I'm baaaaaack!!!!! (with a couple delicious recipes!)

Happy Friday, everyone!!!! The hubs and I just got back yesterday from four wonderful days spent at Holden Beach with my in laws and brother and sister in laws. My in laws go here every year and they rented a house on the ocean. The pictures below are the view from the house...Bliss. I LOVE the beach!!!!

It was so wonderful hanging out with everyone and sharing lots of laughs. My husbands side of the family is NEVER short of laughs...it's always a fun time being around them...never a dull moment...especially when the hubs breaks out in dance moves that I won't go into detail here...

Anywho, we got home yesterday and although it's hard to be back to the real world, it's nice that we only had about a day and a half of work to do until the weekend! It's Friday night and I'm happy to be at home with the hubs to get some house projects done this weekend. Tonight I used the last of our crab cakes for dinner. I thought that the crab would help us feel as if we were still at the beach...well, at least I was hoping for that. Along with the crab cakes, we had broccoli and sweet potato fries.

I used this recipe from one of my most favorite blogs. I followed the recipe, except that I put the fries in a ziplock bag and mixed them up that way (instead of putting them in a bowl) before they were baked. Very easy this way.

Next time I would bake them a bit longer so that they are crispier. I used about a teaspoon of sea salt, but next time I would add about 2-2 teaspoons. I know I am going against my like of sodium/salt, but hey-you gotta give sometimes and at least these "fries" are better for you than typical fast food fries. Those are the only suggestions I would make...otherwise, soooooo yummy!!!!!

While the fries were in the oven, I whipped up the batter for some Chocolate Banana Gingerbread Muffins to put in the oven once I took the fries out. I had a bunch of bananas in the freezer that I wanted to use up, yet I didn't want to make banana bread. My parents are coming back from 10 days overseas on Sunday, so I thought I'd bake them some muffins and drop them off at their house so they have a little something to munch on when they get home late on Sunday night. Like me (or should I say I'm like her), my Mom craves skim milk and fruit when being away from home for too long...I think they will be happy to come home to a fridge with fresh milk, fruit and homemade muffins.

Chocolate Banana Gingerbread Muffins

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 medium bananas, mashed

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 T. flax seed

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons raw turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Directions:

Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla, and mix until pale yellow and smooth, about 3 minutes. Stir in molasses and mashed bananas. Add half of dry ingredients, just mixing until combined, then add buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spray muffins pans with non-stick spray and pour batter in. Top with raw turbinado sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy! Happy weekend!!! Stay cool, if where you are is having temperatures like we are---it's flippin' Africa hot. Indoor activities only this weekend and lots of water guzzling!