An Inspired Cook

Here’s a heads up for those of you with kids, you love them, you teach them, you send them off into the world, but sometimes they come back.  As in my case with my oldest son Josh who spent his first year away from home while going to college.  He’s back for a few weeks until he has a new place lined up and in the meantime he’s showing me a few things he’s incorporated into his daily life.  He’s become quite the breakfast maker, getting up early to make a big breakfast to start his day.  Well, I’m impressed, this kid of mine actually did listen to a thing or two I taught him about food and nutrition.  “So what can I pick up for you at the grocery store” I asked him  He rattled off several things he wanted including lots of bananas. So I picked up 2 big bunches of bananas and guess what, they turned ripe in a hurry and he didn’t eat them like he thought he would.  So what to do with all those ripe bananas, well . . . make muffins, that’s what I do.  And in the fridge I remembered some semi sweet chocolate bars and chocolate chips that I had leftover from another recipe so I decided to throw them into the mix too.

For these muffins you’ll need 4 ripe bananas, some sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, an egg, butter, vanilla and about 4 squares or about 1/2 cup semi- sweet chocolate that I cut into chunks.

Melt 1/3 cup butter and pour over your bananas.

Mash together with a pastry cutter or a fork.  I like the pastry cutter because it’s so quick and easy.

Add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the banana mixture and give it a stir.

Combine dry ingredients of 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda.

Add a little bit of the flour mixture to the bananas at a time stirring in between until well combined.

Run a knife through cold chocolate squares to make chunks.  Add the chocolate chunks to the batter.

You should have a nice thick batter.

I like big muffins and filled them to the rim.  I had enough batter for an even 12.  You could make more by filling them 3/4 of the way.

I had a cup or so left of mini chocolate chips so I sprinkled them over top.  You can never have too much chocolate!

Now isn’t that the perfect muffin!

What do you think of my muffin liners?  I think their cute!





Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

4 ripe Bananas
1/3 cup Butter, melted
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
4 squares Semi Sweet Chocolate or about 1/2 cup, cut into chunks
Mini Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, optional

In a medium bowl, mash bananas and melted butter with a pastry blender.  Stir in sugar, egg and vanilla to the banana mixture.  Combine flour and baking soda together.  Begin adding dry ingredients to the banana mixture a little at a time until well combined.  Run a knife through the semi sweet chocolate squares and stir into the batter.

Pour batter into muffin pans lined with paper liners almost to the top.  Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over batter if desired.  Bake at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes.  Let cool 15 minutes on a wire rack.  Makes 12 large muffins.