My New Favorite Healthier Blueberry Muffin

I love this healthier recipe.  The original recipe was found on allrecipes.com here.  I tweaked it a little according to what ingredients I had on hand and changed the baking temperature.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup oat bran  (I used 1/4 cup of all bran cereal that I ground up in the blender)
1/4 cup wheat germ (I left this out because I'm out)

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts  (I left these out)
1 banana, mashed
1 cup buttermilk  (I used 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 1/2 cup water instead)
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Topping:

3T. sugar mixed with 3/4 tsp. nutmeg - sprinkle this on top of muffin batter prior to baking

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oat bran, quick-cooking oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.  Sprinkle muffins with topping.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

 

Crockpot Chicken Fettuccine

I got this recipe years ago from Missy, Paul's sister.  It's delicious and easy!

2 chicken breasts
1 minced garlic clove
1/4 cup chopped green onion
olive oil

1- Brown chicken breasts in oil with garlic and onion.  Then transfer to crockpot and add the tomatoes and basil and cook on low 5-6 hours (or so).

1 can stewed tomatoes
1 T. basil (I used dried - fresh would be fabulous)

2- Then add cream, yolks, and cheese the last 30 minutes of cooking.  Then when it's done serve it over Fettuccine noodles.

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Basic Cinnamon Roll Dough

 

I got this recipe out of my "Beyond Oatmeal" cookbook by Carlene Duda.  This is an easy recipe and it's versatile.


Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 T. sugar
2 T. olive oil
1 3/4 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
2 T. powdered milk
2 1/2 tsp. yeast

You can mix this dough in your bread maker or in your mixer just like you would make bread dough.  after the dough is done mixing, roll it onto a lightly floured board into a 10 x 12 rectangle.

Brush the dough with butter and then sprinkle with sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon (listed below).


Filling:  
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon

Roll dough into a long tube and cut into 15 equal pieces (I do this using floss).  Place slices in a 9 x 13 lightly greased pan.  Cover rolls with sprayed plastic wrap.  Let rise until double in size.  These can be made the evening before and let rise during the night in refrigerator
.
Preheat oven to 350.  Remove wrap; bake 15 to 20 minutes.

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 T. milk, at room temperature
1 T. butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

Mix together and ice cinnamon rolls while still warm.

Variation:  Goey Caramel Pecan Rolls
Make cinnamon rolls with filling like above recipe.  Then in a sauce pan, combine brown sugar and heavy cream; heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Pour syrup into a greased 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with chopped pecans.  Place cinnamon roll slices on top of that and let rise until double in size (cover pan with sprayed saran wrap).  Then bake at 350 for 1-5-20 minutes until lightly brown.  Remove immediately from oven and invert onto a serving plate.

Classic Italian Lasagna

I'm not a huge fan of lasagna.  I always feel like it tastes kind of bland and each time I make it, I swear we won't have lasagna for awhile.  Well - this recipe is yummy!  It is definitely more work than just using canned sauce but so worth the time.   Again, this recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe website.  If you haven't visited it, well you are just missing out!

*Makes one 9X13-inch pan of lasagna (and requires the use of several pots and skillets…but don’t worry, you can wash those up in a snap while the lasagna is baking)

Red Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced (see garlic tutorial here)
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or a mix of dried oregano and basil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

White Sauce:
3 cups milk (not skim, I used 1%)
5 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

9 lasagna noodles, boiled for half the time on the box (or use 12 of the no-boil noodles)
1 pound ground turkey  ( I like Italian sausage instead!)
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or with a napkin dipped lightly in olive oil and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When turkey is cooked through, drain the grease and set aside.

In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. When oil/butter is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly. When the garlic is lightly browned, but NOT burned, add the onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are soft and browned and the fluid has mostly cooked out. Remove from heat and either using a handheld immersion blender or transferring the vegetables to a blender, blend the vegetables to a paste-like mixture. Return the pot to the heat (pour the pureed vegetables back in, if using a stand-alone blender) and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Then add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir. Cover and let the sauce sauce simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved ground turkey.

While the red sauce simmers, if using lasagna noodles that need to be boiled, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the noodles for half the time suggested on the box. Once the noodles are cooked, drain, but do not rinse. Add a dab of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. If you are using no-boil noodles, you can skip this step.

Also while the red sauce is cooking, melt the four tablespoons butter and when melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine and letting the mixture cook, while stirring, for a minute or two. Gradually add in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Slowly whisk the white sauce, ensuring it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan, while cooking it over medium heat. Continue slowly stirring or whisking while the white sauce cooks and thickens quite a bit, about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of mozzarella for good luck, if you wish!

To begin layering the lasagna, keep in mind that you’ll have three layers of noodles as well as three layers of the sauces and cheese – so plan on splitting all the sauce and cheese piles into thirds so you don’t run out at the end! On the bottom of your lightly greased baking pan, layer three pre-boiled noodles or four no-boil noodles, slightly overlapping the no-boil noodles. Layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges and top with another layer of noodles. Again, layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and top with the final layer of noodles. Layer the sauces and cheeses again.

Cover the lasagna with a greased layer of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Divine Breadsticks

The name says it all.  These are good...the best I've found yet!  We really like to put mozzarella cheese on top of them too!  So good and worth the time it takes!  These are from Mel's Kitchen Cafe website.  She has great recipes there!

1 ½ cups warm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted (for the baking sheet)

Mix all ingredients (except melted butter) in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes (very important so the dough is pliable). Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread melted butter onto an 11X17-inch baking sheet. Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Double strip in half and twist slightly if desired and place about 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt, herbs of choice  and parmesan cheese. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown.