Banana Bread with Cream Cheese and Cherries

I know, it's another banana bread. It's hard for me to not make banana bread when I have a husband that constantly snacks and diets on bananas. There is usually a supply of bananas coming in here daily! I kid you not! So, at some point, there will always be a bunch that are overripe. I like bananas that still have a little green to them. I also thought I ate a lot of bananas. Ha! Nothing compared to my husband. My son kids him and says he will soon have a banana stem growing out the top of his head!

I found this recipe in an older Philadelphia Cream Cheese cookbook that I bought from a thrift store. I LOVE thrift stores. They are so much fun to rummage through and you just never know what you will find. Anyhow, I've never made a banana bread before that uses cream cheese. I added cherries on top really just for the hell of it. The cherries really held up well and didn't sink like I thought they might. This banana bread is very, very flavorful. A bit drier than others I have made but still a good one. I also added 1 teaspoon of vanilla....

1 8 oz package Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup margarine (I used butter)
1 cup mashed ripe banana
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts

Combine cream cheese, sugar and margarine (butter), mixing until well blended. Blend in banana and eggs. Add combined remaining ingredients, mixing just until moistened. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve with additional cream cheese, if desired.