Carrot Raisin Bran Muffins

I picked up this great book at the library. I have oodles of things bookmarked, but this is the first recipe I actually tried. And I already have late fines on the book. Oops! Oh well, this recipe is worth it.

1 C Natural Bran
1 C Buttermilk
2 Large Eggs
1/2 C Unsweetened Applesauce
1/3 C Vegetable Oil
3/4 C Packed Brown Sugar
1 1/4 C All-Purpose Flour
1/2 C Whole-Wheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 C Grated Carrot
1/2 C Chopped Pitted Dates, Raisins, or Cranberries (I used raisins)

Combine first 6 ingredients in one bowl. Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl, and toss with the carrot and raisins until coated. Add flour mixture to bran mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon into 18 prepared muffin cups. Bake at 400' for 20-22 minutes.

Peanut Porkchops

We just moved into a new house last week and are still gradually filling up the pantry. We had porkchops, but I wasn't really sure how to serve them with what we had. I made this up as I went, and it was delish! All measurements listed are approximate.

2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Milk
1 tsp curry paste
1 egg, beaten
1/3 C dry bread crumbs
3 porkchops

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. In another small bowl, beath the egg. Spread the bread crumbs out in a small dish. Dip the porkchops into the peanut butter mixture (rub to coat). Dredge the coated porkchops through the egg. Dip both sides in the bread crumbs. Place in a pan, drizzled with a little olive oil, over medium heat. Cook approximately 7 minutes a side or until done.



Mmmmmm! We had it with sweet potato fries and a ceasar salad. Yum!

Blueberry Muffins

I'm really not that into blueberry muffins. I have my favourite go-to muffins (cran-apple and banana-chocolate-chip), but I don't make bluberry muffins very often because I don't have a really great recipe. Isaac loves bluberry muffins though, so I've been experimenting with a few different ones lately. Here's the latest one we tried. I still don't think it's *the* recipe I'm looking for, but it's the best one yet. Do you have a fave? Share it with me!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1-1/2 cups blueberries

In bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, cream butter with sugar; beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually stir in milk (mixture may appear curdled). Make a well in centre of dry ingredients; pour in liquid and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.
Spoon into large paper-lined or well-greased muffin cups, filling to top. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch.

Smashed Potatoes

I had planned to have potatoes as a side last night, but I didn't really feel like mashing, and I didn't feel like eating them just boiled. Instead, I boiled them until they were fork tender, before smashing them individually with the potato masher. I placed them on a lightly greased pan and sprinkled them with spices (though I wish we had fresh herbs on hand to use - maybe next time!). They baked at 375' for about 20 minutes, until the bottoms were starting to get nice and brown. Then I sprinkled cheese on some of them before putting them back in the oven for a few minutes, just to make them a little more appealing to Isaac. Easy, and a nice change from the usual!

We had them along with Honey Teriyaki Salmon and some endamame. Have you tried that salmon recipe yet? You must. I can't encourage you enough. Since I found that recipe, we haven't made it any other way.



And the cheesy ones...

Spinach Dip with Red Pepper

This was the best spinach dip that I've ever made. Perfectly creamy with just the right kick of spice from the crushed red pepper. It's the most restaurant-like spinach dip I've ever had outside a restaurant. Better yet? I almost always have peppers and spinach in the freezer and cream cheese in the fridge, so I will always be able to make this in a pinch. Try it - you'll love it!

Weeknight Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is such an easy main course to make on weeknights, or to make ahead of time and store in the fridge. We have chicken breasts in the freezer, mozzarella cheese in the fridge, and deli ham is on sale at our grocery store this week, so I'm added it to our menu again.

Pound chicken breast thin. Top with thinly sliced ham and mozzarella cheese. Roll up the chicken breast and place (seam down) on a lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle/pat bread crumbs on the exterior of the chicken. Bake at 350' for approximately 40 minutes.

Horrible picture, but yummy meal!

Sweet Potato Kettle Chips

Talk about a yummy snack for movie night!

Slice sweet potatoes and toss with a little oil and some coarse salt. Cook at 400' for about 20 minutes, flipping over halfway. Meanwhile, chop some red onion, scallions, and whatever other veggies you might like. Top sweet potatoes with veggies and grated cheese. Return to oven for 5-7 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with sour cream for dipping.

Mmmmmmm.....

Toddler Snacks

Not so much a recipe...just an idea.

I started doing this at Easter, when we went to my parents' house for brunch. I knew that Isaac would probably be ready to eat before everything was ready, so I brought along some snacks. I just divided a variety of cereal and snacks into an egg carton. These are mostly snacks that he has all the time, but the presentation made him SO excited...he's been reaching for the egg carton in the fridge ever since. What a cheap and easy thing to do to make a toddler smile!

Sweet and Sour Pork

This is one of our new favourites, but I've been neglecting to post the recipe.

Drizzle about 1 Tbsp oil in a large pan. Toss bite-sized pieces of pork with bread crumbs, add to pan, and cook over medium heat. Once meat is cooked and exterior is crisp, remove meat from pan & set aside. Add your veggies. (We do about 1/2 onion sliced, 3 carrots chopped, and 3 celery stalks sliced). Saute until tender crisp. Add meat back into the pan, and mix it all together with this sauce. It easily rivals our favourite Chinese take-out place...but I feel way better about eating it.

Fudgeo Cheesecake

Josh asks me to make cheesecake all the time, but I generally only make it for special occasions. His birthday is occasion enough to make cheesecake, and to invent my own recipe to use his favourite cookies, Fudgeos. I combined a few recipes to come up with this, and it turned out great.

Easy Cookie Brownies

Dave and I have been friends since grade one. He and I are very alike in some ways and polar opposites in others, but we get along swimmingly! We are alike in our love for chocolate, and when he came over for dinner on a weeknight a little while back, I wanted to make a quick and easy dessert. Does it get any easier than this? I cut them while they were still warm, so they aren't half as cute as Bakerella's, but they were yummy!

"BabyFit" Blueberry Muffins

I found this recipe at babyfit.com eons ago, but I didn't make it until recently. They were a hit with Isaac (our muffin connoisseur)

1 cup unsweetened blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly spray a muffin tin with vegetable spray. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and 1/3 cup sugar together.In a small bowl, combine egg, oil and milk. Pour all at once into dry ingredients. Stir just enough to blend. Gently stir in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 full. Sprinkle lightly with 1 teaspoon sugar (I also sprinkled with oatmeal) and bake 17 minutes, or until light brown. Allow muffins to cool 2 minutes before removing from pan. Makes 12 muffins.

Honey Teriyaki Salmon

I found this recipe online quite a while ago, but never tried it until tonight. I don't recall whose blog I found it on, but it was credited to Weight Watchers Best Eats Cookbook. It was absolutely delicious! We devoured it with a veggie stri-fry, but we agreed that if there were leftovers, they'd be great on top of a salad. Maybe next time we can show some restraint!

You must try this salmon - it's such a great weeknight meal. Put the salmon in to marinade the night before, and then it just takes 10 minutes to cook in the pan while you set the table and pour the drinks.

4 (1/4 lb) skinless salmon fillets
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced

Place all the ingredients in a zip-close plastic bag. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag; turn to coat the salmon. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

Spray the grill rack with nonstick spray. Preheat the grill to medium-high or prepare a medium-high fire. Alternatively, spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and place over medium-high heat.

Remove the salmon from the marinade; discard the marinade.

Place the salmon on the grill rack. Grill until the salmon us just opaque in the center, 4-5 minutes on each side. Alternately, place the salmon in the skillet and cook until the salmon is just opaque in the center, 4-5 minutes on each side.

Serves 4
Serving side: 1 fillet
WW Points value: 4 points

Baked Risotto

I posted a while back about Cheesy Chicken Risotto, and I've made it twice since with a few little edits. The biggest one was to use THIS in place of the condensed soup in the original recipe. The texture is still great, but you will want to use more seasonings to make up for the blandness of the substitute. We also eat mostly meatless meals in our house, so I've tried it with an extra cup of vegetables in place of the chicken. So far, we've tried it with broccoli, spinach, green pepper, peas, red pepper, onion, and mushrooms. It seems to be one of those recipes that you can't mess up!

Comfort Week: Place

To wrap up Comfort Week, participants are to post a picture of something that looks like total comfort to them. I wish I had some OCD, but I don't. I'm messy. My bed could never look at perfectly crisp as the ones you see in advertisements. These kinds of ads totally appeal to me and make me wish I could keep my house looking spotless and inviting like this. This bed looks SO comfortable!