Sweet Potato Apple Cake

I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website the other day as I was trying to find a "healthy" treat that would satisfy my sweets craving. I wanted to make the cake sugar free so per a suggestion in the reviews I used 1 T. stevia instead of brown sugar... next time I'll try something different to make it a little sweeter. It was still pretty good, though, and despite the lack of sugar my hubby loved it!

Natural cooking spray
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour (I used regular whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg (I substituted cloves)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 lg apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 (3/4 lb) sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients; set aside. In a second large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until well combined. Stir in apple, sweet potato, vanilla and walnuts and then add to flour mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and baking until cake pulls away from the edges and is deep golden brown (approximately 40-50 minutes). Set aside to let cool and then cut into squares and serve.

Note: I'm kinda lazy and used my food processor to grate the apple and sweet potato which made it go a lot faster (in my opinion). It would also be pretty good with a little pumpkin pie spice added to it.

Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins

Quite possibly the BEST muffins I've ever had... my hubby agrees! I'm not really a blueberry muffin fan but my hubby requested them and I wanted to fulfill his wish. I found the recipe on Epicurious.com and adapted it to be healthier--no sugar, no oil and more whole grains and fiber.

(I'd include a picture but I'm not good at photographing food!)

1 ¼ c. unbleached all purpose flour
¼ c. flaxseed meal
½ c. stevia
¼ c. oat bran
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
½ c. unflavored soy milk (or buttermilk or regular, organic milk)
1 lg egg
2 T. plain yogurt
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ c. fresh blueberries or 1 ½ cups froze blueberries, unthawed
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine flour, flaxseed meal, oat bran, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend.

Place mashed bananas in large bowl. Stir in milk, egg, yogurt and lemon juice. Mix in dry ingredients, then blueberries. Divide batter among muffin papers. Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Turn muffins out onto rack and cook 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: Can substitute wheat flour for all-purpose flour if you want a more dense muffin although it is recommended to use at least some all-purpose flour so muffins do not become too heavy. I used 1/2 all-purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour. Can also add oats instead of oat bran--again, I used 1/2 and 1/2.

Christmas Pasta

For New Year's Eve Abbey and I experimented with a new recipe from Rachael Ray. It was awesome so I thought I'd share it with all of you. Hint: Cut up all the veggies and get all your ingredients ready before you begin making this recipe. It goes kinda fast once you start.

(Picture courtesy of Rachael Ray... I wish I could take pics of food that actually turn out good!)

2 T. EVOO
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/4 lb. pancetta, thick cut, chopped into bits
1/2 lb bulk hot italian sausage
1 lb. combined ground beef, pork and veal
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. good quality dry red wine
1 c. prepared beef stock
2 (32 oz) cans chunky style crushed tomatoes
A handful chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
1/4 tsp. allspice or cinnamon
Course salt and black pepper
2 lbs. penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Grated Pecorino Romano, as an accompaniment

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay leaf and pancetta bits and brown for 1 minute. Add meats and brown and crumble for 5 minutes.

Chop carrot, celery and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 miute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot. Stir in parsley, allspice and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes minimum before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.

Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.

The sauce will cover up to 2 lbs. of pasta.