Bananas

I love bananas - But they have to be just right. A banana for me has to be just coming out of its green stage. It has to be firm and can't have any brown spots or be too yellow. The riper it is and the more banana-ey it tastes, no thank you. I can't stand a sweet banana! Though, they do come in handy. My bananas always tend to just sit on the counter. A couple of them will get eaten, but then they'll just sit there...and get ripe - ew! So, I used to just throw the whole bananas in the freezer to use at a later time, and they would pile up. But one thing I've been doing lately is either chopping or slicing them in half and sticking them on a parchment lined cookie sheet in the freezer (to prevent from sticking together). Then once frozen, I throw them in a ziploc bag in the freezer - perfect for smoothies!

A couple weekends ago I had some bananas sitting on the counter and already had a pretty good stock of frozen ones in the freezer, so I decided to make banana muffins. This is the recipe I made (slightly altered from the original recipe). They were absolutely delicious! I would definitely make them again. Thanks Ina!

Banana Crunch Muffins (18 large muffins)

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

3/4 cup skim milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup mashed banana (2-3 bananas)

1 cup banana, medium diced (1-2 bananas)

3/4 walnuts, small diced

3/4 granola

3/4 coconut, medium unsweetened

diced banana chips, granola or shredded coconut (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line 18 large muffins cups with paper liners. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. (If no mixer, use a wooden spoon.) Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour and butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top. (I use a click handle ice cream scoop.) Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola or coconut, if desired. (I used granola.) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from pan and serve.

This recipe taken from: