Summer Spiced Healthy Zucchini Muffins

1 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose white flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 large egg
Preheat over to 400. Coat muffin tin with oil. Mix dry ingredients. Add zucchini, milk, oil, honey, and egg. Mix together. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake 20 minutes.

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins

LINK

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flax seed meal

2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbs cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup Stevia

4 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil (For MSPI, use coconut oil)

1/2 cup applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 large apple, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Method:

Mix dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and add to dry mixture along with oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add apple and nuts and stir to combine.

Allow fully incorporated mixture to stand 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease muffin tins. Spoon into tins (the batter will be very thick) and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 18-24 large muffins.  

We store them in the refrigerator, per the suggestion of the author of the blog we got the recipe from.

Yogurt

IT WORKS!!! Oh my gosh. It actually works, is easy and tastes good.

HERE and HERE are two of the many recipes I read.

So I have seen how to make yogurt on multiple blogs but I was so scared to try it. I had a fear of it smelling like spoiled milk and in my mind it seemed so complicated. Finally, I gave in and tried it after I saw the stack of 32 oz yogurt containers piling up under the sink. Two 32oz yogurts every week.

32oz of yogurt costs $3.50
1/2 gallon of whole organic milk costs $3.50+ $1.50 worth of honey, starter and vanilla

I was persuaded by the price to try it.


Ingredients
1/2 gallon whole milk (1% to whole is fine)
1/2 cup starter (I use just plain yogurt with live active cultures.)
1/2 cup honey (or other sweetener)
1 T vanilla (optional)


Put 1/2 gallon of milk in the crockpot on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Turn the crockpot off and let sit for 2 1/2 hours.

Whisk together a cup of yogurt from the crockpot, 1/2 of plain yogurt starter, 1/2 cup honey and 1 T vanilla. Add back to the crockpot and whisk together.

Wrap the crockpot in a beach towel and place in a cool oven overnight. (8+ hours. The oven is to keep it the same temperature, safe from drafts.)

Pull it out and YOU HAVE YOGURT in the morning!
It is amazing. Almost as cool as making bread.

One of my children likes to drink it with a straw. Put if you want it thicker you can put a coffee filter at the bottom of a strainer to let the whey drain. (See link given above.)

There are videos to watch on YouTube if you are nervous too. I think, it is worth it!

Donuts

I do not like donuts and I like THESE.
I don't really think this counts as cooking. They are good hot!

canned biscuits (anything BUT the flakey layer kind).
Melted butter (4T) (coconut oil for MPSI)
Sugar & Cinnamon
1/2 inch vegetable oil

Medium heat for oil.
Cut holes in the dough. I used the vegetable oil lid.
Brown both sides. Tongs work best for flipping.
Cool slightly on paper towel lined plate then lay in shallow dish of melted butter then shallow dish of cinnamon sugar. EAT!

Oatmeal Pancakes

1/2 c. flour (can be whole wheat)
1/2 c. quick oats
1 T. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
2 T. vegetable oil
1 egg

Blueberry Spice Muffins

Penzeys Spice Catalog 2011

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup t baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk (MSPI coconut milk)
1/3 cup melted butter (MSPI coconut oil)
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:
1 T sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For the muffins: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the egg and milk and then add to the dry ingredients along with the melted butter. Stir just until moistened and then fold in the blueberries. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes or until browned and springy or the toothpick that doesn't hit a blueberry comes out clean. Col a few minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack.

Jiffy Pancake and Fruit Shortcakes

From Rachael Ray's Cooking Rocks!

For all three recipes
Butter or vegetable oil, for skillet or griddle
Whipped cream

Blueberry Shortcakes

1 box blueberry muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 pint fresh blueberries


Raspberry-Strawberry Shortcakes

1 box raspberry muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
12 strawberries, hulled and sliced


Banana Nut and Fruit Shortcakes

1 box banana nut muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 small banana, sliced
6 strawberries, hulled and sliced

Make the pancakes: Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle pan over medium heat (we used our electric griddle). Mix each muffin mix in a seperate bowl with egg and milk. Lightly grease skillet or griddle and pour four 3-inch blueberry pancakes onto the griddle. When bubbles appear around the edges, lift up the pancake to peek at the underside. If it looks golden brown, flip it and cook the other side. Repeat with raspberry-strawberry pancakes and then the banana nut and fruit pancakes, so you havve 4 of each kind, for a total of twelve 3-inch pancakes.

Make the shortcakes: Layer a pancake with a swirl of whipped cream, a pile of fruit, then another pancake, more whipped cream and fruit, and then top with another cake. Each shortcake stack should be made with 3 small pancakes.

Use the cheapest mixes you can find. The more expensive ones puff and are harder to get done in the middle. Also, the bigger you make them the easier they seem to be to flip.

Granola Bars

This is the best granola bar recipe I have found.
I found this recipe at Raising Olives.

The organic grocery store in my neighborhood sells granola bars for two bucks a pieces! They are good but not that good. This recipe is simple and easily adapted.


2 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. wheat germ (I used some unidentified flour in my pantry. I forgot to label the bag while at the grocery store. :) )
3/4 t cinnamon (Let my 16 month old shake the spice jar over the bowl!)
1 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c raisins (mmm, no... I used chocolate chips and dried cranberries)
3/4 t salt (didn't measure, sprinkled)
1/2 c honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c applesauce, coconut oil, peanut oil, or olive oil (I used some of our homemade applesauce)
2 t vanilla

Bake at 350 in a greased 9 by 13.

Mix the dry ingredients then make a well and place in the wet ingredients.
Mix then pat into the baking dish.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. The edges will begin to turn golden. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Cut and remove from pan!!! Do not wait or you won't get bars. You will be chipping it out of the pan and eating it with milk on it or with ice cream.


I barely followed the directions and the bars tasted great! I will be making these again and again.

Crispy Prosciutto and Scallion Frittata

Serves 4
Hands-on Time: 10m
Total Time: 30m

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1-inch pieces
8 large eggs
3 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups arugula (about 2 bunches)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (mmm…I don’t like this, we use parmesan.)


Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Parmesan, and pepper. Add the cooked scallions and prosciutto. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and stir to distribute the ingredients.

3. Bake until browned around the edges and puffed (a knife should come out clean), 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, divide the arugula among individual plates. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, sprinkle with the salt, and top with the goat cheese. Cut the frittata into triangles and serve with the salad.
Tip If you don't own an ovenproof nonstick skillet, use a seasoned cast-iron pan instead.

Breakfast Burritos

Flour tortillas
Eggs-
In a bowl, lightly mix the eggs (mostly breaking the yolks), throw in a bit of oil and some seasoning (cumin, chipotle sauce, whatever) and let sit until pan heated and scramble
Hash browns- can use frozen and follow package directions or make them from scratch with fresh potatoes. Shred potatoes with cheese shredder rinse and dry! Don’t forget this step to get some starch off so they will stick together.
Meat- bacon, chorizo, sausage, whatever
Leftovers in fridge from the week- black beans, sautéed onions or green peppers, etc.

Cook everything and pile it your tortilla. Top with sour cream and salsa then roll it up. You just can’t mess these up. They are so good!

Orange Julius

2 cups water
1/3 cup powdered milk, to make it extra foamy
1/2 a can frozen concentrated OJ
10-12 cubes
1 tsp. Vanilla

Banana Smoothie

Blend together
Frozen banana
1 container vanilla yogurt (MSPI coconut yogurt)
2 T peanut butter
Milk (coconut milk or almond milk)

Blue Berry Muffins

375 degrees for 20 minutes
grease tin

2 c flour
¾ c sugar
2 ½ t baking powder
½ t salt
mix and make well
2 beaten eggs
¾ c milk (MSPI coconut milk)
½ c butter (MSPI coconut oil)
1 T orange peel

Mix and add all at once to dry mixture.
Stir until just moist.
Should be lumpy
1 c blueberries (fresh or frozen thawed) FOLD IN
Spoon in cups
Bake at 350
Cool in cups on wire rack for five minutes
Remove and serve warm