Peanut butter banana muffins

Todd came home from tennis the other night with an abundance of bananas and peanut butter. I personally have not tried these muffins since I'm not a banana fan. James gobbled 2 down right away so they must be good! I googled "peanut butter banana muffins" and this looked good to me!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

4 ripe bananas
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c honey
2 T melted butter
2 eggs
1/3 c unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 T creamy peanut butter
{optional: +2 tb to use as small dollops of pb on top of each muffin}

1. Mash bananas and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together honey and melted butter until smooth.
3. Add applesauce, eggs, vanilla extract and peanut butter. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add flour, baking soda, salt & stir together until not lumpy.
5. Add bananas and mix until just combined.
6. Spoon mixture into lined muffin tin.
7. Add a small (1/4 ts?) dollop of peanut butter to the top of each muffin, and sort of press it in until it's almost covered by the muffin batter.
8. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I stuck the toothpick in at an angle and went towards the center to avoid sticking it through the dollop of peanut butter.

Yield: 12 muffins

Zucchini pineapple muffins ** new and improved**

7/23/11 ****NEW and IMPROVED**** I made these today with a few healthier changes. I used all whole wheat flour, no brown sugar, and butter instead of oil. Not quite as sweet and a little more dense, but still just as good! All of the changes are reflected below!

FIrst posted 9/13/09

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 -3 T agave nectar
2-3 T molasses
2-3 T honey
1/2 Cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 whole Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups Grated (unpeeled) Zucchini (I usually just use 1)
1 (20 Oz.) Can Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained

Preheat oven to 350°.To prepare muffins combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.
Combine butter, eggs, vanilla, agave, honey, and molasses; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into flour mixture. Add to muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli

I found the original recipe on crockpot 365 and it is also on my friend Maleah's blog. I don't use a full lb of beef and I decided I liked it better with italian seasoning rather than all oregano. You can use any combination of veggies that you want. You could add broccoli, squash, green beans, asparagus, corn, etc.. We all love this soup at our house!
Ingredients:
1/2 lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
2-14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups(32 oz) beef stock
1-2 teaspoons italian seasoning
salt and pepper
3-4 cups spaghetti sauce
1/2 dry pasta shell macaroni(added during the last hour of cooking)

Add all ingredients except pasta to crockpot. Cook on low 8 hours and add the pasta during the last hour.

Time saving tip: I usually assemble this in my crockpot the night before I plan on cooking it. I keep it in the fridge overnight and just have to plug in my crockpot in the morning. If I end up having a hectic morning I'm so glad I took the extra time the night before.