Cream Cheese Banana Bread

If you looked in my freezer, don't be surprised to find a large stash of frozen bananas!  Just like laundry or dishes may multiply, my bananas multiply!  I think I "waste" more bananas during the school year, than any other time of the year!  My boys will only eat a certain color of banana, yellow without much bruising/dark spots.  All the browned bananas get tossed into freezer bags for the freezer.  Does this happen to anyone else!?  While banana-flavored foods (like banana bread for example) are my least favorite, I gotta clear out my freezer and make room.  My kids, on the other hand, love, love, love banana bread!

The recipe is adapted from Sugar & Spice by Celeste.  While I added an extra 1/2 cup of bananas to get rid of a whole bag of frozen bananas, it tastes really good! .....The cream cheese must be the key ingredient???   I could not wait for it to cool to slice and neither could my boys!  Before I put it in the oven, the batter tasted, "Mmmmm."

This recipe appears to be a success, even my DH loves the taste; his favorite is the crust.  Meanwhile, Momma's doing the "Happy Dance" over here, even though half the recipe has already been eaten, there is still another half to go towards my 4 boys' lunches for tomorrow.  That's important!!!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter softened
8 oz cream cheese softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups mashed bananas
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 loaf pans with a nonstick cooking spray coated with flour.

Slightly melt the butter and cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds or have it already softened.  Cream the sugar with the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Beat one egg at a time until well blended.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring well.  Then, add the bananas, lemon juice, and extract.  Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes to an hour.  Enjoy!