Banana Nut Muffins

Have you ever had a situation where you buy a bunch of bananas and you eat most of it but the last one or two? There it sits with the peel slowly turning into various shades of black and then you throw it away?

If you are one of those people, you are just gonna thank me in a second.

The freezer is a girl's best friend. I cant count the number of times I've gone overboard at the Farmer's market and come back with more produce than I could finish in a week. When mid-week rolled around, I hated opening the crisper drawer because I would have to see the vegetables glaring balefully at me. I was racked with guilt. More often than not I wasted half the produce.

Then I became 30 and wise.



Now I use up produce that spoil fast ...like herbs and greens during the week and freeze what I cant finish. Besides reducing the amount of waste, this way, I can whip up (ahem) impressive dishes superfast when I have company because the vegetables and fruits are already prepped.

All I have to do then is soak up the adoration. Ehh..

Banana Nut Muffins

Note: Use all white sugar if you dont have brown sugar. If you would like a richer muffin, you can use all butter instead of butter and applesauce.

all-purpose flour-2 cups
baking soda-1 1/2 teaspoons
salt-1/2 teaspoon
overripe bananas-3
white sugar-1/2 cup
brown sugar-1/2 cup
unsalted butter, melted and cooled-1/2 cup
Applesauce-1/4 cup
eggs-2
pure vanilla extract-1 teaspoon
walnuts, chopped-1/2 cup
Turbinado sugar-1/4 cup (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash the bananas with a fork. With an electric mixer, whip the bananas and sugar together on high for a 2 minutes. Add the melted butter, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Dont overbeat. Fold in the nuts with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Sprinkle the top with Turbinado sugar if using.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.