The Holiday Feast

No recipes for this entry but I wanted to post pics of some of the wonderful food my husband makes at Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. He does all the cooking for those Holidays (well the turkey, pies and vegetable platter anyway), it's his favorite thing to do.

Hot And Cheesy Chicken Casserole

This is a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens that I adapted a little bit. I only changed a few things like adding the french fried crispy onions on top and using only cheddar cheese instead of cheddar and mozzarella. I also added just a sprinkle of Taco seasoning to the soup mixture to zest it up a bit.

There are so many flavors running through this it seems like every bite tastes different. The family seemed to really like it so I am sure I will be making this again. I suppose you could use some of that left over turkey in this instead of the chicken.

HOT AND CHEESY CHICKEN CASSEROLE
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 14-oz. pkg. frozen broccoli florets
2 cups cooked rice
1-1/2 cups frozen peas
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can fiesta nacho cheese s; oup
1 10-to 10.5-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilies
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 cup french fried onions, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. In large bowl combine chicken, broccoli, rice, and peas. Spread mixture over the chicken. In medium bowl combine cream of chicken soup, nacho cheese soup, diced tomatoes, milk, and crushed red pepper. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese . Pour mixture over broccoli mixture in baking dish. Top with remaining cheddar cheese. Sprinkle crushed crackers and onions evenly over all.

Bake, uncovered, 35 to 40 minutes or until topping is golden. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Paula Deen Night!

Tonight I decided to try out two of Paula Deen's recipes I saw on her show recently. They both looked so good I had to try them. They are of course a little on the heavy and rich side but small portions go a long way and the flavors were amazing.

For the main course I made her Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf. As a rule I am not a huge bacon fan especially in recipes but this was not bad and it did not overpower the food, only enhanced it. I changed the recipe very slightly by increasing the meat to a pound and a half and using equal parts ground beef and ground turkey and using less bacon. You always have the option of leaving the bacon out of the recipe of course.

For the side dish I made her Cheesy Noodles. This was delicious but a little definitely goes a long way. The only change I made to this was I used Angel Hair pasta instead of the fine egg noodles.

I made up some quick garlic rolls to go with the meal. For these I just melted 1 stick of margerine and added 4 cloves of finely chopped garlic. I took small dinner rolls and sliced each one in half. I brushed each half with the butter mixture, making sure to get bits of garlic on each roll. I then topped each one with just a pinch of freshly grated parmesan cheese. I placed these in the oven for about 15 to 20 until slightly toasted on the top.

BACON CHEESEBURGER MEATLOAF
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
3/4 lb. lean ground turkey
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
12 oz. low fat sharp cheddar, grated
3/4 C Eggbeaters
1/2 cup bread crumbs, toasted
1/3 cup lite mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 cup french fried onions
2 slices of stale bread (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the ground meat and next 8 ingredients, mixing well.

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, add the brown sugar to the remaining ketchup mixture.

Shape meat into a loaf and place in a roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 50 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake another 15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

OPTIONAL: To soak up any grease, place the slices of bread on the roasting pan and shape your meatloaf on top of the bread. After the meatloaf is done you can remove the bread and discard, taking most of the fat from the meat with it.

CHEESY NOODLES
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 cup low fat or fat free sour cream
1/2 grated onion
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
8oz. angel hair pasta
1 cup grated parmesan, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Break the angel hair into 3 pieces to make short noodles then cook as directed.

Mix together cottage cheese, sour cream, 3/4 of the parmesan, grated onion, Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt. Add noodles, combine and place in greased casserole. Sprinkle top with remaining grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 minutes.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Great for those crisp Fall evenings and the perfect accompaniment to ham, this side dish is comfort food at it's best. Creamy and cheesy and the onions add such great flavor to it. Actually it makes a great side dish for just about anything but it seems to just naturally go with ham. Because most of us in the house have to watch our salt intake we don't have ham to often but when we do I love to make this as a side dish.

CHEESY SCALLOPED POTATOES
1 1/2 cups low fat cheddar cheese, shredded - divided
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
2 1/4 cups skim milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 medium red potatoes
2 small onions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add in flour and whisk til blended. Add milk and whisk/stir until it starts to thicken and get bubbly. Add pepper and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir until cheese melts and is well blended. Remove from heat and set aside,

Wash the potatoes and dry but do not peel. Slice the potatoes and onions in thin slices. Spray a 9 X 13 shallow baking dish with cooking spray.

Pour just enough of the cheese mixture to coat the bottom of the baking dish. Spread potato and onion slices evenly in the baking dish and pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top of the potatoes and onion slices.

Cover with foil and bake about 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Let sit about 15 minutes.

NOTE: Any kind of potato is fine for this recipe but red potatoes seem to taste the best.

Friday Night Sweets - Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

We have kind of started a tradition around here of making a nice dessert on Fridays for all of us to enjoy over the weekend. It came about because my Mother-in-Law will only eat sweets between 7 PM Friday and 7 PM on Sunday, nothing during the week (like a mini Lent or something like that).

Anyway I saw this recipe of Paula Deen's and it just looked so good and perfect for the season. I will warn you though that there is NOTHING healthy about this dessert lol. Those of you that know Paula's Deen's recipes know that there isn't much you can do to make it healthier. This is also VERY rich so servings should be kept small. Trust me a little goes a long way but it's very delicious, like a pumpkin pie on top of a moist cake. YUM!

PUMPKIN GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
=== cake ===
1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter
=== filling ===
1 8 oz.pkg cream cheese, softened
1 15 oz can pumpkin pie filling
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 16 oz box powdered sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking pan. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Dump in powdered sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly.

*Bake for 40 - 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream. These little cakes are very, very rich and a little will go a long way!

Taco Salad

I got the idea for this from Kalyn's Kitchen and I only changed it a bit here and there. As usual I used turkey meat instead of beef but I found you really can't taste the difference with all the seasonings in there. I also use a light cheese and of course a light ranch dressing but I put out regular ranch for the rest of the family. When I can find them I get the low sodium black beans to help with the sodium content because the taco seasoning tends to have a lot of salt.

I find this tastes best when the meat is still a bit warm (not hot) and the lettuce is cold and crisp. Perfect for those hot summer days but also good on cooler cloudy days like today. This is also a great way to stretch your meat by adding more of the salad fixings which helps your budget :)

TACO SALAD

=== meat/bean mixture ===
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 tablespoon oil
1 can black beans
1 T chile powder
1 tsp. ground cumin

=== for salad ===
3 cups romaine lettuce, torn, washed
ranch dressing
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup grated low fat cheese
1 cup diced onion

Dump the can of black beans into a colander in the sink, then rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. (This removes some of the undigestible carbohydrates that can make beans hard to digest.) Let drain while you cook meat.

Heat olive oil in large heavy frying pan, then add ground meat, breaking apart into small crumbles. Cook meat over medium high heat until well browned. When meat is browned, add beans, and seasonings and simmer for about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before using on salad. (This can be made ahead and frozen. To use after freezing, thaw and then reheat for a couple of minutes in a microwave.)

To assemble salad, put lettuce in large plastic bowl and toss with desired amount of dressing. For each salad bowl add some of the lettuce mixture, add slightly warm beef/bean mixture and top with diced tomatoes, diced onions and grated cheese. Toss and eat!

Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

This another one of those recipes that has evolved over the years. I think the original recipe was more of a side dish and did not have the ham in it but had the Mushroom soup and some sour cream and a lot more cheese. At some point I changed it to accomodate a bunch of left over ham I had after Easter one year and it has just stayed this way. The original recipe I remember being very rich so by eliminating the sour cream and half the cheese and adding some ham to make it a main dish I was able to serve it more often. I always seem to have so much left over ham after big holiday meals that I had to come up with several recipes to use it all. This is just one of them.

I will add that normally when I make this dish I use the O'Brien style of hash browns but the store was out so I used the plain instead. It still tasted good but I prefer the O'Brien potatoes, it adds more flavor I think.

HAM AND HASH BROWN CASSEROLE
1 32 oz. bag of frozen Hash Brown potatoes (I usually use the O'Brien style)
1 6 oz. Farmer John Boneless Ham Steak (or other equivalent)
2 cans of Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can of No Salt Added Peas, drained
1 1/4 C cheddar cheese, shredded - divided

Preheat oven to 400

Cube ham steak into 1/2 in. size pieces.

In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix well and pour into a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 1 hour and remove from the oven. Sprinkle the last of the cheese on top and let melt.

** It does not matter if the hash browns have been thawed or are still frozen when putting this together.

Turkey Patties

I had some baked potatoes and wanted to make something easy that I had on hand to go with them so I threw together this dish. It was one of those that I just made up as I went along. Sometimes those backfire on me and I end up with something almost inedible but this one didn't turn out too bad. They were quite tasty and moist.

TURKEY PATTIES
1 lb lean ground turkey
3/4 C chopped onion
2 slices of bread, cubed
1/2 C oatmeal (uncooked)
1/4 C skim milk
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to season as desired

Put all ingredients except the turkey into a bowl and combine. Let sit for about 30 minutes or so to absorb all the milk. Add the turkey and using your hands mix well and form into patties. You should get between 4 and 6 patties depending on the size you make them.

Place patties in a non stick skillet sprayed with a bit of cooking spray. Brown on each side about 3 to 5 minutes, cover and reduce the heat. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with brown gravy if desired.

Super Easy Tator Tot Casserole

This dish brought back some memories. I haven't made this in many years but it's a great old standby and so easy to make. Kids love this casserole and I love the way the tator tots break apart when this cooks and are so moist. This is another one of those dishes where you can substitute just about any vegetable you want.

TATOR TOT CASSEROLE

1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1 pkg tator tots; thawed
1 can peas
1 cup low fat or fat free sour cream
1 can Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups low fat cheddar cheese; shredded - divided
1/2 cup diced onions
Pepper and garlic powder to season
red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F

In a large skillet cook ground meat and onions. Add seasonings. Drain and put aside. In a large bowl mix together tator tots, peas, 1 cup of the cheese and the soup. Add the meat and onions. Mix thoroughly and pour into 3 qt. greased casserole dish. Bake at 375 for 40 min. Remove from oven and sprinkle 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese on top and let melt.

Anything Goes Casserole

The original recipe for this is the very first recipe I ever learned to make. I got it in Boarding School when I was 12 (I won't tell you how many decades ago that was). It has truly stood the test of time and one my family loves. Of course over the years I have tweaked it here and there as I do with most recipes but the basic recipe is still very good to this day. The original recipe called for just the meat, onions, soup and macaroni but over time I started adding veggies here and there and using variations of the cheese soup.

Since it first came out they now have Cheddar and Broccoli soup as well as a couple spicy versions of the original cheddar cheese and they all work just as well. I love to add corn and carrots to the casserole and have on occasion added broccoli florets and cauliflower depending on my mood. As the title implies, anything goes with this casserole.

ANYTHING GOES CASSEROLE
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
1 med onion; chopped
2 cups macaroni
1 cup whole kernel corn
1 cup sliced carrots, cooked
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Grated Low Fat Cheddar Cheese (optional)
Seasonings of choice

Preheat oven to 375°F

Cook macaroni according to directions on package. Drain.

Brown ground beef or turkey in skillet with a bit of oil, add the onion and cook til meat is no longer pink. Add seasonings of choice. I usually add ground black pepper and garlic powder.

In a large bowl add soup to macaroni and combine well. Add vegetables and stir well. Add the parsley and stir til combinied. Pour into greased 3 quart casserole dish.

Bake for 30 min.

Sprinkle top with a bit of grated cheese or Parmesan if desired.

OPTIONS: You can substitute Cheddar Cheese and Broccoli soup or Fiesta Cheddar Cheese soup for the Cheddar Cheese soup if you wish. You can also swap the veggies for any others you may desire. This casserole is easily adaptable. Anything goes!

Pork Medallions With Balsamic-Honey Glaze

Here's another recipe I haven't made in many years. Cooking this fills your home with the most wonderful aroma. I love the smell of Rosemary and what's great is I just discovered there is a large Rosemary bush growing in the backyard so all I had to do was go out there with my little scissors and snip me off a few sprigs. Now I can have it any time I want!

This is a very simple meal to prepare and cooks up in no time. I love these small pork loins you get prepackaged from the store as most of the fat is already trimmed off and you can sliced them to whatever thickness you wish or just season it and throw it on the grill.

Most of the time I served this with rice but tonight I thought it would be nice to make some oven roasted potatoes with just a touch of Rosemary added to them.

PORK MEDALLIONS WITH BALSAMIC-HONEY GLAZE
=====Balsamic-honey glaze=====
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons dijon mustard
salt & freshly ground black pepper

=====For the pork=====
2 lbs pork tenderloin
canola oil, for searing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the glaze: Put garlic and rosemary in a small bowl. Add the vinegar, honey, olive oil, mustard, and salt and pepper, to taste, and stir to combine.

For the pork: Slice the tenderloin into 1-inch thick medallions (rounds). Cover the bottom of a medium skillet with a light film of canola oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the pork slices in 1 layer, season with salt and pepper, and sear for 1 minute. Turn and sear for 1 more minute, until lightly browned.
Pour the glaze over the slices and turn them to coat.

Cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 min, turning over about half way. Remove from heat and keep warm, loosely covered until ready to serve.

To serve place pork medallions on a platter and spoon the balsamic-honey glaze over them. Garnish the platter with the rosemary sprigs.

Creamy Potato Corn Soup

Well the clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped and the winds howled. My favorite kind of weather. My sister-in-law and her son came up so he could help her move in, the more the merrier I say! It was a perfect day to make a nice big batch of hearty soup and Potato Corn Soup is my favorite. Sometimes I get the nice Sourdough Bread Bowls and lightly toast the outside and fill them with the steamy hot soup. Nothing warms your insides like that!

No bread bowls this time but still just as good. I actually made a double batch but I doubt it will last long. As I mentioned before we have been trying to sell our house but until the market gets better we have to wait. In the meantime we are living with my in-laws and now that my sister-in-law has moved in here too there are 5 of us. I love it, we have lot's of fun and in today's economy it's nice to know we can all pool our resources and ride out this economic slump.

CREAMY POTATO CORN SOUP
6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
2 10.5 oz cans condensed chicken broth
2 cups water
5 large potatoes, diced
1 to 1 1/2 cups of corn
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 12 oz can evaporated milk

Place bacon and onion in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until bacon is evenly brown and onions are soft. Drain off excess grease.

Transfer the bacon and onion to a slow cooker, and stir in chicken broth, water, potatoes, corn, salt, dill weed, and white pepper. Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 7 hours, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and half-and-half. Stir into the soup along with the evaporated milk and cheese. Cover, and cook another 30 minutes before serving.

Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken is incredibly easy to make and full of flavor. This meal has been a family favorite for many years and I haven't really made any changes to the recipe.

I have on occasion replaced the can of Mandarin Oranges for the No Sugar Added variety to lighten up on the sugar content but I usually only do this when I have one on hand. I like my food kind of spicy so I add the Red Pepper Flakes but they are optional.

The weather here has finally dropped about 20 degrees so the evenings have been quite cool and windy, perfect for this kind of dish.

ORANGE CHICKEN
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion
1 medium bell pepper, any color
1 15 oz can mandarin oranges
4 tablespoon olive oil
flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; optional

Cut up chicken into small pieces (about 1 in) and lightly coat with flour. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add chicken. Saute until lightly browned and crispy.

Cut up onion and green pepper into 1 inch chunks. Add to the chicken.

Add mandarin oranges with juice to chicken and veggies and stir. Stir in orange juice and soy sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and cover.

Simmer for about 30 to 45 min until bubbly and sauce is thickened. Serve over cooked rice.

Spaghetti Pie

Tonight I decided to dig into the archives and find a recipe I had not made for a long time and came across Spaghetti Pie. I don't remember where I first found this recipe but over the years it has evolved into several different versions.

The original recipe had you placing the spaghetti crust in the oven for about 10 minutes but I always had to cover the edges with foil so the spaghetti wouldn't get hard. I found that if you microwaved it instead you didn't have the problem of it becoming crunchy.

To go with the Spaghetti Pie I made a simple Garlic Cheese Toast using thick bread (Texas Toast), some butter, garlic powder and freshly grated Parmesan. Spread the bread with the butter. Lightly sprinkle each piece with garlic powder and then press butter side down into the grated cheese. When the cheese is pressed evenly into one side of the bread, place cheese side down in a hot non-stick skillet. Toast for about1 to 2 minutes. It tastes very similar to Sizzler's Cheese Toast.

SPAGHETTI PIE
6 oz. spaghetti
2 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup parmesean cheese
2 eggs; well beaten
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 cup onion; chopped
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 1/3 cups mozarella; shredded and divided

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 10" pie dish with cooking spray.

Cook and drain spaghetti. stir butter into spaghetti. Stir in Parmesean cheese and eggs. Form spaghetti mix into a crust in a buttered 10' pie pan. Microwave for 5 minutes.

Cook meat and onion till meat is browned and onions are tender. Drain off fat. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic powder. Heat through. Spread the Cottage cheese over the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle 2/3 cup of mozzarella over the cottage cheese. Fill with the tomato mix.

Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozarella on top and return to oven until cheese melts, but do not allow it to brown. Serve with some good garlic bread and a nice tossed salad.

Chili Mac

I love the Fall, it's my favorite time of year and growing up in New England we had some of the best Fall seasons around. Trees full of brightly colored leaves, clear blue skies and cool, crisp fresh air. Of course we can't forget that it is also the beginning of Football and Hockey season!

Well now I live in the hot California desert and while it can get quite cold here in the late Fall and Winter months we still have nothing like those beautiful crisp Fall days I remember as a child. Fall or not, I still love to make this dish. Chili Mac is perfect for those cool evenings or just sitting in front of the TV watching a game.

This recipe was originally from Rachel Ray but I changed it slightly to suit our needs. It makes a very large batch so you might want to cut it in half if there are only two of you or you don't want a lot of leftovers. Leftovers for this don't last long around here. If you want to see Rachel's original recipe you can find it here.

CHILI MAC
1 pound Cavatappi or Bowtie pasta
2 1/2 lbs lean ground beef or turkey
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion
2 jalapenos, seed & chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce(Tabasco)
pinch coarse salt
2 cans beef broth
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes in juice
chopped scallions, for garnish
cheddar cheese, shredded

In a large pot, boil pasta until al dente. You want it slightly undercooked. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a big, deep pot, brown meat in oil over medium high heat. Coarsley chop the onions (about 1/2 in. size pieces). Add onions, peppers, and garlic to pot. Season meat mixture with chili powder, cumin, Tabasco, and salt. Cook together 5 minutes, stir in broth and cook til liquid is reduced by half, 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and simmer for 2 - 3 hours.

Add pasta to chili pot and stir to coat pasta evenly. Cook another 20 to 30 minutes to heat pasta. Remove from heat and garnish big bowlfuls of chili mac with chopped scallions and cheddar cheese.

Madeleines, Simple and Delicious

I love those days when the oh-so-wonderful hubby is bored and looking for something to bake. I quickly browsed through my collection of recipes that I've saved but not tried yet when I remember my shiny new Madeleine pan. I've loved Madeleines ever since I saw them in a movie several years ago and wanted to make them myself. I looked everywhere for one of those pans but soon realized I would have to order one online.

For awhile our local Costco sold mini Madeleines in clear plastic buckets and they were very good but I still wanted to try making my own. Finally, several months ago I broke down and ordered one of the pans from Amazon. I was so excited when I got it, it was so shiny and pretty. Well that's as far as I got, it went up on the shelf and I just never got around to making the cookies until today when my oh-so-wonderful hubby was bored and felt the urge to make something sweet. I have just the thing I told him!

They tasted just like I imagined they would and so much better than the store bought ones. The recipe we used came from A Chow Life and as she says they are best when eaten warm out of the oven but I know these will taste good several days from now - if they last that long.

MADELEINES
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 1/4 cup sifted cake flour not self-rising
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar
confectioners sugar for dusting

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush molds with some melted butter.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until light and foamy, about 30 seconds with a standing mixer or 1 minute with a handheld, then beat in vanilla. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating constantly at high speed, and continue to beat until mixture is tripled in volume, about 3 minutes with standing mixer or 5 minutes with handheld.

Sift flour mixture in 3 or 4 batches over egg, folding in each batch until just combined. Then fold in 3/4 cup melted butter.

Spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter into each mold (they will be about two-thirds full) and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven (2 pans will fit on 1 rack), switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden around edges and a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes total.

Invert madeleines onto a rack and dust scalloped sides with confectioners sugar.

Zesty Italian Crescent Pie

I saw this recipe over at Taste and Tell and thought it looked soooo good I had to try it. It's from one of the Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbooks and incredibly easy to make. It is even easier to make thanks to Pillsbury's new Recipe Creations. It's the dough from their Crescent Rolls only in one big sheet so you can make different things with it. Almost like a pastry sheet.

I only changed the recipe a little bit, switching out the ground beef for ground turkey and using reduced fat mozzarella. The original recipe also called for 2 tablespoons of melted butter to mix with Parmesan cheese but I just sprayed butter flavored cooking spray on top of the pie crust and sprinkled 1/3 cup of freshly grated Asiago cheese over it. For the pasta sauce I used Trader Joe's Organic Marinara Sauce as it is low fat and very low sodium.

You will want to let this set up for about a half hour after it comes out of the oven so it doesn't run all over the place. This tasted fantastic and I will definitely be making it again.

ZESTY ITALIAN CRESCENT PIE
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Recipe Creations
1/3 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese
Butter flavored cooking spray

Heat oven to 375°F. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream; mix well.

Pour hot beef mixture into ungreased 9 1/2 or 10-inch glass deep-dish pie pan or 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture over beef mixture.

Unroll dough over cheese mixture, spray with butter spray and sprinkle the cheese evenly over dough.

Bake at 375°F. for 18 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings

While I love nothing more than making things from scratch, there are times when I am all about the quick and the easy. This recipe kind of developed when I was in a hurry and did not have time to make the dumplings from scratch and cut up all the vegetables myself. This is also one of those meals that is easy to change up in that you can use any kind of vegetable you like.

For this time I used a bag of frozen corn, peas, carrots and green beans but in the past I have used a frozen Broccoli, Cauliflower and Carrot mix and then added in some frozen corn. Whatever you happen to like or have on hand will work. Instead of the refrigerator biscuits I have also used the frozen kind that come in a bag. Whichever ones you use I learned it is definitely better to pre-bake them a bit before adding to the crockpot. They just take way too long to cook otherwise.

I don't always add the cheese but it does give it a really nice flavor.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken tenders
3 cans Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 small onion, chopped
1 can of skim milk - fill an empty soup can
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
1 can of refrigerator biscuits
season to taste

Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray.

Place chicken tenders, mixed veggies (you can use whatever frozen mixed veggies you wish), chopped onion and cheese in the crockpot. In a large bowl place all the soup and one can's worth of milk and blend till smooth. Pour over the chicken and veggies in the crockpot.

Cover and set on high for 2 hours. Stir and scrap sides and cover again. Turn down to low and cook another 2 to 3 hours.

Take biscuits out of the can, place on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a 350°F oven until just barely turning brown. Do not overcook them, you want them just slightly undercooked.

Remove from oven and place 6 of them in a single layer over the chicken mixture in the crockpot. With a large spoon, ladel some of the sauce over the top of the biscuits. Cover and cook an additional 30 min to an hour.

Serves 4 - 6 people.

Meat Loaf With Tomato Relish

Meat Loaf is one of those recipes that everyone makes differently. My kids were always asking me to write down my meat loaf recipe but I found it was hard to put down on paper exact measurements because I don't know that I ever made it exactly the same way twice. Just like Spaghetti Sauce or a good stew, you just throw in a little of this and add a bit of that. Oh I had the basic ingredients that I would add each time but I also experimented a lot over the years too.

This is a meat loaf recipe that I don't make as often as my personal one because it takes a lot of prep work but every now and then when I feel like changing things up a bit I will make this version. It comes from Tyler Florence of The Food Network and I saw him make it a couple of years ago. He said this was his dad's recipe for Meat Loaf. The only thing I changed in this is Tyler's recipe calls for putting a few strips of bacon on top of the meat loaf and baking it until it is crispy. I don't add bacon to mine but everything else is the same.

MEAT LOAF WITH TOMATO RELISH
==== Tomato Relish ====
extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 clove garlic
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, & diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup
3 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
salt & freshly ground black pepper

==== Meatloaf ====
3 slices white bread
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 eggs or 1/2 Cup egg substitute
leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut crusts off of the bread and tear into chunks.

Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften.

Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.

Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.

This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. To test, fry a small 'hamburger' patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish.

Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that it cooks evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side. Unbelievably moist!

Banana Bread

Does anyone remember the early days of the Food Network when it was just about cooking and showing us recipes? There were no live audiences or bands or competitions, just a chef or cookbook author showing us a new recipe each day or demonstrating how we could feed our family for just $100 a week. They didn't have many shows so they repeated a couple of times per day but they were good shows and I collected some really good recipes during those times. Recipes that I still use today.

This recipe for Banana Bread is one of them. I think the show was called Chef Du Jour they had a different celebrity on each week and that celebrity would share their own personal recipes. This Banana Bread recipe comes from Comedian Joanne Worley and it's delicious. Very easy to make, super moist and a great way to use up those bananas that are turning black. This bread never lasts very long in our house.

BANANA BREAD
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Butter
2 eggs (I used 1/2 cup Eggbeaters)
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350°F

Grease loaf pan.

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. In another bowl cream together the butter and bananas and whisk in the eggs. Add to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour into loaf pan and bake about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure toothpick comes out somewhat clean in the center.

Cool and slice.

Lazy Sunday Afternoons and a Good Coffee Cake

Finally we had some great weather today. While not cool by any means, the fact that it never got higher than the upper 80's was still a milestone. This has been a very looooong hot summer and today actually felt like the start of Fall. There was a strong breeze and the sky was blue and clear, it seemed like the perfect day to bake a nice coffee cake and relax with the hubby. Ok so the hubby threw out his back and was confined to bed but it's great to have a captive audience!

I found this wonderful recipe at Big City, Little Kitchen and just changed a few things to make it a bit healthier. I probably would have swapped out the 1 cup of sugar for Splenda's baking sugar substitute but I did not have any. For the brown sugar in the topping I used half regular brown sugar and half of Splenda's Brown Sugar.

As the original poster from Big City, Little Kitchen stated, this cake has a dense, moist interior and lot's of streusel. This one is definitely a keeper!

♦

CINNAMON-CRUMBLE COFFEE CAKE
==== cake ====
1 stick unsalted butter, softened ( I use Smart Balance's Butter Blends Unsalted Butter)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup fat free sour cream

==== topping ====
2/3 cup light brown sugar (part Splenda Brown Sugar and part regular Brown Sugar)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

To make cake: cream butter and sugar. Lightly beat eggs, vanilla, and our cream, then add to butter mixture. Whisk together dry ingredients, then add to wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.

To make topping: whisk together the 3 ingredients; set aside.

Pour half of batter into bundt pan, smoothing with a spatula so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Distribute half of the topping mixture over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter into the pan, carefully smoothing with a spatula so that it covers the topping. Sprinkle remaining topping over the batter, then bake for 45 minutes.

Let cool for 15 minutes, then carefully reverse onto a plate. Place another plate on top (which is actually the bottom of the cake), and reverse again, so that cake is, finally, facing up on a plate.

Ortega Fiesta Bake

I thought I would make something a little spicy tonight and this is an old favorite of ours. I can't even remember where I found the original recipe but I have been making it for years. I lightened it up a bit by using turkey meat and low fat cheese and when making the cornbread mix I used egg substitute and skim milk.

I apologize for the horrible photo, but I am limited in space so I have no camera angles or lighting to choose from and all my dishes are packed away.

ORTEGA FIESTA BAKE
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 cup onion; chopped
3/4 cup mild salsa
2 T. taco seasoning mix
1/4 cup water
1 can whole kernel corn; drained
3 whole canned jalapenos; chopped
1 8 1/2 oz.pkg corn muffin mix
2 cups low fat cheddar cheese; shredded
1 4oz. can diced green chilies

Preheat oven to 350°F

Brown meat in skillet and drain. Add onions, taco seasoning, water, salsa, jalapenos and all but 1 cup of the corn. Cook for 10 minutes. While that is cooking make the muffin mix according to package. The cornbread mix I use calls for one egg and 1/3 cup of milk. I use egg substitute for the egg and fat free milk. Then add one cup of the cheese, the remaining 1 cup of corn and the can of green chilies, mix well.

When meat is done spread evenly on the bottom of a square or small rectangle baking dish. Sprinkle on remaining 1 cup of cheese and add the cornbread mixture, spreading evenly over the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Vegetable Beef Soup

My mother-in-law has been making this recipe for years but I could never get her to write it down so tonight I sat and made it with her and wrote down everything she put in it so I could preserve the recipe for myself and my kids.

It's very easy to make and tastes sooooo good. This is perfect for a cold rainy day but since we have rain about 1 day a year out in this horrendous desert we have to settle for a cold windy day, those we have plenty of in the winter.

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP
1 lb stew meat
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can peas
1 can green beans
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
3 medium red potatoes
4 cubes beef bouillon
1 cup baby carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 cups frozen broccoli cauliflower mix
1 tablespoon parsley
4 1/2 cups Water
pepper and garlic powder to season
oil for browning the meat

In a 5 qt dutch oven or pot, brown the stew meat in a little bit of oil. After it is brown add the onion, celery and bell pepper and cook until they are tender.

Wash and cube the potatoes, about 1 in chunks, do not peel the potatoes first. Add to the pot.

Open and drain the cans of peas and green beans, add to the pot.

Add the remaining ingredients except the water and bouillon.

In 2 cups of the water, break up and dissolve the bouillon cubes. Add to the pot along with the rest of the water. Stir just to mix everything and cover. Let simmer on low heat for a couple of hours at least. You can also add this to a crock pot and let simmer on low for several hours.

Simple Turkey Burger

For my lunch today I made something quick, easy and healthy. I keep lean turkey patties in the freezer for whenever I am in the mood for a quick simple burger.

SIMPLE TURKEY BURGER
1 lean ground turkey pattie
1 slice of pepper jack soy cheese
2 slices of tomato
1 T light mayo
1 double fiber whole wheat English muffin
Thin slice of onion (optional)
Seasoning of your choice

In a small skillet sprayed with cooking spray cook your turkey pattie until it is no longer pink inside. Turn it once to cook each side and season however desired. (I like spicy so I use red pepper flakes and garlic powder). Flip one more time, place your cheese on top and turn off the heat.

While the cheese is melting lightly toast your English muffin and spread with the light mayo. Place your pattie on one half and top with the tomato slices and the other half.

You can add ketchup, mustard or any other condiment if you wish.

Crispy Garlic Chicken

Well although my adventure with Tofu noodles was a disaster this chicken recipe was not. Very easy to make and the chicken comes out so tender and moist.

CRISPY GARLIC CHICKEN

1 envelope Lipton Garlic Mushroom Soup mix
1/3 cup light or fat free mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh finely grated Asiago cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8 boneless, skinless chicken tenders
2 tbsp. plain dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400°.

In medium bowl, combine garlic mushroom soup mix and mayonnaise; set aside. On baking sheet, arrange chicken. Be sure to pat your chicken as dry as possible so that it is easier to spread the topping on. Evenly top chicken with soup mixture, then evenly sprinkle with bread crumbs and then the cheese. Bake 20 - 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. If using the chicken tenders then definitely no longer than 20 minutes.

If you want the topping to be a little crispier then bake it under the broil for a couple of minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Trying Out Tofu Shirataki Noodles

Tonight I decided to try those Tofu Shirataki Noodles that everyone has been raving about. I thought maybe this is the answer to my prayers, a pasta that is completely guilt-free! Could these be a Diabetic's pot of gold?

I got myself some Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Tofu Noodles and set about making the recipe I found on Hungry Girl, Fettuccine Hungry Girlfredo!

First of all when she tells you to rinse these noodles well she means WELL. They smell very fishy and take a lot of rinsing to get rid of that odor.

The recipe is very easy to throw together and the cheese sauce it makes is very tasty but the noodles were not what I was hoping for. Believe me they look and feel just like noodles until you bite into them. The texture was very hard for me to get used to, tender but yet rubbery at the same time. Hard to describe but I just could not get past that feeling when you bite into them. Alas my hopes and dreams were dashed, they were not the answer to my prayers.

I have a package of the Angel Hair style also so I may get brave and try a traditional spaghetti recipe with them but as a rule I like my pasta a little al dente and these have the feel of overcooked pasta.

If anyone is feeling brave or does not mind the texture, here is the recipe.

Fettuccine Hungry Girlfredo

1 package of Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Tofu Noodles
1/2 Wedge of Laughing Cow Light Cheese
1 t. fat free sour cream
2 t. low fat parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper if desired

Rinse fettuccine noodles VERY well. Microwave them for one minute, then drain them and pat dry. Add cheeses and sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Microwave to help melt cheese further, and mix some more. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy. Serves 1.

Slow-Cooker Lasagna

I love pasta! All kinds of pasta cooked all kinds of ways. When I was a kid one of my favorite snacks was just a bowl of cold plain elbow macaroni sprinkled with just a bit of salt. Yummy! Of course now that I am Diabetic I have to limit my cravings but that still does not stop me from making pasta dishes and trying out new ones.

I got this recipe from one of my mailing lists that I belong to and of course I had to tweak it to see if I could make it healthier. Crock Pot recipes are great as I can just assemble the ingredients, turn it on and forget it for a few hours.

For the lasagna noodles I used whole wheat oven ready noodles. These are great lasagna noodles I found at Target. It's made by their own food brand, Archer Farms. You don't have to pre-cook them and they taste great. You can't even tell they are whole wheat. You don't have to use the oven ready type of noodles to make this so any kind of lasagna will be fine.

For the marinara sauce I use Trader Joe's Organic Marinara Sauce. It's low fat and no salt added so very low in sodium. Plus it tastes great!

SLOW-COOKER LASAGNA

1 lb. ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 C water
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce - no salt added
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
8 oz. uncooked lasagna noodles; broken up
1 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 15 oz. containers low fat or fat free ricotta cheese
1/4 C egg substitute
1 26 oz jar marinara sauce

Brown the turkey, onion and garlic over medium heat in a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray until meat isn't pink any longer.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, marinara sauce, water, salt and oregano, mix well until heated through. Spread one-quarter of the meat sauce in an ungreased crock pot; arrange one third of the noodles over the meat. Combine the cheeses and the egg substitute and arrange one third of the cheese mixture over the noodles.

Repeat these layers two more times; top with the remaining meat sauce. Cover and cook 4 to 5 hours on low heat or until noodles are tender.

Potato Parsnip Hash, Pork Loin on the BBQ & More

Tonight was a night to try out new recipes. Everything the hubby and I made was a new recipe we had not tried before. I think overall everything was a complete success!

The main dish was Pork Loin Roast with a nice spice rub, wrapped in foil and cooked on the barbecue. Then I made a Potato and Parsnip Hash and the hubby cooked some sweet potato and butternut squash on the grill as well.

For the squash and sweet potato he just sliced them down the middle lengthwise scooping out the center of the squash. Then he coated all the slices with a brown sugar, salt and pepper mixture and wrapped them in foil. He cooked them on the barbecue for about 30 to 45 min or until tender. You need to turn them once or twice while they are cooking.

The pork loin roast was very easy to do. We used a small pork loin roast that was about 2 lbs and very lean. You can get whatever size you want, just be sure to test the center with a meat thermometer to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly.

We took the pork loin and rubbed it with a pork seasoning (you can use any seasoning you wish) and then wrapped it in foil and placed it on the barbecue. I believe it took about 45 minutes but be sure to use your meat thermometer. You want it to reach the temp for rare to medium. It comes out extremely tender! Great with applesauce!

The last thing we made was Potato Parsnip Hash. I saw this recipe on Rachel Ray’s show on the Food Network and wanted to try it. It was delicious! I had never tried parsnips before but with the potatoes and onions they tasted very good.

POTATO AND PARSNIP HASH

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed clean, cut in half lengthwise, thinly sliced into half moons
2 large parsnips, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, thinly sliced into half moons
5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and roughly chopped
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, finely minced
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with 3 turns of the pan of extra-virgin olive oil, about 3 tablespoons. Add the potatoes, parsnips, thyme and season with salt and pepper, stir frequently and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the potatoes and parsnips are nice and tender and lightly browned. Add the minced onion and continue to cook until they are tender and the potatoes are nice and brown. Once the hash is cooked add the chopped parsley. Stir to combine and transfer hash to a serving platter. Serve it up.

Fudge Brownie Pudding Cake

My Oh-So Wonderful hubby made this tonight and once again it was a big hit, especially with the in-laws. You pour boiling water over the batter just before putting it in the oven so it makes this thick chocolate syrup when it’s done.

I think this would be perfect served with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream. It would be like a brownie fudge sundae!

I was a good girl and resisted having more than just a taste as it would have put my blood sugar through the roof. It tasted soooo good! I may try making it another time and see what I can do to lighten it up.

FUDGE BROWNIE PUDDING CAKE
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powde; r
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup 1% lowfat milk
2 1/2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp black coffee
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 3/4 cups boiling water
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 375°F. Have ready an 8-in. square or other 2-qt, 2-in.-deep baking dish. Whisk flour, 1?2 cup cocoa powder and next 3-ingredients in a medium bowl until combined. In a 1-cup glass measure, combine milk, oil, liqueur and vanilla; stir into flour mixture until blended. Spread in ungreased baking dish.

Mix brown sugar and remaining 3 Tbsp cocoa; sprinkle evenly over batter. Slowly pour boiling water evenly over surface of batter—don’t stir. Carefully place in oven.

Bake 30 minutes, or until top is just set and a wooden pick inserted halfway into center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar. For a decorative design, place a paper doily on pudding cake before dusting with confectioners’ sugar. Carefully lift doily straight up. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped topping.

* Nutrition Facts * Yield 9 servings * Amount Per Serving * Calories 206 * Total Fat 5g * Saturated Fat 1g * Cholesterol NA * Sodium 184mg * Total Carbohydrates 41g * Dietary Fiber 2g * Protein 3g

Apple Walnut Cake

I found this in a magazine and my ever so wonderful hubby whipped it up last night. Needless to say it was a big hit!

Sorry these are not the best pictures in my blog but as we have been living with my in-laws until our house sells I am limited in my resources. The kitchen is very small and my photo box and all my lighting is packed away :( This will have to do!

We cut back a bit on the walnuts as we don't like a lot in our cakes and brownies but the recipe originally called for 1 1/2 cups so if you really like nuts then add as much as you wish. This was a really moist cake and would probably taste great with a dab of whip cream or maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

APPLE WALNUT CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 cup + 2 T vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple cider or juice
3 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3 cups flour
2 large granny Smith apple; any apple is ok
1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350°F

Peel, core and slice the apples.

Coat a 10 in. tube pan with cooking spray.

Whisk sugar, oil, apple cider (juice), eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until blended.

Stir in flour until blended. Stir in apples and walnuts.

Scrape mixture into the prepared tube pan.

Bake 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for about an hour before removing from pan.

Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar.

Nothing Like Warm Blueberry Muffins for Breakfast!

Today’s breakfast consisted of homemade blueberry muffins. YUM. I lightened them up a bit by using fat free sour cream and eggbeaters instead of the egg. Every little bit helps right?

BLUEBERRY SOURCREAM CORNMEAL MUFFINS
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup corn meal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup eggbeaters
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/3 cup thawed unsweetened apple juice
1-1/2 cups frozen unthawed blueberries

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.

Grease 12 medium-sized muffin cups or line with paper liners, you might want to spray the paper liners with cooking spray. The muffins tend to stick to the paper; set aside.

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add combined egg, sour cream and apple juice concentrate; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently stir in blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand in pan on wire rack five minutes. Remove from pan; cool slightly.

Recipe makes one-dozen muffins. These are the only totals I have for these:

Calories: 166 Fat: 4g Protein: 4g Carbohydrate: 23g

Turkey Veggie Meatballs

YAY Marty is home! After 5 days in AZ at his sisters on what was supposed to be a quick 2 day trip Marty is finally home. I made a nice dinner for his return.

These are the best meatballs and so versatile. They are great with spaghetti sauce or tossed in a brown gravy and served over noodles. You can also cut them into slices, toss with a bit of low fat marinara sauce and stuff into a whole wheat pita. Yummy!

TURKEY VEGGIE MEATBALLS
1 lb ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, shredded
3/4 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan
1/4 cup egg substitute
flour
oil for frying
Preheat oven to 375°F

Thaw the spinach and using a clean dish towel or a bunch of paper towels to squeeze all the liquid out. Break up the spinach and set aside.

In a large bowl add the ground turkey, bread crumbs, shredded carrot, chopped onion, egg, basil, pepper and spinach. Mix thoroughly with your hands and shape into 1 to 1 1/2 inch meatballs.

Heat some oil in a large skillet, just enough to cover the bottom. Place some flour in a shallow baking dish and lightly roll each meatball in the flour and place in the skillet. Brown the meatballs on all sides and place in a shallow baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for about 20 minutes.