RECIPE: Banana Bread

It's kids week on the blog which means another treat from one of the Minions of Mayhem.  Goobie was supposed to get his turn this month but alas, he's still in California visiting with the grandparents.  I was in a panicked bind when a few other things worked out to my advantage so I simply switched him and Munch around.  With Munch doing all the book reviews this week as well I feel like it should be called Munch instead of Kids Week.

We talked bout options and then chose to dip into my Grandma's recipe collection.  Let me tell ya, Grandma Atkins was quite the cook, but especially quite the baker.  I've been promising the Minions banana bread for a while, and have a freezer full just waiting to be utilized when Munch decided it had to happen.  This week.  So that's what we did, or should I say he did.  There were a few hiccups with leveling over the counter and floor instead of the container or perhaps pulling the mixer out of the batter still on, but that just means he gets to clean up. Right?

Ingredients:

 1/2 Cup butter
1 Cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 Cup mashed bananas (I use more as I like a stronger banana flavor)
1 Cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup chopped pecans (we left them out, I want to live)
I also added about a Tablespoon of vanilla (sorry Grandma but vanilla makes everything better!)

Directions:
Beat all ingredients together.  Pour into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan, leaving center lower.  (I used mini loaf pans instead).  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until done (mini loaves about 30 minutes).  Let stand 20 minutes.  Serves 10. (Or one Munchkin twice.)

Let's talk about measuring ingredients.  It was a great opportunity to teach him that not only do we need to measure but that baking is really based on proportions and that leveling ingredients is important to ensure that the same amount is used each time.  It was easy with the little stuff, the big stuff...well easy yes messy yes-er.

I brushed on just a bit of butter as they came out of the oven and after letting sit we shared some with our friends next door and then feasted ourselves!