Good Morning Muffins

Another delicious  four-star winning recipe from Family Fun recipes.  Again, we tailored it to work for our family and changed it a bit.  Our 3 and 4 year olds enjoyed helping make these too.  We tried out our hand wheat-grinder for this one and made up one and a half cups of somewhat coarsely ground whole wheat flour which resulted in a nutty-crispiness mixed with the moist ingredients for a wonderful texture. We also added a pinch of pumpkin-pie-spice and the marvelous aroma was especially perfect for a cool Fall morning, though it would be yummy any morning!

Yield:  12 muffins

1-1/2 bananas
1/4 c honey
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 grated apples (we left the peel on)
1 c grated carrots
1-1/2 c whole-wheat flour (coarsely ground)
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
*1/2 t cinnamon (or pumpkin-pie-spice)

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin or line it with paper liners.  Set aside.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the bananas, honey and oil until well combined.  Stir in the grated apples and carrots.  In a separate bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Blend the dry ingredients with the apple mixture until just combined.  Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Note:  *Due to allergies we may have to leave out the cinnamon and spice.  I think these would also work well with grated zucchini or craisins or raisins sprinkled in.

Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup

A yummy and especially perfect Fall recipe from Family Fun recipes that we tailored to our family.  A desire to enjoy the delicious aroma is reason enough to make it!

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
2 T Smart Balance
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 t mild curry powder
3 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
1/4 t salt (or to taste)
1 whole bay leaf
1/4 c RiceMilk
2 to 3 T honey or maple syrup
chopped chives for garnish (if desired)

1.  Melt the butter in a medium-size soup pot.  Stir in the onion, celery, and apple.  Partially cover the pot and saute` the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and saute` the mixture for another minute.  Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.
2.  Pour contents of the pan into a blender, or food processor (or use an immersion blender), add pumpkin, and puree the soup until it's smooth.
3.  Pour it all back into the pot, then stir in remaining chiken broth, the salt, and the bay leaf.  Set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
4.  After 5 minutes, stir in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of honey.  Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey if necessary to get the desired balance of sweet and savory.  Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot.  Sprinkle each bowl with chives for a colorful and tasty garnish.

Note:  We had a can of pumpkin pie mix that needed to be used and substituted that in place of the pumpkin called for.  With the sweeteners already in the mix, we eliminated adding the honey.  The spices in the pumpkin mix combined with the curry smelled and tasted delicious....an extra sweet and savory combination.  We look forward to trying this with plain packed pumpkin.  We served this with seasoned chicken and salad.

Garlicky Oven Fries

In the mood for fries one night, we pulled up this four star recipe from a May 1, 2008, Vegetarian Times Issue.  Very tasty.

TIP:  Presoaking the potato slices in hot water helps remove excess starch so they brown and crisp like oil-cooked fries.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick wedges
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, coarsly chopped (or finely pressed)
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Place oven rack in lowest position, and preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.  Soak potatoes in bowl of hot water 10 minutes.  Drain, pat dry, and return to dry bowl.

2.  Meanwhile, heat canola oil, olive oil and garlic in saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cook garlic 2 minutes, or until it begins to brown.  Transfer garlic to small bowl with slotted spoon.

3.  Pour oil over potatoes and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Arrange potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet.  Bake 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden on bottom.  Turn, and bake 10 minutes more, or until golden and crisp.  Meanwhile, stir parsley into reserved garlic, sprinkle over fries.  Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Note:  We used dried parsley and combined steps 2 and 3 by mixing all seasonings together and tossing to coat the potatoes before baking 20 minutes on one side, turning and cooking another 15 minutes or so on the other side.   The results were still yummy.

Hawaiian Haystacks or Chinese Sundaes

This recipe is known by two different names in our family to describe the same dish.  Steamy cooked rice topped with warm chicken gravy and your choice of favorite toppings.  A 'create your own favorite' recipe!  I've even tasted it with a curry gravy which is tasty too.  This recipe multiplies easily to feed large groups.  This was one of my favorites as a child and still is.  Our children love it too!

Yield:  At least 8

Some possible toppings:

Tomatoes, diced

Pineapple, crushed

Green onions, diced

Chow Mein Noodles

Celery, diced

Bell pepper, diced

*Carrots, diced

*Peas

Shredded Coconut

Sliced almonds are great for those who can eat them

Same for shredded cheese...

Use whatever tantalizes your taste buds

(* Never tried these toppings, and I imagine I'd like them steamed to tender before using them on this.  Our friend tells me she usually fixes theirs with these two toppings.)

Cooked Rice:  2 cups water to 1 cup rice;  I often cook up 3 cups rice, part of which is a wild rice mixture thrown in for flavor, aroma and texture (which I compensate for with a little more water and a little longer cook time).  If everyone is hungry there's enough rice for left-overs.  If they're not as hungry as usual, I have enough rice left over for Rice and Raisin Cereal at a breakfast soon.

Chicken Gravy:

Cream of Chicken soup thinned with a bit of water or milk works unless you avoid milk like us...we make our own now using the following ratios.

Thin: 1T butter, 1T flour, 1 1/2 c chicken broth, and salt and pepper to taste + shredded cooked chicken.

Medium: 2T butter, 2T flour, 1c chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste + shredded cooked chicken.

Thick: 3T butter, 4T flour, 1c chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste + shredded cooked chicken.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.  Blend in flour, salt and pepper to make a roo.  Add chicken broth all at once and whisk quickly, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles.  Add in cooked shredded chicken.  (If I use canned chicken, I usually figure the broth accompanying the chicken in the can for about 1/2 cup of what I need total and I usually make up 3 to 4 cups of gravy.)

Put it all together now: 

Layer a large scoop of steamy rice topped with creamy chicken gravy and sprinkled with your choice of favorite toppings.  Careful....all the layers pile up fast and looks like more than you had planned to eat....but it is so tasty!

Rice and Raisin Cereal

This is a tasty breakfast cereal which our children especially enjoy.  We like to make it up when we have left-over unseasoned rice from a previous meal, but it could also be made up just for breakfast.

Cooked Rice
Rice Milk
Rasins
Cinnamon or Sugar, if desired

With cooked rice in saucepan, add Rice Milk to preferred consistency (we like just enough to moisten the rice).  Heat but not to boiling.  Add raisins and serve sprinkled with cinnamon and/or sugar if desired.

Fajitas

This one is based on another of Dora Gonzalez' sizzlin' recipes.  I love it since I can slice up bell peppers and onions in advance (before I forget I have them in the crisper and they go bad) and freeze them into 'fajita mix' size packages for a quick meal with little prep time.  I love the color and variety of taste when using green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers and will put a little of each into each 'mix' along with 1 to 1/2 sliced onion.   I usually leave out the Worchestershire sauce in the mixture below.  When it's all done, our children eat the chicken part best of course, and we all enjoy it!

2 lb. beef skirt or chicken breast (I usually cook an average of 1 chicken breast per person being served)
oil for panfry
1 large onion
1 large tomato
1 large bell pepper (or more)
Juice of 1-2 lemons
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and black pepper to taste

Mix:  1/2 cup Italian dressing & 1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce

12 flour tortillas
1 recipe guacamole
Fresh cilantro

Marinate beef or chicken with lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt & pepper for 2-3 hours.  Slice onion, tomatoes, bell peppers.  Heat skillet with small amount of oil and brown meat.  Remove meat and marinade sauce from skillet.  Cook veggies 'til tender.  Remove veggies, add meat and layer veggies back on top of meat.  Drizzle on Italian dressing sauce and let sizzle.  Serve with warm tortilla and layer on guacamole, cilantro or other choice of toppings.  Roll, eat and enjoy!

*We've found that sliced raw bell peppers and onions freeze well in advance, as would cooked sliced chicken breast, to make this meal 'fast' and easy to make up.

Lentil & Brown Rice Soup

I followed a trail to this one from Words-To-Eat-By to Epicurious where it is rated 3 1/2 out of 4 forks in their rating system and is described as one of those soups that "inspire a devotion akin to love."  We used red lentils this time, left out the tomatoes and used organic Basmati Brown Rice.  We look forward to trying another variation again soon!  It really was a hearty yummy soup that would be great accompanied by a crusty bread and green salad.

Yield: about 14 cups or 6 to 8 servings

5 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 cup brown rice
32- to 35-ounce can tomatoes, drained, reserving the juice, and chopped
3 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried orégano
1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste

In a heavy kettle combine the broth, 3 cups water, the lentils, the rice, the tomatoes with the reserved juice, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer the mixture, covered, stirring occasionally, for 45-55 minutes, or until the lentils and rice are tender.  Stir in the parsley, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.  Discard bay leaf.  NOTE: The soup will be thick and will thicken as it stands.  Thin the soup, if desired, with additional hot chicken broth or water. 

Blender Pancakes

I was raised with this yummy recipe from my mother.  I looked it up again in our Scott Family Cookbook where it accompanies her famous Buttermilk Syrup recipe.  We list it here with our necessary substitutions.  It's a great way to use whole-wheat kernels (also called wheat berries) from food storage.  I'd double it next time for our family.
--Beth Phelps

Yield: About 12 pancakes
1 c. RiceMilk
3/4 c. whole-wheat kernels
1 banana OR 2 T ground flax seed and 6 T water  (in place of 2 eggs)
2 T sugar or honey
1/4 c. cooking oil
2 T baking powder
1/3 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Place milk and wheat in blender and blend 4 minutes.  Add egg substitute (banana or flax seed), sweetener, oil, baking powder, soda and salt.  Blend a few seconds longer and pour on lightly-oiled, hot griddle.  For the lightest and most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pancakes ever!

Post Edit:  I've decided our blender can't hold all the light fluffiness of a double batch, so I would make up two batches instead.

Tuna Patties

This was a successful and tasty experiment tonight...all of us enjoyed them and would eat them again.  The "patties" are a little loose with no egg binder in them, but still very good.  We ate them as sandwiches, but they'd also be tasty with sides of garden-ripe tomato slices, cooked vegetables and a roll or with pasta or rice.

3 cans tuna, drained (we used one albacore and two chunk light in water)
1 fresh diced tomato
1/4 c. Italian dressing
1/2 stack of Ritz Crackers Package, crumbled
Salt and Pepper to taste
(One scallion, diced and added would also be tasty)

Mix ingredients and form into patties  (Being so loose, I spooned them onto the grill and pressed them flat.) Cook on medium hot skillet (about 300 degrees) until browned, approximately 3 minutes on each side. The tuna patties are more cohesive when some of the moisture has been cooked out.  Serve hot.

Basic Pinto Beans

Our recipe for beans comes from a combination of several sources, my Mother, Dora Gonzalez, and a bag of Siler's pinto beans.  It's just a basic recipe (3 c. water to 1 part beans) open to some improvisation with other favorite ingredients.  Serve it with cornbread as a complete protien, serve it over tortilla corn chips with lettuce and tomatoes as Taco Stack, serve it in burritos or drain them and make refried beans. 

Yield: Approximately 12-1 cup servings.

4 1/2 cups dry pinto beans sorted, rinsed and soaked overnight

12 c fresh water; don't keep adding during cooking or beans will turn dark

1/4 c crubled bacon

6 clove garlic pressed

1 T dried onion

1T Salt, or to taste, and Pepper to taste  (add at end of cooking)

1 4oz can of green chilies, if desired (add at end of cooking)

1 can of diced tomatoes, if desired (add at end of cooking)

Pour off soak water and cover in 12 cups fresh water.  Cook at least 4 hours or on high all day in a slow cooker.  Cook on high until boiling then cover and cook on low heat until beans are tender.

We like to top with fresh tomatoes, salsa and lettuce and serve with tortilla chips for the first day, maybe mix it with taco meat for burritos another day or even freeze it for later use.

TIPS:

1. Pouring off soak water before cooking and adding fresh water should reduce undesireable gas and beans should retain their nutrients.  Soaking with a capful of lemon juice seems to soften them even more.

2. Salt and Acid ingredients (like tomatoes, lemon, or vinegar) will toughen beans so add them at the end of cooking. 

3.  It's possible to soak large quantities of beans and freeze in recipe sizes to save future time.

4.  To quick soak, place the washed and sorted beans in 6 cups water per pound of dry beans.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover with lid and let stand for 1 hour.  Discard soak watr before cooking.  Cover with fresh water and cook til tender.

5.  To pressure cook them, cover presoaked beans with one inch more fresh water than beans.  Follow pressure cooker manufacturer's instructions and cook for 12-15 minutes.