More great recipes!!!

We grew up in a family of 8. Convenience food was too expensive and my Mom didn't think it had the health value her kids needed. We all learned to cook from scratch and love the great flavors you can develop. My sisters are all great cooks. They all come up with great ideas. My sister Meesha asked to start posting too. I have invited all my sisters to start posting. If you see a new face around here it would be my sister :)

I have to share these "Banana crack muffins". That is Lee's name for them because he thinks they are as addicting as crack (not that he has experience in that :). I love that there is a TON of bananas in this. I usually 1/2 the recipe because we have a bad habit of eating the all up too quick.

6large or 8 medium bananas VERY ripe

4 eggs

2 cups of sugar

3/4 cup of oil

4 cups of flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup walnuts chopped (we do a cup of chocolate chips and eat them for desert :)

Grease 2 loaf pans and set aside. Mash bananas well. Add eggs, sugar, and oil mix until well blended. Add flour on top mix other dry ingredients into the flour. Mix until well blended. Add nuts or chips and mix briefly (overmixing causes tunnels and coarse texture). Pour into pans. Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I do muffins and cook them for about 25 minutes. ENJOY!!!

Bran muffins

When I was carrying Savannah I had gestational diabetes. Nothing I ate for breakfast kept my sugars down. One day my Mother-in-law made these and my sugars stayed down. For the next 3 mos I ate two of these, with a cup of milk blended with 3 strawberries, a handful of blueberries, some protein powder, and a tsp of splenda for breakfast. I also lost weight on this even though I was pregnant. They are really quite good. The best part is the recipe says the dough keeps well in your fridge for 6 weeks (although I have never tried that long). They are not terribly sweet just very filling and good.

Combine:
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar

add:
4 eggs beaten
1 quart low fat buttermilk

boil:
2 cups water
then add:
4 cups whole bran cereal (all-bran)
let sit 5 min

then add:
2 cups 40% bran flakes (I buy the cheap wal-mart bran flakes)
1 Tbsp salt
5 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups whole wheat flour (if you want to do all whole wheat only do about 4 3/4 total since wheat is "thirstier")

You can add raisins right before cooking although I usually don't.
15 to 20 minutes 400 degrees (mine always take the 20).
This recipe makes 60.