Whole Grain Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

I tried this muffin recipe out this morning. So I asked the kids if these muffins were a "keeper." They said, "No, let's eat them all."

1-3/4 c. Whole wheat pastry flour (soft white wheat)
1/3 c. Cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. oil (melted coconut or olive)
1/4 c. applesauce
1 egg
1 c. yogurt
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. chocolate chips
1-1/2 c. - 2 c.shredded zucchini

Mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder in one bowl. Mix honey, oil, applesauce, egg yogurt and vanilla in another bowl. Add wet to dry. Stir till just mixed. Fold in chocolate chips & zucchini. Scoop in greased muffin tin. Each muffin hole should be just about full of batter. Bake 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Tamale Pie

Fast, quick & super easy. Tastes surprisingly a lot like tamales.

3-4 cups crushed chips (great for bottom of the bag chips)
1 can corn
4-5 cups chili
2 c. shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350degrees. Crunch up all the chips and put on bottom of 13x9 pan. Open can of corn and dump over chips without draining first. Stir it all up to mix. Next spread the chili over the top. Put in oven and bake about 20 min. Remove, add cheese, return to oven for another 5-10 minutes till it melts.

The chips & corn create a tamale-like crust. Serve this with sour cream, salsa, shredded lettuce, etc.

Orange Julius

Our "healthier" alternative for holiday breakfasts like Easter & Christmas. I make two batches in my blendtec, since doubling the recipe won't fit in the blender.

3/4 c. Orange Juice concentrate
1 C. Milk
1 C. water
1/4 C. less about 1 TBS Agave (1/2 of 1/3 a cup is what I used.)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. ice cubes (about 10-12)

Toss it all in the blender and blend till smooth.

Chinese style Hamburger Casserole

This doesn't taste very much like Chinese food, but it tastes good anyway! It has a pleasing crunch to it.

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped or pureed
4-6 stalks of celery, chopped
1 c. almonds, chopped
6 c. brown rice, cooked
2 TBS butter
6 TBS flour, starch or other thickener
2 C. milk
1 TBS chicken bouillon
1 c. water
6 TBS soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
chow mein noodles

Brown the ground beef in a pan. Add onions and celery and cook a couple of minutes till onions are translucent.

Meanwhile, make sauce. Melt the butter then mix in the flour & bouillon to make a paste. Whisk in the milk and heat until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of water and 6 TBS soy sauce; whisk till smooth.

Put beef mix, almonds and rice in a bowl. Mix it up and then pour the sauce on top. Mix till coated.

Put in 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Top with chow mein noodles if desired (still good without it, and gluten free if you don't!)

Whole Grain Banana Bread Muffins

Great texture, yummy, non refined. And they have the added bonus that you don't have to throw out those black bananas that are too gross to even put in a fruit shake.

3-1/2 C. soft white wheat (aka whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 c. good fat - olive oil, coconut oil, or softened butter (can also sub 1/3 c. applesauce)
3/4 c. honey
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 c. mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 c. hot water

Mix dry ingredients together in smaller bowl. Cream together honey & oil. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in vanilla and mashed bananas. Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the wet and stir. Add 1/2 the water, stir. Repeat till it's all added. Don't over-stir.

Spoon batter into greased muffin pan. Makes 24 muffins. Bake at 325 for about 12-16 min. Test with a toothpick to make sure they are done.

Bonus treat: add 1 c. chocolate chips.

Burrito Bar

Set the following out on the counter. Start with the tortilla on your plate and pile it on!

Warm tortillas (homemade are especially good, use corn tortillas for gluten free)
Cilantro rice
Shredded sweet pork or chicken
Warmed refried beans or black beans
Chopped romaine lettuce
Salsa (fresh homemade is the best) or Green salsa
Ranch dressing or cilantro-lime dressing
Shredded cheese or queso fresco
Lime (twist of lime juice)
Olives
Guacamole

This is fast if you already have frozen rice and shredded meat in the freezer.

Shredded sweet pork or chicken

So good in a burrito or taco! 

3 lb pork roast or 3 skinless/boneless chicken breasts 

1 cup salsa 

1 cup sucanat 

 Put meat in crockpot. Mix together salsa & sucanat and pour over the top of the meat. Cook on high 4 hours or low 8-10 hours. When done, shred with forks. Serve in a taco or burrito bar. Could substitute agave & a little molasses for the sucanat.

INSTANTPOT update: 

Slice pork roast into 2" thick slices.  Put in instant pot, cover with sauce.  Cook for 50 minutes, natural release for 10 minutes.  If pork is frozen,  go to 60-70 minutes.  

Italian Cheese Bread

This is a copycat recipe for italian cheese bread like they have at Little Caesar's.

1 loaf of bread dough (1 hour bread works great, use 1/4 of the recipe)
1 stick butter
1 TBS Italian dressing mix
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 c. shredded mozzarella

Melt 4 TBS butter and spread on bottom of a jelly roll pan (15" x 10" pan with 1" high edge). Roll out dough and put in pan on the butter. Melt 2 TBS butter and brush on top of the dough. Sprinkle the italian dressing seasonings and salt on top and cover with shredded cheese. Bake 400 degrees for about 12-18 minutes until done. Melt remaining 2 TBS butter and brush on top of cheese.

If you want to cut down on the fat a bit, you can reduce each step by 1 TBS butter. Or you can use 1/2 olive oil.