Changing eating habits

Here is a link to a post I just did on our changing eating habits and some new favorite recipes and blogs that are helping make this change easier!

Revitalizing our family's health: goals and plans

Still here and still cooking- just never time to post about it!  We got back from several months of traveling this summer in severe need of de-tox from all the French bread and cheese and Belgian chocolate!

I'm in the middle of trying to revitalize the way our family eats as a whole.  In the past, I've been guilty of dieting myself but not really providing the healthiest of meals for my family in the process.  There are all sort of excuses to be offered not the least of which is the difficulty of getting certain "healthy" ingredients since we live overseas.  The bigger issue is not so much that exact ingredients aren't available but that foods that most diets suggest you avoid to lose weight- potatoes, pastas, white breads are the things that are available here in abundance at a reasonable price.  Meats overall are just so expensive that it's hard to build a diet around meats being a huge source of your protein.  On the plus side, produce here is typically less expensive and although not necessarily labeled as "organic", it's likely coming to you in it's truest form.  Meat, though expensive, is also quite fresh and doesn't have all the "junk" added to it that I'm reading about being added in American grocery stores.  (at least that's what I'm telling myself when meat that I bought 1.5 before and forgot to freeze or prep is already bad in the fridge...)

I am very thankful that no one in our family has any sort of allergies or food intolerances.  That allows me lots of freedom in the way I prepare our food.  On the flip side, it also makes me lazy on days when I'm just too tired or busy and the quick options aren't usually all the healthy.

I'm hoping that more planning on my part and a little more organization in the kitchen will help me not do the lazy, unhealthy thing quite so often.  Hopefully the result will be a healthier, happier family.  Again, we are so blessed to have no huge health issues that affect the way that we eat.  We do however have 2 family members over 40 (HOW?!) whose metabolisms seem to be on the decline, 2 teenagers who are learning to love cooking and have a desire to be healthy, and a school-ager and a toddler whom I want to lead in establishing healthy eating patterns and developing a love for all foods in their God created form.  I am not feeling led at this point to guide our family in completely giving up certain food groups or even types of food.  I'm still a bit old fashioned I guess in that I fully believe that moderation in all things food along with lots of water and plenty of exercise is key to good health.

My goal is to provide healthy meals for our family with food in it's truest form- I guess that's what many call "clean" eating or "real food"?  We're going to try and avoid processed food, stuff with mile long ingredient lists, cut back on sugar and ramp up on fresh veggies and fruit.  We're not going to be super strict with our rules because our lives at this point do not allow that.  Sure enough, as soon as I've gone 3-5 days with no sugar, we'll be invited to a neighbors and served chocolate cake and tea with enough sugar that's it's practically tea flavored syrup.  We're going to have a lot of grace with each other but the end overall goal is better health.  We may have seasons of no this or that just to see if it affects the way we feel overall.  Obviously my goals as a 40 year old needing to lose 5-10 pounds are different than the goals I would have for my teenage daughters who could give any teenage boy a run for their money as far as appetite size, and those goals are different yet again from my school-ager going through a pudgy stage but also hungry at every minute of the day, and with yet again different goals for my oh-so-finicky preschooler who most days doesn't seem to eat enough to keep a small bird alive.   I'm working on figuring out a way to help us all record our fruit/veggie intake, our water intake as well as keep a record of sweets and junk food with a goal of 1, maybe 2 treats a week, depending on the situation.

I decided that it might be fun (and helpful to me!) to record things that are successful, things that don't work so much and foods and recipes that I come across in the process.  There are SO MANY sources out there that it is beyond overwhelming to me, so maybe this might help some others who live overseas to narrow down the search and find things that are do-able for busy families.

Here are some cooking/shopping/prepping principles that I'm currently working with that I'm sure will change as I continue to figure things out.  These are things that are helping our budget as well as our bellies- at least that's the goal!

1.  Buying lots of fresh veggies and fruits means that I also have to allow prep time in the kitchen preferably on the day that I shop or at least the very next day.  I buy whatever fruits are in season (right now it's mangoes-yummy!) and chop them and freeze them in 1 cup portions for smoothies.  Also for smoothies, I've been buying tons of spinach and freezing it in 2 cup portions.  It takes a lot of elbow grease to get it clean sometimes but it's worth it!  I find that for us if I have carrots and cucumbers washed, peeled and sliced that it's instant healthy snack, and they are much less likely to sit in the fridge unused and get mushy and yucky in the veggie drawer.

2.  Meat also requires prep time.  If I do buy boneless-skinless chicken breasts (not regularly), I try and marinade it and freeze it the day that I buy it so it's ready for a quick fix.  I'll also try to season and brown ground beef to freeze and use for later or marinate red meat as well if I happen to find cuts that looks decent (doesn't happen often, unfortunately!).

3.  Stay on the lookout for local produce that is cheap and healthy that the family likes.  Cabbage in any form is cheap here and I've been surprised how much my girls love it.  Cauliflower in various forms is also a big hit.

4.  Take advantage of my girls love to cook and bake but channel it towards healthy things.  Maddie stocked us up last week on whole wheat pizza dough, and we have a favorite whole wheat dough recipe that is great for multiple things- Lebanese pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls etc.  I'm on the lookout for a few paleo bread recipes if I'm doing a no carb season and also whole wheat bread recipes for other times- things that I know don't have all the added junk of store brands.

(they are also great helpers when it comes to chopping/prepping)

5.  Dry beans cooked in bulk and frozen for use in soups etc is much cheaper than the canned version.     We do a lot of soups with red or white beans and hummus is a favorite around here as a dip for veggies or as a spread.

6.  Freezer to crock-pot meals are awesome and I'm always on the look-out for those.  Finding good ones has been a bit hit or miss but I'll share the ones that have been hits with our family.  I try to keep a stock of gallon sized freezer bags so I can get these prepped the day I get home from the store with all the veggies and meats.  I've found that the pre-frozen chicken thighs (much cheaper than breasts) are great in most of the recipes that I've found.

I'll add to this list along the way as we learn more and figure things out.  At this point everyone in our family is excited about healthier eating and I've been encouraged by my girls willingness to give new things a try.  

Stay tuned for the recipes we tried over the past few weeks and the links to blogs and websites that have been helpful to me in planning.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cake

This was my very own Christmas creation.  Well, sort of.  I never know what it really takes to claim a cake as your own.  I used other people's recipes but combined them in my own unique way so does that count?   Anyway, this was fabulously rich and yummy.  I was inspired by this layered cake in Southern Living that combines white cake with layers of peppermint cheesecake and finished it off with a white chocolate frosting- sounds yummy, right?  I made it for a gathering in early December and it was a hit.  Then I remembered this amazing chocolate chip cheesecake recipe I found a few years ago using Andes mints and I thought, hmmm.. If this was THIS amazing with white cake, it's GOT to be that much better as a chocolate version, right?!   

So here's what I did...

Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cake

Mint Cheesecake Layers:

32 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup Andes mint baking chips

green food coloring (optional)

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake Layers

Chocolate cake mix (I used milk chocolate

instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

Dark Chocolate Silk Frosting

1/4 cup cocoa plus a dash extra

1/4 cup boiling water

1 1/4 combo of dark and semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butter, slightly harder than room temp

1/4 cup powdered sugar (I added a good bit more)

To Assemble:

I adapted this recipe for the cheesecake layers.   First prepare your cheesecake layers as follows:

Beat 32 oz softenened cream cheese with 1 cup sugar.  Beat in 4 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla, beating until just combined.  Stir in 1 cup of Andes mint baking pieces.  I also added a bit of green food coloring (not too much).  Line 2 9 inch cake pans with foil so that the foil hangs over the edges of the pans giving you a handle.  Divide the batter between the two pans and bake at 325 for about 25 minutes or until set.  Cool completely on wire racks (in pans) about 1 hour.  Cover cheesecakes (in pans) and freeze 4-6 hours until frozen solid.  Lift cheesecakes from pans using foil as handles.  Remove foil, wrap in plastic wrap and return to freezer until ready to assemble cake.  

I adapted this recipe for the chocolate layers.  Beat together all ingredients.  Divide between 3 9" greased cake pans and bake 15-20 minutes at 350 or until done. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes and remove from pans to cool completely.  Can freeze layers until ready to assemble cake.  

I adapted this recipe for the frosting.  Combine cocoa and boiling water.  Stir to dissolve and set aside.  Slowly melt chocolate chips in double boiler stirring until smooth.  Set aside and bring to room temperature stirring frequently.  Beat butter and powdered sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add cooled chocolate and cocoa mixture beating until spreading consistency.  I didn't think this looked like enough to frost the cake so I added about a cup more of powdered sugar at the end and beated until smooth.  

To prepare cake.  Alternate chocolate and cheesecake layers beginning and ending with cheesecake layers.  Frost and chill until ready to serve.  

Apple Cake with quick caramel frosting

This is an amazingly yummy fall recipe and so quick to throw together.  It's one my mom gave me years ago and I have not a clue where she got it- my Memommy maybe?  If you are one of those sadly deluded people who think that things can be "too sweet" then you might not be a fan (or you just might scrape off most of the icing like my husband did) but if you are a true sweets lover than indulge!

Apple Cake

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

3 cups chopped apples

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 pckg butterscotch chips (optional- use if you are NOT frosting with caramel icing)

Mix oil, sugar and eggs.  Sift dry ingredients and add to sugar mixture.  Add vanilla.  Stir in apples and nuts.  If using, sprinkle with butterscotch chips.  Bake 1 hr at 350 in 9x13 pan.  Leave out chips if you plan to make caramel frosting.

Caramel Frosting- quick and easy

(this is a great substitute for the old fashioned caramel icing that can be pretty difficult)

Melt 1 stick butter (1/2 cup).  Add 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup milk.  Bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes.   Remove from stove and add 2 cups powdered sugar.  Beat until creamy and frost cooled cake.  

Tip:  I poke holes in the top of the cake before frosting it because how could it not be good for the frosting to seep down into the cake?!  

Make your own salads

This has become a favorite in our house especially on busy days.  The girls love the "make your own" aspect of it and I love it because it's (mostly) healthy and quick and easy.  No recipe really.  Just pick your toppings- we usually do tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, chives, hard boiled eggs, cheese, bacon (if I have it), craisins or raisins, sometimes olives and/or avocado and usually some type of nuts.

I found this  fabulous marinade for chicken and beef.  It's not only south beach diet friendly, it's also super easy and versatile.  Sometimes when I bring chicken home from the store, I go ahead and cut it up and put it in the marinade and then put it in the freezer in ziplocs and it's ready to go.  Other times if I haven't really planned ahead, I'll marinate the chicken just for an hour or so before cooking it and it's still just as yummy.  It's also a great marinade to use over night before grilling, but sadly we don't have a grill...

Mostly I love that we've found a fun, creative and healthy way for our girls to love salad!  

For dressing, I almost always use homemade ranch or our favorite balsamic vinegar dressing that I use for everything.  Here's that recipe...

Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3 TBSP honey

2 TBSP dijon mustard

1-2 garlic cloves minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients expect olive oil.  Gradually stir in olive oil until well blended.  Store at room temperature and shake to combine before using.

Hearty Italian Soup

(apparently I can't rotate pictures anymore-sorry!)

But turn your head sideways and marvel at how yummy this soup looks!  In my opinion, just looking at anything with spinach in it makes you healthier and this soup is so full of flavor that you really can't go wrong.  I changed the original recipe because I can't get Italian sausage here.  I used chicken instead (frozen in a 2 cup portion from several whole chickens I cooked the other night- thank you very much freezer cooking for changing my cooking life!).   I also already had the white beans ready in the freezer along with the broth so I threw this together in minutes.  So yummy!

Hearty Italian Soup

2 cups cooked chicken

2 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

48 oz chicken broth

 2 cans white beans (I used 4 cups cooked from dry)

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 tsp Italian seasoning (I used a haphazard combo of oregano, thyme and basil)

5 oz baby spinach

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used dry- maybe a TBSP)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Brown onions and garlic in oil until tender.  Stir in chicken broth, chicken, beans, tomatoes,and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes.   Stir in spinach and remaining ingredients.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes or until spinach is wilted.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

This was amazingly easy and SOOO good!  Here's the link...

http://crockingirls.com/recipes/crockin-pumpkin-spice-latte/

Vegetable Lasagna

I completely forgot about this recipe!  I found it years ago in a magazine and it's so yummy!  A bit time consuming but so worth it!

Vegetable Lasagna

1 (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 (12 oz) lowfat cottage cheese (I used labneh in the Middle East)

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp olive oil

3/4 cup minced onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

1 (14.5 oz cans tomatoes, drained, chopped)

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup dry red wine (I used vinegar)

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tsp dried whole basil

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

5 cup sliced zuchini

1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

2 TBSP Parmesan

Press spinach to drain.  Combine spinach, cottage cheese and egg-set aside.  Coat large pan with spray- sauté onion 3 minutes.  Add mushroom and garlic- sauté until tender.  Add tomatoes and next 8 ingredients- stir well.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered- 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Coat dish (12x8) with cooking spray.  Spoon 1/3 tomato mixture into dish.  Arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over tomatoes.  Top with 1 1/4 cup spinach.  Layer 2 1/2 cups zucchini over spinach and sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining tomato mixture.  Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.  Bake covered at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.  Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan before serving.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.  

Black bean pineapple salad

This is a yummy accompaniment to any Mexican feast.  We love it with taco salads or fajitas.  I've altered it a good bit over the years to suit what we can find here and the tastes that we like.  

Black bean pineapple salad/salsa

1/2 lb dry black beans cooked in salted water or 2-3 cans black beans

pineapple tidbits with a little juice

chopped red pepper, red onion and celery

Dressing

1/4 cup lime juice

3-4 TBSP honey

2 TBSP olive oil

salt to taste

Combine veggies in serving bowl.  Mix dressing and pour over veggies.  Chill for 6-8 hours before serving to let flavors blend. 

Corn and Zucchini Queso Chowder

This is going to become a regular in our fall/winter soup rotation- extra bonus that it's vegetarian and therefore even less expensive!  Super yummy!

Corn and Zucchini Queso Chowder

1/4 cup butter

1 cup chopped red pepper

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups whole kernel corn

2 cups chopped zucchini

1/4 tsp ground cumin

28 oz chicken broth

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup half and half

1 cup shredded monterey jack

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium/high heat; add pepper, onion and garlic and sauté 4-5 minutes until tender.  Add corn, zucchini, and cumin and saute 4-5 more minutes.  Gradually stir in broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of pan.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, simmering 15 minutes.  Whisk together flour and next 2 ingredients.  Stir into veggie mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly 5 minutes or until thickened.  Reduce heat to low.  Add cheeses, and cook, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt and mixture is thoroughly heated.  Serve topped with bacon bits, sour cream, cheese and chives.  

Broccoli Slaw

I love broccoli in almost any form.  My kids do too making it a pretty popular choice around here.  It's gotten easier and easier to find as we've lived overseas, and now it's actually pretty affordable.  It always bugs me though, the way they cut it in the stores because they leave a huge amount of the stalk on so you end up paying mostly for that since they weigh it by the kilo.  I bought a bunch of broccoli last week and was cutting it up and prepping it for freezing and storing and I remembered broccoli slaw.  I had a favorite recipe for this that we used in the states where you can conveniently buy shredded broccoli slaw pre-packaged.  I had so much stalk that I realized I could use my food processor and shred it with some of the broccoli to make my own broccoli slaw.  It turned out great.  For those of you in the states, you can buy it pre-packaged or you can shred it yourself or just use the broccoli   florets.  Either way it's yummy!

Broccoli Slaw

1 pound broccoli chopped, or shredded broccoli stalks, or pre-packaged broccoli slaw

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup sunflower kernels, toasted

2 pkgs Ramen noodles crumbled (reserve seasoning packets)

grated carrots, red cabbage for color, if desired

Dressing

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 ramen seasoning packet (chicken flavor)

Combine veggies, nuts, and noodles.  Mix dressing ingredients and pour over all.  Serve immediately.

Homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick substitute)

I've loved discovering this recipe!  It's opened up a whole new world of baking- sausage balls, red lobster cheese biscuits.  I mean, we can occasionally find Bisquick but it's SOOO expensive I don't let myself buy it

Baking Mix

10 c. flour (can do half white/half wheat)

6 TBSP baking powder

1 1/2 TBSP salt

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups vegetable shortening

2 cups powdered milk

Sift together first 5 ingredients three times.  With pastry cutter, cut in shortening to consistency of cornmeal.   Store in covered container at room temperature.  Use as substitute for Bisquick in recipes

Balsamic Marinated Roasted Veggies

I adapted this from a recipe in a Southern Living for marinated, grilled veggies.  Sadly, we don't have a grill (yet), so I tweaked the recipe a little, roasted the veggies and they turned out quite good.  And aren't they pretty?  

Balsamic Marinated Roasted Veggies

lots of chopped fresh veggies- I use whatever's in season here and I try to make it colorful

(carrots, various color peppers, zucchini, onion, eggplant, cauliflower etc)

4 TBSP olive oil

3 TBSP honey

2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

fresh herbs to taste (today I had rosemary in my window planter so I used that- I've also used thyme or basil)

sea salt

Chop veggies.  Combine other ingredients including herbs.  Put veggies in a large ziploc and pour marinate over.  Seal and shake well to combine.  Marinate in frig for at least 4-6 hours.  Roast at 400 degrees until tender. (about 15-20 minutes)  Sprinkle with sea salt and parmesan if you like.

Cranberry Bran Muffins

This is from a bran muffin recipe that's classic.  Been around a while.  But I've gradually changed it around a little to better suit our family and the ingredients we can get over here.  What I love about this recipe is that it makes almost 3 dozen muffins- much more practical for our family considering we can clear 1 dozen as a family in one sitting and the girls will maybe still be hungry!  Yeah, that whole thing about teenage boys eating you out of house and home, applies to girls too!!   Thing 2 that I love is that you make these in advance and keep the batter in the frig for up to a month, making them when it's convenient.  Helps with our crazy morning routine!

Cranberry Bran Muffins

i cup boiling water

1 cup All Bran

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup shortening or oil (I always use oil)

2 cups buttermilk (or 1 cup yogurt, i cup milk- that's what I do...)

2 cups oats

2 1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour (I use either all wheat flour or half white/half wheat depending on the consistency of the wheat flour I've found...)

1 cup craisins (I've been wanting to try chopped dried apricots also- seems like that would by yummy too)

Pour Bran into boiled water, soak, set aside and let cool.  Cream shortening or oil with sugar; add beaten eggs, buttermilk or yogurt and milk along with bran/water mixture.  Add bran flakes, soda, salt, beat well; fold in four.  Stir in craisins.  Keep in refrigerator at least overnight before baking.  It will keep up to a month.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  

Feta Coleslaw

Well, I guess it looks like none of us eat anymore!  We do eat.  And I even cook still.  Some.  It's just been such a crazy few months, I'm lucky to get a decent meal in front of my family- much less blog about it!  

Anyway, trying to get back into the routine!  Here's a recipe that's become a favorite side dish in our house- AND it's healthy.  AND my 13 year old LOVES it.  And finding veggies that she not only loves but asks for regularly- well I consider that an accomplishment!  

When we were in the states a year or so ago, I went to a place called Zoe's Kitchen in Birmingham.  You can find their link here.  Kind of a trendy, Mediterranean style restaurant with lots of yumminess.  More Greek Mediterranean than Lebanese (in my opinion) but still super good.  They have a fantabulous coleslaw with a vinegar based dressing and huge yummy chunks of feta cheese.  I made it my mission to replicate this recipe.  Mine has ended up pretty different than the original mainly due to the different consistency of feta in this part of the world but it's still super yummy and all my kids love it.  

Feta Coleslaw

1 head cabbage shredded

diced green onion

other diced veggies as desired (I usually use red pepper, green pepper, maybe carrots)

crumbled feta (enough... ok lots)

Dressing

vinegar

olive oil

Cavender's greek seasoning

lemon juice

salt

Ok, for the dressing- I have never measured.  I use more vinegar than oil (maybe 3 parts vinegar to 1 part oil?).  Then I squirt in the lemon juice (a few TBSP?).  The seasoning and salt is to taste but I'd say  at least 1-2 tsp of Cavender's if not a little more.  

Combine all slaw ingredients.  Combine dressing and pour over veggies at least a few hours before serving so the flavors can combine.  

Mint Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

The recipe for this cake came about completely by accident, but it was an instant hit!  Maddie came home a month or so ago needing to take a cake to school the next day.  Since it was 6 at night, dinner wasn't made and I did not want a trip to the floor, I scrounged around and realized I had the ingredients for chocolate chip pound cake.  The recipe called for a box of instant chocolate or vanilla pudding.  I didn't have just regular pudding but I had a box of magic color changing pudding that Jason's mom had brought months ago- it had gotten pushed to the back of the cabinet and forgotten but I found it in my hunt for ingredients.  So I figured why not (knowing that a room full of hungry 5th graders were not going to be hard to impress especially if chocolate is involved!).  Anyway, we used the pudding, and WOW- that batter turned the most amazing (and by amazing I mean VERY bright and sort of obnoxious...) shade of green.  Maddie was a little distressed that the cake would seem weird so I scrounged around in my cabinets again and decided that by adding a bit of peppermint extract, the green color would fit right in and voila, mint chocolate chip pound cake!  This time, I stuck with the regular recipe (using the regular box of vanilla pudding) and just used a few drops of green food coloring along with it.  I also went online and found a recipe for peppermint glaze which finished it off very nicely!

Mint Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (I have yet to use yellow- the first time all the store had was coconut and this last time, it was white chocolate...)

1/2 cup sugar

1 box instant vanilla pudding

2/3 cup water

3/4 cup oil

4 eggs

8 oz sour cream (for those in the ME- I used labneh which worked great)

6 oz chocolate chips (I chunked up a semi sweet chocolate bar)

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Combine first 6 ingredients.  Mix well.  Stir in sour cream, chocolate and extract.  Bake 350 for 1 hour.  Cool in pan 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely.  Top with peppermint glaze

Peppermint Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

hot water

Combine sugar and extract.  Add hot water until desired consistency reached.  

Banana, Peanut Butter and Honey Muffins

Image Credit

These were a wonderful departure from the usual breakfast suspects in our house this morning. I saw this on the Tasty Kitchen Blog last night and knew immediately that it was what I was going to make for breakfast this morning.

1-¼ cup Flour
½ cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
1 whole Ripe Banana, Mashed
⅔ cups Plain Fat Free Yogurt
1 whole Large Egg, Lightly Beaten
¼ cups Water
⅓ cups Creamy Peanut Butter
⅓ cups Honey
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with baking cups then coat baking cups with cooking spray. Set aside.

Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

Combine banana, yogurt, egg, water, peanut butter, honey and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk to combine. Add this wet mixture into the well that you made in the center of the flour mixture and stir just until combined. The batter will be thick.

Fill each baking cup 3/4 full of batter. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the muffins.

Bake for 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool in pan set on a wire rack for 2 minutes before removing them from the pan to serve warm or cool completely. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Hummus (Lebanese- the ONLY kind...)

I have discovered that after living in Lebanon,  I will never look at hummus the same again.  Those of you living in the good ole' US of A who think you have had yummy hummus, if it did not come from a Lebanese restaurant or from the home of someone who learned to make it in Lebanon, sorry but it could not have been that great!  Yep, I'm a little biased!

I've started making our hummus because I have yet to find it in Jordan that is quite like I like it.  I have a Lebanese cookbook and follow that basic recipe and then tweak it until I get the right flavor and appearance.  So, these measurements are not exact.  You have to figure it out for yourself!

Hummus, Lebanon style

4 cups chick peas, soaked overnight

tahini (sesame paste)

lemon juice

salt

garlic cloves (several, crushed)

olive oil

Cook the chick peas in salted water for several hours until very soft adding water as necessary.  Now, the first time I made hummus, I became very overwhelmed at the amount of chick peas produced and how difficult it was to process them.  A friend told me that one of her Lebanese neighbors separates the chick peas after cooking them into serving size freezer bags and only uses a little at a time.  It worked so much better this way!  Again, I don't know the exact measurements but I divided the cooked chick peas into 4 equal portions, froze 3 of them and prepared the last portion.  Place chick peas (with a little water and a good bit of lemon juice in large bowl).  Process until smooth.  Add crushed garlic (2-3 cloves), salt and tahini to taste and until you get the consistency you desire.  Top with olive oil, serve with pita chips and fresh veggies- YUMMY!

KJ's Chicken Salad

KJ might not even know that she has a chicken salad, but in our house, this is KJ's chicken salad.  She made it for supper when I visited them back in the fall and I LOVED it so much and now make it a good bit.  So yummy and quick and easy!  (and pretty...)

KJ's Chicken Salad

1 rotisserie chicken (or chicken cooked in crock pot- white and dark meat)- torn into pieces

chopped celery

chopped walnuts

craisins

celery salt (amount depends on if you also used celery too)

mayonaise (enough to where it sticks together but not so much that it gets gloopey- is that a word?)

Combine all and serve on a bed of lettuce.

(I had mine with hummus and red peppers- also super yummy!)

Strawberry Dream Cake

And here is yet another amazing strawberry dessert recipe (I am obviously blogging therapeutically about food since I'm dieting and can't eat any of it!).  I had to go back a few years to find a picture of this cake.  I made it for Maddie's birthday several years ago shaped like a big white bow...

This year I made it for our traditional Easter bunny cake and of course forgot to take a picture.  But let me tell you this cake is AMAZING.  I've had lots of experience with strawberry cake and this is the all time best I think...I got the original recipe from all recipes.com but changed it up a bit.

Strawberry Dream Cake

1 white cake mix (i used yellow)

1 1/2 cups frozen sweetened strawberries, pureed (I used fresh and mooshed them)

12 oz cream cheese

8 (1 oz) squares white chocolate

1 pckg strawberry jello

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 (8oz) container cool whip (I used the equivalent of whipped cream)

sliced fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour 2 9inch round pans.  Make cake per directions except substitute the 1 1/2 cups strawberries for the water and add 1 extra egg, (if mix calls for 2 eggs, add 3), and 8 oz cream cheese at room temp and package of strawberry jello.  Beat well and pour into prepared pans.  Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  A toothpick inserted in center will not come out clean when this cake is done since it is so moist.  Let cake cool fully before frosting.

Frosting:  Heat the heavy cream until just beginning to boil.  Pour it over the white chocolate (chopped) and the remaining 4 ounces cream cheese.  Mix well and let cool.  Once cool fold into the whipped topping (I used whipped cream).  Use to frost cooled cake.  If the frosting needs to be thicker, you can beat in powdered sugar but I did not have to do that this time.  Garnish with fresh strawberries.

I promise the combo of white chocolate, cream cheese and strawberries in this cake is to die for!!