Elvis Muffins

I recently watched "Lilo & Stitch" & was inspired to make something with chocolate, peanut butter & banana so I whipped up some Elvis muffins for a healthy breakfast to go.  Trust me, these are so healthy & yet, so tasty!  

Elvis Muffins

2 cups minus 2 tb whole wheat flour

1 ts baking soda

1/4 sea salt

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup peanut butter, chunky or creamy is fine

2 & 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas

1 & 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Makes about 16 muffins.

- Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda & sea salt.

- In a separate bowl, mix apple sauce, brown sugar, & eggs.

- Add peanut butter & mashed bananas.  Mix until well combined.

- Add flour mixture & mix until well combined.

- Fold in chocolate chips.

- Fill each cupcake liner until batter is just below the top of each liner.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Craving Carbs - "Carbonara" Without The Eggs

I usually have a list of things I want to make but I don't always write them down so I tend to forget what I want to make - that is until I happen to see one of the ingredients when I meander down each aisle.  Yes, I am one of those grocery shoppers.  I will take my time and look at everything to see if I get any inspiration.  I came upon pancetta during a perusal session and one of my many trips to my local Trader Joe's a couple of weeks ago.  I became so excited that I picked it right up and brought it home with me.  What to do with these delightful pink cubes?  Hm, I looked in my pantry and found egg noodles.  Looked in my fridge and parmesan cheese and peas.  I also had eggs so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make carbonara.  However, those eggs were no longer at the stage where I'd even consider eating them without cooking them.  But my tummy was set on carbonara so I decided to make it anyway minus the eggs.  The dish turned out so well that I gladly helped myself to a second serving then a third...

This makes me think of spring and how I long for the season to come!

Pancetta "Carbonara"

1/2 bag of frozen peas

4 oz pancetta

4 servings of egg noodles

8 tb grated parmesan cheese

1 tb olive oil

salt & pepper, to taste

- Bring a pot of water to boil and add egg noodles and cook according to directions on the package.

- Drain the noodles, add the olive oil and toss until thoroughly coated.  This will prevent the pasta from sticking.

- In a separate pan, saute pancetta on medium heat until some of the fat melts, about 3-4 minutes.

- Add frozen peas, mix and cook until peas are done.

- Remove pan from stove, add noodles and parmesan cheese.  Add freshly ground pepper to taste.

- Toss everything together until well-combined and parmesan cheese is melted from the warmth of the pasta.