Healthy Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins

I am totally on a muffin kick lately.  Yeah of course I love the buttery, streusel-y cinnamon-y muffins such as one would get at Costco or Starbucks or someplace like that... but these are NOT those muffins!  They are healthy with hardly any added sugar and are full of fiber.  Don't be turned away from the saturated fat in the nutrition facts.  It is from the coconut oil, however the saturated fat in coconut oil has been shown in studies to have no adverse effects in the body.  However, these are still pretty dang tasty! Perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack.  I am loving making muffins lately to freeze and put in my husband's lunch to take to work.
These are 100% whole-wheat.  The recipe calls for only whole-wheat flour, but I used half whole-wheat, and half whole-wheat pastry flour.  The pastry flour adds a lighter texture since the whole-wheat tends to produce a heavier, denser baked good.  The original recipe, from the blog 100 Days of Real Food (all about eating zero processed foods- read it, it's great!), also has zero added sugar.  However I did sprinkle some brown sugar on top of each muffin before baking to add a little added sweetness.  I am glad I did! If you want even more sweetness, you could add maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of additional browns sugar to the batter.


Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins
adapted from 100 Days of Real Food
Yield: 12 muffins

3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4-1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil (or other oil)
3/4 cup apple juice or orange juice
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (or other fruit or nuts)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large bowl with a fork or whisk, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and juice.  Mix the dry and wet ingredients together- do not overmix.  Add blueberries or other fruit.
Line muffin pan with liners or spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and then fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full with batter.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm or at room temperature or freeze some to eat later!

Nutrition Facts: (per muffin) 136 calories, 5.7g fat (4.3 sat. fat), 31mg cholesterol, 208mg sodium, 2.2g fiber, 8.5g sugar, 3.1g protein

The BEST Chocolate Cake

So the picture is really blurry (I KNOW- I want a better camera so bad...) but I'm gonna keep this super short n' sweet. (Just like I said in my last post- ha)  This is the BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE you will ever eat! Hands down, most definitely the richest, and fudgiest and most chocolatey cake on this earth!

 

I know you may not believe me, but TRUST me! At first when I saw the post on Kevin & Amanda I wasn't sure whether I should believe it...

But after seeing this batter and sticking my finger in it trying it with a spoon, I was not the least bit skeptical anymore.

 

The batter is so thick and chocolatey and tastes amazing. And the cake is even better. Here is my cake after I frosted it... (my first time frosting a cake, by the way...)

 

The frosting is homemade too- Buttercream frosting and it is fabulous on this cake.  I would say you need to make the frosting if you're gonna make the cake.

 

And yes, I made this for my Mom.  Not for Mother's Day as you would assume, but actually for her birthday, which was the week before!

 

And here she is blowing out the candles!  She's so cute, and only 41! I love her :)

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

from Kevin and Amanda

 

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small pkg Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a very large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (I normally use two 9-inch pie pans). For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back of the devil’s food cake box as a guide and usually add 10 mins to whatever it says. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it’s not done, I check on it every 5 mins after that. It usually takes around 45 mins for two, 9-inch pie pans.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup shortening (Crisco)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
In a mixing bowl, cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar and continue creaming until well blended. Add salt, vanilla, and whipping cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

Bacon-Cheddar Ranch Pinwheels

Okay so it's nothing new to say that I have a slight obsession with recipes.  When I say slight... I mean that if I have any free time (which is quite lately now that all I am pretty much doing is waiting for my baby to be born....) I will choose to browse one of the 25 cookbooks I own, scour Pinterest for each and every food post or plan meals for the next 18 months (slight exaggeration).  Ha it's a little bit out of control.  Hilarious.  But I can't help it... I'm a huge foodie and I will always be obsessed with food-especially healthy food- and trying fabulous new recipes (as well as making old favorites again and again).

ANYWHO.  It's no surprise I'm a member of the Pillsbury and Betty Crocker websites and by being a member, you can get the fun bonus of a receiving free calendar in the mail each year featuring one delicious recipe each month! I love it!  Well last year I think I made all of zero recipes from each calendar.  I know, very surprising considering my recipe obsession (but when you have a gazillion resources to pull recipes from, it's easy for one resource to get pretty left out, hence the calendar simply sitting on my wall without ever being used in 2012- I'm sorry calendar)!  Well this year I want to do much better! I want to make each and every recipe! With the exception of a few (either they're boring or they have beer in them) I vow to make each recipe from the Pillsbury and Betty Crocker 2013 calendars.  I've already one-upped last year because I made Pillsbury's January recipe!  Wow I'm a hoot.

P.S. these were super easy and super YUMMY! My hubby and I ate them all in pretty much one sitting...


Bacon-Cheddar Ranch Pinwheels
 from Pillsbury

Servings: 16 pinwheels (I think I got more like 10-12, depends on how thick you slice them)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
2 tablespoons ranch dressing (I eyeballed it, probably was a little more)
1/4 cup cooked real bacon pieces or 4 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
1/2 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz) (again I didn't measure, just sprinkled it on)
1/4 cup chopped green onions (4 medium)

• Heat oven to 350°F. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut lengthwise into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle. 
• Spread dressing over each rectangle to edges. Sprinkle each with bacon, Cheddar cheese and onions. Starting with one short side, roll up each rectangle; press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices; place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

*Nutritional Info:  1 pinwheel= 80 calories, 6g fat (2g saturated), 180mg sodium, 2g protein



*Not healthy but oh so good and would be a perfect appetizer for the Superbowl that's quickly approaching!

Pomegranate Cheesecake

Have I mentioned that I love to bake cheesecakes?  No?  Well, okay I'll admit I've only made I think 4 cheesecakes in my entire life, and 2 of them were the same recipe (which was this FABULOUS lemon cheesecake on my blog- it is to die for!)

But, since cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts evah, I really think I've found my niche in baking.  I mean who doesn't love to make something from scratch into a beautiful, aril-speckled pomegranate cheesecake like below?

 

And then you get to eat it for like 4 days in a row because only your husband and you live at home and even though you brought it to Sunday dinner you still somehow left with half of a cheesecake leftover.  What's a girl to do??

This was a fab recipe that I made over the holidays- New Year's Eve to be exact- but really would be perfect at this time of year still since pomegranates are at their peak (I think? Don't quote me on that- at least I'm still seeing them in stores and all over grocery ads these days).  

Boy oh boy do I love cheesecake! I have another recipe that I made last November that I will post soon... even though it's a recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake (with white chocolate and a gingersnap-pecan crust and a caramel drizzle-= drool) I just simply do not care and think that pumpkin tastes just as good in January as it does in November.  

Anyway without further adieu...

POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Plan ahead as the cheesecake needs to be refrigerated at least for 4 hours or overnight.

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
4 8-oz. packages reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Topping:
1 1/2 cups reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pomegranate Glaze:
1-16-ounce bottle pomegranate juice (usually found in the refrigerated section of juices)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (tutorial on de-seeding here)

DIRECTIONS:
For the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add egg; beat well. Beat in flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover one portion and set it aside.

Remove the sides from a 10-inch springform pan and set aside. Spread first portion of dough on just the bottom of ungreased springform pan base, spreading dough to edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto the sides of the sprinform pan to a height of 1-3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula, like an offset spatula, to spread dough.

For the filling: reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the flour on low speed until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Mix in sour cream and lemon peel. Then, using a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently fold in pomegranate seeds (if you use the electric mixer for this part, the seeds will burst and stain the filling with the juice – and it won’t look as pretty).
Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Remove from oven. (It doesn’t matter if the cheesecake cracks on top since it will have a sour cream topping.)

For the topping: stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake, spreading gently to the edges. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.

For pomegranate glaze: in a medium saucepan bring pomegranate juice to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (12 to 15 minutes). In a separate bowl, stir together brown sugar and cornstarch. Add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving time.

When ready to serve, remove cheesecake and pomegranate glaze from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 16 servings.

Roasted Garlic Chicken Noodle Soup

Okay, friends.  I realize that I took a LONG hiatus from the blogging world and am quite embarrassed about it.  But to be honest, I seriously have some pretty dang good excuses.

1.  I became a vegetarian/almost vegan for a few months, shortly after my last post.  I was very dedicated to this new lifestyle and was constantly researching it.  I was trying new vegan and vegetarian recipes, some of which were very yummy, and others which were slightly less memorable! :)  I felt like until I got the hang of this new lifestyle and got a good slew of recipes under my belt, that I wanted to avoid my blog, which consists of many recipes that are very far from being vegetarian.

2.  A couple months into my attempted "veganism,"  I got pregnant.  We are expecting our first baby, a baby girl, in two weeks from today!  I could not be any more excited.  But when that morning sickness struck me in the first trimester last summer, oh boy.  I couldn't even think about eating... anything.  My avid tries at successfully cooking vegan meals flopped- heck I probably stopped cooking ANYTHING for at least a month and a half due to being unable to walk in the kitchen without gagging.  I think I survived on bagels & cream cheese and crackers.  So nutritious; thank goodness for prenatals, right?  As my morning sickness started to fade, something I feared would happen, happened:  I wanted to eat meat.  But this was very gradual.  The thought of red meat and pork was still repulsive but I slowly warmed up to eating chicken again.  As I started to cook again, I mostly cooked meatless but would include a chicken dinner perhaps once a week.  Since then, I have gradually gone back to eating meat, however I still include many meatless meals for my husband and I and I still give props to anyone who is a vegetarian or vegan. It is HARD!  I'm sure this is not the end of my venture into that daring world.  This was actually the second time I ventured into vegetarianism, although this time lasted much longer than the first (which was only a couple weeks ha).

3.  The last few months I finished my undergrad degree at Arizona State University.  It was the toughest, busiest semester I've had in my college career, especially while being pregnant, but it was so worth it.  I now have my degree in Dietetics!  I am not a registered dietitian, however, as you must complete an internship and pass the national exam before receiving those credentials.  Right now that is not on my agenda as I'm becoming a mom in 2 weeks!  But I can see myself in the future pursuing something in the field of Nutrition.  I LOVE nutrition.  And I am a HUGE foodie (hence, this blog...).  P.S. I loved my major and encourage everyone to study nutrition, it is so fascinating and there is a TON more to it than just studying food.  In fact, you hardly study actual food at all.  There is a ton of science involved, as well as a management/business, medical terminology, medical nutrition therapy, and more! It is amazing :)

Anyway, I will get on to the fabulous recipe I made last week!  I found this Chicken soup recipe in a cookbook I got at our wedding, called "Bride and Groom: First and Forever Cookbook" by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford.

Um, it is amazing!  I had never made homemade chicken noodle before, but I think I found a new favorite!  There is so much flavor here, mostly due to the roasted garlic.  The recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon of roasted garlic, the recipe of which is also included in the book, as I've included below.  Don't sub regular garlic, it won't be the same! Roasted garlic has AMAZING flavor and the aroma that stems from the oven while it's roasting is incredible!

Roasted Garlic Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 4

1 T. vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 T. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. powdered chicken bouillon, or 1 small chicken bouillon cube, plus more as needed
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup. white wine (I used water to sub)
6 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
2 ounces egg noodles
1 T. roasted garlic, homemade or purchased (see below for recipe)
1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic.  Add the 1/2 tsp. powdered bouillon (is using cube, add after the stock) and the thyme and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, 5-7 minutes.  Add the wine (or water) and cook 2 minutes more.  Add the stock, the bouillon cube, if using, the chicken, carrots and celery.  Simmer until the vegetables are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.  Add the egg noodles and cook until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Stir in the 1 T. roasted garlic and parsley.  Just before serving, season with pepper to taste, and add more powdered bouillon and roasted garlic if necessary.

*This recipe is best made at least 1 day in advance. It will keep refrigerated for 3 days and freezes great!  Allow the flavors to marry in the fridge for 1 day before serving.  (I did not do this, but the cookbook suggests this).


Whole Roasted Garlic
makes 1/3 cup  (I halved this recipe for the soup)

2 whole heads of garlic
1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cut the top off each head of garlic, making a horizontal cut about 1 inch below the top.  Place the bottom halves on a large piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with the olive oil.  Place the tops on the bottom halves and fold the foil seal the garlic inside.  Bake until the garlic is light brown and very soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool slightly. 

To reserve garlic for later use, remove the cloves from the skins by squeezing the bottom of each clove.  Place in a bowl and mash with the back of a spoon.  The roasted garlic will keep, covered and refrigerated, for at least 2 weeks.

Chicken and Rice Supreme

 

This post is dedicated to my mother-in-law, Terry Pratt.  The woman is my idol in making AMAZING, DELICIOUS, COMFORT food.  She is known for her good cooking by many people and her recipes are always requested.  She makes the best fajitas and chimichangas, fettuccine alfredo that beats Olive Garden's any day, "clones" of Cinnabon cinnamon rolls (they are probably better), fluffy, perfect homemade bread, creamy soulful broccoli-cheese soup, this incredible cheesy baked ziti and many other amazing things. And THIS incredible chicken recipe is hers as well.  The picture does NOT do it justice, but this dish is extremely flavorful and comforting.  In addition, it's very easy to put together and throw in the oven for a while.  It's a keeper for sure!


Ingredients:

butter
1 cup dry, uncooked rice
4 chicken breasts halves, seasoned to taste
1 can cream of celery soup (I use cream of chicken)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet onion soup mix

Dab butter in bottom of flat baking pan.  Sprinkle rice over butter.  Lay chicken on top of rice.  Mix together soups and 3/4 can of water.  Pour soup mixture over chicken.  Sprinkle onion soup mix over soup mixture and chicken.  Cover and bake 1 hour at 375 degrees F.  Then add 1 cup water and uncover.  Bake 1 more hour.  Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Cowboy Spaghetti

If you have a man in your life, I suggest you make this for him.  There are 4 different meats in this thing.  FOUR!  And it is dee-licious!! Probably not something to make every week, as it's not "healthified," sorry to say. But a good one to keep in the recipe box. I found this recipe at Favorite Family Recipes.  A good, cute blog with some yummy food!

 

 Cowboy Spaghetti

from Favorite Family Recipes

1 pkg (1 lb) spaghetti noodles
6 slices bacon (chopped)
1 Lb ground beef
1 medium onion (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
salt & pepper (to taste)
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Lb deli pastrami, roughly chopped
1/3 c. pepperoni, chopped
2 Tbsp canned, chopped jalapeno
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 small can diced olives
½ c. beef broth
1 (14 oz) can fired roasted diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
green onions (chopped)

 
Heat a large deep skillet to medium-high heat. Add bacon and fry until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. In the same skillet add ground beef. When beef is browned stir in onions and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in bacon, pastrami, pepperoni, jalapeno, mushrooms and olives. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
Add beef broth and cook for an additional 5 minutes or so. Stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low (at this point you can also throw everything in a crock pot and cook on low heat for a few hours. If it gets too thick, add another can of fire roasted tomatoes and a little more beef broth). Prepare spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles well, add to meat sauce, and toss it all together (or you can serve with the sauce over the top). Top with sharp cheddar cheese and green onions.