add the salt, then baking soda, and finally the flour, pausing to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Use a spoon or spatula to stir in your chocolate chips (or chips and nuts).

Spoon into 12-18 muffin papers (depending on how large you want your muffins).

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out dry. Unless, of course, it hits one of those gooey melted chips...

Cool on wire racks for a few minutes.

Serve with milk or coffee for a warm, sweet, sticky breakfast.

Pumpkin Bread

I absolutely love homemade breakfasts that can be prepared the afternoon or night before because, well... mornings are not my thing. I can muster the energy for oatmeal or toast on a school day, and pancakes or muffins on the weekend, but getting up at 6 to bake... Let's just say I have other gifts, and early-morning baking (or early-morning anything, really) is not on the list.

Which brings me back to bake-ahead breakfasts, like this soft, delectable pumpkin bread. I'm sure everyone has had a bad experience with some kind of quick bread: maybe a Christmas gift from a well-meaning neighbor, maybe it showed up at a pitch-in... and initial excitement gives way to disappointment as you realize it is less than flavorful, and often so dense and dry that it sucks all the moisture from your mouth. Oftentimes people cheat by throwing in chocolate chips in the hopes of resurrecting a bad recipe. (Chocolate chip banana bread... chocolate chip zucchini bread... chocolate chip pumpkin bread... You get the idea.) And while normally I'm in favor of adding chocolate to almost anything, this recipe doesn't need it. So soft, so moist, so delicious, substantial without being dense... This is what a quick bread is supposed to be.

Pumpkin Bread

From: Grandma Esther

Makes: one 9 x 5" loaf

You'll need:

1 3/4 c flour

1 t baking soda

3/4 t salt

1/4 t baking powder

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground cloves

1/3 c shortening

1 1/3 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 can (approx. 15 oz can) canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) (see note)

1/3 c water

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves, and mix well. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the shortening and sugar. I always think... "snow!"

With the mixer on low, blend in the eggs, pumpkin, and water, scraping sides as needed.

Add the dry ingredients by stirring them in OR using the mixer on its lowest setting for a few seconds and then finish by manually stirring. Do NOT overmix the batter.

Pour into a well-greased loaf pan and spread evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife or thin spatula around the edges, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Note: if you don't want to make two loaves at a time, just put the other half of the can of pumpkin in a resealable bag or container and freeze it. Just make sure it's thawed completely before using it to bake.

Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

Streusel Coffee Cake

Layers of brown sugar streusel and soft, buttery cake? Yes, please. Bake this in the evening, brew coffee in the morning, and your day is off to a delicious and decadent start.

Streusel Coffee Cake
Adapted from Grandma Esther
Makes: 8 x 8" or 9 x 9" pan
Note: Pictures are of a double recipe, which fits perfectly into a 9 x 13" pan.

For the streusel, you'll need:
1/3 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/2 t cinnamon
3 T firm butter

Use a pastry blender to cut all ingredients together, and set aside.

For the cake, you'll need:
2 c flour
1 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
5 T melted butter
1 c milk
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8 x 8" or 9 x 9" baking dish. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on slow, beat in the melted butter, milk, and egg. Turn the mixer up to medium and beat for two minutes, scraping the sides occasionally. The batter should look like this.

Spread half the batter into your greased pan evenly, then spoon half the streusel over the top.

Repeat: Spread the other half of the batter evenly over the streusel, and the top with remaining streusel.

Bake about 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow it to cool before eating.

Pass the coffee, please.

Pancakes

I debated whether or not to publish this recipe, but it has come to my attention that some people (a) actually don't know how to make good pancakes, or (b) actually buy Bisquick. Allow me to be very opinionated for a moment: Bisquick does not make real pancakes. It is expensive. You say it's convenient - I say, give this recipe a try. I guarantee you have all these ingredients in your kitchen right now, and if it takes you longer to make the batter than it does to heat the griddle, you need to get in that kitchen more often! :)

Pancakes
From: My mother-in-law, Carol, adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook
Makes: 8-10 6" pancakes

FIRST: PREHEAT YOUR GRIDDLE. If your griddle is still heating up while you pour the batter, you pancakes will be WEIRD.

Mix together your dry ingredients:
1 c flour
1 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt

Whisk in:
1 egg
2 T vegetable oil
1 c milk

(Did you notice that you only need 3 measuring cups/spoons? That makes me happy. Anything to cut down on the number of dishes!)

Pour your batter onto your PREHEATED griddle, like so.

You'll know it's time to flip when the edges are dry and the big bubbles on top are popping, like this:

Flip those babies over and use the spatula to push down on them gently. My husband, the pancake connoisseur, has reprimanded me for neglecting that little move.

In about two more minutes you have gorgeous (albeit naked) pancakes.

Let's dress those up a bit.

Breakfast for dinner - always a hit with the family! Rebecca sure likes them.

Feel free to toss in a few blueberries while your batter is on the griddle - because the only thing better than pancakes is blueberry pancakes. Or, cover and refrigerate the batter you didn't use at dinner... wait until the kiddos are in bed... and break out the chocolate chips.

Mmmm... dessert.

Hope that helped someone out there. Because life without good pancakes is no life at all.

Breakfast Casserole

I should probably make my friend Chrissy a co-author of this blog, since so many of my great recipes come from her. If you're like me, you've probably had a few too many breakfast casseroles in your life: usually dry, crumbly, filled with nasty American cheese and too much sausage. Allow me to introduce you to a completely different breakfast casserole. A more sophisticated one.

Breakfast Casserole
From: Chrissy
Serves: 8-12

You'll need:
4 slices thick bread, cubed (Chrissy uses sourdough; I used homemade white)
1 lb  ham, cut into small cubes
12 eggs
1 c sour cream
1 c milk
3 green onions, chopped (save dark green tops for garnish on top)
1 1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Give your 9"x13" casserole dish a light coating of non-stick spray. Layer the cubes of bread evenly in the pan. Top with the cubed ham.

Beat together all 12 eggs...

... the sour cream, and the milk. Stir in the green onions and 1 cup of the cheese. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the ham and bread. Top with the remaining cheese and the tops of the green onions. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until the top has puffed up and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Basically, until it looks like this:

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.