Super Easy Strawberry Banana Bread

I'm on this kick to use what we have in our fridge or pantry without having to run to the store for one or two items. So call me frugal, s'okay.

Here's where the beauty of Pinterest comes in. Most of the recipes (especially if they come from a blog) are usually tried and true. So when I searched for a recipe using frozen strawberries (which we picked last summer) and a ripe banana, I found a recipe for 'Strawberry Banana Bread.'

Though this recipe was for one loaf, I doubled it to make two loaves and adapted it so I could use whole eggs instead of egg whites and increased the amount of baking soda*.

Strawberry Banana Bread

(makes 2 loaves)

2 1/2  cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2  teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 medium ripe bananas (mash one and slice the other)

1/2  cup canola oil
2 eggs beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups strawberries, diced (can use frozen berries)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9x5 bread loaf pans with cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon and stir to combine. Mash one banana with a fork and slice the other one.

3. Add the mashed banana to the dry ingredients and stir. Add the oil, beaten eggs, vanilla and stir until just combined. Gently fold in 3/4 cup strawberries. Pour batter into prepared pan and top with 1/4 cup strawberries and banana slices, pressing them gently into the surface of the batter.

4. Bake for 45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean (Depending on moisture content bananas and berries, cooking times may vary from 40 to 50 minutes).
Allow bread to cool before removing it from the pan.

* I read somewhere that if your cakes are turning out deflated it's because there isn't enough baking soda. The original recipe used half the amount of baking soda, so I doubled it to make sure the cake wasn't too flat.

Thanks to Averie from Averie Cooks, for her rendition. This cake is moist and not too sweet and yet our kids still like it. It's also very easy to make, hope you enjoy this recipe!