Remember 3 days ago, when I said that I was sneaking in ONE more pumpkin recipe into October? Well, that wasn't exactly true. 😬 I'm officially sneaking in one MORE pumpkin recipe. This will officially be the last pumpkin recipe of the month --- probably. 😅 We can all agree that there are health-ier things that you can eat than a muffin. But some days - I just wake up craving a muffin. 🤷🏻♀️ There's nothing like a warm muffin and a nice hot cup of tea to start my day but I also don't want to consume all my calories for the day before 8 am. 😬I considered going to the new bakery in town to pick up a muffin for myself but even though their oversized creations are scrumptious, they're also loaded with saturated fats and sugars. I decided that making a healthier, fat-free, homemade version was a better option for me. After all - it IS Halloween and I am pretty sure that I will be consuming plenty of sugary snacks today. 🍭 I buy a lot of pumpkin puree this time of year and I don't have any recipes that use the entire can. Does anyone else wonder why they don't sell pumpkin in 1 cup portions? I am constantly trying to figure out how to use up the leftover pumpkin in my refrigerator. Sometimes I get creative and I add it to my pancakes, cookies or granola. 🥞 Yesterday, my leftover pumpkin became the inspiration for a new healthy muffin recipe. Well, a bit of leftover pumpkin, a single overripe banana on my counter and a tiny bit of applesauce left in the bottom of the jar - the recipe almost writes itself. 😅These muffins really should have been named "leftover muffins" but that sounds way less appealing. It's the jambalaya of breakfast foods and as an added bonus - my frig also got a good clean out. 😂 Healthy Pumpkin Muffins 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup banana 1/4 cup applesauce 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup milk 2/3 cup sugar 2 cups flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Before you judge me, yes, dark chocolate chips are an absolute must - even in the healthiest of muffin recipes. I guess I could have swapped them out with nuts but when I crave something sweet - nothing is better than chocolate. 🍫 Feel free to make your own substitutions.
Ciao!
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This classic cookbook always maintained a permanent spot on my cookbook shelf and every once in a while, I get it down to dust it but it's been a loooooong time since I've opened up this old friend and flipped through its pages. I'm not sure what possessed me to grab this book off the shelf last week, maybe it was nostalgia, but I had this sudden urge to look through the cookbook that I used to depend on so faithfully. I will admit that I was really surprised when I opened it. I guess I expected the recipes to be outdated and somewhat old fashioned. What I found was quite the opposite. There were recipes for homemade fondant and brioche, crepes suzette and bloody marys!! 🍹 The fish recipes were the ones that really stood out to me though. Wild rice stuffed fish, grilled halibut with sherry sauce and fish en papillote. (which means "Fish in paper.") 🐟 Why have I never made these amazing delicious sounding recipes before? My only explanation is that when I first started cooking, I steered clear of anything that sounded remotely fancy or complicated. Tuna casseroles and oven baked salmon were more in my comfort zone in the early 90s. After a 20 year hiatus from my Better Homes and Garden Cook Book, I feel like I'm looking at with a new perspective now. A few more years of cooking experience under my belt has made me less apprehensive about messing up a recipe. (#theresalwayspizza) I'm also more comfortable with putting my own twist on a recipe by swapping out ingredients than I was when I first started cooking. Fish en Papillote is one of the first recipes that caught my eye. It's a simple way to prepare fish but it's an elegant way to serve it. I love all of the flavors in the sauce too. You can make it rich and creamy by using whole milk or lighter and thinner by substituting lemon juice and white wine. Fresh herbs are a nice addition to this little flavor packet too. 🌿😉 Fish en Papillote 4 fish filets 1 cup water 2 lemon slices 1 bay leaf 1 chicken bouillon cube (or 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules) 1 carrot, sliced thin 1/4 cup sliced green onions 2 Tablespoons butter 2 Tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 cup milk
To serve, transfer a fish packet to each plate. Cut an x in the top and peel back the paper. Viola - deliciously simple and elegant fish dinner! Now I feel like I have a new whole new collection of recipes to explore and I couldn't be more excited. If you happen to have one of these cookbooks that's been sitting on your shelf for quite a while, I highly recommend dusting it off and flipping through it. And if you use this cookbook regularly - I want to know which recipes you love.
Ciao! Anyone else trying to limit their intake of refined sugar this month but still struggling with a demanding sweet tooth? There are all kinds of theories about WHY we crave sweet food but I'm more interested in figuring out HOW to satisfy my sweet tooth without putting refined sugar, syrup or honey in my body. The struggle is real -- I'm trying hard to minimize the amount of sugar that I consume this month - which is exceedingly difficult considering the fact that I make cake, cupcakes and cookies on a daily basis. Today I'm sharing my simple secret to satisfying my own sweet cravings - dates. Natures natural sweetener. I'm not a huge fan of eating dates on their own but I do love the sweetness that they add to almost any recipe. If you've never tried a date sweetened recipe - these Apricot, Walnut and Coconut Date Bars are a great place to start. These no bake treats are easy to make and sweet enough to satisfy even the most demanding sweet tooth. Apricot, Walnut and Coconut Date Bars 1 cup pitted dates 1 cup dried apricots 1/2 cup whole almonds 1/2 cup whole walnuts 1/3 cup dried coconut Pulse dates, apricots, almonds and walnuts in food processor until pea sized pieces remain. Add coconut and pulse several more times. Line and 8" square pan with parchment paper. Press mixture into pan. Refrigerate 1 hour before slicing into 8 bars. Enjoy! I suggest you make yourself a cup of tea to enjoy with these delightful little treats. I'm already coming up with new variations of this recipe. Perhaps I'll give peaches and pistachios a try. Or maybe even cranberries and almonds. So many possibilities. Have fun.
Ciao! Anyone else ever come up with an alternative dinner plan before you even start to make a new recipe because you aren't at all confident that it's going to turn out? That is so me. Ben walked through the kitchen one day last week and commented on how good the house smelled and asked what I was making. I told him it was a new Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe which was quickly followed by a new recipe disclaimer. "If this doesn't work out the way I think it should - we'll have to go out to dinner tonight." Clearly Ben has way more faith in my new recipes experiments that I do because he didn't look at all concerned that I may have been in the process of creating a dinner disaster. Fortunately, for me (And Ben) - this new recipe turned out amazing. It was so good in fact that we stuffed ourselves with way more Spaghetti Squash Lasagna than we probably should have. Spaghetti Squash Lasagna 1 spaghetti squash 2 teaspoon olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 cup fresh spinach 1/4 cup ricotta cheese 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 pound ground turkey 3/4 cup marinara sauce 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
Bake 20 minutes at 425. Place under broiler until cheese browns. I've never been a big fan of squash and marinara sauce (hense my apprehension about this recipe) but this was REALLY good. I cooked one squash so we could each eat a half and it was way more food than we could eat in one meal. Ben ended up taking the leftovers for dinner the next day. I think you will agree - this recipe is a keeper. Ciao!
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