Not Chunky Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Alright, so it has been over a month since my last entry--I am ashamed.  However, I will say that I have been student teaching and thus working a full-time job (for no pay!) so my free time has greatly decreased as of late.  I know, it may not be the best excuse, but it is an excuse none-the-less.

So I woke up at 6:40 this morning (way too early for a Saturday), and I rolled out of bed because Virgil was up watching TV.  Why?  Who on earth knows, but I am glad I did because it gave me the extra time I needed for a food adventure.  Of course, during this month I've been away, I have definitely cooked some delicious meals, it has just been more rare and with less time.  It takes time to really think and document each step of my food-life... Okay... no more excuses!  I'm back in the game:

Banana-Chocolate-Chip Muffins.  Muffins are super delicious and almost too easy.  No, they aren't a cop-out... ;)  So over the past month, my breakfasts have ranged from waffles, to omelets to breakfast sandwiches, and I will have to say that muffins just might be the easiest of them all.  They are so simple; mix your dry ingredients, mix your wets, mix together and bake!

The Dry Team 

(Yes, I stole this from my hero Alton):

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

.5 tsp salt

The Wet Team:

3 lg or 4 sm overripe bananas

.75 cups white sugar

.75 cup melted butter

1 egg

Blend the teams in seperate bowls.  Make sure you really mash up those bananas for a smoother consistency, or, if you want banana-chunk, leave 'em chunky!  I actually like the sound of that... Chunky-Banana-Chocolate-Chip Muffins!  Anyway... I blended mine pretty fine even though as I write this I now regret that decision because I can't call mine chunky...

Okay, now, add your dries into your wets.  Add about .5 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips at this point, and of course, this can be left out or substituted for any other flavored chip.  At this point, DO NOT overmix.  As you can see in my picture, there is still dry flour spots here and there throughout the batter.  THIS IS FINE.  It is better this way, because you will end up with better, more moist and soft muffins.  Yes, this is also a trick well-explained by my dear friend Alton.

Okay, so dollop your batter into your muffin tins and bake away at 350 degrees farenheit.  It should take anywhere from 20-30 minutes.  Pull them out, and let them sit for about 5 minutes and them remove from the muffin tin, then cover them in some wonderful butter.  Don't try to pull them out too early because they will fall apart (they need time to set).  Now you can sit back with your coffee and yummy muffins and enjoy the rest of your morning (or afternoon if you slept in like you should on a Saturday morning).  We love the muffin!