Easiest Banana Bread

Fall is here and I am kicking it into high gear with trying out new recipes and baking up a storm. I'll be following up this posting later on today with my first homemade soup experience, which I'm happy to say was a success!

For now, I'm posting my recent favorite way to not waste the bananas that get a little too brown. This banana bread is so easy I am posting the recipe from memory. I just made it (again) last night, so it's fresh in my mind... and in my stomach since I ate a hefty slice for breakfast. :) The simplicity of this recipe makes it perfect for throwing together on a Sunday evening, and since I'm the only one that eats it - I've got breakfast for the week!

Banana Bread
3-4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can be reduced to 3/4 cup if desired)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beat
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups flour

No mixer needed! Use a wooden spoon to mash the bananas with the melted butter. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture, mix to combine. Add the flour last and mix. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for just under an hour in a 350 oven. Cool on a rack.

A few things I've learned while making this recipe:
1. The grosser the bananas look, the better your banana bread will taste. I let them sit out until they are nearly black and Dan wants to throw them away, then stick them in the freezer until I'm craving this banana bread. I just let them thaw on the counter in a bowl and then snip the ends off and squeeze all the mushy pieces into the bowl.
2. Three bananas works just fine, 4 makes for a more dense, moist, chewy loaf. YUM.
3. Baking this for an entire hour overcooks the bottom and sides, but 50 minutes results in a perfectly brown outer crust. However, 50 minutes also leaves you with an almost TOO moist middle. Next time, I'll go for 55 and call it a day.