Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and A Painted Linen Closet

Saturday, January 7, 2012



We had some ripe bernaners (yes, that's how we say bananas at our house) lying around so I decided to whip up some banana chocolate chip muffins for a Saturday morning treat. They smelled soooooo gooooooood while they were baking.


I searched the net for a few different recipes and finally came across 'The Best Banana Bread Ever' from a blog called Foodess. I tweaked her recipe a bit but you can find the original recipe at the above link.


Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 1/2 – 2 cups mashed banana (about 4 large)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour *
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips **

* I substituted 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* I only used 1/2 cup chocolate chips instead of a full cup

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees*** and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper liners. Beat egg, mashed banana and melted butter in a large bowl until thoroughly blended. Stir in milk.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir until just moistened. Gently stir in chocolate chips, if using. 

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*** I baked my muffins at 350 degrees instead of 375 degrees because my oven is nuclear






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'Member yesterday when I wrote about my mini goals for the New Year? Well I already completed one of the completely un-fun projects that I'd been putting off forever.

Un-fun project: unpainted linen closet.

I had to empty all the linens from the closet before our floors got refinished last month. It was then when I was sorely reminded that I had never actually painted the inside of the closet when we moved in. It was still the crusty beige that the whole house was painted at the time. Ew, ew, ew.

With our upstairs getting all of the finishing touches I've been dreaming about forever, I decided it was time to just git 'er done.

Linen closet in the upstairs hallway.

Doors and trim - white. Inside - yucky beige.

Even Lexie looks disgusted with me.

I used paint that we had on hand (Benjamin Moore Simply White in a pearl finish) to paint the ceiling, walls, and shelving. Everything needed two good coats.


It took me two days to finish since I'm the slowest, most distracted worker of all time. But at least it's done and now I can finally put all of our linens back in.


Even though this is the most non-exciting project ever, I'm still posting it in case it will give you that little bit of motivation to tackle a sucky project that you've been procrastinating on forever.

You'll feel good when you're all done, trust me.

I might go shopping later for some cute storage baskets for this closet but that will have to wait for another day.

P.S. THANK YOU for all your tips and links about breadmakers and bread recipes. I've checked them all out and am still trying to decide...... :)

13 comments:

  1. Good for you! It looks fresh and beautiful...and those muffins are making my mouth water!

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  2. Looks yum :)
    ... and linen closet is great in white!

    Greetings from Australia♥

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  3. Working on my procrastinating tendencies is a goal of mine this year, so I'm with you on putting off projects like this! I FINALLY cleaned out an offensive linen closet of my own today, and it feels GOOD.

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  4. Hi Sarah,
    Love your blog... you might enjoy baking bread with your own two hands before deciding if you need a bread maker. Try these books: 1) "Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day", and/or 2) Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day.
    Keep writing!
    Jackie (sister of Katie of the Bidclan blog)

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  5. Glad you accomplished one of your goals! It always makes me feel better to mark something off of my list {big or small}! The linen closet looks great! I've been trying to get some ideas myself for our linen closet makeover.

    Make sure you post what breadmaker you get! I've been wanting one, but I haven't committed to getting one. Love some homemade bread!

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  6. Looks nice and fresh now! One of those annoying jobs that often we only see, but it sure can be satisfying having things like this ticked off the list. I painted the inside of my linen closet two summers ago. It was white but the builder's painter used such thin paint that it wasn't much more than a primer. The muffins look delicious. I really need to take a break from painting our guest bedroom and bake my family some muffins. Yum.

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  7. Banana bread is the best. We don't have it often but when we do the loaf is gone in a flash.

    Fresh paint in the closets make everything better. I need to repaint the inside of my bedroom closet, and soon.

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  8. What a recipe. These muffins look scrumptious! I love the flavor combinations.

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  9. just found your site! Very fun! These look so good

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  10. So did you just paint on top of the old paint or did you need to sand first?

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  11. Anonymous,

    I painted right over top of the old paint (I knew it was latex and had painted over it already in most of the house). I did do a light sanding on the shelves, though, 'cause they were bumpy and rough in spots.

    :)

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  12. nice recipes and i like yhe flavour combination.
    Kaplan Step 2

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