Healthy Blueberry Muffins

These muffins taste good and they are good for you. Really they are good. Your kids will even eat them. I had to keep my little boy from stealing mine. I asked him if he liked them and he said mmmmmmm. There you have it people. I picky 18 month old said mmmmm while consuming them. You will like these because they are low fat and they are sweetened with honey. I am trying to cut back on my refined sugar consumption. These were a great start.

Blueberry Muffins
*If you don't want to use whole wheat flour you can decrease the amount of milk a little bit since whole wheat absorbs more liquid. Also you can use sugar in place of the honey as well. You can also leave out the cinnamon and use lemon zest to add a little zing.

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 cup skim milk
2 TB. vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1/3 cup honey
2 cups whole wheat flour (use white wheat flour it tastes better)
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Grease muffin tins.  Mix the milk, oil, applesauce, honey, vanilla and egg together until well combined. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt all at once until just combined. The batter should be lumpy. Carefully fold in the blueberries. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, dividing batter evenly. Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops are browned.  Transfer immediately to cooling rack.

Really Good Alfredo Sauce

I discovered this recipe when my husband and I were first married. He is super picky about his food. He has an amazingly refined palate. He can tell if something has a particle too much salt or is one second over or under baked....so I was really nervous to try this out on him. Well, he tasted it thought for a moment and said it was really good. It has been a keeper in our family ever since. What I love about this sauce is that is has a low fat variation that tastes every bit as good as the higher fat version. I also love that it is so easy to make. It came be whipped up really fast.  I served this with some cut up chicken that I sauteed in a little oil in a pan with some Montreal chicken seasoning. It was so good. Serve it up with the amazing bread stick recipe I have posted on this blog and a salad and you have a fantastic meal.

Alfredo Sauce
from Betty Crocker's Cooking Basics

*to reduce fat use 1/3 cup margarine or butter and sub evaporated milk for the whipping cream

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
chopped fresh parsley to garnish (opt.)

Heat the butter and whipping cream (or evaporated milk) in the saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until margarine is melted. Stir in the cheese, salt and pepper until the mixture is smooth. Pour sauce over cooked noodles. Enjoy

Crock Pot Split Pea Soup and Dinner Rolls

This is a recipe I found on one of my favorite blogs. It is really easy and so tasty. I had three bowls of this soup in one sitting. This was such a nice comforting dish. One of those dishes that just feels like it is nourishing your body when you eat it. Totally good. No this is not the most attractive dish to look at but once you eat it you will be hooked. Split peas will become your best friends and you may even start a fan club. Just kidding, but seriously I really liked it. I served it with the rolls I posted as well. Paired together these two recipes make for a very good home-cooked meal. Sorry the roll picture is sideways. I don't know how to rotate it. Oh well just tilt your head sideways, its good exercise for your neck.

Crock Pot Split Pea Soup
from Favorite Family Recipes

* I halved the recipe and it made plenty

1 pkg (about 2 1/2 c. or 1 lb.), dried split peas
9 c. chicken broth (if you like it thick, use 8 c.)
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 medium potatoes, diced small
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Lb. diced ham (about 2 c. or so)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf

Combine all ingredients in Crock Pot and cook on low for about 7-8 hours (or on high for about 4-5 hours). Remove bay leaf before serving.

 Dinner Rolls
from BH&G cookbook 11th edition
* I prefer instant yeast over the pkg.;  it just seems to turn out better but you can use either just fine. Also I would use a Bosch to mix and knead the dough to make things easier unless you like to waste time and make things hard for yourself, but have you ever mixed bread dough with an electric beater? It is seriously aggravating.

4 1/4 to  4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast or 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine
3/4 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs

In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just till warm and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a  moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl turning once.. Cover and let rise until double. Punch dough down . Divide in half , cover and let rest for ten minutes. Shape into desired shape for rolls. Place on greased baking sheet or in muffin tins. Cover and let rise till nearly double. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes until golden. Remove from pans and allow to cool on wire racks.
*If you wish to make wheat rolls sub one and one fourth cups of the flour for whole wheat flour.

Caramel Apple French Toast

I had some apples I needed to use up and I found this recipe. This french toast is incredibly good. I felt like I was at a fancy Bed &Breakfast when I ate this. It was heaven in my mouth. The apples with the cinnamon topped off this yummy french toast perfectly. You have to make this. You can put a caramel sauce over the french toast to kick it up a notch as shown in the picture, but I think maple syrup drizzled over the top would be great as well. . Try this out and tell me what you think because seriously it was one of the best breakfasts I have ever had.

Caramel Apple French Toast
from Favorite Family Recipes
*i found this too be a little sweet for my liking so next time I will probably cut back the amount of sugar and not sprinkle any over the apples.

1 loaf french bread

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar to taste

Cut bread into large slices and arrange in a lightly sprayed 9x13 inch pan.  In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla.  Pour mixture over bread slices.  Arrange apples on top of bread.  Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar over the apples.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning bake for 1 hour at 350 until golden brown. 

 Top with your favorite caramel topping.  This is what I like:

1 pkg wrapped caramels

2/3 cup whipping cream

Melt together in microwave.

Fudgy Walnut Brownies

These brownies are SOOOO good. Any will power I have to avoid sweets goes out the door with these yummy goodies. These are by no means low fat or good for you but when you want something to indulge your sweet tooth-dive in to these! Maybe to ease the guilt you could have a nice light salad for dinner before downing these. Once you taste them you will thank me for posting this and making your brownie loving dreams come true. If you aren't a fan of nuts I think that these would be heavenly without the nut layer.  You could even get a little crazy and do marshmallow creme and chocolate glaze on top instead. However you go about it, this recipe will be in your files forever more. Ok enough blabbering, on with the recipe....

Fudgy Walnut Brownies
from The Sister Cafe via Taste of Home

3/4 Cup butter, cubed

4 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

WALNUT CRUNCH TOPPING:

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 T. all-purpose flour

1 t. vanilla extract

4 cups chopped walnuts

In a microwave, melt butter and chocolate. I like to use 50% power, stirring every 30-60 sec until completely melted. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly.

In a a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar; stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla. (If you need to wait for your chocolate to cool down a little more, you can get started on the topping, if you don't mind multi-tasking) Stir in flour until well blended. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 in. baking pan; set aside.

For topping, combine brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over low-medium heat until butter is melted. Stir in the eggs, flour and vanilla until well blended. Stir in nuts.

Spread walnut crunch topping evenly over brownie batter. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. Do not over bake. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

This is a really good, really easy recipe. I have seen this recipe on numerous food blogs, in cookbooks and originally was given this recipe from my mom. The Italian seasoning mix gives the creamy sauce a nice flavor from all the spices. Try this out on your family. I have done this over noodles but I think rice might be even better (brown rice especially). I also used fat free cream cheese and the recipe turned out great.

Italian Crock Pot Chicken
*I used frozen chicken and omitted the water, just added the seasoning packet and a few dollops of butter over the chicken.
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package (8oz.) cream cheese softened

Place chicken in crock pot, add enough water to just cover chicken and sprinkle packet of Italian dressing mix on top. Cook for several hours until chicken is cooked through. (about four hours on high). Shred chicken. Mix together cream of chicken soup and cream cheese and then stir into chicken mixture in crock pot and allow to heat through another half hour. You may want to  add milk or cream if the sauce is too thick. Serve over noodles or rice.

Bunny Buns

These cute little bunnies are fun to look at and fun to eat. They are very light and the orange juice in them adds a nice flavor.The glaze is so yummy and not too sugary.  My little girl loved helping me make them. Such a fun idea. Thanks to the Friend magazine for this fun recipe. I couldn't stop eating them. Yum yum

Bunny Buns

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup milk, warmed not quite to boiling

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

5 1/2 cups flour, sifted

Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 teaspoon butter

1. Sprinkle yeast in the warm water and set aside.
   
2. In another bowl, blend milk, sugar, shortening, and salt. Cool until lukewarm, then add eggs, water with yeast,
3. Stir in flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough. Let stand for 10 minutes.
   
4. Knead dough 5–10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover bowl with a clean towel and put it in a warm place. Let dough rise for 2 hours, or until double in size. Punch dough down and let stand for 10 minutes.
   
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough into strips 1/2 inch wide and 14 inches long. Roll between hands into rounded snake shapes. Cut one strip into pieces 1/2 inch long, and roll into balls.
   
6. Place one long piece of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Place one end of the strip over the other to make a loop; bring the end that is underneath up and cross it over the other end. Place a ball of dough on top of the bottom loop.
   
7. Cover bunnies and let rise in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until nearly double in size. Bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 12–15 minutes.
   
8. For the glaze, stir powdered sugar, water, and butter together. Frost bunnies with the glaze while they are still warm.
   

Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

These pancakes are super easy, just throw everything in the blender and presto, pancakes. These pancakes probably get you your whole grain allotment for the day or even week. The texture is a lot more gritty than i thought it would be but they are still very good when you want to change up the morning pancake routine a little bit. Try them out for the sake of your family's health if nothing else. :) But really they are good....

See, even this picky eater likes them, so trust me, if she will eat them, your kids will too.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes
 Blend in blender until like mush:
1 c. milk
3/4 c. raw whole wheat
Turn off.
Add:
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Blend well and cook on hot griddle. Yield 14 pancakes.

Baked Italian Sausage Rotini

I found this dish as well as the bread stick recipe included from the Favorite Family Recipes blog and it truly has become a family favorite. It is not too spicy and it comes together really fast. The breadsticks, my husband declared, were the best I have ever made so far...that really says something people. In other words...they are so good that you won't be able to find anyone who doesn't like them because he is Mr. Picky himself. If you think your little ones might be turned off by the spice in the Rotini dish you could just do a tsp. of red pepper flakes or leave them out entirely. We like a little spice in my family. Also, my husband doesn't love sausage so I usually just use ground beef and fry it or make tiny meatballs, this dish is very versatile.

Baked Italian Sausage Rotini
from Favorite Family Recipes
1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 pkg. uncooked ground Italian sausage

1 pkg. curly, bowtie, or wagonwheel noodles - cooked
1 bottle 4 cheese spaghetti sauce
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)

Roll the ground Italian sausage into small balls.  In a large fry pan, brown the garlic in olive oil.  Then add sausage balls and cook until browned.
In a large bowl toss together the sausage with all the other ingredients reserving 1 cup of cheese.
Pour pasta mixture into a 9x13 inch pan lined with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 for 25 min.  Top with remaining cheese and bake 5 more minutes.

Best Breadsticks Ever

1½ cups warm water

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. yeast

Let that sit for 5 minutes. Then add:

3½ cups flour

1 tsp Salt

Mix until smooth then let raise for 10 minutes. Roll out dough into a large square on a floured surface. Brush with melted (real) butter mixed with garlic and then sprinkle with kosher salt. Fold in half and cut into 1 inch strips. Twist and place on a cooking sheet. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes to raise. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately after baking, brush with more garlic butter and sprinkle with kosher salt and grated Parmesan cheese.

*Dough also makes a great pizza dough, just roll out into a large circle, add your favorite toppings, and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Orange Toast

This takes french toast to a whole new level. The flavor of the orange zest and the orange juice totally brightens up this dish. It is fresh, sweet and super yummy. My kids inhaled this.

 

If you have more than three people for breakfast, definitely double this recipe. I think that Texas Toast or french bread would be best for this recipe but you can use whatever bread you have on hand. Also, to totally take this to another level you could make homemade syrup and substitute orange extract for the maple flavoring or make the coconut syrup from The Sisters Cafe.  Add fresh fruit and powdered sugar and you could be as regal as a Bed and Breakfast. :) Enjoy!! Let me know what you think!

Orange Toast
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. milk
1 T. sugar
1 T. grated orange peel
1/4 c. orange juice
6 slices bread

Mix ingredients and dip 6 slices bread, coating both sides. Heat skillet or griddle and grease. Brown dipped bread on both sides. Serve at once with honey, syrup or place fresh fruit between two layers of toast, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Chicken Stroganoff

This is the yummiest, easiest meal ever! Just throw all the ingredients in the crock pot and five hours later you have tender flaky chicken in a creamy, flavorful gravy.  Your house will smell so good while this cooks, your mouth will be watering. My husband is not the biggest fan of crock pot meals and he loved this, so feed this to your picky eaters! Yum Yum Yummy is all I have to say.

Chicken Stroganoff
courtesy of Macey's Crock Talk Family Meals

4-6 Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts
12 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
* if you are using six chicken breasts I would suggest doubling the sauce. I used four chicken breasts and found that there was almost not enough gravy.

Place chicken breasts in greased crock pot. Mix sour cream, cream of mushroom soup and 1 pkg. of dry onion soup mix. Pour mixture over chicken.
Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours until chicken is tender.
Serve over cooked rice or egg noodles.

Best Ham Fried Rice

Our Family loves ham fried rice; we are huge fans. For this reason, I have tried just about every recipe out there for ham fried rice. Some were too sweet, some too dry, etc. etc.; but this one is just right. :) I love the peas and carrots in this recipe, it adds a great fresh taste to the dish. The chicken bouillon gives it a lot of flavor. I love how fast it comes together. This is a great go-to when you are short on time and need a quick meal.

Best Ham Fried Rice
adapted from family dinner cookbook
*(rice must be day old, it is not as good with fresh rice, the rice needs to be dried)
2 cups cooked rice (day old)
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 eggs, well beaten
1/2 c. ham, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 c. frozen peas and carrots
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
3 tsp, soy sauce

Heat 1 Tbs. oil in a large skillet. Scramble eggs. Remove eggs from skillet and heat remaining oil. Stir-fry ham and rice until ham starts to brown. Add green onions, peas, carrots, and stir-fry until vegetables are cooked through. Sprinkle with bouillon and soy sauce. Return scrambled eggs to skillet and mix well. Heat through then serve.