Its a balmy 19 degrees out here in Chicagoland! I’m all bundled up in my robe and hair is in a bun. Emmy let me put her down for a nap this morning so I was able to spend some quality time with Charli eating breakfast, playing toys and even had a chance to make my favorite treat: Banana bread (with chocolate chips and walnuts, of course!)

Preparation time is seriously minimal and you don’t need a mixer:

•  3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup of melted butter
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts (if desired)
• 3/4- 1 cup of chocolate chips (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle in the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix. Add the flour last and mix. (Add in walnuts and chocolate chips if desired) Pour mixture into a 4 x 8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack.

I love banana bread, it is my go-to baked item any time of the year. You can ensure that it will taste the same every time, so it’s pretty hard to mess it up.

(When it’s done baking, I like to put a pat of butter on the top and let it run down the sides for some extra richness!)

How do you like to make banana bread?