2/6/10

Yummy Healthy Bran Flax Muffins



Flaxseed Meal Facts.......high in fiber 4 grams per 2TBL serving,
as much fiber as 1 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal. Can help to reduce
LDL the bad cholesterol. You can substitute for shortening or
cooking oil at a ratio of 3 to 1 in baked goods. Example-1-1/2 cups
of flaxseed meal can replace 1/2 cup butter, marg. or oil in a recipe.
Its also full of omega 3s the plant version. But I have heard that
omega levels go down when cooked. You can sprinkle it on oatmeal
after its cooked. Baked foods with flaxseed tend to brown more rapidly.
They were very good and moist, But watch out thats a lot of FIBER.

1-1/2 c wheat flour
3/4 c flaxseed Meal
3/4 c Oat Bran
1c brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup honey and it was fine)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c Carrots shredded
2 Apples shredded
1/2 raisins or crasins
1 cup chopped nuts
3/4 c milk
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together flour, flaxseed, bran, soda, b. powder, salt and cinnamon.
Stir in carrots, apples, raisins, nuts and honey. Combine milk, eggs,
and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until
moistened. DO NOT OVER MIX. Fill sprayed muffin tins 3/4 full
Bake 350* for 15-20 minutes watch them. makes about 20
you can let them cool and wrap and freeze them.

1/26/10

Delicious Soup!

Italian White Bean, Spinach and Turkey soup

Ingredients
2 TBS olive oil
1 LB ground turkey
4-5 garlic cloves minced
1 med. yellow onion chopped
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp. dried
1 tsp. fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp. dried
1-2 tsp. fresh ginger grated
2 cans cannellini or great northern white beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken stock
10-12 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1) In a medium stock pot, heat olive oil. Saute` onion, garlic and ginger. Add ground turkey season with salt and pepper, break into small pieces and brown.

2) add beans, thyme, rosemary and stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 mins. Mix in chopped spinach and simmer 5 more mins. Adjust seasonings to taste, I added more ginger. Serve with crusty bread.

Makes 4-6 servings

Chicken Pesto with Spaghetti

Super easy and can easily be adjusted to any number of servings
Whole wheat Spaghetti amounts per servings

1-Chicken cutlet per person

Salt and Pepper to taste

pesto sauce in a jar enough to cover pasta

Shredded Parmesan to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. 2. Meanwhile, place a greased sauté or grill pan over medium heat. 3. Season thawed chicken with salt and pepper. When pan is hot, gently lay chicken in middle of pan. Cook approximately 3 minutes per side, or until the meat in the thickest part of the cutlet is not pink. Let rest for a minute; slice crosswise. 4. Drain spaghetti reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. 5. Toss spaghetti with chicken, pesto and enough cooking water so that the pesto spreads evenly over the noodles. Sprinkle Parmesan on top.

we added steamed chopped broccoli and sun dried tomatoes.

1/25/10

Creamy Oatmeal

Oatmeal (with sweet potato puree or canned pumpkin)
from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld

1 cup nonfat milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet potato or pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup oats
2 tsp peanut butter
dried fruits and nuts

Bring to gentle boil milk, sugar, sweet potato or pumpkin, and vanilla. Add oats and simmer 2-3 min. until it thickens and oats become soft. Stir in peanut butter.

If you love oatmeal this is a great recipe. We didn't put in the peanut butter but we did put craisins in and it was delicious. Very creamy and tasty! Holly even loved it!

10/21/09

Pumpkin Bars

As good as Old Grist Mill (do I dare say...?)

4 eggs
1 2/3 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil (I used applesauce)
15 oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Mix eggs, sugar, oil (or applesauce) and pumpkin together. Sift dry ingredients together and add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet (with sides) and bake at 350 for 25 mins or until done. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Wait to frost until it cools.

4-6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter/margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 c powdered sugar

Blend until smooth.

9/29/09

Best ever Birthday cake!

From Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook (yellow cake pg. 186)

1 box yellow cake mix (18 oz) - I used strawberry and it was really good!
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
2 tbls vegetable oil
3 eggs
6 ounces nonfat lemon, banana or vanilla yogurt (little less than a cup) -any kind really

Preheat oven to 350, coat 9X13 baking pan with spray/flour.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Beat until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Pour the batter into cake pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. About 20 min. -I think I baked mine a lot longer, just keep an eye on it I guess!

We made this for Holly's birthday. It was sooooo moist! The best birthday cake I've ever had. I'll never go back!

Chicken Salad Pitas

From Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious Cookbook Chicken salad (pg. 84)



2 large eggs hard boiled

2-3 pieces cooked chicken (boiled, BBQ'd, or rotisserie)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1-2 tbs mayonnaise

2 stalks celery finely chopped

1/2 cup cauliflower puree

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1/2 cup grapes, coarsley chopped

Chop hard boiled egg whites up, discarding the yolk. Chop up chicken into bite size pieces. Combine eggs and chicken into a bowl and add seasonings. Depending upon how much chicken you used add cauliflower, yogurt and mayo. (Add in small amounts, so its not too wet, its just supposed to moisten everything up) Mix in celery and grapes. Serve on pita bread with lettuce.

My friend and I made this one day for lunch, and thought it was very delicious!

Greek Dip (hummus)

Really, really good hummus! Recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned chopped artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder

In a food processor, process the chickpeas until chopped. Add the artichoke hearts and remaining ingredients until pureed.

Serve with any vegetables (carrots, celery, bell peppers) or pita chips or baked torillas cut in strips.

Very delicious and healthy! I made this for a girls night and it was a big hit!

9/18/09

PEACH CAKE

All thumbs were up on this dessert.  We made it from our peaches

that are just falling off the tree.  We also canned about 30 qts. for the winter

Serve this peach cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert.

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

 2 large eggs

 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

  1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

  1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  1/2 teaspoon salt

   3 to 4 large peaches, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced

    Topping:

    .  1/3 cup all-purpose flour

    .  4 tablespoons brown sugar

    .  3 tablespoons butter

    .  1 scant teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Butter and flour a 9-inch spring form pan. Heat oven to 350°.

In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat 10 tablespoons butter and the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl combine the 1 2/3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times. Spread/pat the batter into the prepared pan. Slice the peaches and arrange over the batter, pressing lightly, in a concentric circle, overlapping as needed.

Combine the topping ingredients with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumbs over the peaches. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until golden brown and peaches are tender and bubbly.

I think you could use apples or berries as a substitute, would be good!


CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Was e-mailed this recipe from Stefani sounds like a good fall one

Orange Chocolate Cake

1 devils food cake mix
8 oz. lowfat plain yogurt
1/2 c. orange juice
2 egg whites
2 T. cooking oil
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. water

Grease a fluted pan and dust with unsweetened cocoa.  In large bowl, mix cake mix, yogurt, 1/2 cup orange juice, egg and egg whites, oil, cinnamon and water.  Beat on low for 4 minutes.  Pour into pan.  Bake @ 350 for 40 - 50 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove and invert into serving platter.  Drizzle chocolate and orange icing over.

Chocolate icing:   combine 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1 T. cocoa, 2 t. orange juice and 1/4 t. vanilla
Orange icing:  combine 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1 t. orange juice and 1/4 t. vanilla