Tonight's Chili (one of many variations)

Turkey Quinoa Zucchini Chili

4 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans corn (do not drain) (plus the liquid and remaining corn from the corn bread, if you make that)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1-1.5 lbs ground turkey
1 large onion, diced
3 tbs taco seasoning
1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
1 cup water or chicken broths
1 large zucchini, rinsed, cored (cut out seeds) and diced.
1/2 cup Lawry's Signature Steakhouse marinade
1 tsp minced garlic
Agave to taste


1. Put canned ingredients in a large cooking pot and heat on medium low.
2. Brown turkey with onion and taco seasoning.
3. Cook quinoa and water/ broth on medium heat until water is fully absorbed.
4. Sauté zucchini with garlic and marinade until marinade thickens.
5. Add turkey, quinoa and zucchini to chili pot.
6. Add agave and/ or additional steakhouse marinade to taste.
7. Let simmer on low heat until ready to serve (30 minutes to 2 hours- whatever fit your schedule). :)
8. Serve with shredded cheese and plain Greek yogurt/ sour cream.

This batch fed 8 hungry adults, two picky kids and still had a little leftover.

Whole Wheat Flax Buttermilk Cornbread

So currently in my cupboard, where there once was found cornmeal, there is now a bag of Quaker Masa "Harina de Maiz."  I bought it by accident when I got all excited about this magical bag of "cornmeal" that was significantly cheaper per ounce than the other options and failed to look closely (ie read the translation at the bottom which reads, "Corn Tortilla Mix").  Turns out it makes for some pretty delicious cornbread (it's much smoother than American corn meal and tastes a bit stronger), and since it's also cheaper, I'm stickin' with it.  Anyway, this the most recent corn bread I made with the aforementioned ingredient and it turned out AWESOME.  Super moist and yummy (I prefer corn bread on the sweet, but not too sweet side, loaded with honey butter).  I'm sure this recipe would work just as well with regular cornmeal, but if you, like me, have this corn tortilla mix on hand, it works beautifully.

Whole Wheat Flax Buttermilk Cornbread

1 cup butter

1 cup agave
3 tbs ground flax seed
2 eggs
3 tbs water
2 cups buttermilk (or plain Greek yogurt mixed in milk)
1 cup canned corn, drained
Dash of vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups Quaker Masa Harina de Maiz (corn tortilla mix)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Melt butter in a medium to large saucepan, turn off heat and mix in agave, flax seed and water.

3. Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and corn and stir until fully combined.

4. Add remaining ingredients to sauce pan and mix until only a few small lumps remain.

5. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Let cool before serving.  Enjoy with heaps of honey butter, if that's your thing. :)

Whole Wheat Super Food Zucchini Muffins

I've been having fun with chia seeds lately.  Mostly I love them with some ground flax in my oatmeal every morning.  Seriously, it's the breakfast of champions.  I've only just started experimenting with baking with chia seeds.  They naturally form a gel when placed in liquid so they can work as a binding agent, though I'm not sure they can be used to entirely replace ingredients with good results.  That said I decided to try them out in some zucchini muffins because my girls had their hearts set on me making some "kini muffins" this week.  Basically the chia seeds replaced one of the 3 eggs I would normally use.  The chocolate chips are, in my opinion, unnecessary, but crucial to getting my girls excited about a baked good.  The end result had a great flavor and texture (I like the little crunch you get from the seeds) and my girls, especially my 3 year old, wolfed them down.  Truly.  I made 30 this morning and now have 11 left.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp ginger
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbs cinnamon
• ½ cup ground flax
• 2 Tbs chia seeds
• 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup stevia/ sugar baking mix
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups shredded zucchini (do not drain)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl until all combined.
3. Combine Greek yogurt, sugar, butter, egg and vanilla and mix into dry ingredients.
4. Fold zucchini and chocolate chips into batter.
5. Fill lightly greased muffin tins to about ¾ full (these muffins don’t rise a whole lot) and place in preheated oven.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back and edges begin to brown.  Let cool about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
7. Eat warm or cold, morning, evening or any time in between.

Note: I used 1 cup of all purpose flour because I had a limited supply of whole wheat flour.  I'm sure these would turn out as well with all whole wheat flour, but I decided to be true to today's experiment and write it as I made it today.

Whole Wheat Flax Zucchini Bread.

Whole Wheat Flax Zucchini Bread

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole wheat flour (fresh ground is best!)
• 1 cup ground flax seed
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup agave
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 mashed banana
• ½ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups shredded zucchini (do not drain)
• 1 ½ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Mix flour, flax, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.
2. Add eggs, vanilla, butter, agave, sugar, Greek yogurt, banana and mix until just combined.
3. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips
4. Divide batter into greased bread pans, mini loaf pans or muffins pans, until pan is 2/3 full.
5. Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes for regular loaves or 30-40 minutes for mini loaves.  Tops should be just golden brown and toothpick should come out clean. (I made one regular loaf and four mini loaves from this batch).

 

 

Strawberry Shortcake Bars

I wanted to make a red white and blue dessert for Memorial Day and I had this idea that I could make something truly scrumptious if I combined shortbread with the cream filling from my sister in law's awesome strawberry pretzel salad and fresh fruit (specifically strawberries and blueberries- because they're both on sale and in season and fit my red white and blue motif).  The end result was a hit.  I did make a variant with peaches in addition to strawberries and blueberries, half whole wheat flour and reduced fat cream cheese (I've now made this three times in one week) and it was just as well received.  Regardless- I would not label this a healthy recipe.  Just a super yummy summer dessert.


Strawberry (or peach, raspberry, blueberry etc.) Shortcake Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups butter (preferably cold or room temp)
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 ½ cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat- your choice)
• 8 oz cream cheese (regular or Neufchatel)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 –1 ½ cups whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 11/2 pounds strawberries or fruit combination of your choice
• Sugar as needed to sweeten fruit

Directions:

1. Make shortbread crust by combining butter and sugar in a mixer or by hand with a pastry blender.  Add flour and combine until dough is evenly crumbly.  Pat into a lightly greased 9X13 glass pan and cook for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let cool completely.
2. Make whipped filling by first combining cream cheese and sugar.  In a separate bowl whip the cream and vanilla until it forms stiff peaks.  Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until fully combined.  If crust has cooled you can spread cream layer on crust and chill in the refrigerator while you prep the fruit.
3. Slice fresh fruit and sweeten to taste with sugar, as needed.  Spread fruit on cream layer.  Keep chilled until ready to serve. 
4. Enjoy!

Delicious Multigrain Bread

This recipe is my baby.  It started out as a simple recipe from Allrecipes, but over the years I've tweaked it and experimented with it until finally coming up with what I consider the perfect bread.  It makes my heart happy to know that even if all I can get my kids to eat some days is bread, they're still getting something packed with goodness.  Don't be fooled by the whole grain-ness of this bread, it is moist and soft and scrumptrulescent.  It is important to note, however, that for best results you want fresh ground whole wheat flour.  Before I had the ability to grind my own flour I had to sub in about 3 cups white flour for some of the whole wheat flour.  It is so much better (and better for you) if you can grind your own flour!

 

Whole Wheat Oat Flax Bread (or easy home made rolls).

Ingredients

·         3 cups warm water

·         2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
·         1/3 cup agave (or honey) 
·         1 cups whole wheat flour
·         1 cup oats
·         3 tablespoons butter, melted
·         1/3 cup agave / honey 
·         1 tablespoon salt
·         1 cup ground flax
·         3 tablespoons bread dough enhancer or vital wheat gluten
·         5ish cups whole wheat flour
·         2 tablespoons butter, melted

 Directions

1.  In an electric mixer (I use my mom’s 30+ year old Bosch), mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup agave. Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup oats and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly (this is called “proofing the yeast” for anyone new to bread making).

2.  Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter (make sure butter is not too hot), 1/3 cup agave, and salt.

3.  Add flax, dough enhancer and 4 cups flour and mix. While mixing, continue to add flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. Let knead for about 5 minutes.

4.  Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.  (I preheat my oven to the lowest setting during step one and turn it off with just the oven light on once it’s preheated.  I then use the oven for both rises)

5.  Punch down bread dough and divide into 2 loaves.* Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by about one inch.

6.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely on wire rack.

 *I have funky sized bread pans, so after the first rise I’ll sometimes make one large loaf (bakes at 360 degrees) and divide the remaining dough into rolls. I then place them in the freezer for future easy “instant” rolls. I first put them on a small cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap until frozen and then transfer them to a freezer bag for long term storage.  When you want to make rolls, just take the frozen rolls, place them in a greased glass dish and let them thaw/ rise for about 3 hours.  Once risen, cook for 12 minutes at 415 degrees.  Butter generously upon removing from the oven.  These rolls are always a hit!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (Navy Beans and Flax) Cookies

My five year old just finished preschool, and it was not until the morning of her last day that I finally got my act together to put some teacher gifts together.  I figured cookies would be relatively easy.  I liked the idea of chocolate chip oatmeal and as per my usual, looked for the most popular recipe on Allrecipes as a starting point.  From there, however, I got thinking about beans and flax and how easy it should be to make a healthier version of this classic cookie... and this is where we ended up. 

Better for You Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup pureed navy beans (with milk for blending)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup ground flax
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups oats
• 11/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add beans (drained), butter (softened), egg, and vanilla to blender and puree (trying to puree the beans without the added liquid will not work).  Add milk if more liquid is needed.
3. Combine been puree with sugar in a large bowl.
4. Add remaining ingredients (except sea salt and chocolate chips) to bowl and mix until well combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Drop batter by spoonfuls (it is a very sticky batter) onto greased cookie sheet or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with sea salt if desired (you’ve got to at least try it- I’m a fan).  These cookies do spread a bit so leave some room.
6. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes.  Let cool on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.  .

These are slightly "cakey" cookies, but also a little chewy and quite yummy. Keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge.

Carrot Cake Muffins

My then soon-to-be- five year old requested this be her birthday cake after inhaling a couple of these muffins... er cupcakes.  The picture is of said birthday cake.  It was well received.  While this recipe isn't necessarily healthy, as far as cake goes, it's pretty darned close (except the icing- that's just straight up indulgence).
 

Carrot Cake Muffins

Ingredients

• 4eggs
• 1 cup ground flax seed
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• 1 lb bag baby carrots
• 1 20oz can pineapple, drained

Instructions

1. Combine eggs, butter, flax, vanilla and sugar. 
2. In a separate bowl (or on top of the creamed butter and sugar mixture- cause I’m lazy and don’t want too many dirty dishes) combine dry ingredients.  Mix wet and dry ingredients together. 
3. Blend carrots and pineapple in blender (I used the pulse button on our Blendtec) and stir into batter.
4. Spoon in lightly greased paper muffin liners and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until tops of muffins spring back. Yields 36 muffins.

The cream cheese icing recipe I use calls for 2 packages cream cheese, one stick of butter, one teaspoon vanilla and adding powdered sugar until you reach desired thickness.  Half that recipe would be more than enough to frost 36 muffins.

Rules of Thumb

There are quite a few dishes I make that I almost never follow a recipe for.  Thus they are never quite the same twice (lasagna, stir fries, soups and chili).  A large part of the reason for my going recipe-less is my desire to use what I have on hand, what's in season and/or what's on sale.  I do have some patterns I follow, however;

1. If I can add beans, I do.  I rarely make any kind of soup or chili without adding a variety of beans.  Beans are a super food, they're inexpensive and they are great in food storage.  And yes, this can lead to flatulence.  My poor husband.

2.  Can I use whole wheat?  There are certain recipes that "disguise" whole wheat well.  Zucchini bread, banana bread, pumpkin bread, bread, carrot cake, anything cocoa based, lasagna (whole wheat noodles), muffins and so on and so forth.  Sometimes I only sub part whole wheat flour, but, as long as I have access to fresh ground flour- it's usually all or nothing.

3. I add veggies.  Soup, stir fry, pasta, dips, smoothies- I add veggies to all these things, again just depending on what I have on hand.  I'm an onion fanatic.  Onions go in everything savory.

4. I add ground flax.  If I bake it, it probably has flax in it.  Other favorite add ins are nonfat plain Greek yogurt and quinoa. 

5.  I reduce or sub out sugar wherever I can without sacrificing flavor.

6.  I never mess with butter.  Butter is where the richness comes from.  Butter may be high in fat, but gosh darn it, it makes things taste good.



Black Bean Brownie Cookies

Beans can be used for a substitute for oil in a number of recipes, provided those recipes call for some strong flavors, like cocoa.  It takes some tweaking to get the consistency right sometimes, but the health benefits are pretty awesome.  That being said, the original recipe for these cookies I first saw posted to Facebook by a friend of mine.  I couldn't just let the recipe be, even though it was already "healthified," because I can never just let a recipe be.  I just can't.  Thus here is my even healthier (I added things like flax and Greek yogurt and tweaked the sugar) and arguably yummier (at the very least, I think I improved the texture) recipe:

Black Bean Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups black beans, rinsed well
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 6 T. butter, melted
• 1 T. vanilla extract
• ½ cup agave
• 2/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 11/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used fresh ground flour- it's lighter and better for you)
• 1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup Truvia baking blend (Stevia + sugar)
• 1/3 cup (be generous) ground flax
• 1 T. baking powder
• dash of cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top OR butterscotch chips (my husband's preference which I stumbled upon by happy accident).

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine black beans, milk, peanut butter, vanilla, agave, Greek yogurt and melted butter in a food processor and process until smooth (I used my Blendtec).
3. Combine whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, flax, salt, and cinnamon, in a large bowl.  Stir in wet ingredients.
4. Stir in dark chocolate chips.
5. Spoon dollops of the batter onto the baking sheet and sprinkle with the extra chocolate chips.  These cookies do not spread, but just puff a little as they cook so you can get them pretty cozy.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Let cool slightly, then put on a baking rack until they are cooled completely.
8. ENJOY!!

 

Note: These should probably be kept in the fridge, if they stick around that long.  I, er, I mean, my kids wolf these down like nobody's business.