Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Applesauce Muffin Cakes 12/30/2009

I was given a bag of Whole Wheat Flour and decided to look for a healthy recipe that I can make and serve as part of a brunch. I settled on this recipe and it was definitely a good choice. The original recipe called for more salt and for regular applesauce. I changed it a bit to make it more healthy. This tastes great warm but they are even better the next day. Kids will love them and probably wouldn’t know that they are eating something healthy. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. ENJOY!

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Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt (I reduced the salt by 1/2 teaspoon)

• 2 Teaspoons Pumpkin Spice

• 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

• 1/3 Cup White Sugar

• 2/3 Cup Brown Sugar

• 1/4 Cup Oil

• 1/3 Cup Buttermilk

• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

• 2 Eggs, Slightly Beaten

• 1 /2 Cup Canned Pumpkin

• 1/2 Cup Raisins

Optional: • 1/4 Cup Chopped Nuts of your choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Grease muffin pans/bread pan using non-stick cooking spray. (you may use muffin liners instead)
3. Whisk together flour, baking power, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice and cinnamon in large bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, oil, applesauce, pumpkin, buttermilk, and beaten eggs and mix well.
5. Slowly pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring as you pour. Mix well until smooth.
6. Fold in raisins and nuts (optional).
7. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan or bread pan.
8. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes in the oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted and tops spring back when lightly pressed.
9. Cool pan on wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing.
10. Serve warm with margarine or butter.
11. ENJOY!

★ NUTRITION INFOMATION: Calories: 227 – Total Fat: 7.7g - Cholesterol: 31mg - Sodium: 273mg - Total Carbs: 37g - Fiber: 3.4g - Protein: - 4.5g

Serves: 12

Addictive Pumpkin Muffins 10/18/2009

Well it’s that time of year again where there is an abundance of goodies out there featuring pumpkin as it’s main flavor. There’s even a pumpkin spiced TastyKake Krimpet for sale for a limited time only. Every store I go to there’s pumpkin pies, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cheese cakes, all waiting to be inhaled by me or one of the many other pumpkin fans out there. I have even seen an increase of people boasting about how they just ate pumpkin pancakes for breakfast or dinner on their Facebook status (no joke!). So, with pumpkin in mind, I set out for an easy and healthy pumpkin bread recipe. This version is low-fat made with no oil. I must say, if you do plan on using a sugar substitute for an even healthier treat, make sure it is a heat stable sugar substitute. When I made this, I did not use a sugar substitute because I wanted to try the recipe with real sugar. The only things I modified were the amount of sugar I used (I swear it didn’t need the extra sugar the original recipe called for) and I didn’t use nutmeg (not a big fan of the nutmeg). I will make a note about the original ingredients in the listing below incase you would like to make it with more sugar and with the nutmeg. Enjoy the fall weather and enjoy even more these delicious and quite addictive pumpkin muffins.

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups Raisins

• 4 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

• 2 Cups White Sugar (original recipe called for 4 cups)

• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda

• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt (I reduced the salt by 1 teaspoon)

• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Pumpkin Spice

• 6 eggs

• 1 – 29 ounce can pumpkin

• 1 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

Optional: • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Nutmeg  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cloves  • 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Grease muffin pans/bread pan using non-stick cooking spray. (you may use muffin liners instead)
3. Soak raisins in hot water for 10 minutes to plump them up and then drain. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin spice (and other spices if you want).
5. In a separate bowl, using a whisk, mix the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth.
6. Add mixture to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to make a smooth batter.
7. Stir raisins into the batter. (adding walnuts, stir them in as well)
8. Spoon batter into prepared muffin or bread pan.
9. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes in the oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
10. Serve whenever. They’re quite delicious cut in-half and slightly toasted with a little butter or margarine.
11. ENJOY!

★ NUTRITION INFOMATION: Calories: 200 – Total Fat: 3.3g - Cholesterol: 35mg - Sodium: 206mg - Total Carbs: 42g - Fiber: 1.6g - Protein: – 4g

Serves: 36 Muffins

Maddening Delicious Mexican Lasagna 10/06/2009

Served

Digging through my refrigerator one day I came to realize I had too many packages of tortillas, whole wheat, jalapeno and sun dried tomato. I noticed they were getting a bit stale so I decided to look around for a recipe where I can utilize most of these tortillas and the rest of the salsa we had on hand. I used ingredients I had on hand and the only thing I bought was low fat sour cream. I found a recipe and change it up, as usual, so I can use what I had. The dish came out extremely delicious and a touch spicy. I would have liked it if it were more spicy since we are going into cold/flu season and eating spicy foods helps ward off illness cause of the vitamin C. I highly recommend kicking it up a notch, if you can handle it, and to use any ‘flavor’ of flour tortillas of your choice (I used all three I had on hand). I believe this dish could be made without the chicken and be made with ground beef, and I also believe it can also be a delicious vegetarian dish. So go and make some delicious Mexican Lasagna, you will not regret it, it’s so easy, anyone can whip it up in 10 minutes. Enjoy!

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cups Salsa (I used Mild, you can use any kind you prefer)

• 1/2 Cup Taco Sauce

• 1 – 15.5 ounce Can Black Beans or Any Mexican Style Bean

• 2 Cups Chopped, Cooked Chicken Breast

• 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

• 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin

• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Cilantro

• 1 Cup Sour Cream

• 1 Package of 9-Inch Flour Tortilla, any style or flavor (number of tortillas varies depending on size of baking dish)

• 2 Cups Pre-shredded Mexican Cheese Mix (you may use Sharp Cheddar or use Monterey Jack Cheese)

Optional: • 1 Green Pepper, Chopped  • 1 Jalapeno Pepper, Chopped  • Chopped Pitted Black Olives  • Shredded Lettuce for Garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Using a 2 Quart rectangle baking dish, evenly spread 1/4 – 1/2 Cups (amount may vary depending on size of baking dish) Salsa on the bottom of the baking dish; set aside.
3. Combine remaining salsa, beans, chicken, chili powder, cumin, and cilantro in a large bowl.
4. To assemble, place one – two (amount may vary depending on size of baking dish) tortillas on top of the salsa. Trim tortilla(s) to fit.
5. Top tortillas with one-third of sour cream. Spread evenly.
6. Top sour cream with one-third of chicken mixture. Spread evenly.
7. Top chicken mixture with one-third of cheese. Spread evenly.
8. Repeat layers two more times, except the last layer of cheese.
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and top remaining cheese on top and bake UNCOVERED for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and top is bubbling.
11. Let stand 10 minutes.
12. Serve and if desired, sprinkle shredded lettuce on top with a dollop of sour cream.
13. ENJOY!

Preparing the Layers                                                                                    Fresh Out of the Oven

Easily Made Hot Dog Sandwich 09/25/2009

Ready to Eat !!!

Ever since I was a kid, I have always loved hot dogs. I especially love to have a Stewart’s hot dogs along with their delicious root beer served in a frosted mug. I decided to share this simple recipe for all my hot dog loving friend’s out there. My mother use to make hot dogs for the family and when we didn’t have buns, she would make hot dog sandwiches. Now that I am grown up, I have switched from eating full fat and salty hot dogs to a more low fat and low sodium hot dog. I swear by Hebrew National’s jumbo 97% fat free beef hot dogs. When they are on sale, I snatch up as many as I can. They have no artificial flavors, no fillers, no by-products and no artificial colors, plus they’re kosher. My husband doesn’t even notice the taste difference between a low fat hot dog to a full fat hot dog. These hot dogs are only 40 calories and 1 gram of fat per hot dog and the number ingredient is BEEF. I recommend these hot dogs to all my friends and family. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I prefer my hot dog sandwiches with chopped onion, cheese and ketchup (sorry, I LOVE ketchup). To make this sandwich more ‘healthy’, I use Arnold’s Bakery Light 100% Whole Wheat bread along with fat-free sliced cheese. I know I know, fat-free isn’t good for you, but it’s what I have in my fridge right now and I used it while I was Weight Watchers. Speaking of Weight Watchers, if you copy as I do in preparing the sandwich, it comes out to be very low in points. I believe it’s like 4 points for everything, including the ketchup (it’s been awhile since I’ve been on WW). This is great for kids, of all sizes and ages. You can dress your sandwich anyway you wish, so go and enjoy a easy lunch or dinner.

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Ingredients:

• 2 Hot Dogs (Any brand of your choice will do)

• 1/4 Cup Chopped Onion

• 1 Tablespoon Ketchup or Mustard (Any brand or kind of condiment of your choice will do)

• 2 Slices of Bread, slightly toasted (Any brand of your choice will do)

• 1 Slice of American Cheese (Any brand or kind of cheese of your choice will do)

Optional Toppings: • 1 Green Pepper, Chopped  • 1 Tablespoon Relish

1. Bring to boil 2 Cups of Hot water in a pot.
2. Once water begins to boil, remove from heat.
3. Place 2 hot dogs into water and cover.
4. Let stand for 7 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, place both slices of bread into a toaster and toast on light.
6. Once bread is done, remove from toaster and set aside.
7. Carefully remove hot dogs from water and place on plate.
8. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice each hot dog down the length of each hot dog until they are ALMOST in half.
9. Gently open up each hot dog and flip them over and flatten onto one piece of bread. See Photo below for reference.
10. Add chopped onion or other kind of toppings.
11. Place slice of cheese on top of hot dogs.
12. Gently take the bread with the hot dogs and cheese on it and place into a toaster oven.
13. Toast for about 30 to 60 seconds, depending on what kind of cheese you use. Keep in mind that Fat-Free cheese melts faster.
14. Remove from toaster oven and put condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish, etc.) on top of cheese.
15. Place other slice of bread on top, cut in half and serve.
16. ENJOY!

*I prefer to boil my hot dogs, but feel free to prepare them anyway you like.*

Cut and Flattened