Blueberry-Banana Muffins and Mangers

Of all the decorations we have, our favorite by far, are the homemade ones that have stood the test of time in our lives.  The burlap gingerbread man from my husband's kindergarten days or the glitter covered metal baby food jar lids that my girls in preschool, transformed into beautiful ornaments.  

The one that has the most special meaning is our manger.  My husband made this many, many years ago for their family.  They had all the figurines, but needed a home.  He built this perfect nativity for them, complete with lighting, grass roof and the outer deck is on hinges, so it folds up perfectly to store in the off season.  I love having this in our family room to look at every evening.

Since Christmas is in only three days, I think it is safe to say that my baking endeavors just aren't going to happen this year.  I had all the inspiration to try out some new desserts and make some of our family standby favorites....none of them have surfaced at this point.  The only thing I have been accomplishing is muffins.  Every weekend I am craving muffins.  I love the aroma of muffins baking on Saturday morning and filling the house with their warmth. (Unfortunately, they are also filling my pants a little too much!)

I saw these muffins on my friend Toni's blog site and added some remaining blueberries I had in the refrigerator to use up.  These are so incredibly good!

Blender Banana Muffins
from my Muffin Recipe box (courtesy of A Taste of Alaska)

Sift together in a bowl:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Place in the blender and blend until smooth:
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

*** (1) cup fresh blueberries, which I added to the recipe.

For topping:
Granola, without dried fruit

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Add blender ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing well.  Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins, filling each cup almost full. (At this point, I added a few blueberries to each of the muffins).  Top with a generous sprinkle of granola.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes about 18 large muffins.

One Year Ago:  Holiday Cake Cookies