Quick and Easy Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

My son loves blueberry muffins. Sadly I usually use a box mix which has a lot of preservatives.  One thing that is lacking in America is cooking and baking from scratch. Cooking used to be something that you learned growing up, now with so many good restaurants, fast foods places, and over packed schedules, busy parents are not taking the time to teach their children how to cook. I learned some baking from my grandmother but it was mainly special treats such as cookies, fudge, pies, and cakes.  As I'm learning to bake and cook more nutritious foods, I am constantly searching for recipes that don't take much more time than opening a box and added a few things.  

I got the base of this recipe from cooks.com, which I posted at the bottom. Overall the original recipe was good but my son didn't care for it.  So I made a few modifications and the recipe below turned out great.  It takes me 5-10 minutes to mix and put in the muffin pan.  And that time included searching for things like my baking powder.  I use frozen organic blueberries that I let thaw while I mixed the batter.  I estimated the honey because honey is so sticky and I like to minimize my mess.  If you're looking for a healthy blueberry muffin recipe, give this one a try!  

Prep Time: about 10 minutes
Cook Time: about 15-20 minutes

Total Time: About 25-30 minutes.

Servings: 17 muffins

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. honey
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. blueberries

1/4 c. wheat germ (optional)

2 tbs. flax seed (optional)
1/4 c. sugar (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray pan or line muffin pan with muffin cups. Beat egg; stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients except blueberries just until flour is moistened.  Then add blueberries, batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown (mine were done in about 17 minutes). Makes about 17 muffins.

Original Recipe from cooks.com

1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. honey
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. blueberries

Follow the directions above.  Makes 12 muffins.

Quinoa, Broccoli, and Cheese Casserole

I have made this recipe a few times.  Every time I make it for guests they ask for the recipe.  I got it from The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas.  One of the main ingredients is quinoa. If you have never had quinoa, you have to try this recipe.  It is one of the healthiest grains there is.  I have served this with sweet potatoes, salads, and asparagus. It is also pretty filling on its own.

Prep Time: about 15 minutes (you can do this ahead of time)
Active Time: 10 minutes stove top
Cook Time: 20 minutes oven

Total Time: About 45 minutes.

Servings: 6


Ingredients:

1.5 cups quinoa, pre-rinsed (or rinse in a fine sieve)
2 Tbs light olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size pieces (or smaller if you want to blend it more for your child)

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese or cheddar-style soy cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


Directions:


-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C).  

- Bring 2 cups water to a simmer ina  medium saucepan.  Stir in the quinoa, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the onion and saute until golden.  Add the broccoli and about 1/4 cup water.  Cover and steam until the broccoli is just a little more done than tender-crisp, 5-7 minutes.

- In a mixing bowl (I use the same one I'm going to put in the oven), combine the cooked quinoa with the broccoli mixture and half of the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper and stir well.  Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled, shallow 2-quart casserole.  Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese.  Bake until the top is golden and crisp, 20-25 minutes.  Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes, and serve. 

Reba's Lemon Cheesecake

without Cool Whip

If you are looking for a spring/summery dessert, look no further.  This is my mother-in-law's lemon cheesecake recipe.  When I first tried it, I was in love.  If you like lemon flavored things and cheesecake, you'll like this dessert.

Prep Time: about 20 minutes to soften cream cheese
Active Time: 5-10 minutes
Refrigerate Time: at least 2 hours

Total Time: 2.5 hours

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

8oz cream cheese

with Cool Whip

3-4 fresh lemons (1/4-1/2 cups of lemon juice but you can estimate)

1 can of Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Graham Cracker Crust
Cool Whip Topping (optional)

Directions:

Let the cream cheese soften.  While the cream cheese is softening, juice the lemons and mix it with the sweetened condensed milk.  Once mixed, add the lemon juice mixture to the cream cheese.  Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.  Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Top with Cool Whip, if desired.

Cauliflower Marranca

I served this dish with broccoli and tomatoes

I am always looking for new recipes that include cauliflower.  This one turned out very good.  This recipe is from Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.  The only thing I would modify is steam the cauliflower before sautéing it.  The easiest way to do that is add a little water to the bottom of a microwave safe bowl, cover, and cook about 1 minute.  You don't want to over steam it because you do bake it in the oven.  But not steaming it causes the cauliflower to be a little crunchier than I prefer.

Prep Time: about 10 minutes
Active Time: 10 minutes stove top
Cook Time: 30 minutes at 300 degrees F in the oven

Total Time: 50 minutes - 20 minutes prep and sauteing and 30 minutes baking

Servings: 5-6


Ingredients:


3 cups cooked brown rice or millet - salted and buttered
1 lbs mushrooms, sliced
1 lemon - juiced
1 large onion, chopped
1 large head cauliflower in flower pieces - saute with 3 cloves crushed garlic, basil, salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups grated cheese of your choice


Directions Modified:


1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F
2. Steam cauliflower until almost soft
3. Saute mushrooms and onions in butter and lemon juice in one pan
4. Saute cauliflower with garlic, basil, salt and pepper in another pan
5. Combine cooked rice, mushrooms, onion, cauliflower, and cheese.
6. Bake, covered, 1/2 hour

Easy Pesto Sauce

As we are getting ready to vacation in Italy, I decided to make some Italian food.  I usually make my own pasta sauce but have never made pesto sauce.  It could not be easier!  If you like pesto you should try this simple and easy recipe.

I took this recipe from Rick Steve's Italy movie along with tips from online.  There was a short demonstration on the movie which told what to put in it.  This sauce is strong but very tasty!  I made some bruschetta to go along with the pesto and pasta.

Prep Time: about 8 minutes, plus time to cook pasta
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves - the easiest thing to do is buy a small herb plant unless you have basil growing in your garden
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (I heated them about 5 minutes on the stove)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a food processor, blend together basil leaves, nuts, garlic, and oil.  Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Serve over warm pasta and top with cheese.

The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet

I am always looking for new cookbooks.  Today I received the book, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlast in the mail.  After looking through it I am really looking forward to trying some of the recipes.  I cannot wait to share them with you, along with a picture, and how long it took to prepare and cook.  Simple is the key according to Atlas and that sounds great to me.

Baked Zucchini Stuffed with Couscous

Baked Stuffed Zucchini with a side salad and tomatoes

I made this recipe for the first time tonight.   While it is a little more time consuming than I generally prefer, it was pretty simple to put together and the end result was very good.  This recipe comes from Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker.  My toddler liked the couscous with the mixture but did not eat any of the zucchini shell.  I served this with a salad.

Prep Time: about 15 minutes
Active Time: 10 minutes stove top
Cook Time: 32 minutes oven

Total Time: About an hour but you're not actively doing something the whole time and you get "breaks" between prepping and cooking so you can entertain your child if need be.

Servings: 4 

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchinis
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c chopped onions
1/3 c quick-cooking, whole-wheat, or spelt couscous
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 c vegetable stock
1 Tbs dried currants
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Lightly oil a baking dish.  
-Trip the stems and halve lengthwise 2 medium zucchinis, sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper to taste. 
- Place teh zucchini cut side down in the baking dish.
-Bake unti lthe cut side is lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
-Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). 
-Let the zucchini cool slightly.
-Using a teaspoon, scoop out the centers of th zucchini, leaving four 1/4-inch-thick shells.
-Finely chop the pulp.
-Heat in a large skillet over medium heat - olive oil and onions, cook for about 5 minutes. 
-Add chopped zucchini, couscous, and minced garlic. 
-Cook, stirring, until coated with the oil.
-Stir in: vegetable stock, currants, and ground cinnamon.
-Bring to a boil.  Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
-Uncover and let cool to room temperature - I let it cool for about 5 minutes
-Stir in pine nuts.  
-Spoon the couscous mixture into th zucchini boats, dividing it evenly.
-Arrange in the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.
-Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes - I only cooked it 10 minutes and it was good
-Serve hot.