Cinnamon Banana Muffins

Hello lovely readers! It's been a while! But I have two very good reasons for the lack of posts: I was on holiday in Virginia for almost three weeks and the day after I got back, I started my new job (!!). So things have been a little hectic to say the least - especially since I'm still slogging away at my thesis as well. The trip home was so nice and  exactly what I needed to help me destress and come back to London ready to hit the ground running. It was amazing to so many of my family members and old friends! Back in London, my new job with the Institute for Global Health has also been fantastic so far: I have great colleagues who are incredibly friendly and helpful (even when I'm asking the same question over and over!), the office has a great atmosphere and the kitchen has a little spout that instantly pours hot water... I'm very impressed. 

Anyway, to get back to today's recipe! I had a few bananas that were a little past their best and I was looking around online for a way to use them up. I love banana bread but find that it's a little hard to transport (I usually eat breakfast at my desk) so I thought muffins would be a more stable alternative. This recipe is almost exact from the Betty Crocker website (I omitted the sugar topping and added an extra banana and some nutmeg) and was super easy and delicious. If you have extra bananas, give it a go! Of course, I'm not sure if this recipe beats my Mom's though...

Also, the Betty Crocker website has a little tip section at the bottom of the page that I thought was pretty helpful. For example, did you know that you can freeze bananas and then use them in any dish that requires them to be mashed? I guess the texture would be a bit off after freezing if you tried to just eat them straight away. All you do is pop them out of the freezer, leave to thaw and then mash. Handy tip if you don't feel like baking anytime soon but love banana bread as much as I do! 

Stay tuned for a post with what will hopefully be a triumphant return to the Monthly Food Challenge... this month's chosen ingredients were absurd so I'm excited to see what my friends got up to! 

Recipe via www.BettyCrocker.com

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 17-20 min

Serves: 16

Ingredients: 

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 375F / 190C.

With a wire whisk, mix the sugar, vegetable oil and eggs in a large bowl until nicely combined. Stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and continue mixing. When the wet ingredients are ready, slowly sift in the flour and baking soda before adding the salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Line muffin tins with paper wrappers and divide the mixture evenly, filling each cup about two-thirds full.

Bake for 17-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Cheddar Leek Muffins

After last week's trip to the farmer's market in Brixton, I still had two leeks leftover from the risotto we made. And, since I'm off to Rome this coming week to visit my family, I was looking for a way to include them into the party food. A quick search led me to this recipe on the netmums website. I was a little worried that because this is designed for kids the salt level might be a bit too low (and it was.. but only a little!) so in the future I might add a bit more before baking. Other than that, this was a great recipe since it was easy, quick and made a pretty good amount of muffins for our party. Another benefit was that I already had everything in my cupboards so there was no need to rush out to the shops - exactly what I need from a party food recipe!

Muffins along with some cookies and veggies

Recipe via www.netmums.com

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15-20 min

Makes: 24 muffins

Ingredients: 

2 leeks, white part only chopped
30 g butter
450g self raising flour (or the same amount of plain flour with 2 tsp baking powder)
2 tsp mustard powder
200g cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs
300ml milk
100ml olive oil
2 tsp salt

Method: 

Saute the chopped leeks in the butter over a medium heat until they have softened. Set aside. Meanwhile, sift the flour and mustard powder together in a bowl. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and olive oil before slowly adding to the flour mixture. Add in the cheese, leeks, and salt and mix thoroughly to incorporate all the ingredients. Line two muffin trays with paper liners and fill them 3/4 of their capacity. Bake for 15-20 min, until a skewer placed in the center of a muffin comes out cleanly. Enjoy!