i cooked, i baked, i share (banana bread, mac n cheese)

If you follow me on Instagram (you do, right?!? if not, it’s lemusingsofmoi, find me!) then you would see that lately I’ve been learning to cook and bake.  
I can’t say I quite enjoy it yet, but I am quite enjoying the amazing taste and the fact that it’s made with ALL real and healthy ingredients.
{plus one of my besties comes over to help teach me AND she brings pineapple wine, so it’s not THAT bad….}
Here are two of the recipes I made yesterday from Christine Avanti’s book, Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food:
Bangin’ Banana Bread
makes 16 slices
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
2 large eggs (cage free)
1/2 cup 0% or 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Zsweet
1/2  cup organic brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the bananas, applesauce, eggs, and yogurt in a large bowl.  Beat in the Zsweet and brown sugar until combined.
Whisk together the flour, flax meal, salt and baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.  Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and beat until blended.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 
50-55 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.  Cut into 1/2 inch slices.
Nutrition facts per 1/2-inch slice: 93 calories, 18 grams carbs, 2 grams protein, 2 grams fat
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Heirloom Mac ‘n’ Cheese Muffins
makes about 36 muffins
1 pound whole wheat elbow macaromi (i used quinoa pasta)
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (organic)
5 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 pound reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, grated
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 large heirloom tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup seasoned dried breadcrumbs
3 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat three 12-cup muffin pans (disposable aluminum pans will work fine for this) with cooking spray.
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente, according to the package directions.  Drain well.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallot and garlic and cook until transluscent, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.
Combine the half-and-half and milk in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, do not let boil.  Keep warm.
Heat the butter and 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot over low heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture thickens and turns a very pale yellow, about 5 minutes.  Add the sauteed shallot-garlic mixture and the warmed milk mixture and gently stir until the mixture thickens, 2 to 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the Cheddar, Gruyere, salt and pepper.  Add the cooked macaroni and stir to combine.  Fold in the chopped tomatoes.
Mix the remaining 1 teaspoon oil with the breadcrumbs in a small bowl.  Fill each muffin cup about three-forths full with the pasta mixture and sprinkle each muffin with breadcrumbs.
Bake until the sauce bubbles and the macaroni has browned, 30-35 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes.  Served garnished with thyme.
Nutrition facts per 2-muffin serving: 145 calories, 10 grams protein, 12 grams carbs, 6 grams fat

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I absolutely suggest getting this book…every recipe I’ve made has been AMAZINGLY delicious.
And healthy.

And maybe if I stay on track, I can finally shed my winter layers.

If you try these, let me know, I’d love to hear what you think!!!

© 2012 “Le Musings of Moi”
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