Jan. 6 - Baked Potato Pizza & Banana Bread Muffins

A friend of mine from the MOMS Club recently had a baby and it was my turn to drop her off a meal today. There are always lots of casseroles and stews that are brought to new moms (perfect comfort foods for this awful, cold weather), but I wanted to do something a little different, so I made her a baked potato pizza. I added a bag of salad and banana bread muffins for dessert (after all the cookies, pies, and sweets over the holidays, I thought the muffins might be a nice change of pace). I made the muffins this morning and the whole house smelled like warm banana bread throughout the day - it was heavenly! The baked potato pizza is quite easy to double, so it's a snap to make dinner for my family at the same time. I always skip the green onions in the recipe because I'm not a fan, but have been tempted to toss on some broccoli for the nutrition factor (and because I love broccoli on my baked potatoes!).

So what about you? What do you like on your baked potatoes? Would you add it to your baked potato pizza?

Baked Potato Pizza
Ingredients
1 large pre-made pizza crust
4 medium unpeeled potatoes, baked and cooled
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3 to 5 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
   
2. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. In a bowl, combine butter, garlic powder and oregano. Add potatoes and toss.
3. Spread sour cream over crust; top with potato mixture, bacon, onions and cheeses.
4. Bake at 400 for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.
5. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 8 slices

Banana Bread Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat muffin pans with nonstick spray or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Blend bananas, sugar, egg and butter in food processor. Pour into dry mixture and stir until smooth. Scoop into muffin pan.
3. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Yield: 12 muffins