LEMON CRUMB MUFFINS

My kitchen smelled amazing when these were baking! Spring cleaning? Spring smell for you!

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbs sugar
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ⅓ cup plain 0% greek yogurt
• ⅓ cup almond milk, unsweetened 
• 3 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon zest

For the Crumb Topping

• 2 Tbs sugar
• 2.5 Tbs flour
• ¾ Tbs melted light butter 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a regular 12 hole muffin tin with some cooking spray.
2. Whisk your eggs & 1 Tbsp of sugar, add in applesauce, yogurt, milk & lemon juice, stir well.
3. Mix in 1 cup of flour, baking powder & soda then stir in your lemon zest
4. Pour batter into your 12 muffin cups. 
5. In a small bowl melt your butter in the microwave, in a separate small bowl mix  2 Tbsp of sugar and 2.5 Tbsp of flour together and then pour in melted butter & mash with a fork till crumb forms. Sprinkle on top of muffin batter.
6. Bake in the oven for approx 18 minutes. Makes 12 muffins. Best stored in fridge.

Tupps Tidbits:   For the crumb topping,  we added a bit more flour than what the recipe called for and the "crumble" l did not turn out the best.   Also, due to the ingredients, we would recommend not using cupcake liners & just spray muffin tin (the batter it might stick to the paper liners).

Believe it or not, we found they these had a very weak lemon taste.  We even used "real" lemon juice and zest. If you are going to try this recipe, maybe adjust it by swapping  the plain yogurt for a lemon blend.  They were super moist, but we are going to say  this is  NOT A KEEPER recipe at our house.

El Paso Chicken Burgers

Pepper Jack-stuffed, Southwest-spiced Chicken patties are piled between toasty buns and on the side we have a heap of garlicky oven fries.

12 ounce Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Red Onion
¼ ounce Pepper Jack Cheese
Potato Buns
Poblano Pepper
10 ounce Ground Chicken
2 tablespoon Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon Southwest Spice Blend
2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1. Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. Cut potatoes into ½-inch-thick wedges. Toss on one side of a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, 1 tsp Southwest Spice, ¼ tsp garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
2. Halve poblano lengthwise; remove stem and seeds. Peel and slice onion into ½-inchthick rounds. Toss veggies on opposite side of baking sheet from potatoes with a drizzle of oil; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle insides of poblano halves with ¼ tsp garlic powder, arrange cut sides down. Roast on top rack until potatoes are crispy and veggies are lightly charred, 20-25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine chicken, remaining Southwest Spice, ¾ tsp salt, and pepper. Form mixture into two ½-inchthick patties. Divide Jack cheese between centers of each patty. Fold edges of meat around cheese, shaping and sealing to create cheese-stuffed patties.
4. When veggies have about 10 minutes left, heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until browned and cooked through, 4-7 minutes per side. Turn off heat; transfer to a plate.
5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and remaining garlic powder. Season with pepper. Halve buns; toast in oven until golden brown.
6. Spread bottom buns with garlic mayo. Fill buns with patties, poblano, and onion. 

Tupps Tidbits:  if your poblano pepper halves are very large, cut in half crosswise
 

This was a simple and easy recipe to put together and somewhat of a copy cat recipe from Hello Fresh (they made it with pork).  This recipe  is a KEEPER at our house! 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies used to be sold in the Center Cafe at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center (DAHLC). The dietitians & chefs at the DAHLC did many cooking demonstrations and also created their own recipes. These cookies were very popular & always a favorite of mine. I have always wanted to recreate them at home, so I finally did!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1.5 oz. dark chocolate bar (60% cocoa), grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. 
2.  Place oats in a food processor (or small blender) & process until it turns into a powder.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered oats, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars for 3 minutes on medium speed. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients.
5. Sir in chocolate chips.
6. Roll or scoop dough into 2-inch sized balls & place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 12 minutes
8. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Tupps Tidbits: We omitted the white sugar &  the dark chocolate bar. We lowered the oven temp to 350 (the bottom of the cookies were browning faster than the top). We also pressed the dough ball down a bit on the baking sheet to flatten the cookie before baking.  We ended up with 26 cookies.

Recreation was success!  Sweets are such a challenge when focusing on nutrition and healthy foods can taste great!  This recipe is a KEEPER at our house (well at least for me, Tupps will take a real chocolate cookie instead).  They came out to be about 120 calories per cookie for us. Fit & Flavorful!  

The recipe stated the scooped dough freezes well and bakes up as delicious as fresh but you would need to add 1-2 minutes to bake time for frozen dough.  

Steakhouse Soup

Enjoy a steak dinner in a bowl with this super simple, hearty steak soup. We forgot to take a picture of our end result of this awesome soup.   Instead, you might need a little help in locating where "Beef Stew" comes from???  It typically comes from the large shoulder of a cow, more commonly called “chuck”. But roast, top & bottom round, tips, and even steak can be used as stew meat. MOOO!

Ingredients

1 carton (32 oz) beef broth
1.5 pounds red potatoes, cubed
1.5 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 package (16 oz) frozen veggies, thawed
2 cups water
1 medium onion
1 cup steak sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 tsp. dried 
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a 5- or 6qt slow cooker.  Cook, covered, on low 8-10 hours or until steak and potatoes are tender.

Tupps Tidbits:  We recommend adjusting to a little less than 1/2 cup of the steak sauce.

We did not have any leftovers, but you could freeze cooled soup and then to use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight and add water if necessary.  The steak was super moist and tender.

KEEPER RECIPE AT OUR HOUSE!

Everything Seasoned CHICKEN TENDERS

Chicken tenders are pretty much a staple food when we go out to eat. With chicken tenders your can’t go wrong because they are always delicious! We often make chicken at home but when it comes to recreating those restaurant-style tenders it is not easy to do unless you want to use a lot of oil to cook them in.

Ingredients
24 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1¼ cup panko crumbs
⅓ cup flour
2 eggs
⅓ cup buttermilk
5 Tbs everything but the bagel seasoning (Trader Joe's)


Instructions

• Add cooking spray to the bottom of the frying pan and warm over medium heat, add the panko crumbs, stir occasionally for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the crumbs are a nice brown toasted color. Place crumbs on a flat plate.
• Preheat oven to 400F
• Cut the chicken into strips
• Mix the flour with 1 Tbs of the seasoning and put on a flat plate.
• Whisk the eggs with milk and place in a bowl big enough for dipping the chicken pieces in.
• Add remaining 4 Tbs of the seasoning to the toasted panko
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
• Dip each chicken piece into the flour, then the egg mixture and finish off with the panko mixture. Place on the baking tray, repeat with all cut chicken strips.
• Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes. Makes approximately 5- 5oz servings
• Store any leftovers in the fridge, these chicken tenders will freeze well.

Tupps Tibits: When browning the bread crumbs, watch your temperate of the pan and make sure to stir "frequently" to avoid burning! We adjusted the recipe and used skim milk in place of buttermilk.

We were determined to try our best to make them crispy and tasty, these everything seasoned chicken tenders are good!  We enjoy adding Trader Joe's seasoning to dishes.  It consists of sesame seeds, sea salt flakes, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds. You can just add these simple spices yourself. As you see in the picture, we made homemade crinkle fries too! This made an awesome, quick week night meal. KEEPER RECIPE at our house!

Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

We love Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno. This is a copycat recipe using marinara, alfredo, mozzarella, fontina, romano & parmesan cheese and baked with a panko bread crumb topping.

There is little doubt that COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every aspect of your/our lives. Please observe public health measures and reduce exposure to the virus to slow the spread of the disease. 

Healthy eating is especially important for keeping your immune system in top condition. Our blog offers many easy meal ideas!

Pasta:
1 pound ziti pasta
4 cups marinara sauce
2 cups alfredo sauce
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Fontina Cheese shredded

Topping:

2 cups mozzarella Cheese shredded

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup romano cheese grated

1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated

2 cloves garlic minced

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees
2. Cook the pasta one minute shy of the directions and drain.
3. In a large bowl add the pasta, marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, ricotta cheese and fontina cheese and mix.
4. Pour in to a 9x13 pan
5. Mix the mozzarella, panko, romano, parmesan and garlic together, add this over the pasta
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes uncovered until golden brown and bubbly.

Tupps Tidbits: you can use low fat cottage cheese in place of ricotta cheese

Just put a salad together & fresh garlic breadsticks and enjoy an Olive Garden meal at home, safe and healthier!  This recipe is definitely A KEEPER at our house.  It heated up great for lunch leftovers!

Cheesy Rosemary and Pecan Snack Mix

Need a new 2021 football snack this year? With the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications hanging over games, will there be a 2021 Super Bowl?  Either way, on game day, plan to try this!

3 cup pecan halves
2 cup oyster crackers
2 cup square white cheddar cheese crackers
1 ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
½ cup melted butter

In a large bowl, combine pecan halves, oyster crackers, cheddar cheese crackers, Parmesan, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, rosemary, crushed red pepper, and garlic. Drizzle in melted butter; stir gently to coat. Spread on a large, foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. 

Bake at 300° for 15 minutes; toss, then bake 15 minutes more. 

Let cool, then store in an airtight container. 

Tupps Tidbits:  Make sure to toss or stir frequently, the parmesan cheese will stick to the pan!

Don't discard your mom's original Chex/party mix for this one. It was OK - but probably would not make it again. If you are looking for something new, give it a try but this recipe is NOT A KEEPER at our house!