Oatmeal Banana Muffins

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest.  My kids don't generally like oatmeal, so when I saw the ratio of oatmeal to everything else, I was skeptical about how it would be received at our house.  I turned out to be very pleasantly surprised!

These are super easy to whip up.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Then, mix together the following:

3 mashed bananas (the more ripe the better)

1 c. vanilla Almond milk

2 eggs

1 Tbs. baking powder

3 c. oats

1 tsp. vanilla

Let batter sit while you prepare the muffin pans with liners or by spraying the pan with non-stick spray.

Stir 3 Tbs. chocolate chips into the batter.

Divide between 15 muffin cups.  You can fill them pretty full; these won't rise much.

Bake 20-30 minutes, until the edges are starting to brown.  They may stick while hot but will be easily removed once cool.

Some follow-up notes:

1.  These are super-healthy and not artificially sweetened.  Remember that when you're taking a bite and have realistic expectations.  Also, warming them up a bit makes them yummier.

2..  I pretty much always have ripe bananas on hand.  Once they've gotten too mushy to enjoy fresh, I'll throw them into the freezer to use for recipes like this or banana bread.

3.  You could possibly sub in some skim milk for the vanilla almond milk, but you may want to add a little sweetener.  Making your own almond milk is surprisingly easy.  Check back in tomorrow to see how it's done!  ;)

4.  That said. . . I've already made these a second time (Little Boy LOVES them!).  I prepped the almond milk a day ahead of time and stored it in the fridge.  I made the muffins the next day.  I noticed that they were a bit drier than the last batch, but they were still good.  It wasn't until I opened the fridge this morning and saw the almond milk still sitting there, staring at me, and rolling it's eyes, that I realized I'd completely left it out!

Oh, well.  Little Boy's not complaining. 

5.  Yes, I realize that my muffin pan is terribly dirty.  If you're standing in judgment, then I'm glad I could make you feel better about yourself and your kitchen with it's sparkling pans.  If you're thinking "I'm so glad her pans look as bad as mine do,"  I LOVE you.  Listen, life happens.  Who has the time?  I'm using baking cups, after all.  And, if you're my Mom and thinking "I really need to go visit Ashley and clean her muffin pan for her,"  what are you waiting for?  Maybe that's why I put the pics on here in the first place.  ;)