Easy Pumpkin Muffins

So I have seen this recipe floating around Pinterest for a while not and never tried it.  But this weekend, fall was in the air, and the ingredients were handy, and it seemed like it would be healthier than making true scratch pumpkin muffins.  I am so glad I gave it a try because these were really good!  And I think they are kind of healthy (pumpkin is a veggie, right?) and I figured the mini muffins out to be about 50 calories each.  Minimal effort, and amazing taste/texture.  Kids and Jason approved as well.  

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

1 box yellow cake mix

1 15 oz can pure pumpkin

optional - brown sugar

Mix the pumpkin and the cake mix and spoon into greased muffin tin.  I used my mini muffin tin and am glad I did, they are perfect for one biting! The bigger ones would work too I am sure.  When you spoon the mix in, it will be sort of stiff and weird shaped but that's totally OK, they taste fabulous.  I guess you could go and flatted the tops of all of them if you were so inclined- but I wasn't.  I did sprinkle some brown sugar on top of them though, just as a lazy chef's streusel, and that added a nice touch to them, so I definitely recommend taking that extra step.  You could make a more proper streusel if you wanted to and I am sure it'd be amazing but this worked and the energy output matched what I had in mind.  

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or so (probably closer to 20 for full size muffins) and enjoy!  

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

Kat and I made this one night after a Hot Yoga class, and it was her first time having fish tacos!  She loved it and so did I.  Super light, healthy and satisfying.  Mahi is only 30 calories per ounce (I think) and super high protein.  Win win.  

Not sure how important the ginger is, I didn’t really notice it- but it is in the title so maybe it adds something. Kat and I chopped up the fish and served it in corn tortillas with a slather of sour cream (lazy white sauce) and cheddar cheese.   I burnt the glaze too the first time but it might be worth trying again, although in the tacos it wasn’t necessary. 

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

3 T. honey
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp. olive oil
4 – 6 oz. mahi mahi
salt and pepper to taste
1 T. vegetable oil
optional - corn tortillas, sour cream, cheese

In a shallow glass dish, stir together the marinade (everything except fish and vegetable oil.)  Season the fish with salt and pepper and place them in the glass dish.  If the filets have skin, place them skin side down.  Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Remove fish and reserve marinade.  Fry fish with a small amount of vegetable oil for 4-6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Remove filets to a serving platter and keep warm. 

Pour reserved marinade into the skillet and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistency.  Spoon glaze over fish and serve immediately. 

Puerto Rican Shredded Pork

Made this initially with my sister Kat and then again this weekend at home.  It is really good and flavorful but not at all spicy- which is a win for the kids.  Super easy and I am wondering if you really need to brown the meat and blend the marinade first?  Might be able to just throw it all in and I don't know that it wouldn't work just as beautifully. Super healthy and easy.

Puerto Rican Shredded Pork
2-3 lb. pork sirloin roast, boneless
1 tsp. veg oil
4-5 cloves garlic
1 T cumin
1/2 T coarse salt
1 t. dried oregano
4 oranges, juiced, or 1 C. fresh orange juice
4 limes, juiced

Brown the pork in a tiny amount of oil (optional?) and combine all other ingredients in a blender (optional) and then cook for 8 hours on low, 4 hours on high.  Shred pork and discard all but 1 C. of the cooking juices.  Cook for another 15-30 minutes.

Serve in lettuce wraps, corn tortillas or taco shells.  Top with pico de gallo, chopped cilantro, and/or avocado.

Grilled Pizza

One of Christopher's friend's parents built a brick pizza oven in their back yard and invited us for a pizza party this last spring.  I kid you not, this was some of the best and most interesting pizza of my life.  They had each person stretch out their own dough and then go build the pizza that they wanted, using ingredients that were set out at the next table in cute little bowls.  It only cooked for about five minutes or so in the oven, and then everyone shared pretty much all of the pizzas, just going from table to table to get what they wanted. 

I think that this can be adapted to the regular BBQ grill if you make sure to olive oil up the grates (heavily, with a paper towel) and use fresh pizza dough, which I usually buy at either Trader Joe's, Fresh 'n Easy or even my local pizza place sells bagged dough if I ask nicely.  You have to cook the dough by itself on one side for a few minutes, get some nice char marks on it, then flip it over and cook it partially before you add toppings.  Also, make sure you use sauce sparingly when grilling your pizza or it is easy to have it turn into soggy mush.  When I do put the toppings on finally, I usually keep it on low/medium heat (indirect would probably be smart once the crust is cooked) and then close the grill cover so it is mostly just warming ingredients and melting cheese.  

It is worth mentioning that my pizza's are almost never pretty and round like these ones are.  I guess if I practiced enough they'd get better, but this is sort of a special treat so it doesn't happen too often- and I end up eating pizzas that look more like Tennessee.  That's OK, they still taste delicious!  

Here are some of the ingredients that they used and that I recommend for a fabulous pizza party.

·      The Usual Suspects
Pepperoni, Sausage, Pineapple, Black Olives, Ham, whichever standard toppings you prefer

·      Barbeque Chicken – BBQ sauce, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, roasted or grilled chopped chicken, red onions, bell peppers and cilantro

·      Apple Gorgonzola– Alfredo sauce base, Gorgonzola and Mozzarella, thinly sliced green apple, walnuts, fresh greens on top after baked - optional.

·      Baked Potato Pizza – Sour cream as sauce, cheddar cheese, chopped potato mixture (just microwave some small reds and give them a rough chop/mash, then salt and pepper lightly), fresh rosemary, chopped garlic, bacon bits (optional)

·      Pear and Gorgonzola – Pears, Gorgonzola cheese, mozzarella, caramelized onions (optional)

·      Marguerita – Red sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves

·      Southwestern – Sour cream base, black beans, grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, cilantro

Blackened Salmon

My friend Phuong from Pleasanton taught me how to cook salmon initially, and then she had posted some food picture that looked amazing (I'll see if I can find it for this post!) and so I begged her to share her secrets with me.  I tried it once and it was really good, but I think that like all things, practice makes perfect, so there is room for me to improve here.  Worth every minute though because salmon is so healthy and yummy and just full of things that are great for me and also the kids growing bodies.  Here we go!

Blackened Salmon
salmon filets (Costco's Kirkland frozen individually wrapped are a great start)
black pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
paprika
dill
olive oil spray

Mix up the spices so you have a rub, or you can just sprinkle it on as you go.

Thaw salmon and dry with paper towels.  Generously salt salmon and put in the fridge for an hour or more on top of paper towel.  When ready to cook, pat paper towels on salmon to dry more.  On each side, sprinkle spice mixture and spray with olive oil.

Heat pan (ridged grill pan is better) on high heat so the pan is super hot.  This allows the salmon to blacken.  Spray pan with olive oil.  Sear salmon on one side for about four minutes (until it's seared black) and then turn it over and sear for 3 minutes or so.  It should feel fairly firm and not have a lot of "squishy" give to it when it is ready.

Phuong says "the trick is to have the salmon dry by patting it dry, salting it so the water is drawn out, and giving it time in the fridge to dry it out- and of course, having the pan super hot."  Thank you, Phuong! :-)

Peanut Butter Pie (No Bake)

Made this also in LA with Kat and it was really good, kind of a nice summer-y cold dessert that feels light but still decadent. We did ours as a pie but the picture above shows bars.  If we'd waited longer, maybe ours would've looked like that too, but I don't know that we gave it the full four hours to chill.

Peanut Butter Pie (No Bake) 
Chocolate pie crust (or make your own)
4 oz. cream cheese (reduced fat is OK)
1/2 C. plain greek yogurt
1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
2/3 C. powdered sugar
1/4 C. chopped roasted peanuts, optional, but really good

Cream the greek yogurt, peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Pour into prepared crust and sprinkle with peanuts.  Chill for four hours and serve!

Peanut Butter Cookies (Flourless/GF)

Made these with my sister Kat on our last LA trip and they were really good.  We gobbled them all as soon as they came out of the oven, and afterwards we both regretted it because they seem like the type of cookie that would get better on day two (OK, hour two) than when they're piping hot, but even so, they were really good.  They're also so pure and simple in the ingredient list.  However, don't even think about doing the cool criss cross fork thing to them, they just fall apart.  Roll them as well as you can and then go with it.  Yum!

Peanut Butter Cookies (Flourless/GF) 

1 large egg
3/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 t. vanilla (I hear that they make a GF if you're particular about that)
1 C. creamy peanut butter (unsweetened is OK per the original recipe.)

Combine and bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chiffon Fudge Cookies

My friend Nicole makes these around Christmas time and seriously, they are probably the very best cookie I have EVER had.  They totally melt on your tongue- they're strange cause they're kind of fudgy but also kind of dry, but moist at the same time- I don't know how to describe it and it's been many months since I have had the pleasure.  You definitely need a mixer for these, could not do them by hand.  I don't have a KitchenAid but I bet it would come in handy for these.  Also, Nicole says to splurge on the best quality of bittersweet chips you can find, says you can taste the difference. :-)

Chocolate Chiffon Fudge Cookies

3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips, divided 

6 large egg whites, room temperature

4 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, divided

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

Place 2 cups chocolate chips in a microwave-safe container.  Melt chips in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so, for about 2 minutes or until no longer lumpy.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a large bowl to soft peak stage.  This means that you fluff them up until it forms a peak when you pull the beaters out, but then they fold over on themselves.  Gradually beat in 2 cups confectioners’ sugar.  Continue beating meringue mixture until it reaches stiff peak stage, which means when you pull the beaters out, they stay formed as peaked little mountains.

In a separate bowl, whisk 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt.  On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue just until combined.  Stir in lukewarm chocolate and remaining cup chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough for 1 hour (up to overnight).  Don’t skip this or your cookies will be flat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment or slipat (do not skip with these cookies… they will stick)

Place remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in bowl.  Roll 1 level tablespoon of dough into a ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly.  Place on prepared sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.  Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes.

Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes.  Transfer to rack to cool

Makes about 48 small cookies.

Buttercream Icing

I finally took the cake decorating class that I'd always wanted to and I learned how to make real buttercream icing!  This is the good stuff.  The big thing you need to know is what consistency you are trying for- you need a stiff consistency for flowers, medium for writing and balloons or most other things, and a thin consistency for frosting the whole cake.  You can also experiment with subbing in butter instead of shortening, but then it will affect the color of your final produce.  But butter...mmm.  Half butter and half shortening might be a winning combo.  All butter sometimes makes it too runny to write or decorate with but you could probably still frost the cake.  If you're picky about the color that you want, then you need to make sure and use white vegetable shortening (I usually buy the butter flavored which is yellow and will affect the color) and clear vanilla (again, the normal stuff is kind of brownish so buy clear if you want pure colors).  Also, watch out for the powdered sugar.  I'd assumed that a bag is a pound, and it turns out it is two pounds!  Broke my hand mixer learning that the hard way. :-)

Buttercream Icing
1 C. solid white vegetable shortening
1 tsp. vanilla extract, clear is best
7-8 tsp. milk (or water, I always use milk)
1 lb. powdered sugar
pinch of salt, optional

Chocolate Buttercream
Add 3/4 C. cocoa powder or 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate squared and an additional 1-2 Tbsp water.

Apple Orchard Panini

Here's another one my sister Kat turned me on to.  I don't usually have the ingredients for this on hand (at least not all of them) but it is a delicious, slightly sweet but still very satisfying lunch.  Fairly healthy, too- this is a perfect light, summer midday meal.

Ingredients: 
Italian bread or Ciabatta buns
Extra virgin olive oil
Apple butter
Roasted deli turkey
Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
Brie cheese, sliced

Directions: 

1. Preheat panini maker to medium-high. Brush one side of 2 slices of bread with extra virgin olive oil. Turn slices over then spread apple butter generously on both slices. Layer on turkey, apple slices, and brie cheese then place other side of bread on top. Place in panini maker (alternatively, cook the sandwich in a skillet on the stovetop) until golden brown and crispy. Allow to rest for 2 minutes then slice with a serrated knife.

Mini Salsa Meat Loaf

My sister Kat made this with me and she was right, it was delicious, quick and healthy.  It makes four little single serving size loaves and as is almost always the case with meat loaf, it heats up wonderfully the next day or two.  I served it with green beans and if I'd had potatoes, mashed would be nice, though the original author serves it with Spanish rice.

Ingredients:
1lb 99% fat-free ground turkey breast
1/2 cup salsa ( I used Sabra Roasted Garlic Salsa)
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray then set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, salsa, bread crumbs, cheddar cheese, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix until just combined.
3. Divide mixture into 4 equal-sized portions then form into loaves and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center, then let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Crusty Artisan Bread

One of my new neighbor's made this for us for Christmas and no lie, it was the very best Christopher and I have ever had, EVER.  She was kind enough to teach me how!

No-Knead Crusty White Bread
3 C. lukewarm water (bath water temperature)
1 1/2 T. instant yeast (about 1.5 packets)
1 T. sugar, to get the yeast going
32 oz of flour (best to measure by weight but usually about 7 Cups)
1 T. salt

Measure your flour into a really big mixing bowl, I use my XL one.  I do measure by weight for this recipe only.  Add salt and set aside.

Measure your water and get it warm enough that it would be nice to take a bath in.  Definitely plenty warm but not quite to an ouch level of heat.  I've read 105 degrees is the magic number but I don't have a candy thermometer so I guessed.  Stir in the yeast and the sugar.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir it up as well as you can to combine.  You're going to have to get your hands in there and fair warning, this is a very sticky dough.  Take off your rings first!

Cover with saran wrap and put the whole thing in the fridge for at least two hours and up to 7 days.  They say the closer you get to Day 7, the more sour-dough-ish it will taste.  You can prep this dough and let it sit, just make a loaf whenever you want fresh bread!  This recipe makes four round loaves, by the way.

Take the bread out and grease your hands!  Sprinkle with flour and then pull out a handful.  Section the dough into fours (about 14-19 oz each) and then shape into a ball.  Here is a video I found on how to do this, the first time I made mine they were kind of muffin-y shaped.  I am thinking that bread making is sort of an art though, and it will get better with practice.  Put your shaped dough on parchment paper (ideally, I think you can also spray your cookie sheet), sprinkle lightly with flour and let it rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450 and put a metal bread dish (or other metal tray) on the bottom rack.  Right before you put your bread in the oven, add about a cup of water to your metal pan- I guess this keeps moisture in the air while it cooks?  Not sure of the significance of the metal pan but the directions I read specify metal and not glass.

Right before you put it in the oven, give your bread a couple of slices on top, and cook for 25 minutes.   Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Energy Bars

I made these with my sister Kat a couple of months ago and they are SO good!  They are supposed to be a pre or post run snack, sort of a healthy, homemade granola bar of sorts.  This is the sort of thing that I could just take a spoon to though, so I'll have to be careful, but they are definitely worth posting. :-)

Peanut Butter Energy Bars
1 C. dry oatmeal
2/3 C. toasted coconut flakes (I didn't toast mine)
1/2 C. sunflower seeds
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. ground flax seed or wheat germ (I blended my flax seed and it worked perfect!)
1/2 C. chocolate chips
1/3 C. honey
1 tsp. honey

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Let chill in the fridge for half an hour.  Roll into 1" balls if you like, or if you're lazy, like me, then press them into a greased pan and then cut to size.  Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 20-25 balls.
Optional add-ins: chopped dried fruit (apricots, raisins, berries) or nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts)