Orange Almond Muffins

Sonia here.  These muffins smelled divine, tasted okay, felt funny.  The texture was weird because of the chopped up almonds inside.  I think it would have been better if the almonds had been bigger so that you realized you were eating a nut and not have it chopped and mixed all throughout the whole muffin.  There were 234 calories per muffin.


Orange Almond Honey Muffins

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and honey until light. Beat in egg, orange juice concentrate and orange peel. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just blended; stir in almonds. Spoon into 8 greased or paper-lined 2-1/2 -inch muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

makes 8 muffins

honey.com

Cube Steak with Easy Sauce

We had some cube steak with an easy sauce and rice tonight.  Aaron didn't like it, but the boys and I did.  I gave it an 8, Owen gave it a 9, Noah gave it a perfect 10, and Aaron gave it a 3.  It didn't have enough seasoning to it, and since I don't have a crockpot here, the meat wasn't tender like I hoped it would be, but it was easy and tasty.
1 lb cube steaks
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 c beef broth
1/2 onion
seasonings to taste
rice

Cook it all together in a pot in the crockpot hopefully, or in the oven if not able to use a crockpot.  Serve with rice.

One of the fun things about this was we used local beef we bought at the farmers market.  It's fun to be able to buy local, clean meat from farmers here.

As Promised

Sonia here.  I don't have a separate picture here, but I promised last time that I would post our crust recipe that we liked so well.  We have begun using it for all of our crust recipes.  It makes 2 crusts.  It seems really involved and long, but it isn't.  It is quite easy and quick.

Flaky Pastry Crust

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, cold (not frozen), unsalted (reduce the salt added above if using salted butter)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice-cold water (plus a bit extra)

Assembly ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cool water (enough to moisten the edge of the crust)
Milk (enough to moisten the top of the crust)
Granulated sugar (~2 teaspoons)

To make the crust:
1) Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix. I typically use a pastry blender to do this, though a fork or whisk also work.
2) Cut the butter into approximately tablespoon-sized pieces, and add to the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender, fork, knives, or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour, stopping when the largest chunks of butter are pea-sized and most of the butter is in very small pieces. Be careful not to melt the butter.
3) Add the ice water and cut the water into the dough with a spatula (or table knife) until the dough starts to hold together. If there is still a lot of dry dough in the bowl, add another tablespoon or two of extra water (I usually end up adding about an extra tablespoon).
4) Compress the dough together with your hands, divide it in half, and pat each half into a disk. If the dough is relatively warm and sticky, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for a short period (~15 minutes) until it is firmer, though I find the dough is usually cool enough to roll right away.
5) Use a floured rolling pin on a well-floured work surface to roll half the dough into a circle approximately 14 inches wide (or a few inches wider than your pan). Rolling the dough takes a bit of practice to do well, though I've found that even when I have apparently fatal flaws, they're rarely apparent in the final pie. If the dough develops holes or cracks, you can usually moisten (with water) another piece of dough, press it on top of the crack, dust it with flour, and then continue rolling the crust as normal. I'll slip a rimless baking sheet underneath the dough every now and then, adding some flour underneath the crust, to prevent it from sticking to the countertop. Joy of Cooking has a very useful section on rolling pie crust if you've never done it before.
6) Transfer the rolled-out pie crust into your pie pan (I use my rimless baking sheet to do this; you can also roll the dough around the rolling pin and then roll the dough out into the pan) and trim the crust so it overhangs the edge of the pan by ~1". Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and put into the fridge.
7) Roll out the second half of your pie crust (again to ~3-4 inches wider than your pan), place on a cookie sheet or other large, flat surface, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge.

Assembling the pie:
0) Preheat the oven to 425F.
1) If the pie crust has been in the fridge for a while, I like to take it out a few minutes before assembly to allow the dough to soften a bit.
2) Pour the pie filling into the pie pan that's been lined with pie crust.
3) Cut the 2 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and sprinkle them over the pie filling.
4) Moisten the edges of the pie crust in the pan with cool water (I use a 1-inch brush to do this), and then slide the top crust onto the pie pan.
5) My pie crusts are usually rolled out far too wide for the pan, so at this point I take a pair of scissors and trim both the top and bottom crusts so they overhang the edge of the pan by approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch.
6) Seal the pie crust. There are many ways to do this, so use whatever technique you know. Personally, I take the overhanging pie crust, press the top and bottom pieces together, and then fold them under the pie crust that is resting on the edge of the pan. I then trim off any large clumps of dough overhanging the edge (with scissors), use a fork to crimp the edge, and then use scissors to trim off any remaining bulging pieces of dough.
7) Cut vent holes in the top of the pie, brush the top of the crust with milk, and then sprinkle with some granulated sugar (~2 teaspoons).
8) Put the pie into the preheated oven. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes, then slide a baking sheet underneath the pie (to catch drips), reduce the heat to 350F, and cook for about another 30 minutes. The pie is done when the crust is nicely browned and thick juices are bubbling out of the top. If the crust is getting overly browned before the pie is done, cover it loosely with a piece of foil.
9) Let the pie cool on a cooling rack until it is close to room temperature.

from http://rhosgobel.blogspot.com/2005/08/peach-pie-with-flaky-pastry-crust.html

Puffy Baked Pancake

We had such a great dinner yesterday, and sorry it didn't get posted yesterday as well.  I fell asleep instead :).  We had breakfast for dinner, and we found the recipe at tastykitchen.com.  It's called a Puffy Baked Pancake, and Aaron gave it a 9, and the boys and I gave it a perfect 10.  It's cruncy and chewy, has great flavor, and is so easy.  It takes about 2 minutes to come together, and then it bakes for 30 minutes, so you don't have to worry about it.  I made a few changes to the recipe, in addition to the cinnamon, I added some brown sugar and vanilla, and I left out the nutmeg.  Aaron commented it tasted kind of like a churro.  It was great.  I love how it puffed up so big, when it was just a little bit of liquid in the bottom of the dish to start out.  Anyway, have a great weekend!

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Sonia here.  These may look like ordinary pie plates, but they are only 6 inches across.  Joe found the cute pie plates for me and got them for my birthday.  We love them.  No more making huge pies for just our family; one pie is all we need.  Anyway, I had some leftover pumpkin to use and decided it would be fun to make some pumpkin pie.  I used Libby's recipe but instead of evaporated milk, I used coconut milk since I had some leftover as well.

I used a yummy pie crust recipe that I will share with you next week, but here is the recipe for the pumpkin pie.  (I only did half the recipe for the 2 mini pies.)  There is only 280 calories per 1/8 of a normal pie (not including whipped cream).


Libby's Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.   http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/libbys-famous-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx

PW's Twice Baked Potato

No pictures tonight, but these are such great twice baked potatoes.  I used PW's twice baked potatoes recipe, and it is one of our very favorites.  These are fast and easy, and the only change I make is to use yukon gold potatoes rather than russet, because we love gold potatoes.  This time I used onion powder rather than green onions, because that's what I had and the smell doesn't bother me as much.  Potatoes are a great pregnancy food :).  Check out the PW's pictures, and try them out, they are worth it.  We all give them between a 9 and a perfect 10.  The calories are about 306/potato half.

Chicken Quinoa Soup

The recipe I'm sharing is something I threw together, trying to make myself cook.  I'm not having a lot of luck with the cooking thing right now, because everything I cook tastes terrible to me.  However, the rest of the family seemed to enjoy this.  We had this with some grilled cheese sandwiches, and everyone ate it up.  Aaron and Owen gave it a 7, and Noah gave it an 8.  I gave it a 4.  Anyway, it's easy and tastes alright, if a little salty.  Here's the recipe.

Chicken Quinoa Soup

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Celery
Garlic
Onion
Thyme
Water
Salt
Quinoa

Cook chicken with desired amounts of celery, onion, and garlic and top with water.  Cook as long as desired.  Remove all ingredients from the broth, add in seasonings as desired, cook down a little while you let the chicken cool.  Remove bones from chicken, and return chicken to the broth.  Add in the quinoa and cook until the quinoa is ready.  Serve.

This wasn't hard, and wasn't fabulous, but it was interesting.  I used quinoa because I didn't have any noodles, and the quinoa was a lot healthier. 

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Sonia here.  A friend made these cookies for us a while ago and so we thought we would make some.  The first time I did it, I didn't add enough flour (I had typed in the recipe wrong :( ) and they were not good cookies.  This time, they didn't have much flavor.  My friend must have made it differently somehow and forgotten to note the changes she made on the recipe she gave us.  Oh well.  The idea was good and the cookies, when done right, are good.  However, I think they need lots more spices.  Here is the original recipe (I can't say what she did differently to make them different, though.  Sorry.) There are only 92 calories per cookie, though.  I may try these again and experiment with the recipe.  :)  I just love experimenting.  heehee.  

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (we put 1 tsp in)
1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Adjust the oven racks to the upper-and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon for rolling in a shallow bowl. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar mixture, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Recipe Notes:
The dough can be made through step 3 and either covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen.
To freeze the cookie dough, portion into individual balls, roll in the cinnamon and sugar, and freeze on a parchment- or wax-paper-lined plate (don't let them touch or they will fuse together) until completely firm, 2 to 3 hours. When ready to bake, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and increase the baking time to 17 to 22 minutes.

Yields:4 dozen

from http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/09/pumpkin-snickerdoodles/

Mu Shu Pork

Sonia here.  This recipe wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.  Way too much liquid, though.  We ate it with small flour tortillas.  There were approximately 400 calories per serving.  I don't know that we will have this again because even though it wasn't bad, nobody wanted the leftovers and that tells me more than anything else.


Crockpot Mu Shu Pork

1 pound Boneless Pork Loin Chops
1 package (12 Oz. Package) Cole Slaw Mix
1 whole Red Pepper Sliced Into Thin Strips
1 whole Onion Sliced Into Thin Strips Or Half Moons
8 ounces, weight Canned Sliced Water Chestnuts, Chopped
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Grated Ginger
3 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil
3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/3 cup Hoisin Sauce
1/4 cup Chicken Broth Or Water
1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Optional
1-1/2 tablespoons Corn Starch
1 package Flour Tortillas

Combine ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chicken broth (or water), and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Add corn starch, mixing well to incorporate. Set mixture aside. Slice pork into thin (1/4 inch) strips and then cut the strips in half. Combine cole slaw mix, red pepper and onion strips. Place in a crock pot. Top with pork. Drizzle 1/3 of the liquid mixture over the pork. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 hours. Remove the cover after cooking for 3 1/2 hours and stir. Add water chestnuts and remaining liquid mixture. Stir. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Serve with warm tortillas. Variations: substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts for the pork. You can also serve this with rice.  serves 6.   http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/mu-shu-pork/

Applesauce Spice Bars

Applesauce Spice Bars
Pages 117-118, Baking: From my home to yours Dorie Greenspan
For the Bars1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar (I used dark brown for this and the glaze)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon applejack, brandy or dark rum (optional) (I didn't use this)
1 baking apple, such as Rome or Cortland, peeled, cored and finely diced or chopped (I used a honey crisp apple)
1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden) (I used pomegranite Craisins, because that's what I had and I like them better :))
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use these, I don't like nuts and my kids can't have nuts in their classes)
For the Glaze2-1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-x-13 inch baking pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper and dust the inside of the pan with flour. Tap out the excess flour and put the pan on a baking sheet.
THE BARS: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir with a whisk until it is melted and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.
Still working in the saucepan, whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing until they are well blended. Add the applesauce, vanilla and applejack, if you’re using it, and whisk until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is once again smooth. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear, then mix in the apple, raisins and nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until the cake just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and let the cake cool while you make the glaze.
THE GLAZE: In a small saucepan, whisk together the cream, sugar, butter and corn syrup. Put the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to the boil, whisking frequently. Adjust the heat so that the glaze simmers, and cook, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Turn the bars out onto a rack, remove the paper and invert the bars onto another rack, so they are right side up. Slide the parchment paper under the rack to serve as a drip catcher, grab a long metal icing spatula and pour the hot glaze over the bars, using the spatula to spread it evenly over the cake. Let cool to room temperature before cutting.
Cut into 32 rectangles, each about 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.

Storing: In a covered container, the bars will keep for about 3 days at room temperature. Because of the glaze, they cannot be frozen.

I was so happy to feel a little like baking again, and although it didn't last long, I made these and have really been enjoying them since.  Noah and I really liked them, I gave them a 9, Noah gave them an 8, and Owen and Aaron didn't like them very much, not really surprising since they weren't brownies or chocolate chip cookies.  Owen gave them a 5 and Aaron gave them a 3.  At least I enjoyed making them and Noah and I enjoy eating them :)  I like that they are full of fruit, and that they are so easy to make.  Quick, smell good, easy food.  Perfect when pregnant :)

Not So Good

Sonia here.  This year our family found out that we actually like brussels sprouts when you pan fry them up in butter, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.  When I found this recipe, I thought it might be good to try as well.  Yeah, not so much.  I'm not sure if it was the different tastes (sweet, sour, spicy, green, etc.) all mixed together, or what, but  none of us liked it.  Oh well.  At least we tried. :)


Brussels Sprouts with Sriracha, Lime, Honey Glaze

3 cups brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1-1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2-1 teaspoon sriracha  (I didn't have this, but used tabasco instead)
The juice of half a lime

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Trim the woody ends off the brussels sprouts and then slice them in half lengthwise. On a baking sheet, toss the brussels sprouts with the peanut oil and season lightly with salt. Place in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Toss the sprouts and roast for 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, whisk together the honey, sriracha and lime juice until combined. After the brussels sprouts have roasted for 20 minutes, pour the glaze over them, toss to combine, and roast for 2 minutes more. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

http://betsylife.com/2012/04/02/brussels-sprouts-with-sriracha-lime-honey-glaze/

56 calories per serving  Served 4

Easy Jam

So I always make homemade jam, and I found a super easy recipe for blueberry lemon jam somewhere on the internet.  I'm sorry I can't link to where I found it, but it is super great and easy jam.  I have since taken the basic recipe and played with all sorts of combinations, like blackberry, raspberry vanilla, strawberry lime, blueberry lime, and now today I made plain strawberry, since that's what my boys voted for.  Here is this simple, fast jam recipe.

Strawberry Jam

4 c strawberries, more or less (I used a little more) (use any combination of fruit and jello)
1 3/4 c sugar
3 oz box strawberry jello

Cook sugar and strawberries together in a large pan.  Blend with an immersion blender or smush with a potato masher, whichever texture you prefer (I like mine smooth).  Add in the jello, bring to a boil, then simmer for a little while.  Cool then refrigerate.  This tastes great, and is so easy, no finnicky pectin.  We give this a 9, and it's about 30 calories per tablespoon. 

Lazy Man's Enchiladas

Sonia here.  This is my lazy day version of enchiladas that I use quite a lot.  Instead of rolling up, you just layer.  Fast, easy, and just as delicious.  

Lazy Man's Enchiladas

1 lb ground beef
1 15oz can red enchilada sauce
3 cups shredded cheese
4 tortillas

sour cream
tomatoes
olives
green onions

Brown beef.  Add sauce.  Spray pan with non-stick spray.  Place a tortilla in the bottom.  Layer 1/3 meat sauce, 1 cup cheese, 1 tortilla, until the top. *if tortillas are too big, slice off the edges, tear them into smaller pieces, and use them to top off the last layer of cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Top with sour cream, tomatoes, olives, and green onions if you want.

about 600 calories per serving

chocolate Chip Pancakes

We had these yummy pancakes for Sunday breakfast. I love these pancakes because you can add anything you want to them. We had chocolate chips in some, blueberries in others, and we've had them with butterscotch chips and other fruit as well.  Unfortunately, we moved yesterday, so  I won't be able to post this delicious recipe at this time. I'll update it as soon as I'm able, but until then, here are the pictures, and we will post on a normal schedule again next week.   We had to move yesterday up to Flagstaff which is why I didn't post yesterday. We give these pancakes a 9. I'm hopefully going to start using Bobby Flay's Throwdown Cookbook in the coming weeks.

An Unusual Salad

Sonia here.   I almost always like Pioneer Woman's recipes and this was no exception.  However, the idea is unusual.  It essentially is a cheeseburger deconstructed into a salad.  My husband was a little unsure but he said it was actually good.  My daughter said it was okay but that she just doesn't like salads.  The meal as prepared has about 450 calories per serving.  The homemade croutons from the hamburger buns were a great hit.  Very yummy.

The only things I did differently was to use green onions instead of red, to use one hamburger bun instead of two (we halved the recipe), to use regular dill pickle slices instead of spears, and to add some mayonnaise and pickle juice to the meat for a more "fry sauce" mixture which we like a lot.  (Fry sauce is mainly a Utah thing, but man is it good.  It is a mixture of ketchup, mustard, mayo, and pickle juice - some places make it slightly different so each restaurant has a slightly different flavor, but we sure like it.)  We will be having this again.  Oh, and no other dressing is needed, which is nice.


Cheeseburger Salad

2 pounds Ground Beef
1/3 cup Ketchup
1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard
1 tablespoon Dijon Or Spicy Mustard
2 tablespoons Barbecue Sauce
2 heads Romaine Or Green-Leaf Lettuce, Torn
8 whole Dill Pickle Spears, Cubed
4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 whole Red Onion, Sliced
4 whole Hamburger Buns
1 stick Butter

Brown meat in a large skillet, then remove from heat and drain off the fat. Add ketchup, mustards, and barbecue sauce to the meat and stir to combine. Taste and add more of whatever you think it needs. Keep warm.
Cut hamburger buns into 1-inch cubes. Melt 1/4 stick butter in a separate skillet, then add the bread cubes and toss to coat. Toast the croutons in the skillet over low heat for about 10 -12 minutes, adding 1/4 stick of butter every couple of minutes until you've used the whole stick. (This will ensure all the croutons soak up the butter and toast nicely.)
To assemble each salad, pile torn lettuce on a plate. Pile on a good quantity of the meat mixture, then top with plenty of grated cheddar. Add diced tomato, chunks of pickles, and slices of red onion over the top, then sprinkle warm croutons all around the plate.  Serves 6  from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/01/cheeseburger-salad/

Sunshine Power Muffins

Really good, but not very sweet. My dad gave them an 8-9.  My mom, Bonnie, who sent this recipe,  gave them an 8. She thinks once they sit for awhile they will taste better.

1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oats                      
1/2 cup flax seed meal     
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder         
1/2 tsp salt       
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsps orange rind
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup granola
1. Preheat oven to 375*.
Coat 12 muffins cups with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl.  
3. Combine honey and next 5 ingredients in a separate bowl.  Whisk well.  
4. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients. Pour wet
ingredients into the well and stir until combined. Gently
fold in apricots.                 
5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle with granola. Bake 18-20
minutes or until center springs back when touched. 

Old Family Favorite

Sonia here.  This recipe is an old family favorite.  It dates back to when I was a child and my mom used to make these.  I really liked it then and I still do.  I have no clue where this recipe came from but have had it for years.


Corned Beef Bunwiches

1 can corned beef
3 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped olives
2/3 cup shredded cheese
4 hamburger buns

Mix all ingredients together, except buns.  Put 1/4 of the filling on each bun. Wrap in tin foil. Bake in oven at 375 for 25 minutes. Serves 4

Broccoli Salad

Here is a broccoli salad recipe that I had in a church meeting and I really liked it.  I hope you enjoy it, too.  Bonnie, Vicki’s mom

 

 

Broccoli Salad

 

4 cups fresh broccoli, chopped small     2 cups green grapes cut in half

2 cups red grapes cut in half

2/3 cup sliced almonds

1 small bag sunflower seeds (@1 cup)

1 bag craisins (@1 cup)

1 cup Mayo with 1 Tb red wine vinegar and ½ cup sugar for dressing

 

Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing. 

 

Another option for the dressing is to use a coleslaw dressing with the mayo and add sweet onion.

 

We made this for a party, so did not taste it.  I think I would prefer using something besides the mayo.  

People at the party seemed to really enjoy it, so we gave it an 8.



Pumpkin Drop Biscuits and Citrus Honey Butter

biscuit

yummy butter

Sonia again.  I have to say that the biscuits were nothing special, but man, the honey butter was great.  We all gave the honey butter a 9 almost 10 all around but for the biscuits, my husband rated a 4 (he really did not like the texture and the fact that there was not a lot of taste in the biscuits themselves was a bummer).  My daughter gave the biscuits a 7, and I gave them a 6.  But with the butter - they were yummy.  Of course, like my husband said - anything would be good with the honey butter.  I think I will make the butter again when we have cornbread.  MMM  that would be tasty.  The calories are 250 per biscuit.

Pumpkin Drop Biscuits with Citrus Honey butter

FOR THE BISCUITS:
2 cups All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 cup Cold Butter Cubed
3/4 cup Whole Milk (give Or Take 1/4 Cup) - we only used 1/2 cup total and the dough was plenty moist.
3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

FOR THE BUTTER:
1/2 cup Butter, Softened
3 tablespoons Honey
1 tablespoon Orange Zest Or A Combination Of Orange And Lemon Zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or melted butter and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Using a fork or pastry cutter, blend cold butter cubes into dry ingredients until it is similar to coarse meal. Stir in milk, pumpkin and vanilla until all ingredients are equally moist and flour is incorporated. (If you need a little more, add in about 1/4 cup more milk.) Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the greased baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bottoms have browned slightly.
While biscuits are baking, whip butter, honey and zest together until smooth and light in color, about 2 minutes.
Serve biscuits warm with citrus honey butter   Serves 12
from http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breads/pumpkin-drop-biscuits-with-citrus-honey-butter/

Fast, Easy, and Yummy

Sonia here.  Our next meal was fast, easy, and yummy.  I think we all gave it an 8.  We could have put a little more pesto spread on it and a little more cheese and asparagus and a little more salt, but we really enjoyed these.  If you follow the recipe it only serves two and gives only one slice per person with a calorie count of 310.  We tripled the recipe and each ate two slices for dinner.

Asparagus Muenster Melt with Pesto Spread

8 spears Asparagus
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Pesto
2 slices Ciabatta Bread
2 slices Thin Prosciutto
4 slices Tomato
2 slices Muenster Cheese

Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Steam, covered, 3 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Preheat broiler.
Combine mayonnaise and pesto in a bowl, and stir to combine.
Spread 2 tablespoons pesto mixture onto 1 side of each bread slice. Layer each slice with 4 asparagus spears, 1 prosciutto slice, 2 tomato slices, and 1 cheese slice.
Place on a baking sheet; broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

serves 2  from http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/asparagus-muenster-melt-with-pesto-spread/

PW's Restaurant Style Salsa

We love PW's Restaurant Style Salsa around here.  It's our go to salsa.  We eat it with our tacos, and chow down on chips and salsa all the time.  This is great salsa, and the only changes I make are to add more salt and to leave out the sugar.  Great, fast and easy, we eat this a LOT, but we do cut the recipe in half because it makes a lot :).  We give this recipe a 9, and the calories are negligible, maybe about 20 for 1/2 cup.  We had this the same day as our Lime Chicken Tacos, and man were they good :)  Thanks PW!

Lime Chicken Tacos

We love lime chicken tacos!  This is a fast, easy meal, with only about 100-150 calories per serving, depending on how big your serving is.  I love that you can use frozen chicken breasts, and it turns out so well.  This is great on any kind of Mexican dish, and we love to freeze extras and have it as a pick-up meal.  We all give this an 8.  Here's the recipe!

Lime Chicken Tacos
3-5 large chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
2 T lime juice
2 T olive oil
2 T fajita seasoning (or use Mexican spices how you would like, which is what I usually do)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 t pepper
2 T cumin

Place everything in a slow cooker.  Cook on low until chicken is easily shreddable.  Enjoy!

Chicken Bacon Noodle Casserole

Sonia again.  I don't know where I got this recipe, but we enjoyed it.  I gave it an 8.  My daughter gave it a 9 and my husband gave it a 6.  I thought it was good, but thought it needed some onions and some more spices.  My husband said it didn't have enough flavor for him, even with the bacon.  My daughter said she really liked it and that it was almost a 10 for her.  It serves 6 and the calories per serving were 361.


Chicken Bacon Noodle Casserole

1/2 lb ground chicken, cooked (I used turkey since that is what I had in my fridge.)
1/2 lb bacon, diced and cooked
1/2 lb pasta, cooked
1 can cream of something soup (I used cream of chicken)
1 1/2 cups cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together and put into a oven safe pan.  (I used an 8x12.)  Bake for 20-30 minutes until everything is hot all the way through.  A great way to use leftover chicken and pasta. (I did add some fresh thyme but didn't know how much to add.  It needed more.)

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Hi, I am Bonnie, Vicki’s mother.  I am glad I got to do this because I get to try some new recipes.  Here is the first one—the name of the recipe built up my hopes, but it was a bit disappointing, but we tried it.

 

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

 

6 Roma tomatoes (about 1 pound total)

3 medium zucchini (about ½ pound each)

1 bulb fennel (I used an onion from our garden since the grocery store had no fennel)

3 Tbs. olive oil

¾ tsp salt

4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed (about 2 ½ pounds)

4 cloves garlic finely minced (about 4 tsps.)

1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried, crumbled.

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cut the tomatoes lengthwise into quarters and remove the seeds.  Trim the zucchini tips and cut in half crosswise.  Then cut each piece in half lengthwise twice if the piece is thin and three times if its thicker, so that the pieces are relatively uniform.  Remove the outermost layer of the fennel bulb and discard.  Cut the bulb in half so that each half retains part of the stem end.  Cut each half into 8 thin wedges so each wedge is held together by a little piece of stem.   Put the vegetables in a large baking dish.  Toss them with 2 Tbs of the oil and ¼ tsp of the salt.  Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan with the vegetables.  

 

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 Tbs oil and ½ tsp salt, the garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Rub the mixture into the chicken in the pan and season with pepper to taste.  Roast for 30 minutes, then give the vegetables a stir and add the rosemary.  Return to the oven and roast until the chicken is just cooked all the way through and the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, 15 to 25 minutes more.  

 

Yield: 4 servings Per serving (1 piece of chicken and 1 ½ cups vegetables) = 410 calories.  

 

My husband and I both ate a breast, but only about a quarter cup of vegetables, but we added some frozen corn which had 70 calories per serving which was 2/3 cup, so I think this probably equaled out to the 410 calories still.

 

We gave this a 7.  The vegetables were good, especially the zucchini, but since I don’t like cooked tomatoes, that brought the dish down.  Even with the spices the chicken was very bland and rather tough for chicken breasts.  

Asiago Potato Soup -- mmm Good

Sonia here again.  Today's offering was good, really good, actually.  And it wasn't as hard as it might seem.  It takes some prep work ahead of time but then it came together in about 20 minutes.  I didn't like the way it instructed you to make the roux (it made it very difficult to get it smooth), but that is easy enough to change.  The only things I did differently was to not add parsley or cilantro and used dried minced onion instead of onion salt.  We really enjoyed this.  My daughter gave it a 7,  my husband and gave it an 8 and I gave it an 8.5.  I got the recipe from a Relief Society activity.  It says it is supposed to feed 8.  I think a full recipe would feed  10-12.  For serving 8, it would be 900 calories per serving.

Asiago Potato Soup

1 lb. smoked bacon, we just used regular bacon and it still tasted smoky
1 tsp. onion salt
2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 c. butter
1 – 1 1/2 c. flour
1 tablespoons granulated chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon course black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 qt. half and half
1-2 at. 2% milk (not sure what measurement this is supposed to be, but I just put in enough to make it the thickness I wanted.)
8 ounces freshly grated Asiago Cheese
18 baby red potatoes
8 green onion stalks, finely chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, minced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dice bacon and sauté. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Dice baby potatoes, with skins, into bite size pieces and toss in remaining bacon drippings to coat evenly. Spread on a baking sheet and sprinkle with parsley flakes and kosher salt. Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, turning potatoes every 10 minutes until golden brown. Do not over- cook. Potatoes will fry as they bake in the oven. Melt butter in a large pot with chicken bouillon, onion salt and pepper. Slowly add flour beginning with 1 c. until the butter is completely absorbed. Add more flour until mixture in crumbly. Using a whisk, slowly stir in the half and half until is it smooth. Soup will thicken as it cooks. Fold in cheese and green onions. Add fried potatoes and bacon to the soup. The consistency should be very thick. Begin slowly stirring in milk until you reach desired thickness. Top with homemade croutons, fresh cilantro and serve.  from Aubrie Poppleton