Monthly Archives: April 2012

Strawberry Oat Muffins

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Here’s a nice recipe from Healthy Food for Living that I stumbled upon last week during my strawberry recipe search.  These muffins are healthy and wholesome, with just a hint of sweetness.

Strawberry Oat Muffins
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup strawberry puree (process whole strawberries until you have 1/2 cup of puree)
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup hulled and diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper cups.

In a medium bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients (whole wheat flour through cinnamon) and set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together the next 7 ingredients (applesauce through egg).  Add the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until moistened.  Gently fold in the diced strawberries.

Use an ice cream scoop to spoon batter into prepared muffin pan.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Moist and flavorful, these muffins are truly delicious.  I think they would be especially good with a little softened cream cheese spread on top, don’t you?

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Healthy Whole Wheat Bread

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Because she knows how much I love to bake, my sweet aunt sent me this wonderful bread recipe to try.  Thank you, Aunt Glenda!  Here’s the twist: the bread bakes in a crock pot!  Sadly, the recipe languished in my “Recipes to Try” folder for a few weeks since our crock pot had recently bit the dust.  But, with the purchase of a brand-new, 7-quart (!!!) crock pot, I was back in business.  This recipe does not disappoint!

Healthy Whole Wheat Bread
(Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook, page 250)

2 cups warm reconstituted fat-free powdered milk (2/3 cup powder to 1 1/3 cups water)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup honey or brown sugar (I used honey)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups white flour

Mix together milk, oil, honey or brown sugar, salt, yeast, and half of the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat with mixer for 2 minutes.  Add remaining flour and mix well.

Place dough in well-greased bread pan that will fit into your slow cooker.  Cover with greased aluminum foil.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Place in slow cooker.

Put lid on slow cooker and bake on high for 2 1/2 – 3 hours.  Remove pan and uncover.  Serve warm.  Makes 16 servings.  Ideal crock pot size is 5 to 6 quarts.

Nutritional Information: Calories 142; Fat 2 grams; Sodium 126 mg; Carbohydrates 27 grams; Fiber 3 grams; Protein 5 grams; Sugar 6 grams.

This bread was unbelievably easy to throw together.  In fact, I could not believe how easy it was.  I did have to add a little more than 1 1/3 cups of water to my powdered milk to bring the total liquid amount up to 2 cups.  But honestly, reconstituting powdered milk is a breeze!  Don’t let that fancy word “reconstituted” fool you into thinking it will be hard.  One other note – I did use a handheld mixer and that worked very well.

I must admit, I was a little skeptical about the bread actually baking in a crock pot.  About 2 1/2 hours into the baking time, I lifted the lid on the crock pot, raised the foil on my bread pan, and took a peek.  The top of the bread was not quite golden brown, so I let it bake for another 30 minutes (a total of 3 hours) and it was perfect!  In fact, it was done just as my children came home from school and they inhaled several slices in the blink of an eye.  It was WONDERFUL right out of the crock pot.  The crust was perfect.   The bread was warm, soft and hearty.  And, it’s healthy too, making this recipe a definite winner!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

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We are blessed to live near a strawberry farm, and this week we have been in strawberry heaven.  The strawberries are so fresh that they melt in your mouth!  We’ve gone through three buckets of them this week alone.  As a topping on oatmeal, an afterschool snack, or with some ice cream for dessert – we’ve eaten them endless ways.  It’s just hard to beat that sweet, juicy goodness!

This recipe comes from Kim McCallie of A Well-Seasoned Life.  I really enjoy her blog.  You’ll find that this recipe is super quick and easy.  If you’re making it to eat the same day, just be sure to allow enough time for the pie to chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
(Kim McCallie) 

1 9-inch prepared pie crust (I used a Keebler graham cracker pie crust I already had in the pantry)
1 16-oz container fresh strawberries
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 8-oz container whipped topping, divided

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and blend well.  Add half of the whipped topping to the cream cheese mixture and blend until smooth.  Dice about 1/4 of the strawberries to equal about 3/4 cup.  Fold the diced strawberries into the cream cheese mixture.  Spread the mixture into the crust.  Spread the remaining whipped topping on top of the cream cheese mixture.  Slice the remaining strawberries and place on top of pie.  Refrigerate until completely chilled.

This pie is so creamy and delicious!  It’s the perfect Spring dessert.  Enjoy!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Raspberry Ice Cream

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I sure didn’t do much cooking or baking last week while the kids were out of school, but one thing I did make was Raspberry Ice Cream.  We ate out of our freezer all week long, basically.  Quite often I will make two of something and freeze one for an easy meal later, so I had a pretty good stash.  Anyways, while I was digging through our freezer I ran across a forgotten bag of frozen raspberries.  I also just happened to have some whole milk on hand that needed to be used up, as well as some whipping cream.  These are not ordinarily items one would find in our refrigerator, mind you.  I had purchased them with grand hopes of some spectacular recipe to try and then … life happened.  Sound familiar?

So, I googled raspberry ice cream and found this marvelous recipe.  It was posted on allrecipes.com by Diana Leskauskas.  It is definitely not health-conscious, so perhaps you can enjoy it in moderation.  I must say this is some of the best ice cream I HAVE EVER HAD.  TRULY!  It’s unbelievably, amazingly good.

Raspberry Ice Cream
(from Diana Leskauskas)
2 cups raspberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup half and half (I used whole milk)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Puree raspberries in blender.   Combine remaining ingredients in ice cream cylinder and add raspberries.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Then follow the instructions for your specific ice cream maker.We have a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker that my husband gave me one year for my birthday and it is so fun to use for making fresh ice cream.  We really should use it more often than we do.  But then again, maybe it’s better for our health that we don’t.  After combining all the ingredients and turning on the machine, it took about 30 minutes from start to finish.  I scooped it all out (there was A LOT) put it in the freezer, and then my children inhaled it.  We do, thankfully, have some remaining.

This ice cream is bursting with flavor and the consistency is perfectly smooth and creamy.  Pure deliciousness!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Ratatouille from Smitten Kitchen

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By now you have probably guessed it: last week was Spring Break!  My children completely enjoyed their week out of school, especially since only 2 days were allowed for Spring Break last year because of all the snow that Mother Nature dumped on us.  This time we hardly knew what to do with ourselves!  We spent the week chilling out, enjoying playdates with friends, visiting museums, spending time with family, and basically having lots of fun.  It was definitely nice not to have a schedule.  Plus, it was a good trial run for summer – gotta get geared up for that!

After having neglected my blog, I’m returning with a great Meatless Monday recipe.  With the arrival of spring I’m in the mood to cook colorful, fresh vegetables – how about you?   Today’s recipe is an absolutely delicious ratatouille from the Smitten Kitchen.  The website is filled with tons of mouth-watering recipes and the photography is simply stunning!  This particular recipe was first introduced to me by my friend Kim (thanks, Kim!).  If you have a minute, check out her excellent blog here!

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille
(from Smitten Kitchen)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small eggplant
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
fresh thyme
salt and pepper
soft goat cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Pour the tomato puree into the bottom of a large oval baking dish.  Add in the sliced garlic cloves, chopped onion, one tablespoon of the olive oil, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, squash, and red pepper into very thin slices.  Arrange sliced vegetables on top of tomato sauce working from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, ending in the center.  Overlap and alternate vegetables (make it look pretty!).

Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the vegetables and season once again with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle fresh thyme over the top.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the inside of your dish to cover vegetables.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, until vegetables are cooked but still slightly firm and not mushy.  You should be able to see the tomato sauce bubbling  up.

Serve with goat cheese on top, if desired, or with your choice of rice, polenta, or any other grain.
I have to tell you, I was immediately taken with this recipe because of the French fanatic that I am.  I dearly love the movie Ratatouille.  If we had movie nights at our house (which we don’t – at least not yet), it would always be my pick.  Also, I figured if this dish was a hit at Kim’s house surely it would be at mine too.

You can change up the recipe some if you like by adding in other colorful peppers.  Sometimes I throw in a yellow pepper if I catch those on sale too…just whatever is bright and in season. There’s really no way to mess up the recipe.  Sometimes I double the amount of tomato puree because my husband really loves the sauce.  And sadly, I’ve never topped it with goat cheese, although I think that would be divine.  Purchasing goat cheese is just a bit out of our budget at the moment!

As for the slicing of the vegetables, I am in heaven with my new Simple Slicer from Pampered Chef (thanks James and Sarah!).  It slices superbly!  If you don’t have one, I highly recommend it – it’s a step down from a mandoline, so it’s more friendly on your wallet.

I find it nearly impossible to find a small eggplant for this recipe.  Typically, I do end up with leftover sliced vegetables, no matter how hard I try to make it all come out even.  But, the leftover eggplant is great for eggplant parmesan, and I recently discovered during my meatless 40 days of Lent how tasty a hummus, squash, zucchini, roasted red pepper, spinach and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread is.  Honestly, just heat your squash and zucchini a little bit in the microwave and you’re good to go!

So far, my favorite grain with this dish is bulgar wheat.  It adds a nice hearty texture, making the ratatouille a wholesome meal all on its own.  I’ve never tried polenta, but I’m sure that would be good too.

My children are great fans of Ratatouille’s Ratatouille!  So go ahead, give this recipe a try – you won’t be disappointed!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Hot Cross Buns

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For as long as I can remember, my mother has always made hot cross buns on Good Friday. Sweet and delicious, they take me back home every time I eat one.  This is her time-tested recipe, and it’s filled with goodness and love!

Hot Cross Buns
4 to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
½ cup water
½ cup milk
2 eggs

Glaze
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk or cream until desired consistency
Blend all ingredients together.

Heat butter, water and milk to 120 degrees.  Add to 1 ½ cups flour and remaining dry ingredients and raisins.  Beat two minutes at medium speed.  Add ½ cup flour and eggs.  Beat two minutes at high speed.  Stir in remaining 2 to 2 ½ cups flour to make soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Cover; let rise about 20 minutes.

Punch down; divide in half.

Shape each half into 12 equal pieces.
Round each piece into a smooth ball.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Brush with melted butter.  Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.

Uncover and let stand 10 minutes.  Cut shallow cross on top of each.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool slightly; glaze.

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. Make the dough up tonight – trust me, these are way better than what you can buy at Panera. In the morning, your kitchen will be filled with the heavenly aroma of scrumptious bread baking in your oven.  Treat your loved ones to fresh hot cross buns and it just may be the beginning of a new tradition for your family!

Happy Easter!
Muncho Mom

Chocolate Mousse

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In honor of National Chocolate Mousse Day, here is a delightfully deceiving recipe for chocolate mousse.  The secret ingredient?  Tofu!

Chocolate Mousse
(from Cooking Light magazine) 

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 (12.3-ounce) package reduced-fat extra-firm tofu
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Fat-free whipped topping, thawed (optional)
Grated chocolate (optional)

If you’ve never tried using tofu before, you really should!

Place chocolate and tofu in food processor or blender, and process 2 minutes or until smooth.

Place salt and egg whites in a medium bowl, and beat with a mixer at  high speed until stiff peaks form.
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.  Cook without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 238 degrees.
(I know, I really must buy a candy thermometer!) Pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed.  Gently stir one-fourth of meringue into the tofu mixture; gently fold in remaining meringue.  Spoon 1/2 cup mousse into each of 8 (6-ounce) custard cups.
Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.  Garnish with whipped topping and grated chocolate, if desired.  Yields 8 servings.

This mousse is so smooth and creamy, you can’t even tell there is tofu in it! And, tofu is very healthy for you.  Soy protein has been found to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.  Other studies have shown that one serving a day (1 cup of soymilk or 1/2 cup of tofu) is effective for cancer prevention.  There are limitless ways to cook with it, so I encourage you to experiment and find out what you like, then incorporate it into your regular diet.  If tofu is really not appealing to you, try using soy protein powder in a smoothie made with greek yogurt.  It’s great right after a cardio workout!  And have you seen the flavors of soymilk you can buy these days?  Sooo delicious!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Rosemary Potatoes

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Here’s a super easy and delicious side dish for Easter.  The beauty in this recipe is that these potatoes taste like they were roasted in the oven, but only take half the time because you cook them in the microwave.  Perfect…especially if you have a ham baking in the oven!

Rosemary Potatoes
(Cooking Light magazine)
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I used fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, quartered (about 4 cups)

Place butter and garlic in an 8-inch square baking dish.  Microwave at medium-high (70% power) 45 seconds or until butter melts.
Add rosemary, salt, pepper, and potatoes; toss well.  Cover and microwave at high for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Yields 4 servings.  Enjoy!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom