Breakfast - Banana Walnut Bread

It's gotten to be that time when I need to do a grocery run to keep our breakfasts healthy and filling...first we ran out of yogurt last week (which is a frequent breakfast item), then we ran out of oats for protein oatmeal earlier this week, THEN we ran out of bread for breakfast sandwiches today. Needless to say, I know what I will be doing this weekend.

So, I decided to start our weekend out right and make some banana bread tonight that would be a great start to our day tomorrow and into the weekend! It's based off the Food Network recipe (here) with just a couple flavor additions.

I start out with the list ingredients, but use one additional banana, half brown sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. 

I mixed the butter with 1/2 cup each brown sugar and granulated sugar. Since I decided to make this recipe last minute and didn't leave my butter out, I microwaved the whole stick for 15 seconds...I know technically that's a no-no, but it's better than waiting for it to soften on its own! :)

I peeled the ripe bananas and smashed them with a fork. Since I freeze my bananas once they're ripe, I had to use the same microwave technique above to get these to thaw...also hence the watery consistency when mashed (even thought I find that it makes the bread more moist!)

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As I mentioned, the Food Network recipe only calls for cinnamon at this point, however I also added 1 tsp. vanilla and about a 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. I use freshly grated nutmeg so the flavor is strong...if you're using ground nutmeg you may need a little more for the flavor to come through.

Once the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients were ready, I added them to the mixer!

...this is also where I find the mixer shield to be of great use so I don't end up with flour all over me and my kitchen.

Lastly, my final additional ingredient was a cup of chopped walnuts. I have also used walnut topping in past batters which has a less pronounced consistency but still tastes great! You could also use pecans or hazelnuts if you prefer a different taste, or you can omit the nuts completely!

Once the batter was mixed it went into the pan...

...and came out golden brown and crispy! (I had to bake mine for an additional five minutes because of the water in the bananas...you can bake it more or less depending on how "gooey" you like your banana bread)

I know it says to let it cool for 15 minutes before cutting but I couldn't resist...turns out banana bread makes a pretty tasty dessert too :) Can't wait to enjoy a hot piece with my coffee in the morning!