Banana Bread with Walnuts & Chocolate Chips

My husband and I met Lisa and Glenn Leibel in the beginning of the summer of 1991. They had just married in March, and Evan and I were engaged to get married that October. I can remember when we sat down to do our wedding invitations later that summer, we debated on inviting them to the wedding. We had known them only a few months, but felt a strong connection to our new friends. We decided to invite them, and the four of us have been an integral part of each others’ lives ever since—through the births of our children, the deaths of three of our fathers, career changes, new homes, and the list goes on. Our families have vacationed together, spent holidays together, and are there for each other for life’s celebrations and heartaches. These are friends that are not like family; they ARE family. You know what I mean; we all have these special people in our lives. 

Now that the kids are grown, we found ourselves out to dinner recently, just the four of us. As we all put on our reading glasses to look at the menu, we realized that 20 years has gone by in the blink in the eye. We sipped our wine and toasted to 20 years of marriage and friendship, then spent the rest of the night enjoying a hardy meal and hardy laughs. —Diana

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On this recent visit Lisa brought her incredible banana bread. It's so delicious, you may not want to share.

You'll need:

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), melted

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 medium-size bananas, mashed

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup flour

1/3 cup hot water

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Blend the sugar and butter. Mix in eggs and bananas and blend until smooth. Add salt and baking soda. Mix together. Add flour and hot water, alternating each ingredient. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips (if desired). 

Pour into greased 9-by-5 loaf pan and bake for one hour. Grab a big glass of cold milk and enjoy!