Last of the Market Days....

Last night's dinner was a little twist involving FALL coziness along with some of the LAST of the summer (aka.-cheap) fresh market produce.  We had a winner in the form of Baked Basil Pasta Shells...

We used our ($1) basil (ohhhhh-how I'll miss THAT!), along with fresh cherry tomatoes & scallions...(lookin a little Christmas-y, no??)

Along with my good ole' Trader Joe's bacon to give the dish an awesome smoky flavor....  (100 Calories for THREE slices!)

...all with Penny's great assistance while I chip-chopped away;)

Next, I cooked up the scallion, tomatoes, basil & bacon in the frying pan...all while my whole wheat shells bubbled away... 

Once the tomatoes were soft and the pasta was drained, I mixed the tomato mixture and a handful of mozzarella cheese all together into the pasta pot...

....and (here comes the FALL/cozy twist)...popped the mozzarella covered dish into the toaster oven for 10 minutes.... 

Perfect-o! 

Chewy pasta, smoky bacon, salty cheese and bright basil & tomatoes....and hellooooo...does this not SCREAM "comfort food" or WHAT??! :)  This dish won rave reviews in our house tonight;) 

But that wasn't my only toaster oven work-out of the evening, as I also whipped up a batch of banana bread for my jury duty peeps tomorrow (12 weeks down...3 more to go!)... 

Now, let me tell you a little somethin about this banana bread.  It's one of my most favorite and LEAST favorite things to make.  Favorite because it is a NO FAIL recipe...it's always a surefire hit;)  But least favorite because it just smells SO. DARN. GOOD while it's cooking!  It's like cinnamon & sugar fairies invaded your house:)  You literally spend the whole hour fighting off wanting to break into the oven and eat up the whole loaf;)

So let's just say I had cinnamon & sugar on the brain when I whipped up last night's dessert:)  I took a page from my beloved Sweet & Salty book and whipped up a small batch of Cinnamon & Sugar sauce...

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• A sprinkle of sea salt
• A BIG sprinkle of cinnamon (1-2 teaspoons?)
• 1 teaspoon butter

Bring to a boil in a small saucepan and the allow the mixture to boil on medium heat for 5 minutes or until it gets dark and slightly thickened...

Look at it bubbling away;)

Allow to cool 5 minutes and THAT, my friends, kept me honest with a small ramekin of cinnamon-sugar sauce over light vanilla ice cream rather than devouring that whole lovely loaf;)

Hey, a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do, no?? :)

So I must say that I was pretty impressed with myself last night since I accomplished everything I had set out to do:  Baking, Blogging & Bob Harper Yoga;) hahahahhaa...it doesn't happen often enough, so for one night:  I feel QUITE accomplished:) 

And with THAT, I shall bid you a Happy Wednesday:)  Have a great day!