Muffins That Won't Give You a Muffin Top

So I found this recipe online from iVillage. I have modified it slightly to my own liking. I am trying to eat much cleaner and cut out the processed foods but since I have a sweet tooth, that is more and more difficult. I made these muffins as a lo-cal alternative to breakfast or to dessert. Also, looking back at the recipe, looks like I forgot the salt. Good thing they still taste good! (1 tsp salt if you would like to make it correctly).

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1 Cup light soy milk (I use soy since I'm lactose intolerant)
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Applesauce - I used no sugar added
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Blueberries
1 pack of 1.5 oz Granola, Flax Seed and Blueberry (or whatever else you like). I used Back to Nature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin tins
2. Add Granola, Rolled Oats, and Milk in a Bowl
3. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and brown sugar (no salt mentioned here, thats probably why I forgot it)
4. Stir in milk mixture, applesauce, egg, and vanilla
5. Fold in blueberries
6. Pour into muffin tin
7. Bake for 30 minutes
8. Enjoy!

Per Muffin

Pizza Bake

My second freezer meal was the Pizza Bake. This is modified slightly too. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. I was impressed with this meal all well. I thawed before I cooked. I forgot the pepperonis when I froze it (scwhoops), so I just added those late. I did half this recipe and it lastest a few days. Also, I am lactose intolerant I subbed out the cheese for veggie cheese (I used the Veggie Shreds and it came out fine).

I served with green beans and I topped it with some parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers.

Slow Cooker Pizza Bake Recipe {Freezer Meal}

- 1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey 

- 1 medium onion (optional), diced

- 1 green bell pepper, diced

- 8 oz sliced pepperoni

- 4 oz (1 cup) shredded mozzarellacheese

- 8 oz (2 cups) shredded cheddarcheese

- 12 oz Rigatoni noodles,cooked                 

- 15 oz pizza sauce

- 26 oz Spaghetti sauce

1. Brown meat, onion and pepper infrying pan.

2. Drain grease and add pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce

3. Combine all ingredients in a large crock pot (spray with non-stick spray first).

4. Cook on HIGH for 30minutes and then LOW for 2 or 3 hours until the cheese melts.

Note:  This makes a lot offood, so I usually freeze half before cooking it.  Later it can be thawed and cooked in the slow cooker as directed above.

Per Serving (makes 12)

Brown Sugar Chicken

So I on my second meal, my first frozen. This one was delicious as well! I had to stop myself from overeating. Below is the recipe that I used. I slightly modified it from the original. I would also recommend shredding the chicken in the crockpot before you serve. That way the inside of the chicken can take in the juice.

I served this with Cous Cous and Broccoli.

Brown Sugar Chicken - prep/no cooking, freeze in bag

- 4 chicken breasts 

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup sprite

- 2/3 cup vinegar 

- 3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic

- 2 T soy sauce 

- 1 tsp ground black pepper

1. Use a 4 quart crockpot for this recipe. 

2. Plop the chicken into yourcrockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce.

3. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble!

4. Cover and cook on lowfor 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.

KitchenAid Peanut Butter Cookies

I used my mixer for the first time today! I made peanut butter cookies. For two reasons, one, I didn't have to go to the grocery store because I had all the ingredients in my cupboard and two, because I have a minor obsession with peanut butter.

Here is the recipe. It came straight from the KitchenAid cookbook so I can take no credit here for baking creativity.

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup flour


Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Mix the peanut butter and butter, blend

2. Add sugars, egg and vanilla, beat well

3. Add remaining ingredients, beat

4. Roll cookie dough into 2 inch balls and place on cookie sheet

5. Make a Criss-Cross pattern with the tongs of a fork

6. Sprinkle sugar on top of the cookies (I added this part :) )

7. Enjoy!



Pictures Below

Tilapia Tacos with Asian Slaw and Avocado

So my first recipe that I made ended up being DELICIOUS! It is also extremely healthy, which is definitely a plus. I used my Kitchen Aid Shredder attachment to make the slaw but I think it would work just fine if you chopped it up. (P.S. Onions DO NOT work in the shredder. Learned that one the hard way).

Nutritional Information (According to my Fitness Pal and my guessing portion size at 4 oz Fish)































Ingredients:

- 2 cups of red cabbage
- ¼ sliced red onion
- 2 scallions cut on a bias
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
- ¼ cup micro greens (optional)
- 1 tilapia filet per person
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1-2 tortillas per person
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- sriracha (as much or as little to your taste)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Add mayo, sesame oil, sesameseeds, sriracha and vinegar and mix, set aside

2. Add cabbage, red onion,scallions and micro greens in a medium size bowl

3. Add the slaw sauce to the veggies and mix. add a little bit of sauce at a time so you don’t over dress the slaw

























4. Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat, salt and pepper the tilapia and cook until golden brown

5. Assembly: place tortilla shell, slaw, tilapia, avacado and serve

*Tip: cut the tilapia vertically and it should portion for 2 tacos

Monthly Meal Planning

So I did it! I made all of my meals for the next month. I found a bunch of recipes that I thought sounded good and I made all of the food. My grocery bill was $48.75 at Costco and $90.67 at Kroger. I ended up making more meals than I thought because some of them had so much food that I halved the recipes to make on different occasions. It took me about 7 hours to make everything. In future posts, I will repost recipes with my thoughts on them and the nutritional information. Right now I haven't tried anything so I am not sure how it will come out. I made everything but the Tilapia Parmesan (as it will be pretty quick to make). My plan is to cook on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Sundays, I will make meals that take more prep time since I have it and on Thursdays, I will make the meals that yield more food, so I can eat through the weekend.

I started with a calendar (free Calendar download here: http://www.ellinee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2013Calendar.pdf) and plotted out what I was going to make each day. I tried to space out the different meats so I wasn't eating the same thing all the time.

(Free calendar)


To be efficient  I made the recipes that had the same meat ingredient at the same time. I started with the ground turkey, then the chicken, then pork, then fish.




Then I went through each recipe and made a grocery list. Some things are not represented here because I already had them but most everything is here.

Grocery List

Vegetables/Fruits

Carrots – 16 oz

Green Onions – 1

Ginger – 1 root

Onion – 3

Green Bell Pepper – 3

Brussels Sprouts – 1

Broccoli – 1

Potatoes – 1 bag

White Mushrooms – 10 oz

Avocados

Red Cabbage – 2 Cups

Scallions - 2

Diary

Parmesan – 2 tbsp + 1 cup

Mozzarella – 1 cup

Cheddar – 2 cups

Butter

Milk – 4 cups

Provolone – 1 ½ cups

Breads

Buns

French Bread

Tortillas x 24

Meats

Chicken – 3 packs

Fish – 5 lbs

Ground Beef – 3 lbs

Pepperoni – 8 oz

Pork Shoulder – 4-6 lbs

Pasta

Rigatoni Noodles – 12 oz

Couscous – 1 cup

Spaghetti

Rice

Penne Rigate – 16 oz

Spices

Garlic – 10 cloves

Cumin – ½ tsp

Salt – ¼ tsp

Cinnamon – ¼ tsp

Cayenne Pepper – 1/8 tsp

All Purpose Seasoning

Brown Sugar – 1 Cup

Sauces

Honey – ¼ Cup

Sesame Oil – 2 tsp + 1 T

Soy Sauce – ¼ cup + 2 T

Rice Vinegar – 1 T

Mayonnaise – 1 cup

Lea &Perrins White Wine Worcestershire Marinade ForChicken – 1 tsp

Pizza Sauce – 15 oz

Spaghetti Sauce – 26 oz + 1 jar

Tomato Sauce – 15 oz

BBQ Sauce – 16 oz bottle

Salsa – ½ cup

Canned Goods

Italian diced tomatoes – 2 cans

Pineapple – 1 can

Sun-Dried Tomatoes – ½ cup

Refried Beans – 2 cans

Other

Chicken broth – 16 oz

Corn Starch – 3 Tbsp

Sesame Seeds (toasted) – 2 tbsp

Sprite – 1 Can

Vinegar – 2/3 cup

Non-Food

Quart Size Freezer Bags

Gallon Size Freezer Bags

Recipes:

Sesame Ginger Slow-Cooker Chicken - prep/no cook,freeze

- 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs/tenderloins (about 2lbs)

- 1 bag (16 oz) ready-to-eat baby carrots

- 2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root

- 1/2 cup chicken broth

- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tsp sesame oil

- 1 tsp dried minced garlic

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 3 Tbsp cold water

- 3 Tbsp corn starch

- 1 Tbsp sesame seed, toasted

- 2 green onions, sliced with tops

1. Spray 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.Place chicken in slow cooker. Add  carrots; sprinkle with ginger root. Insmall bowl, stir broth, honey, oil and dried minced garlic.  Pour over chicken and carrots.

2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.

*Note: Some folks have said their chicken was dry. I wouldconsider cutting your cooking time  shorter, or using larger pieces ofchicken. Not all crock pots are created equal, so keep that in  mind so you don't have dry chicken!

3. With slotted spoon, remove chicken and carrots to servingplatter; cover to keep warm. Strain  cooking liquid; pour into 1-quartsaucepan. In small bowl, mix soy sauce, water and cornstarch until smooth; add to liquid in saucepan. Cook and stir over high heat until thickenedand sauce  begins to bubble.

4. To serve, pour sauce over chicken and carrots. Garnish with sesame seed and onions.   

WWBaked Tilapia Parmesan - make day of

- 4 (4 oz) fresh or frozen tilapia filets, about 1 inch thick

- 1/4 cup light mayonnaise

- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

- 1 tbsp sliced green onion

- 1 tsp "Lea & Perrins WhiteWine Worcestershire Marinade For Chicken".

1. Thaw fish, if frozen. Preheatoven to 450 F. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, stir togethermayonnaise, Parmesan, chives and marinade. 

3. Spread mayonnaise mixture over fish. Place in a greased 2 quart square or rectangular baking dish. 

4. Bake 8 to 12minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Slow CookerPizza Bake Recipe {Freezer Meal}

- 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef 

- 1 medium onion (optional), diced

- 1 green bell pepper, diced

- 8 oz sliced pepperoni

- 4 oz (1 cup) shredded mozzarellacheese

- 8 oz (2 cups) shredded cheddarcheese

- 12 oz Rigatoni noodles,cooked                 

- 15 oz pizza sauce

- 26 oz Spaghetti sauce

1. Brown meat, onion and pepper infrying pan.

2. Drain grease and add pizzasauce and spaghetti sauce

3. Combine all ingredients ina large crock pot (spray with non-stick spray first).

4. Cook on HIGH for 30minutes and then LOW for 2 or 3 hours until the cheese melts.

Note:  This makes a lot offood, so I usually freeze half before cooking it.  Later it can be thawedand cooked in the slow cooker as directed above.

CrockPot Stuffed Peppers - 8 points plus - prep/cook, freeze peppers wrapped in foil

- 4 large bell peppers

- 1/2 lb ground beef

- 1/2 cup chopped onions

- 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

- 1 (15 oz) or 2 (8 oz) cans tomatosauce

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

- 2/3 cup uncooked couscous

- 1/2 cup water

- Pine nuts, optional

- Cilantro, optional

1. Cut thin slice from stem end ofeach bell pepper to remove top of pepper. 

Remove seeds and membranes; rinsepeppers.

2. In a 10 inch skillet, cook beef,onion and garlic over medium high heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionallyuntil beef is brown; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, cumin, salt, cinnamon andcayenne pepper. Stir in couscous. Divide beef mixture evenly among peppers.

3. Pour water into 4 1/2 to 6 quartcrockpot; stand peppers upright in crockpot.

Cover and cook on LOW 5 to 7 hoursor until peppers are tender.

Yield: 4 servings

Serving Size: 1 pepper per serving

BBQ Pineapple PulledPork - doubled this - prep/no cooking, freeze

 - one 4 - 6 pound pork shoulder

 - all purpose seasoning 

 - one bottle of barbecue sauce 

 - one 15 ounce can of diced pineapples, undrained

1. Rub pork shoulder all over with all purpose seasoning andplace in slow cooker.

2. Dump can of pineapples (undrained) over pork.

3. Pour bottle of barbecue sauce over pork.

4. Lift pork a little to let the sauce get underneath.

5. Cook on high for six (6) hours or low for ten (10) hours.

6. Shred in the pot and mix with the juice.

7. Strain & serve!

Sausage and Peppers

- 6 Italian Sausages

- 2 Green Peppers

- 1 Red Pepper

- 1 Large Onion

- 4 Cloves garlic, minced

- 2 cans Italian diced tomatoes

- 2 tbs Italian seasoning

1. Split between 2 bags, seal, mix, layflat, freeze

2. Directions for Bags

Add drizzle of olive oil, cook onlow for 6 hours, serve over hot noodles or fresh French bread with Mozzarellacheese

Brown Sugar Chicken - prep/no cooking, freeze in bag

- 12 boneless,skinless chicken thighs, or 6 boneless, skinless breast halves

- 1 cup brown sugar(it's okay. you can brush your teeth after.)

- 1/4 cup lemon-limesoda (stay with me...)

- 2/3 cup vinegar (Iused white wine, but think regular white would be fine)

- 3 cloves smashed andchopped garlic

- 2 T soy sauce (LaChoy and Tamari wheat free are GF)

- 1 tsp ground black pepper

1. Use a 4 quart crockpot for this recipe. 

2. Plop the chicken into yourcrockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce.

3. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble!

4. Cover and cook on lowfor 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the moretender it will be.

5. Serve over a bowl ofwhite rice with a ladle full of the broth.

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 pound penne rigate
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each),halved horizontally
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned andleveled)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups whole milk
- 10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces)
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)


1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes.In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente;drain pasta, and return to pot.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Seasonchicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes perside. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium.Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, gradually addmilk; bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook1 minute. Off heat, gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper.Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each with cup Parmesan.

5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cook's Note


To Freeze: Preparethrough step 4; let cool. Cover tightly with foil, and freeze, up to 3 months.

To Bake From Frozen: Preheat oven to 400, and bake (still covered in foil) on arimmed baking sheet until center is hot, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil; bakeuntil golden, about 15 minutes more.

Tilapia Tacos with Asian Slaw

- 2 cups of red cabbage
- ¼ sliced red onion
- 2 scallions cut on a bias
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
- ¼ cup micro greens (optional)
- 1 tilapia filet per person
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1-2 tortillas per person
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- sriracha (as much or as little to your taste)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1. add mayo, sesame oil, sesameseeds, sriracha and vinegar and mix, set aside

2. add cabbage, red onion,scallions and micro greens in a medium size bowl

3. add the slaw sauce to the veggies and mix. add a little bit of sauce at a time so you don’t over dressthe slaw

4. heat oil in a pan over medium high heat, salt and pepper the tilapia and cook until golden brown

5. Assembly: place tortilla shell, slaw, tilapia, avacado and serve

6. tip: cut the tilapia vertically and it should portion for 2 tacos

Southwest Roll-ups

(makes 16 roll-ups)

-  2 cansrefried beans (you can make your own Refried Beans with this recipe)

-  1/2 cupsalsa

-  2-4 cupscooked chicken, chopped

-  2 cupsshredded Cheddar cheese

- 16tortillas (you can make your own Homemade Tortillas with this recipe)

1. Mix together beans, salsa, and chicken. 

2. Spread 1/8 of mixture onto one tortilla.

3. Sprinkle with cheese. 

4. Roll up and turn ends under. 

5. Stick in a freezer bag or ina 9×13 baking pan and freeze.

6. When ready to bake, thaw and bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees oven for 20-30 minutesuntil heated through. 

7. Sprinkle with more shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired.Serve with salsa.

Blanching and freezing vegetables times:

Artichoke (Globe) – 7 minutes
Artichoke (Jerusalem) – 3 to 5 minutes depending on size
Asparagus - 1 ½ minutes small spears, 2 minutes medium spears, 3 minutes large spears
Green Beans – 3 minutes
Beets – Cook until tented usually about 10-15 minutes
Broccoli – Medium size sections for 3 minutes, large sections for 4 minutes
Brussel Sprouts – 3 to 5 minutes depending on the size
Cabbage – Wedges 3 minutes, shredded 1 ½ minutes
Carrots – Cut carrots 3 minutes, whole carrots 5 minutes
Cauliflower – 3 to 4 minutes depending on size
Corn – Whole kernel 5 to 6 minutes then cut off cob, Freezing corn on the cob 8-10 minutes depending on size
Eggplant – 4 minutes
Leafy Greens – 2 minutes
Okra – 3 to 5 minutes depending on size
Parsnips & Turnips – 3 minutes
Peas (shelled or snow/snap peas)– Shell and blanch 2 minutes
Summer Squash – 3 minutes

Link for freezing mashed potatoes:

http://www.theyummylife.com/how_to_freeze_mashed_potatoes

Ingredients

Browning Ground Turkey all at once

Stuffing Peppers

Sausage and Peppers

Southwest Rollups

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

And Mashed Potatoes

Scopes of Mashed Potatoes to freeze 1 cup portions

Baked Pene with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Full Freezer!

Peppermint Bark

Peppermint Bark is super easy to make and a great gift for the Holidays if you have a lot of co-workers. I thought I'd share my recipe and some pictures of the 12 pounds that I made. It was a little bit ridiculous. Especially because I am a messy cook and still finding Chocolate and Candy Canes all over my apartment.

1 lb of White Chocolate Chips

1/2 lb of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 of Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1/4 tsp of Peppermint Extract

2 Candy Canes

I multiplied by 6 and thats how I got 12 lbs. However, in doing so I learned that these should be broken up into smaller batches and not made all at once because its hard to liquify that much chocolate and not have it burn.

1. Create a double boilers and put the semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate into the boiler. 

2. Bring the water to a boil

3. Liquify chocolate

4. Mix in peppermint extract

5. Pour chocolate evenly onto a cookie sheet and put into the freezer for 30 minutes. 

6. Melt white chocolate in the same process as the dark

7. Crush the candy canes

8. Pour the white chocolate onto the top of the frozen dark chocolate

9. Press in Candy Canes 

10. Place into freezer for 2 hours until completely chilled

11. Enjoy!

New Years Resolutions

So it turns out, I sucked at last years New Years Resolution of posting to this blog everyday. I made it 64/365 which is a depressing >20%. I am trying to be revamped my efforts this year and catch back up. Not to make excuses but November and December with the Holidays were extremely busy. Oh well.

As for this year, I don't have a resolution. I always have the "eat healthy and work out" which I suck at too because I love everything that is unhealthy for you, namely, cheese, bacon, and chocolate. I think what I want to strive to do is 1. save money and 2. don't eat out. Number 2 is the big one since it directly impacts number 1. Also, because my boyfriend is a wonderful cook and is sadly moving far, far away to Texas, I do not want to default back to my old habits of eating out every meal, so I must strive to cook for myself and be healthy! (don't I sound excited?). Being unhealthy is just so much easier. But alas, healthy it is. And it looks as though I just came up with a resolutions in this paragraph.

Anyhow, to do so, I found this blog that this lady plans out her meals a month at a time for budget, time, and convenience factors. So I thought I'd pass along and share that a few other things that will help me along the way. As long as I can plan ahead an make the meals in one go, I think I will stick to it. I just have a hard time justifying spending so much time cooking when it's just me.

So here they are:

Monthly Meal Planning

Freezer Meals

75 Healthy Recipes to Kickoff 2013

Avocado instead of Alfredo?

Is this even possible? I mean seriously, I LOVE avocados but could you honestly substitute it for that gooey, delicious, creamy sauce? I have recently discovered that I am lactose intolerant and that was quite the devastating blow since I survived on cheese alone all through college. I have pretty much cut dairy completely out of my life at this point, expect for every once and I while when I cheat. YOLO (just kidding, I hate YOLO), Carpe Diem. I have been searching for replacements for foods in my life and I found a recipe on Pinterest (shocking, I know). That promised creamy deliciousness of Alfredo but by using Avocado. I was a bit skeptical at first but I gave it a try. I have modified the original recipe a bit for my own tasting. I think it still needs a bit more tweaking before it is completely up to par but it is a good start. I think I am using a bit too much garlic, so for my next attempt, I plan to cut it out.

Ingredients
-Pasta
-1 Avocado
-1 1/2 tbsp Lime Juice
-1 tsp Garlic
-1 tsp Taco Seasoning (Cumin, Garlic Power and Salt)
-3 tbsp Light Mayonnaise
-Jalapenos

1. Cook the pasta per the directions on that pack

2. Cream the avocado (I do this by hand)

3. Mix the remaining ingredients with the avocados

4. Toss in the pasta

5. Enjoy!