Banana Bread

For the 4th of July I made a dessert that called for instant vanilla pudding.  When I originally went shopping, I mistakenly purchased cook-and-serve pudding mix..... Of course I didn't notice this until the morning of.  Thank goodness the local drugstore was open and had instant pudding.

So when I came across this recipe for banana bread, I thought it was a great idea to use up some of my cook-and-serve pudding mix sitting in my pantry.  The original recipe called for shortening which I replaced  with butter.  It's a great recipe because it works well with whatever amount of bananas you have on hand.  I was a little skeptical of putting the bread in a cold oven, but it baked up very well.  This turned out to be nice bread, not too dense, but very moist.  The folks at work loved it!  

Banana Bread

1 3/4 c flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 (3 ounce) package of 'cook and serve' vanilla pudding mix
2/3 c white sugar
1/2 c softened margarine or butter
2 eggs
2 T milk
1 to 2 cups mashed ripe banana
Nutmeg and Cinnamon to taste (I use about 1 t each)

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla pudding mix. In a separate mixing bowl, beat sugar and shortening until light, scraping sides of the bowl often. Add the eggs one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Mix in the milk.

Add flour mixture and mashed bananas alternately to creamed mixture, beating until smooth after each addition. Pour batter into a lightly greased 8x4 inch loaf pan or into mini individual loaf pans.

Bake in a cold, (non-preheated) oven set to 350 degrees. Bake for 50 minutes, then cover with foil to prevent burning and bake for additional 10 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the crown comes out clean. Leave in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool.

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