Don't Pass the Muffins

Am I the only one who had nearly given up hope of finding a low fat, low cal muffin that tasted great and didn't have that gluey-gooey-sticky-tough texture?

I found a treasure today on allrecipes.com:

BLUEBERRY BRAN MUFFINS

I read all the reviews and gave it a shot... glad I did! I made a couple of adjustments (see below) and ended up with a non-sweet, 1 weight-watcher point muffin with THE TEXTURE OF A REGULAR MUFFIN!! DID YOU HEAR ME PEOPLE? A REGULAR MUFFIN!!!

It's another Easter Miracle.

Here's what I changed after reading the reviews and realizing I was out of brown sugar...

I used 1/4 cup honey instead of brown sugar
I added another 1/2 tsp of baking powder and baking soda
I added 1 small chopped apple
I used 1 tsp Victorian Epicure Maple Spice (I would have added cinnamon otherwise)

Enjoy!

Femme Frugal

Just wanted to share a find and an idea for anyone trying to make the grocery budget stretch a little further:

Extra foods has recently been offering a big box of frozen chicken legs for $10-something. They have the back attached, skin on and there are about 20 pieces in the box. I've just cooked up a big box using the following method and it looks to me like I'm going to get 4 meals plus a bit of leftovers for my $10.

Thaw chicken in fridge or under cold water.
Divide into three portions.

Portion #1 - Roasted Chicken Legs
I put 8 legs in my large roaster, seasoned the pieces and roasted until thoroughly cooked.
I made gravy with the drippings and we had a good sized meal (potatoes & peas) plus one left over lunch. If you don't eat the skin, it slides off easily.

I cooked these guys while I prepped the other two dishes, and just kept them in the fridge until the oven was available for the next shift.


Portion #2 - Orange Chicken Legs (or any other saucy chicken)
Using 6 legs in a 9 x 13 glass dish, and used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Super-Orange-Chicken/Detail.aspx. Once this cooked and cooled, I popped it in the freezer for another time.

Portion #3- Mexican Chicken & Soup
Put 6 legs in a 9x13 glass pan, sprinkle cumin, chili, taco seasoning and dried cilantro on top. Bake until thoroughly cooked. Cool in pan and then refrigerated. The next day I pulled the skin off and threw it out. I pulled off the easy-access meat and put it in one bowl, while the bones and remaining meat went into a pot for soup stock.

I ended up with 3 cups of cooked chicken, which I coursely chopped and am saving for tonight o make "Flautas". Here's a recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Flautas/Detail.aspx... but I'm using flour tortillas (cuz corn tortillas make me gag) and I'm going to bake them instead of fry them... but you get the idea. You could also use the meat for Fajitas, Chicken enchilladas, chicken tacos... whatever your little Mexican tastebuds desire.

I have the soup simmering right now... just making a basic chicken soup... the mexican flavor will be very mild since i'm not using any skin, just the bone and the neighboring meat.

A little chicken broth tip: If you're like me and don't want mushy veggies in your soup, you can add a coupel of whole carrots, quartered tomatoes (or a can of diced ones), whole celery leaves, lemongrass (try it...sooo good!) and let it all simmer together for a couple of hours. Strain the broth, pick out the meat and throw out all the veggies. THEN you can throw in the fresh chopped carrots, celery, spinach, peas... etc. and cook until desired tenderness. The soup still has all the flavor but the veggies have their fresh color.

So, there you have it... 4 meals worth of meat for $10. And one mess, about 1 hour in the kitchen total.

We'd like to draw your attention to....

this AMAZING blog with intersting, simple recipes, weight watchers calculations and gorgeous, inspiring photos. I could look at it all day. Drooling.

http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/

Really Yummy.

Apologies for losing momentum on our blog. Sigh, we are human and easily distracted by Christmas goings-on, facebook and tv. Honesty is the best policy.

For our first entry of 2010, please enjoy this amazing recipe! I have never baked with pumpkin before, and LOVED these!


For any Weight Watchers out there, I cut the sugar down to 1.5 cups after reading the reviews and did not do the streusle topping, which works out to 12 large muffins at 7 WW points each. I want to keep working with this recipe to see how to get the points down and will keep you posted. Ha.


Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins - All Recipes:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apple

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners.
In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean."

Here's the link incase you want to check out the reviews:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Apple-Streusel-Muffins/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

What's for Christmas Breakfast?

I wanted to share this recipe with you... one of my family favs! We'd also love to hear what your favorite Christmas Morning Recipes are! Please share them in the comments!

OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST

Day old French bread in 1 inch slices
5-7 eggs
3/4 cup milk
brown sugar
1/4lb melted butter
cinnamon

Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Sprinkle brown sugar on bottom of the pan. It should be 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with cinnamon (I use a lot). Pour melted butter over this mixture. In separate bowl, beat eggs and milk. Dip bread in. Allow bread to absorb egg mixture (I count to 20). Place in pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 375'. Turn bread bieces over (VERY IMPORTANT). Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

ENJOY! I'm also experimenting with a layer of creamchees and fruit in the middle... I'll let you know when I have a real recipe!
D.

Green Christmas

{photo source: Tree Hugger}

One of my least favourite things about Christmas is all packaging. Aside from the usual injuries getting through all those plastic toy holders and twist ties the bags of garbage and recycling sends my guilt-o-meter spinning quickly.

Here are a few ideas to keep the packaging down and your Christmas a little greener.

1. Re-usable bags. If you are crafty and can sew just a straight line you can make them yourself and if not, purchase them. {a couple of Canadian sources are Love a Tree & Etsy }

2. Use the wrap as part of the gift. For example, is anyone on your list getting a Snuggie this year? Wrap that bad boy around another gift (may I suggest a new telephone that the lucky recipient can talk for hours on, while wrapped up warm in their new Snuggie?) Other items you can use for wrapping would be scarves (they are ALL the rage this year, no?), towels and leftover fabric.

Check out this video tutorial:

Furoshiki Japanese Wrapping

3. Instead of bows and ribbon what about bringing nature in?

{photo source: Country Living}

We challenge you to use one of these ideas for your Christmas wrapping this year! If you have any other green wrapping ideas, please leave a comment and share with us!

Try This at Home

If you don't stop to think about all the germs on the utensils and the potential for contamination, I love a good salad bar.

Kinda lame, I know. But there's something about having choices and control and the ability to make my salad my own that makes me happy.

Setting up a simple "salad bar" at home is really easy and gives everyone a bit of a choice. With all the great pre-washed greens out there all you need to do is add the extras. If you have some cooked chicken or bacon on hand, the salad bar can be your whole meal. A couple of salad dressing choices are nice to offer... balsamic is always a good go-to when in doubt.

Green Ideas:

Spinach, Spring Mix, Romaine

Protein ideas:

Pre-Cooked Chicken*, Bacon, chopped ham, tuna, salmon

Cheeses:

Feta, Goat, Shredded Cheddar or Parm

Extras:

Sliced Grapes, Strawberries, Craisins, Dried Currents, mixed seeds & nuts, Pomegranates

*Last time I brushed balsamic salad dressing onto 4 breasts and oven roasted them. This gave me plenty of chicken meat for salads for a day or two.