Magically Delicious & Nutritious

We make breakfast for dinner every couple weeks or so and I love to make smoothies to kind of round out the meal. Everyone loves them and they feel like a special treat, but really they are super healthy.

We make ours with plain lowfat yogurt, a little bit of apple juice, a little honey and frozen fruit. Yum! You could make them a zillion different ways, but this is how we like them.

Sometimes I like to add some “secret” ingredients to up the nutritional value. I add ground flax seed or some wheat germ or both, but the thing I like to add the most is spinach.


yep, spinach.
fresh baby spinach leaves.

I like to add a couple hand fulls ~ whatever floats your boat.

If you add some blue or black berries to your smoothie along with the spinach, no one will be the wiser. It all magically blends together!


We don’t think it affects the taste at all and it really ups the nutritional value.

What do you like to put in your smoothies?? Any secret ingredients?? I would love to try some of your ideas :)


this post is linked to: Tempt my tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday, Raising Homemakers & Alissa’s Tasty Tuesday 

Homemade English Muffins

I’m not really a huge fan of traditional English muffins, but my hubby is so I decided I would try and make some at home versus buying the ones laden with corn syrup and trans fat.

I made mine a bit too small so we ended up with approximately 35 of them. They are well over half gone in less than 48 hours so I would say they are definitely a hit.

English Muffins

2 cups milk {warm, not hot~ about 110 degrees}

1 Tbsp dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar

1/3 c. olive oil
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
6-7 cups flour
corn meal for dusting

I like to proof my yeast so I don’t waste my ingredients if its bad so I start out by adding the yeast and sugar to the warm milk.
Let it sit for about 10 minutes and it should like be all perky and bubbly like this. 
 
In a large mixing bowl combine the yeast mixture, olive oil, eggs, salt and about 5 cups of flour. I used my stand mixer for this. Once it’s combined add flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough clears the side of the mixer. I added all 7 cups plus a little, but it will depend on your flour, weather, etc.

I kneaded this in my mixer for about 6 minutes on medium speed. Knead longer if doing it by hand. Once your done kneading, transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Stick it in a warm spot and let rise.


Once your dough is double in size sprinkle your counter with corn meal and place dough on it. 

Using your hands, press the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Using about a 3” circle cutter {I used a biscuit cutter and it was really too small, but it worked} cut out your muffins. 

Place on the counter or a cookie sheet to rise for about 10-15 minutes. They should be not quite double in size.  Don’t leave them too long or they will be very difficult to bake all the way through without burning.

Heat your griddle to about 300 degrees. Mine doesn’t have a temp setting since it goes on my stove burners so I just set them on Med-low.  You don’t want the heat too hot or they will get too dark before they cook through. I used my griddle and my cast iron skillet. Both worked just great!

Cook them for about 8 minutes per side. Possibly a little longer if yours are bigger than mine. 
 

{ignore all the stuff in the background…..keep your eyes on the prize people!}

There ya have it.
A delicious breakfast treat.

Fry up one egg, fold it in half, top with a smidge of grated cheese on a toasted muffin. yum.These are very good and I would encourage you to try them. They were easy to make and so much tastier than any store bought ones.

I will say that if you are looking for a true English muffin with tons of airy holes and a spongy texture this one might not fit the bill for you. They are a little more dense.

If you are looking for a spongy texture with lots of nooks and crannies I would suggest you try out Alton Brown’s recipe. It looks good, but I don’t have the rings to make them. Once I amass enough of the rings, I will definitely give them a try.

Enjoy!

this post is linked to Raising Homemakers  

No bake Peanut Butter Granola bars

These are so quick and easy. Even more importantly, they are healthy and tasty. Here is how I make them:


No Bake Peanut Butter Granola bars

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 T. Real Maple syrup
1 T. canola oil
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups puffed brown rice cereal { I use  rice krispies}
1/2 cup chopped nuts {peanuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds….your choice}
1/2 cup dried fruit {raisins, craisins, apricots, figs…..your choice}
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp salt

Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with some non stick spray.
Heat the first seven ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat until bubbly and hot {approx. 4-5 minutes}. Keep stirring so as not to scorch it. In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Once the peanut butter mixture is melted and bubbly remove from heat and pour on top of the dry ingredients. Fold in carefully until completely incorporated.  Pour into the baking dish and press evenly into the bottom of the pan. I put a sandwich baggie on my hand and use it to push the mixture into the pan so as not to get all sticky. Put in the refrigerator to cool, cut into bars or squares and enjoy! 

this post is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Temp my tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Tastes, Tuesday at the Table, Mouthwatering Mondays

The Perfectly Fluffy Pumpkin Pancake

In an effort to try and use pumpkin in as many recipes as humanly possible before the fall season is over, I give you the perfectly fluffy pumpkin pancake.....YUM!!! 

Not too sweet {not needed with the syrup you'll add}, not too heavy.......just right!

I came up with this out of desperation for pumpkin and a need to feed my family lunch on Sunday. I had several recipes, but each had something I wasn't too sure about so I kinda combined them all and came up with this. They are way better than any I've made in the past. So fluffy.....kinda of like a little dreamy pumpkin cloud that you eat :) {with syrup...lots of syrup}

Perfectly Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

2 ½ cups all purpose flour {you could sub out half whole wheat pastry flour}

¼ cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree

4 Tbsp melted butter

2 eggs

2½ cups low-fat buttermilk

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, spice, salt and soda. Make a well in the center and add your eggs. Use a fork to break up the eggs and then add the pumpkin, butter and buttermilk. Stir just until combined. There will be lumps....let them be, they are good. Use a little oil to grease a  non stick griddle and heat over medium to medium high heat {I use medium}. Use a 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook about 3 minutes per side. This makes approximately 20 4" pancakes.

Eat

Enjoy

Go check out Friday Food, Foodie Friday, Kimba's DIY day, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday at the table and Tempt my tummy Tuesday for more great ideas.

Menu plan - Week of 4/20 & Swiss oats

We had a wonderful weekend with a house full of friends on Saturday. Lots of good conversation, yummy food, catching up and a couple good games of telephone pictionary. Today after church we had a bowling tournament at a nearby bowling alley. Our church is fairly small (200 or so) and there were probably 75 people who came to play so it was a great turn out. The kids had a blast and the adults tried not to hurt themselves too badly. I have a women's retreat this weekend so I won't technically be cooking everything on my menu this week. 

My mother in law will be coming for a couple days to take care of Josiah during the day so she will also help with meals while I'm gone. 

Not that my hubby can't cook, he absolutely can, but I'm pretty sure he won't want to come in from a looooong day at work and cook. So thanks to my MIL for stepping in to help. 

Here's how the week looks:  

Monday: Terriyaki chicken (I'll post my recipe for this Tuesday), Brown rice & Broccoli 

 

Tuesday: Tacos  

Wednesday: Dinner @ church (spaghetti bake...yum) I'm going to take my one pan fudge cake & a strawberry trifle for dessert  

Thursday: Tamale pie, salad & fruit  

Friday: Meatloaf (from the freezer), mashed potatoes & corn

Saturday: Creamy Italian chicken casserole, salad & bread  

Sunday: Lunch- Eat out somewhere Dinner- leftovers if there are any or chicken quesedillas 

I also plan to make up some Perfect Pancakes and some Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit cups for breakfast. 

I might also make some Swiss oats (recipe below)  

Swiss Oats- (this is extremely simple and a make-ahead the night before recipe..oh, and it's yummy.) 

1 ½ cups oats (rolled or quick) 

1 ¼ cups milk (skim, soy, 1%...doesn't matter) 

2 T. honey 

½ tsp. cinnamon 

Mix the above in a large bowl and allow to soak overnight, covered in the fridge. In the morning add any of the following 2 cups fresh or dried fruit (strawberries, blueberries, banana, raisins, etc.) ¼ cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans etc.) Mix it all together gently or prepare by the bowl. This serves approximately 4.

For more great menu inspirations check out org junkie.com For more great recipes go here or here

Peasant bread

I am the VERY first person to admit that yeast breads are not my forte in the kitchen. I am impatient with the whole kneading, waiting in a warm area...blah, blah, blah! 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to eat the stuff, but it's just not my thang. Seriously, I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I have successfully made a batch of "good" dinner rolls. 

I have tried many times, but it has led to far too many disappointments. Well, I tell ya this is the recipe for me and anyone else who suffers as I do. 

It is fabulous and the best part is you totally don't deserve it, because you have done so very little to make it happen. 

If I can do this, so can you or maybe even a 5 year old...not kidding! 

Try it and you'll see. 

I found the recipe on Recipezaar and it's a little bit of an artisan kinda bread...so yum! 

We had Cheesy potato soup for dinner and it went very well together. Eric thought it reminded him of the bread they use for sandwiches at Schlotzky's. I just thought it was delicious and so did the kids (except Josiah...he won't eat bread unless it's got pb&j on it). We made 2 loaves and only about a 1/2 of one is left. Here's the recipe  

Peasant bread

• 1 pkg active dry yeast (I used rapid rise)
• 2 cups warm water, divided
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp melted butter or olive oil
• any toppings you might like

1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water.  
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. ( I used my mixer, but you don't need to at all)  
3. Add the yeast mixture and remaining 1 cup of warm water; stir until combined. Here's mine: Very lumpy, gumpy, gooey and sticky....that's just perfect! 4. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. (About 1 hour).  
5. Stir dough down.  
6. Divide in half (it's very sticky so I just kinda pour it out, one half at a time) 
7. Place each half in a greased 1 quart round casserole or ovenproof bowl. (my pans are bigger than called for so my loaves are a little shorter and wider than they should be, but it doesn't really matter..my hubs likes the extra surface area...more crust)  
8. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with topping. ( I used olive oil w/ Parmesan cheese and a little Italian seasoning on the left one, the other I brushed with butter and sprinkled on some steakhouse seasoning...both yummy) Here they are after I divided them and topped them (just stating the obvious). 9. Let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 45 minutes. 10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.  
11. Remove from pans to cool (do this as soon as they come out or your crust will get soggy in the pan). It's a very airy light bread that has a hint of sweet, but is savory at the same time.  

Visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday & Tackle it Tuesday for more great recipes and kitchen ideas.

The perfect pancake

I've made many a pancake in the last 10 years or so since Eric and I have been married, but I never felt any of them were worthy of making again until I came up with this recipe. You can use all regular flour if you don't have whole wheat, but don't try to make it with regular milk or with milk and vinegar (normally a good way to substitute for Buttermilk). It just doesn't work, believe me I've tried and they were not good. 

This recipe makes a lot of pancakes. Enough to feed my entire family and have leftovers to freeze for later. It's hard to say exactly how many since everyone makes different sizes. My best guess would be about 35 4" pancakes. Hope that helps. The Perfect Pancake:  

2 cups all purpose flour 

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 c. sugar 

4 tsp. baking powder 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

2 eggs 

4 cups buttermilk 

1/3 cup canola oil 

In an extra large bowl whisk together your dry ingredients. At this point, you can add up to a 1/4 cup of flax seed meal if you want to sneak in a little extra nutrition. Make a well in the center and add your eggs. Beat the eggs lightly with your whisk. Then add the buttermilk and oil. Stir with a spatula until just mixed and still lumpy. Heat your griddle to Medium heat and oil if necessary. Drop by about 1/4 cup batter at a time. This is where you can add some blueberries, bananas or chocolate chips if you desire. Warning: the light in the oven hood does not make for great photos! I just poke them down into the batter as the first side cooks. You'll want to flip them as you see the sides begin to dry a little. Perfect! Whatever is left over I freeze for individual breakfasts. I lay all the pancakes in a single layer on my cooling rack, but you could just as easily use a cookie sheet and then I stick it in the freezer for a couple hours so they are individually frozen. Everybody has a different appetite at breakfast so this way everyone can choose how many they want. I then just put them into a big freezer bag or a plastic container. To reheat, just stack (they heat better that way) as many as you would like on a microwave safe plate and heat at 30 second intervals on high until heated through. "Num, Num, Num delicioso!", as Josiah puts it. 

Visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday & Tackle it Tuesday for more great recipes and kitchen ideas.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

I LOVE anything pumpkin, but unfortunately I think we find ourselves only using it in the fall when it's seasonally appropriate. Well, I've decided to try and incorporate pumpkin more throughout the year not only due to it's tastyness (yes, that's a word...I'm sure), but because it's sooooo good for you. These little muffins are tasty, moist and pretty good for you. They not only have pumpkin, but they also have apple in them too (in 2 different forms). These would make a great snack or breakfast for little ones (or big ones), just try not to eat too many. The topping is really optional so take it or leave it. Pumpkin Apple muffins  

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 

1 cup sugar 

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice 

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

2 eggs 

1 cup canned pumpkin 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 

2 cups grated peeled apples 

Topping: 

1/4 cup sugar 

1 Tbsp flour 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 1/2 Tbsp cold butter 

In a bowl combine the first 6 ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, applesauce & oil and add to the dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in the apples. Fill paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. 

In a small bowl combine topping ingredients and cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins. Bake 20 minutes or until set in a 350 degree oven. Cool, eat and enjoy! 

If you like making cupcakes or muffins this is will make your life so much easier: I should have taken a picture of it clean, but you get the idea. It can be use for monster cookies, muffins, cupcakes, meatballs and even.......ice cream. You definitely need one with the little swipe thing that releases the dough. Look at how happy and even my scoops are! Happy baking!! 

Visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday & Tackle it Tuesday for more great recipes and kitchen ideas.

Not too sweet Banana Oat muffins

These muffins are a delicious take on banana bread without too much sugar. Just the right amount of sweet from the honey and bananas (make sure they are really ripe since they are sweeter that way). 

In case you don't have oat bran on hand you can use regular rolled oats and put them in the food processor and process until very fine and make sure to measure after they are processed, not before. 

I have a recipe I make for banana bread that has coconut, chocolate chips and pecans and it is super yummy. Next time I make these, I'm definitely going to add some coconut and pecans and see how it turns out. 

 Banana Oat muffins 

1.5 cups oat bran 

1 cup flour 

2 tsp. baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1 egg, slightly beaten 

3/4 cup mashed ripe banana 

1/2 cup milk 

1/4 cup honey 

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or raisins 

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray the bottom of either your muffin pan or paper liners. Makes 12 muffins. In a bowl combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center and add the egg, banana, milk, honey and oil. Stir just until moistened (should be lumpy). 

Fold in the chocolate chips or raisins. Spoon into the muffin cups. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Eat a warm one right out of the oven....you won't regret it! 

For more great recipes and kitchen tip ideas visit Kitchen tip Tuesday, Forever Wherever & Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays

If you want healthy....this isn't it!

When I was growing up we made pull-apart bread for a treat on Saturday mornings occasionally. I have lots of fond memories of that yummy cinnamony buttery bread. We always just took our tubes of refrigerated biscuits, cut them in half, dipped them in butter and then in cinnamon sugar, tossed them in a bundt pan. 

Delicious.....I thought, until Brittney took cooking class in 7th grade and came home with this much better recipe. It's nearly the same, but the extra spices add a ton of extra flavor and I don't think this uses nearly as much butter as we used. 

We also never measured anything, but this does have measurements...how nice! Not a healthy treat by any stretch of the imagination, but it sure is super yummy! Here's how it goes: 

Monkey Bread (why do they call it that?) 

1c. Sugar 

2 tsp. cinnamon 

1/2 tsp nutmeg 

1/4 tsp all spice 

1/4 tsp ginger 

2 cans refrigerated biscuits, each biscuit cut in half = 40 

5 Tbsp butter, melted 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Have melted butter in another bowl. Dip each biscuit half into the butter and then into the sugar mixture. Place biscuits in a greased bundt pan. Pour remaining butter and dry ingredients over the biscuits. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until done in the middle (check it with a knife...if it looks fluffy, it's good). Let it sit and cool for a couple minutes (if you can possibly stand it) and then invert carefully onto a plate. Ta da! Be sure to visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday & Kitchen Tip Tuesday

Mom's best zucchini bread

My family loves to have fresh bread for breakfast or a bedtime snack and really anytime in between for that matter. We can easily go through an entire loaf in a day. Here is a favorite zucchini bread recipe of ours:

INGREDIENTS

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ (or 1/4 cup flour)

(you can use all-purpose flour instead of the whole wheat flour & wheat germ)

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cup grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Grease and flour two large or 3 small loaf pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flours, wheat germ, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

I apologize if the pink writing gives you a headache, but my daughter just returned home from a Women's Christmas program and dessert extravaganza and in her sugar high is insisting I do the recipe in all pink. 

Go here for more December daily photos

Sweet pumpkin goodness

I love the fall...autumn...whatever you would like to call it. I like the weather, except when it's raining. 

I love the leaves, bonfires, hayrides and the like, but mostly I LIKE PUMPKIN! I'm not referring to the ones you carve (although I do like doing that), I mean the ones you eat! Oh, so many good pumpkin recipes out there and so little time to make them all. 

You really only have about 3-4 months a year when you can make pumpkin treats and people not look at you weird. Who shows up with pumpkin cheesecake at Easter, really??? That's silly, so I must try and make as many things as possible between September and Thanksgiving. 

Last night I made some delicious pumpkin bread. It came out of the oven at about 10:30pm (kids sound to sleep) and by this morning at 8am the first loaf was 3/4 of the way gone and that was before I had any (good thing I made 2 loaves). 

Oh, it is soooo sweet and yummy! Here's mine (with my eggs): And my dining partner (being a ham)..... Here's the recipe if you want to try some: 

Pumpkin bread: 

1 can pumpkin puree (or 2 cups) 

1 cup veg oil ( I use 1/2 cup plain applesauce and 1/2 cup oil) 2 cups sugar 

4 eggs 

2 tsp vanilla 

3 cups flour ( I use 1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour & 1.5 cups unbleached white flour) 

1 tsp of each of the following: baking powder baking soda salt cinnamon nutmeg ground cloves 

1 cup mini chocolate chips (purely optional unless you ask your husband, then it isn't an option...it is a must) 

In a large bowl mix the pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla ( I just do this by hand...no mixer) Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Divide into two greased and floured 9x5 in loaf pans. If you have smaller pans you can probably make 3 loaves. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45min. The top should spring back when lightly pressed. 

Eat, Enjoy...have a blessed day! 

Check out Money Saving Mom for more Frugal holiday ideas