Blueberry Banana Bread

It's no secret that I am not a tidy person. It drove my Mom crazy when I was a kid, and it drives me crazy now that I'm on my own. I so desperately WANT to be tidy, but always find better things to do with my time. Like... Pinterest. That's a much better use of my time than putting away our multitude of camping gear from this weekend, right?

Side note: we had the most incredible (albiet short) trip to Glacier National Park this weekend! If you ever have the opportunity to go, DO IT. The park is HUGE, with tons of different things to do and see. We spent the majority of the weekend running through the woods (while clapping, to deter bears... a new sport for us!), swimming in Lake McDonald, and generally having WAY too much fun. The photo below is from Lake McDonald. I pinned a very similar photo a few months ago, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is the same in person! It truly is incredible! I'm trying to convince Derek to give up our "normal" life and go live there forever.

Sometimes, though, I go against the grain. I get fed up with some part of my untidy life and decide to do something about it. This bread: part of a clean up effort. The beneficiary? My freezer. While there are still frozen cupcakes and biscuits and an exorbitant amount of frozen fruit, my freezer is now banana and blueberry free. Woohoo! Every little bit helps. We frequently lament the fact that we don't have another freezer (because we would use it ALL THE TIME), and I do spend time often re-organizing our little freezer like a puzzle to make more space.

I knew we had a bunch of frozen bananas, and suggested a banana cake to Derek; however, he suggested (and how can I say no to those eyes?) banana bread. With blueberries. I would have gone with chocolate chips, but in the spirit of getting rid of frozen things we hardly use: blueberries it is!

This bread turned out perfectly! It's moist and soft, not too dense and certainly not mushy in the middle. The subtle hint of cinnamon is definitely a highlight, and it's impossible to pass up a good blueberry!

Blueberry Banana Bread

2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups mashed (ripe) banana
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat the oven to 350 F and butter two 4x8 loaf pans.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter and mashed banana. Mix in the two eggs, vanilla, and then sugar. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients, mixing gently until just combined.

Fold in the blueberries, divide batter between the pans, and bake for 60 minutes. If the tops are browning too quickly, tent with foil. Test with a cake tester to make sure the loaves are done before removing from the oven. Let the loaves cool in their pans for 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely.