Banana Nut Bread

My kids seem to go through phases when it comes to bananas. For a couple weeks, they can't get enough of them so I keep the kitchen stocked. And then one day, I'll bring home a bunch of bananas that goes untouched. Luckily, my husband loves banana nut bread. :-D

I found this recipe on the Food Network's site and it's YUMMY! Please visit their site for full instructions.

Here's what you need:

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt 
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature 
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork (about 1 cup) 
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces 

I always double the recipe which makes 3 loaves for me (but I think that is because one of my pans is bigger than the other two). Also, my kids don't like nuts, but the Hubs does, so I usually make the bigger loaf without nuts and the two small loaves with. And I pretty much always use cooking spray instead of greasing pans with butter. It's always worked fine for me :-)

Here is what you do:

 Cream together the butter and sugar.

While that is going, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

and whisk together the eggs and vanilla and then set aside.

Gradually add the egg mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.

Mash your bananas with a fork (I used to skip this step thinking it didn't matter...IT DOES! Completely changes the texture of your batter, so don't skip this step :-) ) Then add the bananas to your mixture.

Once that's done, add your wet ingredients to the dry, mixing with a rubber spatula just until incorporated.

At this point, I scoop out enough to make my kids their nut-free loaf and then fold in the nuts to the rest of the batter.

Divide into your greased pans and bake for 55 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean) at 350 degrees. 

Enjoy!!