Chris just finished doing our taxes. I used to love doing the taxes (really!), but ever since Chris ventured into entrepreneurship everything has become so complicated so now April 15 is his deadline. Unfortunately, this year we owe Uncle Sam a much heftier sum than we were expecting, so now we have to rein in the spending a bit more than we are used to.
The first and easiest area to trim our spending is on food. While I won’t sacrifice organic produce and meats, I do have to get a bit creative. For me, that means working out of our existing stash in the pantry and freezer. And, we can’t let any food go to waste. Which is how this little recipe came about. With a bunch of brown bananas on the counter and hungry tummies to fill, oatmeal banana muffins put produce and pantry staples deliciously to use. Vivian ate two of them for a snack yesterday, and they made a great breakfast this morning served with strawberries.
For me, living frugally means living thoughtfully. We don’t have to be cheap to be frugal – we just have to be smart about how and where we spend the money we work so hard to earn. If being frugal means delicious homemade muffins for breakfast, sign me up!
Banana Oatmeal Muffins (makes 18)
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 brown bananas
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I use homemade vanilla extract – saves money and it is so easy to make!)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add bananas, milk, vanilla extract and eggs. Beat well.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to the wet mixture.
Pour into cupcake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.
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