Bananas Foster Bread

So what do these have in common?  Yesterday’s guesses gave me quite a few chuckles.

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Maker’s Mark and bananas happen to be two of the BF’s FAVORITE things.  Since we didn’t get to spend VD together, I decided to whip up a batch of Marker’s Mark Banana Bread over the weekend.  I had a Cooking Light Recipe for Bananas Foster bread that I’d been DYING to try out, and Makers Mark seemed like a terrific substitute for the Cognac called for in the recipe.

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Who drinks Cognac anyway?  Emeril Lagasse, that’s who.

Lucky for this banana bread recipe, I’m not dating Emeril Lagasse.  I’m dating Mr. Maker’s Mark.

Seriously…

Edible.

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Canoodling:

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This looks quite natural, actually.

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First up:  get your hands on some mushy brown bananas.  Hopefully you planned ahead for this, because the base of ANY good banana bread recipe is some seriously overripe bananas.

These guys are actually on the under-ripe side, but they got the job done.

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Next:  preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×5 inch bread loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine the following in a nonstick skillet:

  • 1.5 cups mashed up ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 5 tbsp melted butter
  • 3 tbsp Maker’s Mark

Can we say yum?

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Heat over medium until it starts to bubble and thicken slightly

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Then you’ll want to remove this banana goodness from the heat and set aside to cool.

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In the meantime, combine the following in a separate bowl:

  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground allspice

Flax!

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Alltogethernah:

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Once the bananas are cooled off, add in:

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
  • 2 large eggs

Beat everything together until combined, then add in your dries to wets and mix until just blended:

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Yes, I licked them.

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Next is the easy part — pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.  Then let the bread cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix up the icing:

  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tbsp Maker’s Mark

And dr-dr-drizzzzleeee  over the warm bread:

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Notice that at this point I had ALREADY cut off a small piece for sampling… That’s a key step in successful baking.  Frequent and continuous testing.

Mr. Maker’s Mark said this was the best banana bread he had ever tasted because it was “delightfully moist and not overly sweet”

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I agreed, it was delicious… and addicting.

Must be the alcohol.

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Maker’s Mark Banana Foster Bread Ingredients List (serves 12):

  • 1.5 cups mashed up ripe bananas
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter, divided
  • 1/4 cup Maker’s Mark, divided
  • 1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

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Shrimp & Mac & Cheese

WOW guys.  WOW.

Drooling yet??

For the big game this past weekend, I was looking for a something a little different to take to the family party… Something a little healthified but that still packed a little somethin somethin.  During my search, I stumbled upon the the Mac and Cheese Light recipe from the September 2010 Cooking Lite, and it looked like the perfect fit!  You can never have too much cheese on super bowl Sunday, I always say.

What really drew me to this particular recipe was that it started off with the “secret weapon” – a puree consisting of one whole LARGE onion and 9 cloves of garlic. 

Hello lover. 

Clearly this was destiny. 

First up, I put a big ole pot of water on the stove to boil, then tossed a large Vidalia onion and 9 cloves roughly chopped garlic into a bowl with 1/2 cup water. 

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I covered this guy with plastic wrap and nuked in the microwaved for 10 minutes.  Prepare to smell like onions and garlic for the remainder of the day.  Don’t worry.  I won’t judge you.

After 10 minutes, you dump this onion garlic goodness out into a blender and pulse until smooth.  It should look like grits, ya’ll:

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By now the water should be boiling, so drop in 8 Ounces Barilla Plus Elbow Macaroni and cook until al dente.

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Meanwhile season up you onion garlic puree with:

  • 1 tsp dried mustard
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • Salt and pepper to taste (I used A LOT)

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Once the pasta is done, drain and set aside.  Then heat your onion garlic puree up in a pot (large enough to hold the sauce and the pasta), and once hot and bubbly slowly whisk in 2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese. 

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It should be gloriously thick.

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Once the cheese is all melted in, take it off the heat and whisk in 2/3 cup fat free plain greek yogurt, then add in the cooked pasta.  Once everything is combined, pour the mac and cheese into a casserole dish greased with cooking spray.

Sprinkle the top with

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Sprinkling of dried parsley

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Baked at 425 for 15 minutes:

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Cheesy deliciousness:

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Just to balance things out, I also made a big arse salad for the game:DSCF5263

No joke.  Big. Arse.

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Of course I finangled one serving of the mac and cheese to take home with me after the game, and I decided to spice it up a bit for dinner tonight.

I LIBERALLY seasoned up 4 jumbo shrimp with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper and sautéed them up on a pan:

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I also roasted up some broccoli  that I had liberally seasoned with S&P … and I also microwaved the mac and cheese.  Don’t judge.

VOILA!

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That is a seriously grown up healthified mac and cheese masterpiece!!!

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I havent had roasted broccoli in months!! I practically lived off of roasted veggies last summer, and I had somehow forgotten how friggin delicious they are! 

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The mac and cheese by itself was a little too mild for my tastes – so, at the super bowl party I topped it off with some Frank’s Red hot.  But for tonight’s dinner this spicy cayenne shrimp added plenty of kick:

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Can’t get over how delicious!

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Get in my beeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Stats on 1 serving mac and cheese (no shrimp):  275 calories, 30g carbs, 10g fat, 17g protein, 3g fiber

Stats on 1 serving mac and cheese WITH shrimp:  322 calories, 30g carbs, 11g fat, 26g protein, 3g fiber

 

Mac & Cheese Ingredients List (serves 8 )

  • 1 large Vidalia onion
  • 9 cloves roughly chopped garlic
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 8 Ounces Barilla Plus Elbow Macaroni
  • 1 tsp dried mustard
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups reduced fat cheddar
  • 2/3 cup fat free Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Sprinkling of dried parsley

 

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Seriously. Make this. Now.

Last weekend, I posted a super simple super quick recipe for the Ahmygawd Breakfast Sandwich.

Today, I made a repeat of that masterpiece with the addition of some Frank’s Red Hot:

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I swear to you, this breakfast sandwich is eyes-roll-into-the-back-of-your-head delicious.

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If you are a yolk lover like me (and a sausage lover for that matter) do yourself a favor and make this for breakfast.  Immediately! 

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Stats on the life changer:  255 calories, 24g carbs, 10g fat, 20g protein, 3g fiber

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Mini Cheesy Meatloaves

Helloooooo cheesy meaty goodness!

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Continuing on with my Cooking Light recipe rampage, the other night I cooked up some of the Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis featured in a recent issue of the magazine.

Super simple to throw together, and really really friggin tasty.

First up, I measured out all my ingredients like the oober organized little cook that I am (see the list at the bottom of the post).

Here are the goods:

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I decided to go with New York style white cheddar cheese.  I can’t say that I’ve ever tried that type of cheese before, but holy cow (no pun intended) is it delicious!

Cheeeesseeeeeee 🙂

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Next up I sautéed the onion and garlic…  The recipe called for 1/2 cup onion and 2 cloves garlic.  Of course we all know that means you are actually supposed to use 1 whole cup of onion and no less than 3 cloves garlic.

Naturally.

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The recipe also called for toasting of the breadcrumbs… Just be careful not to burn them!  (AKA I burnt my first.. and second batch… dangit!)

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Once the onions were nice and soft and the bread crumbs were toasty, I tossed all the goodies into a bowl along with 11 ounces of 90% ground sirloin.

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Why do I always feel the need to include pics of the raw meat on my blog?

Good question…

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This batch made 3 mini meatloaves, one of which I had for dinner along with some steamed broccoli with lemon juice:

 

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This picture makes me start salivating uncontrollably….

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Apparently, my body has been secretly feigning for a little red meat in its life!

 

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Mmmmmgghhhhhhhhhh……

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Meat.

Stats on 1 mini cheesy meatloafy:  350 calories, 19g carbs, 17g fat (red meat, folks), 29g protein, 1g fiber

Mini Cheesy Meatloaves Ingredients List (serves 3)

  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 11 ounces 90/10 ground sirloin
  • 1.5 ounces New York style white cheddar cheese, cubed
  • 1/4 cup ketchup, divided (2 tbsp mixed in, and 2 tbsp for basting the tops)
  • 1.5 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1.5 tsp prepared horseradish
  • 3/8 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 large egg
Instructions:  Mix all ingredients (except 2 tbsp ketchup) in a large bowl.  Divide into 3 equal sized loaves.  Place on cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.  Baste tops of the loaves with remaining 2tbsp ketchup.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Speaking of droolworthy, I went to El Jalapenos in Barberton for dinner this evening and got a seriously amazing chicken fajita salad.  I literally did not stop to drink, speak, or breathe from the moment it hit the table.  Check out the insanely huge burrito my friend Allison got:

Insanity!!!

Can’t believe the weekend is here!  Woot!

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Ahmygawd Breakfast Sandwich

Yesterday morning, I was the picture of perfection and actually woke up at the time I had intended and did NOT sleep through my alarm for a solid hour.   Let’s hope I can keep this up all week!

I rolled out of bed, and headed straight to the gym for a 30 minute round-and-round on the hamster wheel…  elliptical.  Then, straight from the gym (in all my sweaty glory) to the grocery store to buy all my foods for the week.  Silly me forgot to pack a Luna bar or nourishment of any variety for my grocery conquest.

Bad news bears.

Needless to say, I was FAMISHED by the time I got home, and I was unfortunately facing a dilemma.  Issue #1:  I wanted eggs.  Hot and dippy with ooey gooey smooth-as-butter yolk.  Issue #2:  I was also craving sausage…. as in Mary’s special eggs.  I wanted yolk, but I wanted sausage.  And I’m not talking sausage on the side.  I’m talking sausage all up in my yolk.

It was at this precise moment that I concocted my PERFECT breakfast sandwich.  The best of both of my worlds.

The Ahmygawd Breakfast Sandwich.

First, I sautéed half of a Honeysuckle Hot Turkey Sausage link (casing removed) in a pan:

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Hello sausage!  Ima eat you.

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THEN I cracked an egg right on top of this mound of sausage:

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The egg white dribbled down around the sausage and formed a glue to hold the whole shebang together.  Once the underside was cooked, I flipped her over:

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Whattttttt?????  Insane.

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And once that side was cooked (though not TOO cooked –we’re going for oozy yolk here) I slid the egg/sausage combo onto a toasted whole wheat English muffin:

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World = Rocked.

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Ah.my.gawd.

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Stats on the life changer:  255 calories, 24g carbs, 10g fat, 20g protein, 3g fiber

What you’ll need:

  • 1 link turkey or chicken sausage, casing removed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 English muffin
  • 5 minutes to eat your face off

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