Ranch 50

You know how once in a while you make something so good that you kind of can't believe you made it?  Well, I've been reading The Fat Chance Cookbook and made their ranch dressing.  It was good but My Heart's Desire wanted it ranch-ier.  Then I meant to increases the spices by 50% (hence the name Ranch 50) but I ended up doubling the spices instead.  And it was great.   It's super easy to make and I bet you have all of these ingredients already.

Ranch 50 in front of my crock

Ranch 50 Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup milk + 1/2T white vinegar
1t dried onion
1t dried parsley
1T dijon mustard
1/2t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder

Combine milk and white vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the other ingredients.  When the five minutes are up, whisk in the milk mixture. It tastes best after it sits in the fridge at least overnight.  It will keep for 2 weeks but who are we kidding, it won't last that long.  I'm also trying a version with 2% Fage, will post report.

Slow Cooker Mushroom Soup

I had no idea that mushroom soup could taste like this.  I made this as a lark a few months ago to use up some leftover mushrooms and was surprised by how good it is.

Slow Cooker Mushroom Soup Ingredients:

1 container sliced mushrooms

1 big T minced garlic

3/4 cup of chopped onion 

1 Q chicken broth (or 4 cups of water and 1.5T of chicken better than bullion) 

1/2 cup milk (or half and half, or cream)

1/2 cup light sour cream

1/8 t black pepper

1t seasoned salt

First, saute the garlic and onions in hot olive oil, then add the mushrooms.  This will make your house smell amazing.  While I was doing this, some guys came to pick up our donated couch and both of them told me that it smelled really good.  And now we don't have a couch, we have two very comfy chairs side-by-side like Chandler and Joey.

Anyway, pour the contents of the pan in the crock with the chicken broth.  Let it cook on low heat for 5-6 hours.

Turn the heat off.  Take a 2 cup measuring cup and scoop out two chunky cups.  Then use the handblender and blend the remaining soup.  Add the 2 cups back in so that it has some chunks. If you like your soup smoother, keep blending until it's the consistency you like. 

Then add the milk (or half and half, or cream, I use 1% milk.), sour cream, salt and pepper and give it a good stir. Put the lid back on and let it sit for 10 minutes then serve immediately.  It's just as good the next day. 

Slow Cooker Mushroom Soup (from scratch!)

Yummy, Healthy & Easy Banana Bread

One of the things that's challenging about being sugar-free is that so many things are off limits.  It has taken a lot of label reading over the past six months to learn what's okay to eat and what to avoid (almost everything in packages).

I love banana bread and haven't had it in ages.  As you could imagine, I haven't found a store-bought banana bread or mix that wasn't just loaded with sugar or HFCS.

A few months ago I baked a banana bread that had no sugar at all (no artificial sweeteners, no honey, no maple syrup, etc) and it was, shall we say, less than a favorite? I sliced it thin and slathered it with peanut butter and Babyface liked it, but he was the only one.

Most banana bread recipes call for at least a cup of sugar.  I made this banana bread recipe with just 3T of sugar (less than a quarter cup).  Since it bakes into a 10-slice loaf, I figured I could live with this very small amount and have the bread as a treat.

So good we ate some before I could take a pic

The applesauce in this recipe not only adds natural sweetness, it also reduces the amount of butter needed.  I also used the mixer rather heavily, adding air. This recipe is super easy to make and doesn't have any unusual ingredients.

Yummy, Healthy & Easy Banana Bread Ingredients:
3T sugar
2T butter, soft
1 beaten egg
1/4c unsweetened applesauce
3 mashed bananas
1t vanilla
1 1/2c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

First, here's a trick for mashing bananas.  Peel them, put them on a cutting board, then mash with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350*.

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and give it a few good stirs.

Cream butter and sugar for at least three minutes.  Add the egg and applesauce and mix for two more minutes.  Add the bananas and vanilla until well combined.  Add the dry ingredients half a cup at a time.  Pour into a parchment-lined loaf pan.

Bake for an hour or so at 350*.  The top gets golden but not very brown, so when a knife comes out pretty clean, it's ready.  Let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes or so, then cool on a wire rack. It's very moist and yummy.

Yummy, Healthy & Easy Banana Bread

Next time I would add some chopped nuts, pecans or walnuts.  I left them out this time because My Heart's Desire doesn't care for nuts in food.

It also freezes beautifully.  You can freeze slices, microwave them, then pop them in the toaster for that fresh-out-of-the-oven consistency.

Grandma's Old Fashioned Granola

My honorary grandma gave me this recipe and it's a breeze to make. I make it with whatever I have on hand so it's different every time. So far it's always turned out well.

Grandma's Old Fashioned Granola Ingredients:
2-3 cups old fashioned oats
2-3 cups of any or all of the following: soy flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, rolled wheat flakes, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, shredded coconut, powdered milk, unsalted almonds or walnuts or pecans, or whatever else you like
1/4 cup veggie oil or 1 stick butter
1/4-1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Raisins (optional)

Melt the oil or butter, honey, water, and vanilla in a large pan.  Add dry ingredients, mix well.  Bake on a cookie sheet at 200*, stirring every 20 minutes, until golden brown. As you can see, I lined my pan with parchment paper.  The granola doesn't stick to it and I don't have to wash the pan.

Granola with fruit and yogurt

Grandma's Old Fashioned Granola

I made granola for Babyface yesterday and my dry ingredients were: oats, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, sliced almonds, powdered milk, a little nutritional yeast, whey protein powder, and powdered milk.  It smelled amazing and was very tasty. After it cools, I stirred in some raisins. I keep it in the fridge. He loves it with Greek yogurt and berries.  So do I.

Chicken Salad Salad

Since it's nearly 90*, I had to shelve the soups for a bit and make a summery salad.  I had leftover chicken from some homestyle roasted chicken so I decided to make some chicken salad for the following day's lunch. I had it on greens and it was delicious. 

Chicken Salad Ingredients:
Chopped leftover chicken

A little light mayo (go very lightly, you don't want it to be gloppy)

Chopped celery

Chopped onion (frozen is fine)

Garlic salt

Pepper

Chicken Salad Salad Ingredients:

Chicken salad

Grapes

Diced apple

Grape tomatoes

Sliced almonds

Mixed greens (I like the kind with veggies) 

Balsamic vinaigrette  

 

Chicken Salad Salad

Put the greens, grapes, apples, grape tomatoes, almonds and balsamic vinaigrette into a big colander and mix well with a pair of tongs.  Then add the chicken salad and give it one stir with the tongs.  I really like fruit and nuts in salads.  It is great!  

(You won’t believe they're) Vegetarian Tacos

For many years I have been a flexitarian.  Lately I've been including even more meatless meals into my repertoire.  I made these tacos for the first time and was surprised that they turned out to be excellent!  I didn't tell My Heart's Desire they were veg and after dinner, he told me he was glad I was using real meat.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion (of course I use frozen)
1 box Smart Ground
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
2t minced onion
1/4t chili powder
1/2t crushed red pepper
1t seasoned salt
1t cumin
1t garlic powder

These are very easy to make.  Heat up the olive oil and cook the onion.  Add the Smart Ground and break it up thoroughly.  If you're not familiar, it's protein crumbles that are the same texture as ground meat.  I find them with the other hippie foods in the produce section. Let the Smart Ground cook for about 5 minutes.

I rinse off the beans to reduce sodium then toss them in the pan with the remaining ingredients.  Then stir, stir, stir. Add 1 c of water and turn the heat up until it boils.  Turn the heat down and let it simmer for a little bit.  This makes a pretty big batch of (non) meat.

Delicious vegetarian taco salad

We ate it for dinner as tacos.  Then I had it another time as a taco salad, My Heart's Desire ate it as a tostada, then as taco nachos.  Babyface had it for dinner and liked it as well. We added cheese, sour cream, salsa and guacamole but if you eliminated the dairy toppings you'd have a vegan meal.

What to Do With Leftover Croissants?

I had some leftover croissants from a brunch at my house and wasn't sure what to do with them.  I'm not a huge croissant person and neither is My Heart's Desire.  What to do, what to do?

Why, make French Toast with them! 

Croissant French Toast Ingredients:

3 croissants

2 eggs

1/4 cup of milk

Splash of vanilla 

I sliced the croissants into thirds or fourths, dipped them briefly in egg/milk/vanilla batter, and cooked on a hot pan.  It really smelled amazing.  I offered it to Babyface and he loved it.  I froze the leftovers and they reheated just fine in the toaster oven on low.

10 Minute Dinner: Chilaquiles

In 1999, my mom and I went on vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  We stayed at a wonderful B&B and one morning we were served chilaquiles for breakfast, which I had never had or even heard of.  They are basically breakfast nachos and so very delicious!  I do have an authentic recipe that includes chopping, dicing, and de-seeding. When I need dinner on the table quickly, it won't do. So I came up with this fast and tasty version.

10 Minute Dinner: Chilaquiles

When I do my meal planning, I plan anywhere from 10-30 dinners in advance.  I always make sure to have the ingredients for chilaquiles on hand since that is my backup meal.  If my dinner is a disaster or the power went out and the slow cooker meal is no good, I can have this on the table in 10 minutes.

10 Minute Dinner: Chilaquiles Ingredients:
1/2 can enchilada sauce
1/2 can petite diced tomatoes
Salsa
Mexican blend cheese
Sour cream
Guacamole
Eggs or Egg Beaters
Tortilla chips
Black beans (optional)
Spices for black beans: garlic powder, onion flakes, and cumin

Combine a half can of enchilada sauce with a half can of petite diced tomatoes in a deep pan and heat on medium high.  Freeze the other halves together and a bag and you will have chilaquile sauce for next time.  At the same time, put some salsa in another pan and get it nice and hot.

If you'd like to use black beans (I usually do, just was out this time), heat them up on the stove with garlic powder, onion flakes, and cumin.

When the sauce is nice and hot, put the tortilla chips in it briefly.  Then use tongs to pull the hot chips out of the pan and put on a plate.  Cook the eggs or Egg Beaters in the pan with the hot salsa.  I usually scramble the eggs since that's the fastest method, but over easy is great too.

Place the eggs on top of the sauced chips, add black beans, sprinkle with cheese, and add dollops of sour cream and guacamole.  Voila!  Dinner is ready.

Healthy Cookies for Babyface

I am still very fond of these Healthy Cookies.  I make them at least twice a week.  They are very satisfying.

Dinnertime is when Babyface is at his pickiest when it comes to eating.  So I made a batch for Babyface and they are officially his favorite non-fruit food.  He very quickly learned the word cookie.

Healthy Cookies for Babyface Ingredients:
1 med/large banana, brown is fine
1/2c old fashioned oats
1 T natural peanut butter

Healthy Cookies for Babyface

Smush the banana.  The easiest way is to put it, peeled, on a cutting board and smush with a fork.  Combine banana, oats, and peanut butter in a bowl.  Drop by scant tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment. (Of course I love parchment.  Nothing sticks to it and you don't have to wash the pan!) The smaller they are, the more edges they have to get crispy and tasty.

Bake for 20 minutes or so at 350*.  Eat the day they are made or the following day.  

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole 

I assembled this dinner in a hurry and it turned out pretty good.  This could also be called I-forgot-to-crock-the-chicken-casserole.  It's the classic chicken and rice casserole with broccoli and plenty of rice for My Heart's Desire. It's very, very easy.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs (of course you could use breasts or a combination)
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
2 cups water
3 cups frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 t paprika, divided
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t garlic salt

Spray a glass baking dish with Pam.  Combine the soup, rice, water, broccoli, onion, half the paprika, and pepper in the pan.  Give it a good stir.  Season the chicken with the other half of the paprika, garlic salt, and a little more pepper. Place the chicken on top.

Bake at 375* for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes or until the chicken has reached 165*.  My oven is not awesome so it may take less time in yours.  Let it stand for 10 minutes or so.  This made dinner for us for two nights and a lunch or two.

3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Applesauce

When apples were on sale for $.88/lb, I decided to make slow cooker applesauce for Babyface.  How hard could it be? Not at all. It was a breeze.  It will be a long while before I pay for applesauce again. 

3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Applesauce
8 medium sized apples (I used Red Delicious)

2/3 cup water

1 t pumpkin pie spice

I cored the apples and cut them up into chunks.  I left the skins on since all the good stuff is in there.  I tossed them in the crock with the water and pumpkin pie spice and mixed it up with a wooden spoon.

Then I cooked it on low for 7 hours or so.  When I first took the lid off, it smelled like autumn. It seemed like it was too watery but as it blended, it became the right consistency. 

Then when it cooled, I blended it.  Please note: if you put something hot in the blender, it will expand very quickly as it blends.  And make a terrific mess.  Um, I heard.  I blended it in two cup increments.  It made about about 5 cups.

I stored some of it and froze the rest in freezer bags.  The trick with freezing anything in a bag is to freeze it laying flat first.  That way you have nice, easy to store bags that fit vertically rather than an assortment of bags with lumps. 

The applesauce was a big hit with Babyface.  I gave it to him with some homemade chicken livers for a very messy meal. 

Smoky Slow Cooker Tomato Soup

I was in the mood for tomato soup with grilled cheese for dinner on a recent dreary, rainy day.  I was surprised that it turned out to be pretty good.  Next time I would add maybe half a cup less of water/broth so that it would be thicker. If I were feeling ambitious, I might add a cornstarch slurry or similar to thicken it.

Smoky Slow Cooker Tomato Soup Ingredients:
1 t butter
1 heaping T minced garlic
3/4 c diced onion
28 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water or broth
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
1/2 cup pureed carrots
3 bay leaves
1 t sea salt
1 t thyme
1/8-1/4+ t liquid smoke

Smoky Slow Cooker Tomato Soup

Saute the onions and garlic in butter.  Add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients except milk.  Cook on low for 6 hours.

Then add milk.  If you'd like it to taste richer, use half and half.  Stir then blend with a hand blender or in a regular blender.  If you use a regular blender, blend in small batches (maybe 2 cups each) as the hot liquid expands and can cause a terrific mess.  I've heard.  I like my soup pretty chunky so I only blended about half.

I had this for dinner two nights in a row.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Protein Muffins

After last week's Peanut Butter Muffin Fail, I received a suggestion to add banana to the muffins so that they wouldn't be so dry.  I found a recipe and tweaked it until it was perfect for Babyface. 

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Protein Muffins

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Protein Muffins Ingredients:

1 1/2 c flour

1 c old fashioned oats

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/3 c vegetable oil

1/3 c brown sugar

2 eggs

2 mashed bananas

2/3 chunky peanut butter

1 c buttermilk (I just add a tablespoon of vinegar to whole milk and let it sit for 5 minutes)

2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used 365 whey protein powder)

Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir.  Put the oil, brown sugar, eggs, banana, peanut butter, and buttermilk in the mixer and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixer and combine until just incorporated.  

Pour the batter into greased muffin tins. Do not use paper liners.  Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  This recipe made 18 regular size muffins with some leftover batter. I was out of muffin tins so I just baked all the leftover batter in an ovenproof bowl and ended up with one really big muffin. Let the muffins cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, then take them out and cool on a rack. He ate two for lunch that day.  I kept some out and individually froze the rest in a big Ziploc so we have a fast meal or snack ready. 

One Giant Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Protein Muffin

These were great and a big hit with Babyface.  I really liked them too.  If I were making these for adults instead, I would probably substitute applesauce for at least half of the oil, egg whites for whole eggs, use skim milk instead of whole, and increase the sugar to 3/4 c.

Pumpkin Spice Waffles With Granola

It's been really hot here lately so I try to do baking and other hot things in the kitchen on cooler days.  Today I broke out the George Foreman and made waffles for Babyface.

I intended to make the usual Pumpkin Spice Waffles but when I opened the fridge to get the eggs, I saw a bag of homemade granola.  Yes, sometimes I make homemade granola.  So instead of adding oatmeal, I put in roughly the same amount of granola. It didn't make them terrifically crunchy or dry, it gave the waffles the right consistency with some added nuts for protein.

This batch made slightly fewer waffles, I'm sure because I just roughly measure when I pour in the batter. When they were all made (to Babyface's delight, he had a wobble for lunch), I layered them on a cookie sheet with parchment between the layers.  When they were mostly frozen (and when I wanted the tray to make some Healthy Cookies) I put them in a big Ziploc bag and they don't get all stuck together.
.

Healthy Cookies

Recently, StumbleUpon sent me a link to 34 Insanely Simple Two Ingredient Recipes.  I already knew some of them but when I saw the recipe for 2 Ingredient Cookies, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.  How could these possibly be good?

Oh, but they are.  I'm not one to leave the yummy out of cookies, so I had to include walnuts and chocolate chips.  I halved the original recipe so that I could eat them while they were fresh.  I made these yesterday and the day before and both batches were good.  

Healthy Cookies Ingredients:
1 med/large banana, brown is fine
1/2c old fashioned oats
1 scant T chocolate chips
8 walnut halves, broken

First, mush up the banana with a fork.

Stir in oats, then chocolate chips and walnuts.

The crispy parts are the tastiest, so the smaller you can make these, the better, so there's more crispy parts.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  They look about the same coming out of the oven as going in, but the bottoms get the aforementioned crispy goodness and the mushiness becomes more solid.

I ate most of them last night and then had a few for breakfast.  They were okay today but definitely better last night.

The consistency of these is pretty close to that of a cookie though it's much less sweet.  These could also very easily be made vegan by using dairy-free chocolate chips or leaving them out altogether and putting in raisins or currants.  While I enjoyed them, My Heart's Desire was not fooled by the lack of eggs, butter, sugar, flour and didn't try any.

I would make these for Babyface (leaving out the chocolate chips) and myself  if we were going somewhere that I needed yummy snacks that would be good at any temperature.

Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken and Mushrooms

This recipe is so good I didn't have time to take a picture of it before dinner.  A friend gave me the original recipe and I modified it slightly. The very best thing about this meal is the taste.  The second best thing is that it can cook fast if you are in a hurry, like I was recently.  I forgot to put it in the crock until 4:45 and we had dinner at 7:00.  And it was good. 

Ingredients:

Crushed garlic

Diced onions (of course I use frozen)

1 container pesto (I used Classico because it was on sale)

1/3 c chicken broth

1 box fresh, sliced mushrooms (I prefer the sliced baby bella, but any mushroom works)

4-6 chicken pieces, boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs or a combination of breasts and thighs

Put all ingredients in slow cooker and mix well.  Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 2-3. I always use the probe that came with the slow cooker to make sure it's cooked to the proper temperature.  Then serve over pasta.  I put it over angel hair (what we bought at Costco) and sprinkled a little Parmesan on top.  

All of the flavors really come together nicely in the slow cooker.  It's really, really easy.  If you can open jars and make pasta, this dish is a delight for the taste buds.   It's one of My Heart's Desire's favorites.  He thinks it tastes even better the second day.  

Mixed Green Salad with Grapefruit, Pecans, and Feta

I made this salad with things I had on hand and was happily surprised at how well it turned out.  I mixed greens, sliced grape tomatoes, feta, grapefruit chunks (thanks, fruit of the month club), pecans, and balsamic vinaigrette (I like Trader Joe's). I mix the whole thing in a colander so that the dressing is distributed evenly. I have a feeling this salad is going to be popular on my spring and summer table.

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

A few weekends ago I made waffles for breakfast and Babyface immediately started saying wobbles, wobbles.  My usual Bisquick pancakes with pecans are tasty but I knew I could make waffles healthier for Babyface.  Since I already knew he was crazy about them, I decided to make a big batch so I could freeze them.  It's less trouble to make more waffles than it is to do the whole operation again.

Ingredients:

2 cups Arrowhead Mills multigrain pancake and waffle mix

2 eggs, beaten
2 T veggie oil
1.5c whole milk
1/2 can pumpkin
1/4t pumpkin pie spice (or more, that was all I had)
1/2 c + old fashioned oats

First, take out the George Foreman grill, put the waffle plates on and heat up grill to high.

Mix first four ingredients briefly.  Add pumpkin, spice, and oats to batter.  If the batter seems too runny, add more oatmeal. I freeze the rest of the pumpkin in an ice cube tray to use in Peanut Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal. 

Spray plates with cooking spray, then pour in 1/2c of batter for each waffle and cook for 4-7 minutes. Be sure to spray the plates each time so the waffles don't stick (I ruined some the first time I used the George Foreman to make waffles).  This recipe made around 16 waffles.  I froze most of them in two big freezer bags.  To reheat, I just pop them in the toaster. 

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

This slow cooker pumpkin soup is so easy and really delicious.  It's even a two-step slow cooker recipe, which I don't usually do.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

Crushed garlic

Diced onions (of course I use frozen)

1t salt

1t nutmeg

1/2t of pepper

1 big or 2 small cans of pumpkin

1Q chicken broth

1 c water

1/2 cup of half and half

3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pan, saute the garlic and onions in a little olive oil until fragrant.  Add the pumpkin, spices, chicken broth, and water.  Bring to a boil.  After it boils, transfer to the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4.  Five minutes before serving, stir in the half and half and Parmesan cheese.  It's great with a grilled cheese or as an appetizer if you are feeling fancy.  My Heart's Desire likes it, I love it.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup with Grilled Cheese

Crustless Asparagus Goat Cheese Quiche

This crustless Asparagus Goat Cheese Quiche is a great healthy breakfast or brunch.  It's also great to bake on Monday and eat all week.

Ingredients:
3 cups of Egg Beaters
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup of reduced fat mozzarella
1 bag of asparagus
4 oz crumbled goat cheese
Chopped onion
Salt and pepper

Steam a bag of asparagus, drain, and chop.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir.  Pour into a greased casserole pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the mixture isn't wobbly anymore.

I've also made this as individual quiches and they turned out great.  Just spray a muffin tin generously with cooking spray (do not use liners) and fill about halfway full.  Let cool on a baking rack.  They freeze well.