Baking with my daughters is one of our favorite things to do. Last night we had a winter storm advisory so it was the perfect evening for baking. It also helped that we had a few things that were ready for baking or they would need to be thrown out. We had a handful of blueberries for Blueberry Muffins and a couple of bananas for Banana Nut Bread. Both bakery items are really low cost as far as raw ingredients that are required, and provide high quality items in the end.

I frequently use recipes from our older Betty Crocker cookbook and last night was no different. The Banana Bread recipe is for two loaves but I only had enough bananas for one loaf so I halved the recipe. I calculated most of the ingredients to determine cost and determined that the cost was about $3.00 or less for each recipe. The $3.00 might get you a cup of coffee and a bakery item at your local coffee or bakery shop. By taking the time to make your own with a few items out of your pantry, you end up with high quality bakery items at a fraction of the cost.

Blueberry Muffins

1 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

Banana Bread

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ cup stick margarine or butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts, if desired