This is a slightly modified version of Cooking Light’s Classic Banana Bread.  I purchased a batch of #2 bananas for roughly $0.10 / lb.  This gave us a few to eat plus enough for 4 loaves.  I split these into two sets based on ripeness.

Since I don’t like doing dishes and we can easily eat this, I prefer to make two loaves at a time.  To set up I have two sets of dry ingredients, two mixer bowls, two greased loaf pans, two sets of mashed banana on the counter.

I put a plate for the reuseable utensils (I forgot the spatula in the picture.) next to the mixer with the wet ingredients.  In this case I’m using yogurt that had been premeasured and frozen, but usually the tub of yogurt is there with a measuring cup.

I beat one set of butter & sugar.  I add the eggs, banana, yogurt, and vanilla per the recipe.  Then I take that bowl off the mixer and repeat with the second bowl.  This gives me two bowls of wet and two sets of dry ingredients.  I mix in the dry ingredients by hand, pour both in the pans, and place in the oven.  This way one isn’t sitting around combined very long.  It also helps to delay the combination if I get distracted by the kids for any reason.

Classic Banana Bread (Cooking Light magazine)
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ cup sugar (CL calls for 1 cup)
¼ cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
3 mashed ripe bananas (CL calls for 1 ½ cups, which is about the same)
⅓ cup plain low-fat yogurt (vanilla works fine too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute).
4. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended.
6. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.
7. Spoon batter into an 8 ½ x 4 ½ – inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
8. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.