Recipes

05.23.12

 the g.i. diet


These were delicious!

Homemade Apple Bran Muffins

3/4 cup wheat bran cereal, like All-Bran
1 cup skim milk
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
Sweetener equivalent to 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup oat bran
2/3 cup raisins
1 large apple, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 omega-3 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray muffin tin or use muffin liners (12-cup).  Mix the wheat bran and skim milk and let stand.  Mix flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, and cloves.  Stir in the oat bran, raisins and apple.  Combine the egg, oil and applesauce.  Stir along with the wheat bran mixture into the dry ingredients.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.  Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.  The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.  

I used sugar and instead of oat bran, rolled oats.  

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05.05.12

Found this new cookie recipe via Pinterest and Cornflower Blue Studio last week and baked it up this afternoon.  



Even the kids and husband liked them.  I think they would be fabulous for breakfast, too!




03.22.12

This morning I baked before the temperatures were unbearable -- and it's only March!  I've been longing to try this new banana bread recipe



It smelled amazing and tastes even more amazing.  The cocoa in the recipe and the cakey texture set this banana bread apart.  I omitted the nuts, and my bread is darker than hers -- must have been the color of the cocoa.

http://zoebakes.com

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02.29.12

 My birthday cake was from a recipe in "Beyond Macaroni and Cheese," a book that was a birthday present from long ago.  The cake is called "Donna's Cake."



Basically you bake a dark chocolate cake in two round pans, then cut each layer in half.  This leaves you with four cake layers. 

To make the frosting you mix 1 cup of milk and 4 tablespoons of flour until smooth, and then heat in a saucepan.  Stir constantly until this mixture thickens.  Set aside to cool.


With electric mixer, blend together 1/2 cup of shortening, 1/2 cup of softened butter and 1 cup of white granulated sugar.  Add cooled flour and milk mixture and whip until creamy, about 5 minutes.

Fill and frost the chocolate cake layers, but do not frost the sides of the cake.

Yummy!

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
 


02.13.12


Yesterday's birthday dessert was an ice cream cake, homemade.  You will need to start this at least one day ahead, as it takes some time to compile and needs to freeze for 24 hours.  Use any cookie for the "crust" and any flavor ice cream.  If you like flavored whipped topping, you could change that, as well as the fudge layer to caramel or even fruit.  Below are the ingredients I used and the timing.  Be free!


24 chocolate chip cookies
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
24 oz. fudge topping
Whipped topping, thawed


Crush cookies and blend in butter.  Press into bottom of 13 x 9 dish.  Freeze for 1/2 an hour or until firmly set.


Soften 1/2 gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Spread ice cream over cookie crust and return to freezer for 1/2 an hour or until firmly set.


Add 24 oz. of fudge topping.  Return to freezer for 1/2 hour or until firmly set.  


Cover with thawed whipped topping.  Freeze for 24 hours.  Serves 20.




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02.09.12


Yesterday I baked whole wheat bread, my usual recipe.  This morning I felt compelled to make Banana Bread, which is currently baking and wafting delicious aroma throughout the house.


I used my Betty Crocker Cookbook, and altered the recipe by using 1/4 cup less sugar and using 1 cup white flour and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.  It will not be baked and cooled soon enough for me!




1/2 c. butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 bananas, mashed
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda


Mix together sugar and butter.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla and mix until smooth.  Stir in dry ingredients until well mixed.  Divide between two medium sized bread pans and bake for approximately 1 hour or until wooden pick comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan to finish cooling.




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02.06.12


top layer
Here are those Colossal Cookie Cake pictures:


bottom layer








top view


side view




02.03.12


One of the most requested birthday cakes at our house is the Colossal Cookie Cake.  My bestie gave me this recipe years ago, and we have put it to good use. At some point along the way, our son suggested a double-decker cookie cake (one package of chips makes two Colossal Cookies).  The following is the doubled recipe.  Once again, I will say that I hope to post pictures after the cake is finished.  So far I have pictures of the two baked layers...



Colossal Cookie
  
  3 c. flour                             
  1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda                       
  1 teaspoon salt                              
  1 c. butter or margarine               
  1 1/2 c. brown sugar                       
  2 egg                                
  1 Tablespoon  vanilla                           
  6 Tablespoon sugar                             
  1 12 oz. package chocolate chips                   

Mix flour, soda and salt. Set aside. Mix butter or marg., brown sugar and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. Grease 2, 12" round pizza pans with sides. Place dough in center of pan and press evenly to within 1 1/2" of edge.  Bake at 325°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are firm and center is slightly firm. Place on wire rack and cool. Remove from pans.

For the kids' birthdays, I frost the bottom layer completely, add the top layer, frost the top layer and decorate as desired.  Sometimes I will decorate the top layer (directly on the cookie) with frosting, rather than frost the top layer and decorate it.


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01.24.12

Yes, I did forget to post picture of the Gluten Free Bread referenced in the post directly below :-( ; it was, however, quite delicious.  The texture is lovely, also.

In the past week I have been treating myself occasionally to Hot Cocoa made with almond milk and artificial sweetner.  I like the ease of this microwave recipe, that it makes an individual serving and that I can control how sweet it is.  It can easily be adapted to the stovetop as well as multiplied for more servings. 

Enjoy!

January 19, 2012

I have two recipes to post today, on this snowy, cold, wintry morning.  I love days when I have no need to leave my house except for a run in the snow!

This morning I popped a pork roast into my crockpot, sprinkled over it one package of dry Italian dressing mix, one packet of dry ranch dressing mix and one package of dry brown gravy mix.  Next I poured one cup of water into the crockpot, drizzling some on top of the dusted roast, but pouring most into the bottom.  I set the crockpot to low and will let it cook for about 7-8 hours.  This is one of our favorite recipes, "Three Packets and a Roast" from Everyday Cheapskate.

Today I am starting the dough for gluten-free bread via the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day method.  To view the original recipe and special instructions for their Gluten-Free Crusty Boule just click the links in this paragraph.  I made two separate 1/2 batches of the dough.  In the first batch I substituted Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour for all of the flours listed (including the Tapioca Starch [flour]).  In the second batch I used olive oil, but followed the recipe exactly as directed otherwise.  Tomorrow I will bake the loaves and along with some dear friends, sample them, too.  Hopefully I will remember to post pictures of the loaves before we cut into them:-).

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December 8, 2001

Cranberry Sauce

I forgot to make this at Thanksgiving; we had the jellied canned kind, which was yummy.  Then Matt reminded me that I had made cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries the year before from a recipe that I found (of all places) on the back of the package.  So far this week, I've made it twice already.  It's easy and tastes great with pork and chicken!



  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cranberries

Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and add cranberries.  Boil cranberries for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. 





October 22nd - Apple Pie, again

My hubbie's birthday pie is in the oven, almost ready to be pulled out.  I will post a picture soon!  The crust recipe is from Zoe Bakes, but the filling is from my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook.  I was making a 9-inch pie and didn't want to do the math to compute the filling ingredients, since Zoe's was for a 12-inch pie.  Gotta dash, as the timer is buzzing; picture to follow soon...

Ta-Da!!!!

October 17th - Granola

Note: October 22nd, my husband said this was THE best batch of granola I ever made!  :-)
I've been planning to make this for some time now and am looking forward to a bowl of it with almond milk and the add-ins of raisins, sunflower seeds and walnuts. 

Granola

7T. + 2 1/4t. brown sugar
3T + 1t. honey
1/3 c. oil

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Combine in above ingredients in saucepan.  Heat mixture to boiling.  Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until oil and sugars blend.  In the meantime, combine 5 cups oats and dash of salt.  (I added 1/2 cup coconut this morning because I had it on hand and it sounded good.)  Pour sugar/oil mixture over oat mixture and mix thoroughly.  Bake on greased baking sheets for 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

Original Recipe from Eat Well for $50 a Week

available at Amazon.com

October 15th - Apple Crisp

Filling:
6 cups sliced or chopped apples
2 T. whole wheat flour
5T + 1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T. water

Topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
7T + 1 tsp. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the filling ingredients and put into greased 13x9x2-inch casserole dish.  Cut together the topping ingredients with a pastry blender.  Sprinkle the topping onto the filling.  Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until topping is golden brown and apples are soft; I checked mine by poking into one in the middle with a fork.

Recipe from:  More-With-Less Cookbook

available at Amazon.com




October 08 2011 - What's been cookin' the last week...


Super Multi grain Waffles

1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
½ cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped

Mix dry ingredients.  Separately stir together eggs, soy milk, syrup and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients.  Stir in butter, flax seed oil and butter.  Stir in chopped nuts.  Let batter rest 5 minutes, while waffle iron is preheating.   

Pour ½ cup batter onto the center of the lower grid.  Spread batter to the edges.  Bake until waffles stops steaming. 

Recipe from Cuisinart Instruction and Recipe Booklet, Traditional Waffle Iron, 2006. 

[Amy’s note:  I used only whole wheat flour, substituted regular milk for soy milk, used Greek yogurt for the low-fat yogurt and canola oil for the flax seed oil.  These are really delicious, though my version does not get as crispy as regular waffles.]

Apple Strudel Bread

  1 1/2    pounds dough
  2  medium apples, skin on, sliced thin and then chopped
  1/2 cup raisins (optional)*
  3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)*
  1/4 cup raw sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the top of the loaf
  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  egg wash for brushing on top (1 egg; beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
  * Author replaced the raisins and nuts with 4 ounces grated cheddar

Generously grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with butter. Form the dough into a ball. Mix together the apples, raisins, nuts, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll out the dough to an 1/8-inch thick rectangle. Cover the top with the filling, without any of the juice that may have settled to the bottom of the bowl. Roll the filled dough into a log, starting with the long end of the rectangle. Pinch the seam shut. Fold the two ends in to meet in the middle. Place the dough into the prepared pan, with the folded ends on the bottom. Let the loaf rest, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for 90 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Paint the top of the loaf with the egg wash, then slash the top with a knife. Sprinkle the cut loaf with the sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until brown and firm to the touch. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool onto a wire rack for about 1 hour. If you cut into this loaf too soon it may seem under cooked. 

[Amy’s note:  I did not use nuts, raisins or cheese, but the bread is delicious.  I started with 100% Whole Wheat Flax seed dough from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day,  Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg.  This recipe was posted on twitter, http://htl.li/6PdVl] 










Joyce Sapp's Fresh Pumpkin Pie

  1 12 oz. can evap. milk             
  2 eggs                              
  1c. firmly packed brown sugar         
  ½ t. salt                              
  1t. ground cinnamon                   
  1/2 t. ground ginger                     
  1/4 t.    ground cloves                     
  2 1/4 c. fresh pumpkin                     
  1 unbaked pie shell (recipe below) 

In blender, combine first 7 ingredients. Mix for a few seconds. Drop in pumpkin and blend until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 375 for about 1 hour or until center is set and crust is golden.
[Amy’s Notes:  I do not know who Joyce Sapp is; hubbie picked up this recipe when he ventured out  to buy sugar pumpkins, Kents Cucurbits .  I usually have too much filling for 1 pie, so I either make two smaller crusts and two smaller pies or pour off the extra into a pie pan and bake it as a custard.  You can also use an equal amount of canned pumpkin.]










Pie Crust





2 cups flour

1/2 t. salt

10 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 – 8 or more T. ice cold water


Stir together flour and salt.  Cut butter into this mixture until it has a coarse, mealy texture.  Stirring lightly with a knife, sprinkle water one spoonful at a time into the flour mixture until the dough begins to cohere.  Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it together in your hands.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 -2 hours.
 
Roll out dough to fit your pie plate.  Fill and bake as directed.  

[Amy’s Notes:  This recipe is taken from Pies & Pastries by the Editors of Time Life Books, p. 162]

                     














07.07.11 recipes  


Beth W’s Blueberry Bread


2 c.         blueberries     http://www.prelockblueberryfarm.com/

4 c.         flour

½ c.        boiling water
4 T.         butter
1 c.         orange juice
2             eggs, lightly beaten
2 c.         sugar
2 t.          baking powder
½ t.         baking soda
½ t.         salt 

Topping
4 T.         butter, chilled
4 T.         sugar
4 T.         flour
2 t.         cinnamon 
Preheat oven to 325*.   
Grease 2 9X 5 inch pans. 

Sprinkle blueberries with 2 T. of the flour.  Toss gently; set aside.  (Do this later if using frozen blueberries.  Place boiling water in a large bowl.  Add butter and stir until melted.  Add orange juice, eggs and sugar.  Mix well.  Stir in remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Fold in blueberries.  Pour into prepared pans. 

Combine dry topping ingredients.  Cut butter into the mixture until crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter in loaf pan. 
Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans.  {Yes, I picked blueberries today; see link above.}    
 
Crockpot Teriyaki Pork 
¾ c.        unsweetened apple juice or water
2 T.         sugar
2 T.         soy sauce
1 T.         vinegar
1 t.          ground ginger
¼ t.         garlic powder
1/8 t.     pepper
3-lbs.     boneless pork
2 ½ T.     cornstarch
3 T. cold water 
Combine first seven ingredients in crockpot.  Add meat.  Turn to coat.  Cover and cook on Low 7-8 hours.  Remove meat and keep warm.  
In saucepan combine cornstarch and water until smooth.  Stir in juices from the roast.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Serve with meat. 

I will stir fry veggies and steam rice to serve along with this yummy pork tonight for supper!


A Loaf For Learning










6 Tbsp. warm water


1 tsp. active dry yeast

3 c. whole wheat bread flour, finely ground

1 tsp. salt

1/3 c. cold yogurt

2/3 c. hot tap water

2 Tbsp. oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. honey

Dissolve yeast in 6 Tbsp. warm water.  Mix together thoroughly in large mixing bowl the flour and salt.  Make a well in the center of this mixture.  Stir together the yogurt, 2/3 cup hot tap water, oil and honey (you may use molasses or brown sugar instead). 

Pour yogurt mixture into center of flour mixture and stir a couple of times.  Add yeast mixture to this mixture and stir until all the flour is wet.

Attach bowl to upright mixer.  Using dough hook, knead the dough until all the dough gathers up on the hook, cleaning the sides of the bowl.  Let rise, covered for about 2 hours; punch down and let rise again for about 1 hour.  Punch down and shape; I put mine in my bread machine without the dough hook.  Let proof for about 45 minutes.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes.  So good! 


 

Power Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 egg

Combine all dry ingredients.  Combine all wet ingredients.  Combine both wet and dry ingredients until well blended.  Heat nonstick griddle or pan over medium heat (use cooking spray).  Pour or scoop batter onto cooking surface.  Brown on both sides.

Adapted from:  Tony Horton’s Power 90 Fat Burner Food Plan

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