Banana Bread

Ingredients:

5 large, ripe bananas

4 eggs, well beaten

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Method:

Heat oven to 320*F.  In a medium bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add beaten eggs and stir, set aside. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt, mix, and set aside. Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add the banana mixture and stir until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Divide into 2 large loaf pans. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes on a cooling rack and remove from the pans. Continue cooling the bread on the cooling racks until completely cooled. Slice and serve. Enjoy!

Mix-ins:

1 ½ cup chopped nuts. (Pecans are my favorite for banana bread)

1 cup mini chocolate chips

¾ cup chopped nuts + ½ cup mini chocolate chips

½ cup chopped nuts + ½ cup dried cranberries+ ½ cup white chocolate chips

1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips

1 cup raisins

Be creative and add whatever you like in any combination, just don’t add more than 1 ½ cups of mix-ins or it won’t work right. These measurements are for the whole recipe so both loaves, if you want to try two different kinds, divide the batter into two bowls and half the amounts given; don’t add more than ¾ cup mix-ins to half of the batter. Cooking times will remain the same; just check each with a toothpick to make sure.