Banana Bread Waffles

I love banana bread and I love waffles. So it made perfect sense to me to find this recipe over at Annie's Eats where the two were married into breakfast bliss. Hubs told me he thought that these tasted like potpourri...how he knows what potpourri tastes like is beyond me! But he could not be more wrong! I think he was just intimidated and thrown off by so many spices in a waffle. The only waffle he's ever known is the plain jane waffle with no spices.

This waffle is soooo delicious! It was such a nice change of pace from the regular waffle, it had a distinct banana bread flavor to it that just warmed me from the inside out! Topped with some maple syrup and banana slices....mmmmmm! Heaven! What a great change in pace to start off the day!

Ingredients...

...4 T. butter, melted

...1 c. plus 2 T. warm milk

...1 tsp. vanilla

...2 c. flour

...1 T. brown sugar

...1 1/2 tsp. yeast

...1/2 tsp. cinnamon

...1/4 tsp. nutmeg

...1/8 tsp. ground clove

...1/8 tsp. ginger

...2 eggs, lightly beaten

...3 ripe bananas, mashed (you know. those ones that are really brown and hanging out in your freezer!)

...2 T. sour cream

Directions...

In a small bowl, wisk together the butter, milk and vanilla. Set the bowl aside, and in a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, yeast and spices. Once the dry ingredients are well combined, stir in the wet ingredients until everything is moistened. Wisk in the egg until it is well incorporated. Cover with the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 24 hours. When you are ready to cook the waffles, remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will cause the batter to double in size and have little bubbles on the surface. Stir in the mashed bananas and sour cream, wisking lightly. Cook in a preheated waffle iron until cooked through, about 4 minutes.

To see more delicious recipes for baked goods be sure to check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap going on over at Life as Mom!

Banana Nut Muffins

Remember a few weeks ago when I was craving what I thought to be an apple muffin? Well, I learned with that recipe that maybe it wasn't an apple muffin I was craving at all. So I kept at making muffins until I discovered that what I was actually craving was a moist, chewy banana nut muffin. Yep. Not exactly apple muffins.

Darn you, pregnancy cravings. Why can't you be more clear?

You know those monster muffins that they sell at Perkins? The ones that you just know are so calorie laden that you shouldn't even look at them for fear of what will happen to your hips. But you still order one anyways and then proceed to enjoy every last crumb. Yeah...that's what I wanted. Minus all the calories.

Is it really possible to get the best of both worlds? Why yes. Yes it is.

I found this recipe in my trusty ol' hometown church cookbook and this recipe alone just goes to prove that little ol' church ladies really do know what they're talking about when it comes to making a tasty dish!

Ingredients...

...1 c. flour
...1/2 c. sugar
...2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
...1/2 tsp. salt
...3/4 c. quick oatmeal
...1/3 c. nuts (I used cashews and crushed them up)
...1 egg
...3 T. oil
...1/2 c. milk
...1/4 tsp. baking soda
...1/2 c. mashed bananas

Directions...

Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nuts and oatmeal. In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs and then stir in the milk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and then stir in the bananas. Stir only until the dry ingredeints are moistened. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

To see more great recipes, be sure to check out Friday's at the Table over at And Baby Makes Five, Foodie Friday's over at Designs by Gollum and Food on Friday's over at Anne Kroeker!

Hidden Ingredient French Toast

I don't know about you, but I often find getting the proper servings of fruits and vegetables (mostly vegetables) into my husband to be a challenge. He's just not that into his veggies. So I really feel for you with kids...because then you are nagging more than just one person at the dinner table to "eat your vegetables! pleeeaassseee!!". But at least you guys only have to nag at kids...I have to nag at a grown man!

In comes Jessica Seinfeld with her book Deceptively Delicious. I had heard wonderful things about this book, mostly when it was first realeased. I saw a segment she did on Oprah when the book was first released showing Jessica feeding kids all kinds of their favorite foods like brownies and macaroni and cheese that had the hidden vegetables like squash or cauliflower in them. And the kids were gobbling them up! Could it be true? 5 and 6 year olds eating broccoli....and liking it?!?!? I was enthralled!!

At the time I didn't give it much more thought than that. But when I stumbled upon her cookbook at the local library, I figured it couldn't hurt to try! Especially with my own munchkin on the way, I figured it's never to early to start practicing on how to sneak those vegetables that will inevitably be tagged as "yucky" into our diets. I started simple. With french toast. Who's hidden ingredient is bananas. And you know what?!? I couldn't even taste a hint of banana in my french toast. Nor did hubs...he just thought it was my everyday french toast recipe!

So now onto bigger and better things...like hiding that broccoli and those brussell sprouts!!

Ingredients...

...French bread, sliced into thick pieces
...4 eggs
...2 T. banana, pineapple, sweet potato, carrot or butternut squash puree. Or 2 T. canned pumpkin. (I, of course, used the banana puree)
...1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions...

In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs, puree and cinnamon. Dip the bread slices into the puree, one at a time making sure to coat both sides. Let each side soak in the mixture for no longer than 30 seconds each. Cook the soaked bread slices in a greased skillet over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes per side. Serve warm with the toppings of your choice!

To see more great recipes, check out Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace and Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam!

Low Fat Banana Muffins

Remember those delicious Healthy Pumpkin Pie muffins that I made a few weeks back, and how excited I was about having a super healthy muffin recipe? Well here's another! I love banana bread, and have perfected that recipe of mine down to an art, so here's a banana muffin recipe that is a sure keeper! PLUS, it's (virtually) fat free!

Ingredients...

...2 eggs
...4 bananas
...2 cups flour
...1 tsp. salt
...1/2 c. sugar
...1 tsp. baking soda
...1/4 c. milk (not pictured)
...1 tsp. cinnamon (not pictured)
...1 tsp. vanilla extract (not pictured)

Directions...

In a small bowl, mash and stir together bananas, eggs, milk and vanilla. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients until well combined. Spoon batter into a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

The Best Banana Bread

I found this banana bread recipe in an old cookbook of my grandma's, and I first tried it out when I was 14. Since then I have tried several different recipes, but I just keep coming back to this one because it is so good!

Ingredients...

...3 bananas
...1/2 tsp. salt
...1 cup sugar
...2 eggs
...1/2 c. plain yogurt
...2 cups flour
...1 tsp. vanilla
...1 tsp. baking powder
...1 tsp. baking soda

Directions...

Combine bananas, salt and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Graduall mix in flour and baking powder. In a seperate, small bowl, pour a little boiling water over the tsp. of baking soda (only add enough water to make the soda fizz and do not do this step until you are ready to add it to the batter). Add to batter. Place in a greased loaf pan and bake at 325* for 45-55 minutes.

My Thoughts...
There is a reason that I keep coming back to this recipe, and it's because it's sooo good! Perhaps it's because it's an older recipe from one of my grandma's cookbooks (one which she submitted a few of her own recipes to) and those older women just really know what they're doing in the kitchen! But at any rate, I love this recipe! The top of the loaf always comes out with a marbled look to it, which I think really dresses up the loaf! Sometimes I split the batter between two loaf pans and make two smaller loaves, but this time I just made one big loaf. So good! Great for a nutritious snack or tasty breakfast!