Cranberry-Orange Muffins

I got this recipe from my friend JoAnn who is an amazing cook- I have used her recipes several times here and have several more I will be posting in the future (look for mango chicken in the next few days!) Muffins are my boys favorite snack and I'm always looking for healthier recipes that I don't feel guilty snacking on as well. This recipe fits the bill. JoAnn posted it on her blog here. I just changed a few things. They are very filling, almost like an oatmeal cookie, my boys gobbled them up in a matter of minutes.

2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground white wheat)
1 cup oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup craisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon orange zest (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soak the cranberries in the orange juice in a separate bowl while preparing the batter. Mix the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients including the cranberries in orange juice and orange zest. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 15-17 minutes.

Black Bean Quesadillas & Black Refried Beans

I love black refried beans. Black beans with lime are a match made in heaven. They are so easy to make and so yummy. I like to use them for black bean quesadillas or just as chip dip. Add spices to suit your taste. I don't care for spicy food so I limit the chili powder and I love lime, so I use lots of it. I also love to make my own chips and sprinkle with lime juice. Yum.

Black Refried Beans
1 can black beans (or dried, cooked black beans)
1 can diced green chilies
cumin to taste (about a teaspoon)
chili powder to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
lime juice (fresh or you can use limeaid, about half of a fresh lime or a spoonful of limeaid)
salt to taste (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)

Mash black beans with potato masher. Heat a tiny bit of oil in a non-stick skillet. Add all ingredients and heat thoroughly, stirring so the beans don't stick to the pan. These beans combined with ripe avocado make the best burritos, tostadas or meatless enchiladas.

Black Bean Quesadillas

Spread black refried beans over a flour tortilla, top with tomatoes, cheese and other desired toppings. Cover with another flour tortilla. You can cook in a skillet with a bit of butter until brown and crispy on both sides or broil in the oven until crispy.

Pumpkin Muffins (whole wheat)

This is the best pumpkin muffin recipe! It is so scrumptious. And any muffin recipe with 100% whole wheat that tastes fabulous is totally worth making. I think my boys like muffins better than cookies- the batch was devoured in less than 30 minutes!

*NOTE: I've updated this recipe and reduced the sugar by more than half. This version is healthier and tastes just as fabulous, however if you want to double the sugar and use white flour, you can!

I prefer using butternut squash in place of pumpkin in almost all my recipes- it has a milder flavor and seems a bit more moist than pumpkin. We have a local farmer that sells them for 50 cents each in the fall. They can be stored in a cool place for 6-8 months or you can slice in half, sccop out the seeds, microwave for 10 minutes, mash and freeze in ziploc freezer bags. I freeze 1 cup at a time then it's easy to pull out and use in a recipe.

This recipe comes from my favorite Whole Grain Baking book by King Arthur Flour, but I've modified it to be a little healthier.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

1 cups whole wheat (I use freshly ground white whole wheat or King Arthur whole wheat flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup (1 cube) butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pumpkin (I use fresh pumpkin or butternut squash)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I love it with pecans)

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in bowl. Cream together butter & sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients mixing until evenly moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into 12 muffin tins, bake 22-25 minutes.

Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

I know I always say the recipe is easy- because it is! When you have 3 kids 3 and under you don't have time to cook elaborate meals, so I do my best to find recipes that are simple, quick, taste good and are relatively healthy.

4 pork chops, boneless
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspon onion or garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 apple, cored and finely chopped
1/2 onion chopped
2 teaspoons parsley
1 cup stuffing mix (I like chicken flavor)
2-4 tablespoons apple juice
1 tablespoon oil

Trim fat from chops. Cut a pocket in each by cutting a slit in the meat and working the knife inside almost to the end of the chop, try to keep original slit small so filling won't fall out when cooking.

Stir together pepper, garlic salt, and cloves. Sprinkle over both sides of pork chop and rub into meat.

In a saucepan over medium heat saute onion in oil until tender, add apple slices just until soft. Stir in stuffing mix, parsley and apple juice (just to moisten). Remove from heat and transfer to separate bowl.

Stuff each pork chop with apple stuffing mixture, reserve the remaining mixture for garnish. Use a bit of oil to prevent chops from sticking to the pan (or you can grill) cook the pork chops over medium heat for 20 minutes, about 10 minutes each side, don't overcook.

Serve over rice and top with applesauce and remaining stuffing mixture.

Light & Soft 100% Whole Wheat Bread

If your primary experience is with store-bought whole wheat bread, you probably think the words light, soft and whole wheat in the same sentence is an oxymoron. I guarantee you will not think that after trying this recipe. I have been making whole wheat bread since I was a kid and have finally discovered a recipe that is light enough for my taste without having to add any white flour.

Two tricks to light whole wheat bread. First. You must use white wheat. It is so much lighter and moister than red wheat, and it's best if you grind it the day you bake it- whole wheat flour isn't quite as light after a few days of sitting out (you can also store it in your freezer). Second. If you don't want picky eaters to tell the difference between white and wheat bread you must use dough enhancer. I lived for years without it and finally (thanks to tips from King Arthur Flour and my mother-in-law who took a class from Chef Brad) I found the key to soft delicious 100% whole wheat bread. Here is my adapted recipe:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoon SAF yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
1-2 Tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons oil or butter, softened
1 egg (if you're using dough enhancer you don't need the egg)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dough enhancer (if you don't have this- buy it, if you really don't have it, try adding mashed potatoes- if you have picky eaters, dough enhancer is totally worth it- you can get it at Emergency Essentials for around $6)
3+ cups whole wheat flour

Directions
Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar/honey until foamy (I like the water about the temperature you'd bathe a child in- not too hot not too cold). Add oil, egg and salt, mix. Add gluten & enhancer and one cup of flour. Continue adding flour one cup at a time until dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and is soft but not sticky.
 
Knead 10 minutes. Let rise 1 hour or until double in size. Form into loaf and let rise until double in size. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.
 
Makes 1 loaf.
*To make two loaves, increase water to 2 1/4 cups, 1 tablespoon of yeast and 2 teaspoons of salt.
 
Some breadmaking tips:
1) I prefer a Bosch mixer- they are the best for kneading dough, and I use a Whisper Mill (Wonder Mill) grinder
2) Don't forget the salt- your bread will be seriously yuck without it- if you double the recipe- you don't need to double the yeast but you DO need to double the salt
3) Kneading for 10 minutes really does make a difference in how light your bread will be
4) It is not necessary to do a double rise- if you're short on time you can just form it in a loaf and let it rise until it's doubled, it will take about 2 hours- I prefer a double rise because it makes it a bit lighter, but it will still taste good if it only rises once as long as you have kneaded the dough long enough (you really notice a difference between single and double rise bread the second and third day- if you gobble it up fresh out of the oven don't bother with a double rise but if you plan on eating it the next day it might be worth the extra time)
5) Have fun- try adding herbs, nuts, seeds (I call them bugs) other grains (oats, quinoa, barley) to spice it up a bit
6) Try not to cut the bread until it has cooled (unless you have an electric knife). I break this rule all the time- I love it warm, but it will squish the dough and can make the rest of the loaf doughy, so if you have the self-control please wait
7) You can use this recipe for ANYTHING. Pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, fry bread, breadsticks, calzones, it is a universal recipe that can be adapted for any rising product, just add more sugar or spices depending on your preference
8) Oh- and I forget the oil all the time, you don't even notice it if you eat it fresh, but after a day or two it will be less moist if you didn't include oil.

Peanut Butter Bars/Cups

I ran two miles this morning and by the afternoon started to have my usual sugar cravings. I used all my granulated sugar and have not replaced it in hopes it would help me kick my sugar habit long enough to lose 5 pounds. But no. Instead I had to find a recipe that would satisfy the craving and use brown or powdered sugar. I settled on what is probably the most fattening dessert on earth- yet sooo yummy. Once you taste these you won't spend your money on waxy peanut butter cups again (if you're going to eat something fattening- make it count)! Of course I like my peanut butter pie even better- but that's for another day...

Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup butter (2 cubes)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, melted

Melt butter. Mix in graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter. Press into greased baking pan (you can also make these in muffin cups- but spreading chocolate in the cups can be a bit messy). Melt chocolate in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Spread over peanut butter mixture and refrigerate (or freeze) until hardened. Slice into bars.

I like to freeze some so I don't eat them all at once and sometimes it's nice when you're cleaning out your freezer to find a yummy suprise ;)  You can see from the photo that I made some of them into cups- it's certainly easier to make cups with pb on the bottom rather than in-between chocolate layers, the chocolate chips harden really quickly and it's difficult to spread in the tiny cups. I recommend either bars or really large pb cups (use ramekins or tupperware). And don't say I didn't warn you- these are sooo rich!

*Note: I actually find the peanut butter mixture too rich, (hard to believe, I know) you can reduce the powdered sugar by 1/2 a cup and reduce the butter to a stick and a half.

Southwestern Chicken Salad

This is one of my favorite salads because #1 it's filling and #2 you can use leftovers (if there were any) for taco salad, burritos or tostadas.

Southwestern Chicken Salad

Romaine lettuce washed and chopped
1-2 chicken breasts
Zesty Italian dressing
Lime (or lemon)

Black Beans

White Corn

Tomatoes

Avocado
Cilantro

Corn Tortillas (optional- here's a recipe for corn tortillas)

Marinate the chicken with Zesty Italian dressing and a bit of lime or limeaid (and sprinkle with montreal chicken seasoning if you have any). Cook chicken on the grill or in the oven (broil on hi for 10 minutes on each side) just until pink is gone- do not overcook. Slice into thin strips.

Heat black beans, corn and rice until warm. Serve with chicken over chopped romaine lettuce and top with desired toppings. Squeeze fresh lime or lemon juice over entire salad. Cilantro can be cooked with the chicken or just chopped and sprinkled on top of the salad.

For tortilla strips, cut corn tortillas into 1" strips. Heat oil and fry strips until golden brown OR broil in the oven until crispy. I love my chips with fresh lime juice or lime aid (just brush on with pastry brush).

*For yummy dressing- Cheesecake factory serves this salad with BBQ Ranch dressing- mix half ranch dressing and half bbq sauce. Toss dressing with lettuce and then add remaining toppings. YUM.