Maple Ginger Banana Muffins

I hope everyone had a fun-filled Valentine's weekend.  My husband and I spent the weekend with the kids at Legoland.  Not very romantic, but it was fun.  At least the parts where my four year old didn't take off on us or throw a fit when he didn't get his way.  Such is life with kids.  I am happy to be home in my own bed and cooking fresh meals again.  We had a lot of fast food at the park and on the road, but now it's back to healthy eating, like these Maple Ginger Banana Muffins.  I kept wanting to try making these during the holidays, but never got around to it.  I figured now was as good a time as any.

Red Velvet Oatmeal Cookies

I am still on a red velvet kick.  I had bought a box mix to make a red velvet cake for Valentine's Day, but then decided to use it to make some fun cookies.  I had seen recipes for red velvet banana bread and red velvet oatmeal cookies, so I kind of combined the two and made these with Red Velvet Oatmeal Cookies with bananas.  I wasn't too sure about the taste of bananas and red velvet together, but O.M.G, these came out so good.  They even have a double dose of chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate chips inside and half-dipped in dark chocolate on the outside.  I even threw in a Red Velvet M&M for decoration.

Red Velvet Brownie Krispie Treats

So what do you do when you have a box of Red Velvet Brownie mix?  You make brownies, then crumble them up and throw them in your Rice Krispies Treats, right?  Perhaps that's just my crazy thinking, but these Red Velvet Brownie Krispies bring Rice Krispie Treats up another notch in my book.  These treats are filled with chunks of red velvet brownies and topped with my favorite mascarpone frosting and some Red Velvet M&M's.  They are perfect for those upcoming Valentine's parties at school, or just to make for your sweetheart.