These muffins are one of my favorite to make.  I found the recipe here  They are so easy and yummy!  Perfect for extra ripe bananas!

Equipment you’ll need:

• Muffin Pan
• Mixer

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers. 

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

My husband LOVES the salty/sweet combination, and he also loves the peanut butter/chocolate combo. So I started making different types of cookies to find our favorite, and we have finally come up with a winning recipe, that I have named solely for him! I hope you enjoy “Erik’s Cookies”

Equipment you’ll need:

• Cookie Sheet
• A mixer (this is not necessary, but it’s easier!)
• 1 large bowl
• 1 medium bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 T. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 bag peanut butter chips
• 1/2 bag chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with your mixer until well blended. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla one at a time, making sure each is incorporated fully before adding the next. In the medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir it into the creamed mixture. Stir in both kinds of chips. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto your cookies sheet. Press each ball with the fork to create the lines. Bake for approx. 8 minutes or until edges are just slightly browned. In my experience, cookies are usually better when you take them out when they still look a bit doughy, if you wait until they are completely baked, they always end up rock hard. This allows them to gently cool down and finish cooking on the baking sheet.

Serve with a big glass of milk!

To make up for not taking a picture of the chili from earlier, I decided to try a new recipe. Something earlier in the day, made me have a sudden craving for rice pudding. Now, I’m not typically a huge fan, but something in me just needed some! I mentioned it to Erik, who (of course) was delighted with the idea! This recipe made enough for us for dessert and enough for both of us to have some for dessert today at lunch! And so … I bring you… Rice Pudding!

Equipment you’ll need:

• Medium Saucepan
• Large Saucepan

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. uncooked rice
• 4 c. whole milk, divided
• 2/3 c. white sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 T. butter
• 1 t. vanilla
• cinnamon
• nutmeg

Instructions:

Cook the rice according to package for 1 1/2 cups rice in the medium saucepan. (I used Jasmine rice, because it was all I had, it was wonderful, any short or med. grain rice will make it nice and creamy) This can be done ahead of time, I made mine earlier in the day and stored it in the fridge until we were ready to eat.

Once you are ready to eat, in your large saucepan (you can re-use your medium, but I like lots of room, so I prefer to just use a different pot) combine the cooked rice, 2 1/2 cups milk, salt and sugar. Let this cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, it may take around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once that has happened, add the rest of your milk and the eggs. Cook for about 5 more minutes over med-low heat. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Scoop into bowls and top with cinnamon and nutmeg!

Note: If you prefer this chilled, just make ahead of time, and store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat!