Rhubarb Banana Rosemary Muffins

I tried a new muffin recipe from Simply Fresh over the weekend. I had ordered some organic rhubarb from my online CSA and wanted to try some new things with it. So I thought these sounded great. And they were so good! They're pretty dense, but they are very good and filling.. a wonderful breakfast muffin! I made 12 rhubarb banana rosemary regular muffins, 24 strawberry rhubarb banana rosemary mini muffins, and 6 strawberry rhubarb banana rosemary regular muffins with this recipe.

Rhubarb Banana Rosemary Muffin

7 - 8 stalks of Rhubarb
1 cup sugar
2 TBSP maple syrup
2 ripe bananas peeled and mashed
1 egg
1 TBSP baking powder
1 TSP baking soda
1/4 TSP salt
1 TBSP dried rosemary
3 cups whole grain flour
1 cup water

Wash and cut rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces. Add to a small pot with sugar and 1/2 cup water. Boil until rhubarb has broken down into almost a jam like texture. Let cool.

In a large mixing bowl add the cooled rhubarb mixture to all other ingredients. Add the cup of water slowly until you reach your desired muffin batter consistency. Depending on the moisture level of the rhubarb mixture you may need to add more or less water at this stage.

Bake in a lined or oiled muffin tin at 350 for 25 minutes or until a fork inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean.

Banana and Peanut Butter Yogurt

This is another breakfast idea that I saw in the May 2010 issue of Fitness magazine. This is very simple, tasty, and filling - three great aspects to a good breakfast.

Banana and Peanut Butter Yogurt

1 medium banana
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
Wheat germ
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
Honey

Peel banana; halve lengthwise. Spread peanut butter on one half. Sprinkle with wheat germ. Top with other half of banana. Slice into rounds. Place yogurt in a bowl. Top with banana slices and a drizzle of honey.

Banana Pudding

I haven't made banana pudding in ages, so with some surplus ripe bananas in the fruit bowl, I figured I'd make it on Sunday. We all really like it, especially Carson and Kevin. This isn't the recipe I've used before, I couldn't find it written down in my cookbook anywhere. So this one is from AllRecipes. It was very good and very rich in vanilla flavor. We all liked it, but I still want to find my old standby recipe. Sorry, no picture... I didn't think about taking one.

Banana Pudding

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (organic)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (organic)
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (Trader Joes stuff w/out all the junk)
3 cups cold milk (organic)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (organic)
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (the all-natural/70% organic stuff from Whole Foods to avoid HFCS, antibiotics, and hormones)
4 bananas, sliced (organic)
1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers (organic)

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

Banana Bread

This recipe is from my mother-in-law. Its the best banana bread ever! Super easy and quick to make, super moist and yummy to eat! It turns out every time! I have made this so many times, I can't believe I haven't posted the recipe yet. I made this batch this morning and will do another batch or two this afternoon with Carson. I made two medium-sized loaves this morning. Carson and I will probably do a bunch of mini loaves this afternoon. This bread freezes and thaws really well, so they're great to have on hand. I'll also be taking one of the larger loaves along to my friend and her family this Friday.

Banana Bread

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
5 Tablespoons sour milk (4 T milk + 1 T vinegar)
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt

Cream together sugar, butter, and eggs. Add baking powder, soda, flour, sour milk, bananas, and salt. Mix. Put in two greased 9-inch bread pans. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.