Banana Crumb Muffins

I don't know about you, but my family is pretty picky when it comes to eating fresh bananas.  They have to be just barely under ripe for us to eat them.  Because they seem to ripen so darn fast, that gives us about a day when they're the prefect ripeness for us to eat.  That means that we end up with more overripe bananas than I'd like.  Sometimes they ripen past the point we like them before we even realize they're ripe!  Solution?  These Banana Crumb Muffins.  

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Crumb Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl combine mashed bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter; mix well.  Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Grease or line a 12-count muffin tin and divide batter between the cups.  To make the crumb topping, combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Cut in the butter until it looks about like corn meal.  Sprinkle the crumb topping over the muffins and bake at 375 for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Recipe from Allrecipes.

Savory Pumpkin Soup

I-used-my-kids-pumpkins-for-this-soup!  Whew!  I sure feel better now that I got that out of the way!  Just, please, don't tell them.  They'd hate me forever.  Or at least as long as a 4 and 6 year old can hold a grudge.  I wasn't going to.  Honest!  I had every intention of buying (another) pumpkin to use, but for some reason, once Halloween has come and gone, they all disappear.  Only 2 days after there wasn't a single pumpkin to be found.  Lots of Christmas trees and ornaments, but not a single, solitary pumpkin.  I guess feeding the littles their beloved pumpkins is better than sneaking them into the trash, right?

6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 cup onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For Serving:

Parmesan cheese

Homemade Croutons (I didn't use the sourdough bread this time, just what I had on hand.  They're still stinkin' amazing!)

Combine all ingredients, except cream, in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  *Puree soup on small batches (about 1 cup at a time) in a blender.  Return soup to pot and simmer an additional 30 minutes.  Mix in cream and serve garnished with Parmesan cheese and croutons.  Don't skip the croutons.  Seriously.  They take the soup from good to WOW!

*I blended the onion and garlic with a little of the chicken stock BEFORE I cooked the soup, and just let it simmer for an hour.  You could also use an immersion blender half way through the cooking time.  If you cook the soup and then blend it. BE CAREFUL!!  The hot soup burns!

Recipe from All Recipes.