Pear Muffins

I found this recipe on frostbakeshop.blogspot.com.

 

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

approximately 1/2 cup milk

2 cups peeled and diced pears

Crumb topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup cubed butter

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin tins with cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 2 cup measuring cup, add the eggs and then add enough milk to take it up to 2 cups (if you don't have a 2 cup measuring cup, then half the oil, eggs and milk into a 1 cup measuring cup and do that twice). Mix the flour mixture with the oil mixture and then add the pears.

In a medium bowl, mix the crumb topping ingredients and cut with a fork until the butter is in very small pieces. This works best when the butter is still a little bit cold, if it is too warm it will just mush with pressure from the fork.  or use a pastry mixer.

Fill the muffin tins right to the top and the sprinkle with the crumb topping mixture. Bake for 15 minutes - again, I take it out as soon as possible! If you are using the little mini tins, then about 10 minutes. You can put a toothpick in to see if it is done, but they are so much better if they aren't over baked.

 

REVIEW:  These muffins were very yummy!  The recipe made 24 reg. size muffins.  I did use canned pears and they tasted just fine. I only filled the muffin tins about 2/3 full....not to the top.

No Fat Ranch Dressing

I also received this recipe at that Relief Society Meeting.  It was pretty good!

1 C Cottage Cheese
3-4 tsp Buttermilk Ranch Dressing packet
2-4 T Water

Blend ingredients in blender and enjoy as a dip or over salad.

Protein Balls

Received this recipe at a Relief Society Meeting.  They called them Tone it Up Protein Balls.  She said to eat 1-2 after working out.....but no more.  I'm sure you can substitute any dried fruit for the apricots.  I had to guess if you didn't want to add the protein powder you don't need to.

1 C Peanut Butter
1 C Honey
1 C Oats
1 C dried Apricots
1 C Sliced Almond
3 Scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder
Cinnamon to taste

Heat P.B. & Honey until runny. Stir in all ingredients and cool in fridge. Roll into bite sized balls.

Zucchini Cakes

Never had anything like this before.  Hope they are good!

Found on www.justputzing.com

- 1 large zucchini, grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Adobo spices
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

(1) Remove excess liquid from freshly grated zucchini by placing them between paper towels and squeezing.   

** There will be a LOT of excess liquid, so I suggest you squeeze over the sink.
 

(2) In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
 

(3) Heat a large pan on medium, and spray with Pam. Shape spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into 2-inch (diameter) patties, and drop onto the sizzling pan. Cook each side for about a minute and a half, or until the outside is golden brown.
 

(4) Finish the cakes off in the oven — stick them on a baking pan and broil them for 1-2 minutes.

** Note from website: I skipped this step when I made my cakes, so the sides were still kind of soft — not really a problem in terms of taste, but if you want a nice crust to form on the sides too, finishing them off in the oven should do the trick.
 

(5) Serve hot, alone or with ranch dressing.

Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Found this recipe on allrecipes.com 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 zucchini, shredded 1 (8 ounce) container lemon yogurt

6 tablespoons butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
2.	Mix flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Mix zucchini, yogurt, butter, egg, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest in a separate bowl; pour yogurt mixture into well. Gently stir yogurt, slowly incorporating the flour mixture until just blended. Batter may be slightly lumpy. Pour batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
3.	Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
4.	While muffins are baking, whisk 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons lemon zest together in a saucepan over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer and sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep glaze warm over low heat.
5.	Poke each muffin several times with a toothpick; spoon glaze over muffins. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. *Some suggestions: Instead of 6 T butter use: half oil and half butter, use half oil and half applesauce, or use 5-6T of applesauce and 1/8 c (flaxseed) oil Add 1 t baking powder to rise more Use 2 cups of zucchini

Hot Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

Time: 45 minutes start to finish
Yield: 24 pinwheels
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

1 1/2 C warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast
1/2 t salt
4-4 1/2 C flour
1 pound deli ham, sliced thin
2 C cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Pour 1 1/2 C warm water into your stand mixer and preheat your oven to 170 degrees. (You read it right...170 degrees is all you need.)

2.  Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon yeast. Turn the mixer on low for about 30 seconds allowing the ingredients to combine. Let it rest for 5 minutes, or until it gets all bubbly.

3. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 cups flour. Turn the mixer on to low and let the flour mix in. Add the rest of the flour (2 1/2 cups worth) one cup at a time. When the dough pulls itself away from the side of the bowl, you have enough flour.

4. Turn the mixer to medium speed and allow it to mix for 5 minutes.

5. Spray your counter with cooking spray, divide the dough into two equal parts and allow them to rest on the counter for 5 minutes. Don't skip this step, ok? If you don't let the dough rest it won't roll out nicely and then you might start to cry and then your kids would think you have lost you mind. Thanks for your cooperation.

6. After the dough has rested roll the old girl out into a large rectangle.

7. Cover it with half of the ham and sprinkle it with 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

8. Roll the dough up starting at the longer end.

9. Spray a large knife with cooking spray and slice the roll into 12 rounds.

10. Place each pinwheel onto a large cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

11. Repeat steps 6-10 with the other half of the dough.

12. Place both pans into your warm 170 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until they start to rise just a bit. You don't want them to get super puffy, you just want the dough to have the chance to expand a little, like you see in the picture above.

13. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees (don't take the pans out of the oven) and let the pinwheels bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown along the top and bottom. 

14. Take the pans out of the oven and let the pinwheels rest for about 5 minutes...then gobble them up.

Enjoy!

Creamy Baked Potato Soup

I found this recipe via pinterest.   I was looking at one recipe that was pinned by someone and then I saw this one on the site.  It looks yummy!  Here's the website.

Creamy Baked Potato Soup

ingredients:

5 large baking potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup flour, depending on how thick you like it (I used 1/4 cup)
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper or to taste
6 green onions, chopped & divided
1/2 pound bacon, cooked & crumbled
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded & divided
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon dried or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon dried parsley

directions:

1. Wash, dry & bake potatoes at 400 degrees for one hour or until done. I just put the potatoes right on the oven rack. Allow to cool. Cut into half lengthwise and scoop out pulp. Cut potato pulp into bite sized pieces; set aside. Use skins for something else like stuffed potato skins.

2. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add white onion & celery & saute for a couple of minutes. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly.

3. Gradually whisk in milk and chicken broth & cook over medium heat, until mixture thickens a bit and is slightly bubbly. Don't boil.

4. Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, herbs, half of the chopped green onions & 1 1/2 cups cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated. Whisk in sour cream & remove from heat.

5. Serve with remaining green onions, bacon & cheese.

Author's endnotes:
Potato soup is so versatile, here are a few ideas for you: add chopped cooked carrots, omit celery, add a tablespoon or 2 of bacon grease with the butter, stir in half the cooked bacon instead of using as garnish or prepare the soup vegetarian using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

Slow Cooker Black Beans

I found this at budgetbytes.blogspot.com.

This worked really well, the last time I did this.  I love that I can freeze them and they are ready to use when I need them and I don't have to use salt-infused canned beans from the store.

Here is how it's done:

STEP 1: Pour one pound (2 cups of dry black beans) (or two for an extra large batch) of beans out onto a baking sheet and sort through to remove any stones or debris. Transfer the beans to a colander to rinse off any dust.

STEP 2: Place the cleaned and sorted beans in a slow cooker and add 6 cups of water for every pound of beans. Put the lid on, set the cooker to HIGH and let her go. Beans that have not been presoaked will take 4-6 hours to cook on HIGH.

STEP 3: Once the beans are tender, pour them into a colander and give them a quick rinse. Divide the beans into containers (re-sealable or zip top freezer bags), label, date and freeze until ready to use! Easy as that.

One pound of dry beans will yield about 6 cups of cooked beans, equal to about 3 cans.

*one comment recommended adding 1/8th tsp of baking soda if your water is heavily calcified to help soften them.  I didn't do that one time and the beans never became soft and I have added the baking soda in my last two batches and the beans were perfect.  So I will be doing that from now on!

Sweet Baby Rays Slow Cooker Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest on this website forkinit.blogspot.com.  I love pinterest!  Its fun place to find ideas for ALL kinds of things, not just recipes!

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (sweet baby ray's all the way!)
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.

*I bet this would freeze wonderfully!  I guess I'll to try it and let you know!

REVIEW: oh my! YUM! YUM! YUM!  My chicken didn't look like that picture.  I don't know where they would of gotten the crispy looking parts.  However, it was very yummy.  We shredded the chicken b/c the sauce so thin that the chicken seemed to soak it up a bit more.  We had it was baked beans, mac and cheese and some veggies.  The next day I cooked up some rice and ate it on top of that.  I bet it would be good on a sub or roll.  Definitely recommend this and must use Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. So yum!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Found this recipe on smells-like-home.com .


3/4 cup mayonnaise (I use light mayo)
3/4 cup sour cream (I use light sour cream)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
1 small bunch of chives or 2 scallions, roughly chopped
Small handful of parsley
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients with 1/4 cup of buttermilk in a blender and blend for 10 seconds. Check consistency and blend in additional buttermilk if desired. Less buttermilk for dipping or pizza “sauce”, more for dressing. Store in an air-tight jar in the fridge.  Leftovers will keep 2-3 weeks.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

This recipe is from smells-like-home.com .


Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, plus more for serving
• 1 cup milk (I used skim but any kind will work)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 apple (any kind), peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup raisins

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease or spray a 2-quart casserole dish with either butter or cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, the melted butter, and the vanilla.
3. Place the diced apples in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle about two-thirds of the raisins over the top of the apples, then cover the fruit with the oat mixture.  Drizzle the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the milk as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle the remaining raisins over the top of the oats.  Bake the oatmeal for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the oats have set.
4. Remove the oatmeal from the oven and serve hot with more maple syrup.

Homemade Taco Seasoing

I've been making homemade taco seasoning for a while now.  I thought I'd give a different recipe a try.  Found this recipe on smells-like-home.com.

1/4 cup ancho chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
3 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.

To use: Use 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of taco seasoning in place of a packet of store-bought taco seasoning. Combine 2 tbsp cornstarch with 1 cup cold water and stir to dissolve cornstarch. In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat, brown 1lb ground beef, turkey or chicken, add seasoning and cornstarch-water mixture, and simmer over low heat until liquid has thickened.