Choco Chip Quinoa Muffins

My daughter has Terra Nova testing this week at school, standardized testing taxes the brain to it's max. The brain needs glucose to fuel it, good glucose, not candy and soda.   Bananas are of great benefit to the brain as well as blueberry/pomegranate juice.  I wanted to add to a little more to the Brain~concentration arsenal. Maddy had a Health class project a few months ago and had to select a "healthy" alternative to fast/packaged food. We searched the internet looking for something that didn't have peanut butter or coconut (classmates with food allergies). We stumbled upon this recipe from another blogger at http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com/2013/12/quinoa-muffins.html.  Maddy made them by herself, under my ever watchful eye...LOL and amazingly, she liked what she created. So, I thought I'd share this recipe and how very simple it is to make.  The quinoa cooks up just like rice except that it's 1 cup of dried quinoa to 1 1/4 cup water. I use a microwave rice cooker and it comes out perfect each time.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups cooled, cooked quinoa
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips
• ¼ cup canola oil or coconut oil
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, mini chocolate chips and quinoa.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Divide among muffin cups.
  4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

Onion Anatomy and a quick cutting lesson

Anatomy of an Onion

Onions-peeled and unpeeled

The top of the onion (where the finger is pointing) is the part that sticks out above the ground. The root of the onion is what is below the soil.

Using a sharp knife, make vertical slices into the onion, down to the root.

Now, make horizontal slices, across the vertical ones you just made.

Lay the onion on it's side and slice through your cuts. 

You should have nicely sized onion squares that are perfect for sautéing or salads. 

FYI~ If you only need half an onion and plan on saving the rest of it for another meal...you should always cut your onion from the top to the bottom. All of the flavor is retained in the root end. So, if you start at the bottom, the onion will lose it's flavor faster. 

Baking Soda VS Baking Powder

How many of you have mistakenly swapped one for the other? Admit it...we've all done it at least once. So, what is the difference between the two? It could make or break your recipe. 

Baking Soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. 

Baking powder has cream of tartar and cornstarch added. 

You can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you'll need more baking powder and it may affect the taste), but you can't use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder. 

Baking soda by itself lacks the acidity to make a cake rise. However, you can make your own baking powder if you have baking soda and cream of tartar. Simply mix two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda.

Baking Soda is used in cookies whereas Baking Powder is used for cakes and biscuits.

Follow this link for the entire article:

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins---Gluten Free

Place the oats in the food processor and pulse for

about 10 seconds. 

• The oats should resemble a coarse flour-type consistency

  
  

  

  
  

  Place ground oats into a mixing bowl.

  
  

  

  
  

  Add remaining ingredients to the mixing

  
  

  bowl 

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

   Mix well 

  

  
  

   Line muffin pan with liners or spray oil to prevent sticking. Pour into muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 mins or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  Let cool and remove from pan.

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  YUMMMMMY Healthiness!

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

  2.5 cups old fashioned oats

  1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt

  2 eggs

  1/2 cup honey

  2 tsp baking powder

  1 tsp baking soda

  2 TBSP ground flax seed

  1 tsp vanilla

  2 ripe bananas

  2 cup raisins

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners.

  2. Place the oats in the food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor or place in a mixing bowl to finish the mixing. (I have a Vitamix and not a food processor so I use the Vitamix to make the oat flour and my mixer for the rest)

  3. Process until everything is mixed together and oats are smooth.

  4. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

  Suggested by Christine Finnefrock Calhoun

Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter, creamy

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup pretzels, crushed

Chocolate glaze

Instructions

mix the peanut butter and softened butter

add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar and mix until it is the consistency of stiff dough

mix in the crushed pretzels

roll dough into 1" balls and freeze until firm

melt the chocolate and dip the balls one at a time

sprinkle each ball with sea salt

refrigerate until chocolate is set

serve or refrigerate in air tight container

Chocolate Reese Cupcake and how I like to package them.

Pssstt...I have a secret~ I made these cupcakes yesterday and they were REALLY good, so I wanted to share the secret. I followed the Chocolate Cake mix box according to directions but substituted coffee for the water (coffee enhances the flavor of the chocolate) and added a box of chocolate pudding mix. Placed a mini Reese Cup in the center of the batter and baked according to the directions... they were yummy! If you want white cupcakes (vanilla) then you would replace the water with milk and add vanilla pudding. I "cheated" on the frosting...I used "canned" vanilla frosting and added a cup of peanut butter to each can of frosting and mixed well. Best PB frosting ever!  Give it a try and let me know what you think~i~

I buy goodie bags, spoons/forks, and 9 oz beverage cups at the $ store. I place the cupcake in the cup, frost the cupcake inside the cup and then place a spoon next to it and tie it up in the goodie bag. It makes for easy transport and keeps "things" from getting to the cupcake. Great for Bake Sales!

Salisbury Steak~slow cooker or dutch oven

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds lean ground beef 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 1 (1 ounce) packet brown gravy mix 3/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion soup mix, bread crumbs, and milk using your hands. Shape into 8 oblong patties.
2.	Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the patties in flour just to coat, and quickly brown on both sides in the hot skillet. Place browned patties into the slow cooker stacking alternately like a pyramid. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup, gravy, and water. Pour over the meat. Cook on the Low setting for 4 or 5 hours, until ground beef is well done.

DIY Onion Soup Mix

• 2/3 cup of dried, minced onions
• 3 teaspoons of parsley
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 2 teaspoons of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of celery salt
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and place in an air-tight container.

4 TBS equals 1 packet of Onion Soup Mix

Bouillon~ what is it and what do you do with it?

Food.com states, "Any broth made by cooking meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables in water. The liquid strained off after cooking is bouillon. A bouillon cube is a compressed, flavor-concentrated cube of dehyrated meat, poultry, fish, or vegetable stock. Bouillon granuales are the granular form of the dehydrated concentrate."

Many recipes call for "broth": chicken, beef, ham, vegetable, or fish. What do you do if you don't have any on hand? I always keep bouillon cubes and granules in my pantry. They store well and are super handy when you don't have any cans of broth in the cupboard. 

Creamy Potato Soup~ Slow Cooker Method

 Ingredients

30 oz bag of frozen shredded hash browns

42 oz chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken or potato soup

1/2 onion-chopped

1/4 TSP ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese (make sure not to use fat free, it won't melt)

Instructions Combine hash browns, chicken broth, cream of chicken or potato soup, chopped onion and pepper into your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Add 1 pkg. of cream cheese during the last hour and serve with shredded cheese and chives.

Money saving tip

Did you know that you can find most of your Kitchen staples at a discount store?
95% of my spices and liquid condiments that I purchase come from a dollar store or similar place. I paid $1 for Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, vinegars, buffalo wing sauce, as well as cinnamon, garlic salt, onion salt, etc. Save yourself some $$...stop in to see what they have, you'll be surprised!

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

You may substitute Blue Cheese dressing for the Ranch and use full FAT cream cheese. Just remember, when you cut the FAT in a recipe with "hot/spicy" ingredients, the recipe will tend to be more spicy/hot. FAT decreases the heat in spicy dishes.

Allow cream cheese to soften or place in the microwave to speed it up.

Cook chicken, any way you like. I just use a frying pan, quick and easy. You can also used canned chicken, 20 ozs.

Mix all ingredients together (saving 1 C of shredded cheese for the topping) in large bowl.

Pour into baking dish or microwave safe dish.

Sprinkle remaining cheese on top

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 mins or microwave for 6-10 mins. 

Serve with tortilla chips!