Whole Wheat Banana Toddler Size Muffins

I am a huge fan of the mini-muffin pan. A woman with a toddler obviously invented it. She figured out that no matter what she baked inside of it...her picky "I don't like it" before I even tried it toddler would eat it. Brilliant! My toddler will eat almost anything I bake in my little nugget of a muffin tin. She finds immense delight in calling anything "baby ones". Thus, making everything mini...edible. So, I made these muffins for her Mother's Day Out class in hopes that all the toddlers would have the same reasonable logic.

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
2/3 c. Canola oil
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
3 bananas
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. nuts (optional- I usually leave these out when making them for children)

Mix: Oil, sugars, eggs and bananas. In a separate bowl combine whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add: Dry mixture to wet mixture just until blended.
Bake: Fill mini muffin tin 1/2-3/4 full for 8-10 min. Be sure to not over bake as they will get drier and drier the longer you over cook them. You can also use a regular sized muffin tin and bake for the same amount of time.

Japanese Ovens and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

If you know anything about Japanese ovens...

1) They are miniature in size, of course

2) Super ingenious as they have a grilling and microwave function (seriously)

3) The buttons are all in Kanji which makes the trial and error method a bit dangerous

Reason #2 is why I now love my new foreign yet brilliant oven. I can roast vegetables in like 15 minutes flat and add them to pasta, hummus, and sandwiches. The fact that grilling in said oven shut down all the power in my house and caused me to go without an oven for three weeks is totally irrelevant.

Roasted Red Pepper Dip
3 sliced red peppers roasted in olive oil and garlic

*If you don't happen to have a Japanese oven you can try and roast them on the grill.

1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine: All ingredients and serve with veggies or crackers.