Pumpkin Banana Bread

Who says pumpkins and bananas can't be friends?  I always hear about them being in separate breads but never together. And why not?  I have no idea!


I wasn't planning on making this an egg-less recipe but I had 4 bananas and I wanted to use them all up.  So instead of cutting back my bananas to add pumpkin, I cut back the egg and added the pumpkin anyway!  (Remember eggs can be substituted one-to-one with bananas!)  I also added a few other spices to my regular banana bread recipe to make the pumpkin flavor really come out.

Ingredients:
4 ripened bananas (mashed)

1 c. pumpkin puree
1`/2 c. oil
1/3 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Blend together mashed bananas, pumpkin puree, oil, and buttermilk until smooth. (Mashing the bananas is always a fun way to let your kids help, if they want!)

Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, sugar and vanilla and mix well. (These are typical pumpkin spices. If you have the "pumpkin pie" spice you can use that instead. I would go with 2 tsp of that one.)

Sift together remaining ingredients.  Gradually add into batter until completely blended.

Pour into greased and floured baking pan. (Tip: A quick way to grease and flour your pan at the same time is to purchase a spray that also has flour in it like this one.)

Bake at 325 degrees for an hour and twenty minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.






You haven't seen many more recipes this week but I didn't abandon my Great Pumpkin Recipe Journey on those days.  I have been using it in lots of things!  Remember that extra pumpkin-pie filling I had?  I have it in the fridge and have added spoonfuls to my coffee for a nice homemade pumpkin latte.  I also added a couple of scoops to the original flavor oatmeal that no one in my house ever wants to eat, (however that one also required a sprinkle of brown sugar as well.)  As a co-worker told me, you can never have too much pumpkin in October!

What other kinds of ways can you think to spice up your daily life with scoops of pumpkin?