Healthy Low Fat Pumpkin Spice Muffins

At least once a week I make Pumpkin French Toast for the boys for breakfast so that they get some added vegetables in their diet. I simply add 1 Tablespoon of canned pumpkin puree for every egg I use to coat the bread. I also mix in some cinnamon and a tiny little bit of nutmeg. They gobble them up every time.

But what to do with the left over canned pumpkin? Pumpkin muffins! In this recipe, I use some whole wheat flour instead of all white flour and substitute some apple sauce instead of all oil. They taste great and since it is a large batch of muffins, I throw half of them in the freezer to use within the next month.)

Healthy Low Fat Pumpkin Spice Muffins
(Makes 36- 42 large muffins.)

Ingedients:
1 1/2 cups raisins
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
6 eggs
1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Grease three sets of 12 cup muffin pans, or line with paper muffin liners. Soak raisins in hot water for ten minutes to plump, then drain.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to make a smooth batter. Stir the raisins and walnuts into the batter.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Flax Oatmeal Squares

I received a post from "Christie's Corner", a fabulous online recipe blog and she listed a Flax Oatmeal Square that looked good so I wanted to give it a try. Flax is such an excellent source of omega 3's that when I see any recipe that lists it as a main ingredient, I want to give it a whirl. So, here they are! They are definately a crumbly bar...you have to rush them into your mouth before they break apart. They have a nutty flavour to them and the kids gobbled them up so as it stands, I now have 3, yes 3 bar recipes that have permanently replaced store bought granola bars. Yay!

Oatmeal and Flax Squares
(From http://www.chrisite-corner.blogspot.com%20makes/ Makes 16 squares.)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup SOFT butter (must be butter for flavour)
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup ground flax*
2 T whole flax seed
1/2 tsp baking soda

Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar.

Add oats, ground flax, whole flax and baking soda, mixing very well.

Press HARD into 8" X 8" pan.

Bake at 300F for 15 minutes. Watch so that they don't burn.

Cool and cut into squares.


* Note: I like the nutty taste of flax and added enough to alter the flavour of the original recipe. If you're leery and want something closer to the original, try 1/4 cup flax and 1 3/4 cups of oats.

Peanut Crusted Tilapia

Tilapia is an amazingly versatile and inexpensive fish. There are so many ways of cooking it and you really can't mess it up. This recipe for tilapia is one I found in The Best of Fine Cooking and adusted for my family to make it simple yet delicious. Instead of peanuts, you can also substitute cashews or sesame seeds, depending on your families tastes. I like to serve this fish with a tofu pad thai. Yum!

Peanut Crusted Tilapia
(Serves 4)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup salted peanuts, finely chopped
4 skinless tilapia fillets(about 4 oz each)
Salt

Directions

Line up three dishes that have enough space to fit a fish fillet in. Put the flour in one, the egg in the other and the peanut in the last.

Season the fillets with salt. Coat the fillets in batches, first in the flour, then in the egg, and finally in the peanuts. Set the fillets to the side as you coat each one.

Using a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the tilapia fillets and cook for about 4 - 5 minutes each side until the fish is golden in colour and cooked through.

Serve!

Banana Bran Muffins

We had some old friends we hadn't seen for a long time over for brunch this morning. I had some ready made croissants thawing (I know, I know...) but they weren't rising as fast as I hoped they would be. Hence, I needed something to bake that would be quick, easy and delicious. I also had three overly ripe bananas to use up. What do I do when I have items in the kitchen I need to use and am in a rush? I use the search engine on allrecipes.com. That's the greatest thing (I think) about the site. You plug in a couple of ingredients and bam! recipes appear. From there you can pick and choose by the highest ratings. These muffins rated 4 and half stars out of 5 with over 140 people rating. In the world of allrecipes.com, it's a safe bet!

Banana Bran Muffins
(Makes 12 large muffins)

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup flax
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Add bananas, milk, vanilla and eggs; mix well. Stir in flour, bran, flax, baking powder, baking soda and salt; blend just until moistened. Stir in raisins. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the cups for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Easy Lemon Rosemary Garlic Roast Chicken

Roast chicken is an excellent family meal...Everyone likes it, the cost is minimal and left overs can be used the next day in a sandwich. In our house, when I roast a chicken, I also roast some potatoes and carrots in the roasting pan with the chicken for the remaining 50 - 60 minutes of cooking. (Less dishes used!) Here is an easy yet very delicious way to roast a chicken. It's so easy, even my four year old can do it!

Easy Lemon Rosemary Garlic Roast Chicken
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (about 3-4 pounds), rinsed and patted dry with neck and giblets removed
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stem
2 Tbsp olive oil
zest of one lemon plus remaining lemon
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and lemon zest in a bowl. Mix well.

Rub above mixture all over the outside and the inside of your chicken.

Place remaining lemon in the cavity of the chicken.

Place chicken in roasting pan and place in oven. Roast 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30minutes until cooked through. Leg will move easily from body or meat thermometer placed in leg meat (not touching bone) will read 180 degrees.

Let rest 10 minutes before carving to allow juices to settle into meat. Enjoy!

Melted Rolo

Want a treat that won't blow out your daily calorie count but give you a nice warm, nummy "ahhhh!"? Next time you find yourself in or close to a Starbucks go in and ask to buy a bottle of their sugar free caramel syrup. They cost a reasonable $10 for a 1 litre bottle. When you get home open up your cupboard and find that container of hot chocolate mix. Make your self a nice steamy cup of hot chocolate and then add a shot of the caramel syrup. You now have yourself a mug of love and warm fuzzies. I call it a Melted Rolo and I am going to go make myself one right now. You should too. Enjoy!

Thyme and Butter Carrots

If you're tired of the same old steamed carrots, try this:

Get a nice, organic bunch of carrots, the thinner, the better. Peel your carrots, rinse them then place them in a saute pan.

Add water to the pan till the carrots are just covered. Add a sprig of thyme (or a teaspoon of dried), a tablespoon of butter and a dash of kosher salt. (I love adding the salt...makes me feel like a pro!)

Bring your carrots to a boil then simmer until soft, about 3 - 6 minutes, depending on the size of the carrots.

Drain the water, add a little salted butter for flavour then serve. Your carrots will have a nice light thyme flavour to them and everyone will say, "Yum! What did you do to the carrots?"

Roasted Butternut Squash

I saw this on channel 52, one of my favourite channels...The Food Network! I was watching Jamie Oliver cook a chicken roast and veggie dinner for a construction crew. It looked darn good and the one recipe I took from the show was his roasted butternut squash. I'm trying it tonight as we have dinner guests coming. The menu? Grilled lamb chops with a Dijon garlic marinade, roast potatoes, roasted lemon rosemary butternut squash and grilled asparagus. Dessert? Premium Vanilla Bean Ice cream with strawberries and home made chocolate sauce. Mmmmm!

Roasted Butternut Squash by Jamie Oliver
(Serves 4 -6)

Ingredients
2 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into equal pieces
About 1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed then minced
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
zest of one lemon
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Put all ingredients except squash in a mortar. Use the pestle to smash it about, drawing the flavours out.

Toss squash in a medium bowl with the oil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 - 40 minutes until tender.

Serve!

Savoury Brown Rice

Most of the time, we eat brown rice in our house. I've found a way to make it with more flavour than just preparing it with water. Here it is:

Savoury Brown Rice
(Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 crushed garlic clove
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Combine ingredients in a rice cooker or pot. If in a rice cooker, spray with cooking spray to help with sticking. Start! If when the light on your cooker says ready and it is a bit too crunchy, add another bit of stock or water, about an 1/8 of a cup, and press start again. It should only take a few more minutes. Remove garlic clove, fluff and serve.

If in a pot, bring to a boil, stir once then reduce heat to low. Leave until cooked, about 30 - 40 minutes. Rice will have little holes on the top. Remove garlic, fluff and serve!

New Website Address!

I started this website for a number of reasons but the main one was this: I was always getting asked by friends who I had cooked or baked for, "Can I get the recipe?" Hence, the new name of this website: www.canigettherecipe.com

It's a bit easier to remember than the last address and if you're talking to friends who want to know where you got that fabulous chocolate chip cookie recipe, you can tell them...

www.canigettherecipe.com

Pass it on!

Happy cooking!

Whitefish in a Black Bean Sauce

Peter likes black bean sauce so this is a great meal for him. The recipe is easy to prepare and quick. Use any lean white fleshed fish like rock fish, tilapia or cod. Add a bowl of rice and a few grilled asparagus tips or steamed broccoli florets and dinner is served!

Whitefish in a Black Bean Sauce
(Frm Williams Sonoma Seafood: Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 green onions, white part minced and green parts, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon black bean sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
sugar
1 1/2 lbs whitefish, pin bones removed and fillets thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions:
Prepare the sauce in a wok or deep frying pan over medium low heat. Warm the oil then add the ginger and minced green onion whites and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the black bean sauce, the broth and a pinch of sugar. Bring to a simmer.

Add the fish to the sauce and simmer till the fish flakes apart, about 3 - 4 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer fish to plates, leaving most of the sauce in the pan. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 1 Tbsp of water. Add to the sauce and raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring gently until the sauce is glossy and slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Pour the sauce over the fish, garnish with green onion slices and serve!

Ginger Salmon Cakes with Soba Noodles and Peas

I'm always on the hunt for family friendly fish recipes and this is definitely one. Because the salmon is pulsed in a food processor, the texture of the salmon cake is preferred by little ones. You can adjust the taste to be slightly milder for little kids with picky palates by omitting the green onion. Use fresh, wild salmon when creating these lovely cakes and everyone will definitely be asking for more.

Ginger Salmon Cakes with Soba Noodles and Peas
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ginger, coarsely chopped
2 green onions, coarsely chopped
1 lb fresh, wild salmon fillet, skin and pin bones removed and cut into pieces
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 egg white
salt
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Ingredients - Noodles:
1 (360 gram) package soba noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups frozen peas, cooked and drained
1 teaspoon garlic powder

For Serving:
Soy sauce
Lemon wedges
Hot pepper sauce or chili sauce (Peter's favourite!)

Directions:
Place ginger and onion in a food processor and process until finely chopped, stopping once or twice to scrape down. Sprinkle salmon pieces with cornstarch. Add fish, egg white, a pinch of salt and the fish sauce to processor. Process using quick pulses till the fish is the consistency of hamburger meat. Do not over process!

Form salmon into 8 equal patties about 1/2 inch thick. (Wet your hands slightly to help from the mixture sticking). Transfer to plate, cover with wrap and refrigerate 5 - 10 minutes.

While salmon is cooling, boil water for the soba noodles. Cook just al dente.

Put a large non stick frying pan over medium heat then add the oil. Once hot, add 2 cakes and cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. They should be slightly springy to the touch. Add more oil if needed after each batch. Keep cooking cakes, removing batches as they are done and placing on a plate. Keep warm by covering with foil.

When last cakes are being cooked, put another frying pan on medium heat. Add oil. Once hot, add peas and cook for 1 minute. Add soba noodles and garlic powder. Toss well.

Transfer noodles to serving plates, add salmon cakes on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with soy sauce, hot sauce and lemon wedges.

Rouxbe.com Pizza Dough

If you haven't checked out www.rouxbe.com yet, you must. It is an amazing instructional video cooking website that has a vast amount of incredible recipes as well as "Drill Downs" which are instructional videos showing you the "how to's" of cooking. It's incredible. This pizza dough recipe is from their site and it's the cat's meow. It's light, crispy and can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen. If you like making homemade pizzas with homemade dough, this is the one to use.

Rouxbe's Pizza Dough
(8 small pizzas)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp instant dry yeast
2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup semolina flour
3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 tsp sea salt

For shaping the Dough:

1/4 cup coarse cornmeal (for sprinkling on peel)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (for brushing on dough)

Directions:

To make the dough, add the lukewarm water to a large bowl, along with the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over top and wait until it dissolves. Pour in the olive oil, sprinkle in about half of the semolina flour and half of the bread flour and stir to combine. Then add the remaining flours and the salt. Stir a few times to combine the ingredients.

Use your hands to bring the dough together, and then turn it out onto the counter. Knead the dough for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until it feels and looks smooth.

Portion the dough and form each portion into a round. Lightly oil a large bowl with olive oil. Coat the dough very lightly with olive oil and place into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it slow-rise overnight in the refrigerator (or at room temperature) until double in size.

Shaping the Dough:
If you have one, place a pizza stone into a cold oven then preheat the oven to 450º degrees Fahrenheit. Let the stone heat for at least 30 minutes before baking your first pizza.

Place a piece of room temperature dough onto a lightly floured counter. Press it flat into a round. Continue to press and turn the dough while stretching it. You can also hold the dough upright, rolling it between your fingers as you stretch it. The weight of the dough will help to stretch it.

Sprinkle the peel with cornmeal. Gently transfer the dough to the peel and proceed with your pizza recipe.

Penne with Italian Sausage and Roasted Squash Sauce

I love this recipe. It is extrememly flavourful, easy to make and freezes well. It is also healthy to boot! The ingredients are simple: roasted squash, onions and garlic blended with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make a sauce. Cooked penne is then added along with some fresh sage. Serve topped with a sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese and cooked Italian sausage and voila! An incredible, impressive and delicious dinner!

Ingredients
(From: www.besthealthmag.ca/recipes - Serves 4)

2 lean Italian Sausages
1 medium onion, quartered
2 cups acorn squash, seeded, peeled, and cubed
4 cloves garlic, roasted (I roast a whole head and save the rest for later. Cut the top off so bulbs are exposed, drizzle with a little olive oil, wrap in foil and bake 25 min at 250 degrees)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus 1/2 cup for the sauce
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken stock
4 cups cooked penne
16 leaves sage, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions
Open sausage casings and gently sauté meat, breaking it apart until browned.
Put aside.

Toss squash and onion in 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minuntes till soft.

Blend or food process squash, garlic and onion. With blender running, add 1/2 cup oil and balsamic vinegar and blend till smooth. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken stock. When finished it should have the consistency of tomato sauce. Transfer to a sauce pan that is large enough to hold added cooked pasta.

Add cooked pasta to sauce. Heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then add chopped sage.

Transfer to 4 dinner plates. Top each plate with sausage and crumbled feta. Serve!

Easy "Fettuccine Alfredo" with Prawns and Peas

This is a quick and easy way to make a delicious version of Fettuccine Alfredo that is not only a family pleaser but also a little lower in calories than the regular Alfredo sauce. You can add more garlic if you prefer it really garlicky and if you are not a fan of prawns, you can substitute chicken or just leave any meat out completely instead. If you do choose to use chicken, just cook it in a separate pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and toss with sauce and pasta upon serving.

Easy "Fettuccine Alfredo" with Prawns and Peas
(Prep Time: 15 minutes/Total Time: 30 minutes. Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 package of fresh fettuccine
1/2 cup butter
2 cups prawns, cleaned and deveined
1 (8 ounce) package low fat cream cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
2 cups milk, warmed
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
A few twists of fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Directions:
Cook fettucine according to the package directions, drain then set to the side.

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Saute prawns and garlic till golden. Take out just the prawns and keep warm on the side.

Add the cream cheese and the milk to the pan. Use a wire whisk to stir and work out the lumps until the sauce is of a smooth consistency.

Stir in Parmesan cheese and the pepper. Taste and add salt. Continue to heat until the sauce is thickened then immediately toss the sauce with the pasta. Top with the prawns and serve.