Banana Crumb Streusel Muffins

While cleaning my kitchen yesterday, I noticed my bananas sitting in the fruit bowl on top of my fridge. Brown. Spotted. Gross. So, deciding I was in a baking mood, I quickly began scouring the interwebs for the best recipes for ripe bananas. Banana bread? Too plain. Jacked-up banana bread from Smitten Kitchen? Perhaappps. And then, these. Banana Crumb (streusel) Muffins from AllRecipes.com. Yum. (Note: I like adding the word "streusel" somewhere in there, just sayin').

I sneaked in some nutmeg and cinnamon thanks to the Jacked-up recipe, and I'm glad I did.

These babies turned out perfectly. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing for the topping (it said "mix until it resembles cornmeal" hmm, I don't know what cornmeal looks like), but it turned out great! Bits of melted brown sugar and butter can never be wrong.

In total, it probably took 10 mins of prep, and 20 mins of baking..The mashing of bananas and measuring of ingredients took the longest, but overall it was easy peasy.

I highly suggest these to 1. impress yourself (pat on the back) 2. impress your boyfriend's mom & sister (actually happened) 3. impress boyfriend and 4. make your house smell DELISH.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. *I added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg here as well. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!

xo,
L


*photos courtesy of allrecipes.com

Birthday & Thanksgiving Treat

In honor of my 25th birthday yesterday, and Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought these cupcakes were the perfect in-between treat. Blending two of my favorite things ever- sweet potatoes & cupcakes- they are the epitome of fall yummyness.

I found this recipe on Evil Shenanigans, which makes these bad boys with a brown butter frosting...And I am huge sucker for anything brown butter. For the garnish, just peel the sweet potato very fine to get those pretty curley-cues.

Enjoy Thanksgiving, your families, and all the little things you're thankful for tomorrow.

xo,
L


*img via Pinterest

The Little Red House

After reading about this Butternut Squash and Orzo recipe this morning (thanks Jacquelyn!), I had to see what else The Little Red House had in store. What an awesome blog! From her recipes (all from scratch) to her anecdotes about her life (her kids are adorbs), I loved every piece of it.


Here are a few fall-ish recipes of hers I'm dying to test out:

 aforementioned Butternut Squash Orzo

 Roasted Pumpkin Cupcakes with Mexican Chocolate Buttercream

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Patties with Avocado Salad

*all images courtesy of The Little Red House

Fall Salad

I threw this salad together with a Harry & David pear my sweet neighbor, Sarah, gave to me, some crumbled goat cheese, mixed greens, and a delish homemade balsamic. The result? Fall scrumptiousness in a bowl. The best part was that it took a total of 4 minutes (including dressing prep!).

(Cleared bowl..Toasted sourdough and one last bit of of pear makes a tasty after salad snack)

Balsamic Recipe (via A Piece of Toast):

3/4 Cup of Olive Oil
1/4 Cup of Balsalmic Vinegar
1 Clove of Garlic
4 Teaspoons of Sugar
Salt and Pepper to Taste

I made this batch and just scooped a few teaspoonfuls into the salad, and am keeping the rest in a small tupperware for next time :)

Enjoy!

xo,
L

Goat Cheese, Asparagus, and Lemon Pasta

While taking a [quick] break from job searching , I just so happened to stumble onto one of my favorite recipe sites: smitten kitchen. You only have to scroll through her laundry list of delish sounding recipes to start having your mouth water--from apple cheddar scones to sweet corn pancakes to pickled carrot sticks (don't worry, Ross, I'm all over those next!). She even features recipes by seasons- she and my good friend Melissa would get along.

Anyway, my mom and I have been on somewhat of a "health kick"- for us that means eating 100 calorie packs of Hostess cupcakes instead of going to the Susie Cakes and buying the shelf. It means a lot of substituting and not a lot of restraint (it's Weight Watchers, so we have to factor in ev.ery.thi.ng. that goes into a morsel, but with that said it's all about portion control and enjoying the foods you love while still making healthy choices).

via Bon Appetit.com

This pasta looks quite tasty. SK adapted her recipe from Bon Appetit, which always has hits in my book. It's spring-y, colorful, chock full of greens, and contains the healthiest cheese of all (hint: it Bahhh's instead of Mooo's). What's not to love? Measure out your serving of pasta if you want to really be good :)

Enjoy!

xo,
L

Grapefruit, Ginger, and Lime Mocktail

One of my favorite bloggers, With Style & Grace posted this juice recipe yesterday (photos courtesy of her as well!) and I thought it was the perfect blend of sweet & bitter. If you're not a ginger fan- put a teeny bit just to give it some of that distinct flavor. For those of us watching our waistline, this is a sweet treat that doesn't make you cringe with guilt.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Truvia (zero calorie sweetener) – or use regular sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled then grated
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice – about 3 limes
• 1 1/2 cups fresh grapefruit juice – 4 grapefruits

Directions

In a small saucepan, on medium heat, mix together sugar, ginger, and water. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a glass cup or bowl – place in the fridge or freezer to cool.

In a pitcher, combine grapefruit and lime juices. Remove the ginger mixture from the fridge/freezer and strain into the grapefruit juices. Strain the grapefruit juices if you don't like pulp- don't strain if you do. Stir the ingredients and taste. Feel free to add more sugar or juices. Serve chilled with ice or add sparkling water to give it some bubbles.

Makes about 2 cups of juice.

What are your favorite healthy concoctions (other than Diet Coke, of course)?

Enjoy!

xo,
L

Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich

I have never been one to shy away from breakfast sandwiches, despite the calories, grease, and probable MSG content. Egg McMuffins? Love 'em. Starbucks Sausage Sandwiches? Love those even more. I'm aware this makes me sound like a fatty with poor eating habits, and I apologize for that. If you, too, are into this kind of breakfast treat most 5 year olds would swoon over, read on for a healthier alternative you can make at home in two minutes or less.

I concocted this simple morning meal yesterday. When I went to reach for my usual (eggs and honey wheat english muffin), I noticed a new package of Jimmy Dean's turkey mini sausage patties. And the genius idea formed.

All you need is:
-1 egg
-1 Thomas Honey What English Muffin
-1 small slice cheese (I use medium cheddar)
-1 Jimmy Dean fully cooked mini turkey sausage patty
-dab of butter
-salt & pepper to taste


1. Crack the egg into a ramekin or small dish. Place the dish, as well as the sausage patty (with the cheese on top of the sausage) on a paper towel in the microwave and cook both egg and sausage for approx. 40 seconds. Meanwhile, toast your english muffin.

(If you start to hear the egg bursting, let it cool for a second then put back in until the clear portion of the egg is almost white. You can always put a paper towel over it so it doesn't make a mess of your microwave.)

2. Lightly butter your toasted muffin, and place the sausage with cheese on one side and plop the egg out of the ramekin onto the other. Be sure not to break the yolk- it's pretty fragile.

3. Add a little salt and pepper, close together, and voila- your breakfast treat is ready for feasting upon!

Do you love runny eggs as much as me?

If you want, you can dip it in ketchup or Tabsco for an extra twist. Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

xo,
L

Eat, Live, Run

A culinary junkie and fitness maven turned food blogger has caught my attention recently. Jenna, the creative author behind the Eat, Live, Run blog, oozes spunk and originality, and I am craving all of her sweet treats (especially these homemade oatmeal cream pies). She is a self-proclaimed misplaced Southerner, and that Southern charm shines through in many of her musings.

Head over to Eat, Live, Run, read more about Jenna and her daily life, and most importantly print out a few of those delish recipes!

With a motto of "Celebrating Life,One Crumb at A Time," what's not to love?

xo,
L

Texas Sheet Cake

Everything may be bigger in Texas, but is it supposed to be the most delicious too? I experimented with a tried and true Texas style cake recipe last night and was blown away. The cake recipe calls for the standards: sugar, flour, vanilla, eggs, etc. but also calls for heaps of Hershey's cocoa and a dollop of cinnamon. YUM! If you like to get a little nutty (pardon my silly pun), you can add some chopped pecans or almonds to the frosting for a little crunch.

The cake turned out extremely moist in the center. My mom even asked if I had infused the middle of the cake with extra frosting...(Um, if anyone knows how to do that please let me know!)

P.S. Thanks for the recipe and wine last night Angel!

Enjoy!
L


Melt together in microwave:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup water

In a mixing bowl combine dry ingredients before adding wet ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 Tbl cocoa (rounded)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda

ADD:

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Add water/butter mixture to mixing bowl and mix. Batter is thinner than regular cake batter. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 and check to see if it's done around 25-30 minutes (if you shake a little on the pan, it shouldn't be jiggly at all.) Time can vary, especially if you are cooking two cakes (which we were- I promise I only took one home!). If using a dark coated pan, lower temp to 325. Frost while warm.

FROSTING:
Melt in microwave

• 1 stick butter
• 4 Tbl cocoa
• 1/3 cup milk

Pour into:

• 1 lb powdered sugar (Yes, 1 pound! It equals 2 cups.)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Spread over warm cake. It's REALLY good when eaten warm...a little piece of chocolate heaven in your mouth.

Down-home Southern Cooking

My boyfriend has had the fortunate life of growing up not only in a big, Italian family, but also one headed by one of my favorite Southern belles: Angel Anthony. Angel is a whiz on the dance floor, playing board games, and of course, in the kitchen.

When thinking about what to make for dinner tonight, I thought of her wonderful Chicken Crescents. They are the perfect go-to dish when you don't have much time, but don't want to sacrifice on deliciousness. The ingredients are most likely things that have been lying around in your cupboards and fridges for ages, so bust them out tonight! If not, I think the total money spent is less than $10 bucks. Cheesy, chickeny, creamy goodness!

(These aren't my crescents, but they could be! Thanks entertaininglife.com)

CHICKEN CRESCENTS:

Ingredients:

Chicken breast tenders (boil until tender)

Cresents (in the refrigerated section with the biscuits)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Instructions:

• Spray Casserole dish
• Roll 1-2 Tenders in Crescent
• Place in Pan
• Mix Soup with 1/2 can of milk
• Pour over Crescents
• Top with Cheese

Bake according to canned crescent directions until brown, approximately 20 min.

Enjoy! 

L