Bo's Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

So. I hesitate to call these muffins. I mean they are, but they are super dense almost like a granola bar, but softer.  Anyways. David has soccer games every Sunday and one of the wives on the team, Bo, makes these.  She is so thoughtful.  I had an idea to cut up oranges because that's what I remember most about playing soccer (yes, it was middle school) and we used to put them in our mouths and pretend we were monkeys. Was this just me? 

So I made a few additions like a pinch of cinnamon and chia seeds (just because I had them and thought why not?)

They are so delicious and are great for days as a quick healthy snack or yummy with coffee in the morning for breakfast.  No oil and no added sugar (except from the chocolate chips)

Everything you need

Preheat oven to 380.

Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. 
*I'd be willing to wager you could spray the tins with a bit of pam but the liners just make it so much easier to grab one and go.

Ingredients:
 3 cups oatmeal (you can either use regular old fashioned oats or steel cut oats)
*Steel cut will give the muffins a much chewier texture.  I use about 2 1/2 cups old fashioned and 1/2 cup steel cut.
4 bananas smashed
2 eggs
1 cup almond milk
2 cups chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon baking powder

Optional:
Cinnamon, just a pinch
Chia Seeds, about 2 Tablespoons

 In a large bowl:
1. Peel your bananas and get them smashed. I think a fork does the best job. You want them pretty smooth but not a puree.  

2. Add your milk and mash the bananas a bit more.  Add the remaining ingredients, saving the chocolate chips for the end. Fold chocolate chips in.

3. Scoop into muffin tins. I always use an Ice Cream Scoop to get perfectly neat portions. (One with a spring loaded handle) These will barely rise so fill them about 3/4 full. 



Bake at 380 for 20 minutes.
 

You can really add anything you want to these. I am going to try them with some coconut and blueberries next.

Lavender Lemon Bars

So my girlfriend Kelly (A.K.A Miss Thang)  is having a baby in a few months and we had a couples shower for her this Saturday evening.  I am usually the "dessert person" and so in true fashion I volunteered to do the dessert for the shower. Kelly really loves peanut butter and chocolate so I made a Devil's Food cupcakes with Peanut Butter Mouse and dunked in chocolate ganache. No big deal. 

 Then I thought I should do something for any freaks non-chocolate lovers.  I personally love anything lavender and one of my other girlfriends Shelby (also about to have a baby) loves lemon so I figured this was a perfect choice.  The recipe says it's Gooey Butter Cake but it turned out like a lemon bar after being refrigerated, so I am calling it a lemon bar.  They turned out really well. Only thing I would do differently next time would be to line the pan with parchment paper so I could lift the entire thing out to cut it neatly.  

Cake:
1 (18 1/4 oz.) package yellow cake mix

1 egg

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
2 teaspoons pulverized culinary lavender (just crush it in your palms as you add it)
Filling:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened 

2 eggs 

2 large lemons, juice and zest
1 teaspoon vanilla 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted 

1 (16 oz.) box powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º F.


Combine the cake mix, egg, butter and lavender and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. 

Crust Mixture. See the flecks of Lavender?

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Add the powdered sugar and mix well.

Lovely Lemons

  Spread mixture over the cake batter and bake until lightly browned on top and set but still jiggly, about 45 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey. 

Filling

 ***I cooked mine an extra 5 minutes. Cook completely on the counter then refrigerate and cut into bars. The filling is pretty sticky so I put mine in individual cupcake papers.  Ta-da!