Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

  A few months ago I won a giveaway for cookies and a cookbook from Tate's Bake Shop. Little did I know this would be the most beneficial cookbook I would own for baking. Kathleen King's recipes are simple and easy to follow. I don't need a fancy Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make these treats, my plain old electric beaters work just fine. I had made these muffins right after I received the book, but I only had enough banana and chocolate chips to make a half batch (6 muffins). I had 2 large and very ripe bananas sitting in my fridge the other day and remembered this recipe. We've been snacking on delicious muffins since, and I froze five and put them in individual baggies that can be nuked for a quick morning breakfast.

Simple Roast Chicken

I'll be completely honest with you guys, I had never roasted a chicken in my life before Wednesday. I felt clueless the entire time and probably texted my mom 20 times just to be sure I was doing everything right. I remember my moms Thanksgiving turkey a few years back, it was the best she had ever made and it was while I was still eating vegetarian/vegan. Oddly enough, trying that turkey was what got me back into eating meat again.

Beef Fajitas

I can't recall cooking beef lately, the last time I remember buying any was for those meatballs I made in June. I purchased some flank steak a while back but ended up freezing it because I had other things I wanted to cook first, or not have to cook like salads.

Simple Coconut Lime Salmon

I absolutely love salmon, but I seem to always cook it the same way. Olive oil, salt, pepper, and cook it in a frying pan or broil it. I wanted to be a little fancier this time and serve it up with some herb butter asparagus I bought as well as some rice, because I couldn't even think about eating another freaking salad the day I made this.

This dish was easy for me to make because I had fresh limes, a can of coconut milk, and shredded coconut. I definitely recommend fresh limes for this dish so you can use the zest!

Grilled Eggplant Crostini & A Recipe Remix

I bought an eggplant for 64 cents the other day and didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I had a large baguette sitting in my freezer that I got for $1.15, I also happened to have plump tomatoes on the vine. I didn't want to fry the eggplant since I'm in a constant struggle to lose weight, so I decided little crostinis would be fabulous! This recipe is so simple but incredibly tasty and pretty healthy as well, minus the carbs of course.

BBQ Pork Tenderloin w/ Shrimp Pineapple 'Fried' Rice

I saw the recipe for this rice on Gina's Skinny Recipes and decided to give it a go using what I already had. I love recipe that you can use frozen food and pantry items for, it makes life easier! The pork tenderloin marinated in a BBQ sauce/chipotle sauce I poured over it in a Ziploc for a couple of hours. Marinate longer if you have the time, I did not. Also, this rice isn't fried in oil! I used precooked brown rice I bought from Fresh n Easy. It already had mushrooms and other veggies added in so it was extra tasty.

Quick and Easy Whole Wheat Blackberry Ricotta Scones

I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen the other day, the original recipe called for raspberries but I had frozen whole blackberries and wanted to use them. All I did was half the recipe, and I used low fat ricotta and half n half to cut on calories. Just remember to use a lot of flour on your work surface to avoid everything sticking to you and your surface, that's so frustrating! Enjoy ^_^

Banana and Nutella Breakfast Crepes

Mastering the Art of French Cooking never lets me down. I've been wanting to make crepes for a while now, and I knew this book would have the tastiest recipe for them. I followed the instructions for making dinner crepes versus dessert because 1: it was easier, and 2: it was easier. No judging.

Healthy Lasagna: So You Don't Have to Feel Guilty About Eating the Whole Pan

5 lasagna noodles. That's all. Yet it holds its shape remarkably well and tastes heavenly. The secret is in the zucchini! Go all out on the veggies and use extra lean beef and this will soon be one of your favorite dishes to make.

A Day Late: Sprucing Up Packaged Foods

You must think that we eat a lot of canned food or something, but I promise that isn't the case. Every once in a while we have an "Oh man, that pasta bake thing from Domino's looks really good . . . " moment, and that's when packaged raviolis and other pastas come into play. I thought to myself: I have basil pesto ravioli, jarred sauce, fresh mozzarella that is about to expire, tomatoes, herbs that needed to get used like yesterday, and more shredded cheese. Why on earth would we go out and spend at least $10 on some pasta thing from a fast food place when I can whip it up in no time! Here's what you need: