Need a Bran Fix?

Great banana bran muffin recipe from allrecipes.com. My version is a bit modified by using whole wheat flour and I added a tablespoon of flax seed. You can make even more healthier modifications by reading some of the reviews. I will make these again for sure!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Bran-Muffins/Detail.aspx

Cornbread

Summer might be all about the bbq, but Fall is all about down home comfort food. Cornbread is a great side dish to any Fall meal. It has the texture and taste of cake but with a mild corn flavor. This is a super easy recipe, try it out!

Cornbread

1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream sugar and shortening, add egg beat well. Add milk, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat. Pour into greased 8" square pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees for 45 mins.

Carrots for Dessert?

I finally picked up some mini souffle dishes in order to try out Carrot Souffle. Found a great recipe on allrecipes.com. The best thing about that website is reading the reviews. From what other people were saying it was best to cut down on the sugar that it was calling for and others suggested adding cinnamon as well. So I used 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon. The recipe filled all 4 of my dishes and turned out awesome. In fact, I had my parents over for supper and had a pumpkin pie all ready for dessert and we were all satisfied by the souffle that we didn't even want the pie! The Carrot Souffle had such a dessert taste to it that it really could have been served as dessert!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Carrot-Souffle-2/Detail.aspx

Chicken gets a hug from Bacon

I am a huge fan of allrecipes.com and was excited when my sister found 'allrecipes.com Easy Everyday Favorites' paperback cookbook in a bin full of random books on sale for $3.99 ( at Zellers of all places ). A good cookbook can be hard to find and it's not always fun trying to find stuff online in front of the computer. I like to sit down to a great cookbook and make my grocery list for the week. Geeky? Maybe. But when you're busy, having meals planned out just makes life a little easier. 

So flipping through I see lots of amazing meals to try out. But what caught my eye was the chicken wrapped in bacon. I didn't have all the ingredients so I just substituted ie: harvarti for pepperjack cheese. You can really use any combination of veggies and cheese inside your chicken... experiment! My hubby isn't a fan of spinach so his was just filled with the cheese and mine had the spinach and cheese. Here is the recipe as found on the website:

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Stuffed-Chicken-Breast/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 8 slices bacon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Place spinach in a large glass bowl, and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute or so, or until wilted. Stir in sour cream, pepperjack cheese, and garlic.
3. Lay the chicken breasts out on a clean surface, and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one. Roll up chicken to enclose the spinach, then wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon. Secure with toothpicks, and arrange in a shallow baking dish.
4. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, then increase heat to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C), or use the oven's broiler to cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes to brown the bacon.

Follow the Trail Mix

I asked hubby to pick me up some trail mix while he was picking up our grocery order. It's the perfect 'grab n' go' snack and helps fill you up. The awesome part was the Smarties he also added to the mix! I came across a neat cookie recipe while looking up muffin recipes. The best part is already having all the ingredients so I tried it out and have to say they taste really good and aren't all that 'bad' for you either!

Oatmeal Trail Mix Cookies
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/oatmeal-trail-mix-cookies-118944.aspx

1/2 cup Canola oil

3/4 cup  Brown sugar blend sugar replacement

1 Egg

1 tsp.  Vanilla

1 cup Whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp.  Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 cup  Large flake rolled oats

1/2 cup Back to Nature Trail Mix - Raisins, Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Pecans and Apricots, chopped

make it

HEAT oven to 350º F.

BEAT oil and brown sugar replacement in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; mix well.

MIX flour, baking soda and salt. Add to egg mixture; beat until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough, 1 inch apart, on baking sheets.

BAKE 10 to 12 min. or just until centres are set. Cool on baking sheets 3 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Ginger Beef Stir-fry

I've been experimenting lots with my wok lately. We've had Chicken General Tao, Honey Garlic chicken, Lemon Herb salmon, Orange Ginger chicken, all with veggies and basmati rice, jasmine rice, or egg noodles. They were all great sauces but the one thing I wanted to try and make was Ginger Beef from scratch. Looked up a great recipe from www.allrecipes.com and for the first time picked up some ginger root at the market. As usual, I like to put my own spin on recipes so I changed mine up a tiny bit. I sliced up my steak and marinated it in a VH Honey Garlic sauce, didn't have any cornstarch and instead of peanuts and sesame seeds I used slivered almonds and flax seed. You can add any veggies you want to your own liking. The sauce was very good and had lots of flavour. Here is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ginger-Beef-Stir-Fry/Detail.aspx


Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup plum sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin 2-inch strips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons salted peanuts, chopped
• Hot cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir in the plum sauce, ginger, soy sauce and pepper flakes; set aside. In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry beef in oil until no longer pink; remove and keep warm.
2. In the same pan, stir-fry the red pepper, broccoli, carrots, onions and garlic until tender. Return beef to the pan. Whisk the plum sauce mixture; stir into skillet. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in peanuts. Serve over rice if desired. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Candied Nuts

Want to spice up your traditional Carrot Cake/Cupcakes with cream cheese icing a little more? How about by adding some candied nuts! I found the perfect little recipe to top off my cupcakes. It called for walnuts but I used pecans as well. This is definetly the perfect way to celebrate the coming of Fall so treat yourself once in awhile!

Ingredients

• 1 pound walnut halves
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread nuts in a single layer over a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until the nuts start to turn brown and the smell of roasting nuts fills the kitchen.
2. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, or until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage of 236 degrees F (113 degrees C). Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla immediately. .
3. Add walnuts to sugar syrup, and stir to coat well. Spoon nuts onto waxed paper, and immediately separate nuts with a fork. Cool, and store in airtight containers.