RECIPE: Low(er)-Fat Wheat-Free Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Trying something new – I recently discovered a FABULOUS new website, PlanToEat.com. I’ve been looking for something that will manage my recipes for me, create easy-to-use, mobile-friendly shopping lists, and, of course, a few hundred other very-specific-to-me features. I’ve entered a couple of recipes so far, and just noticed the “Blog” feature. I clicked on it, copied the text, and voila! The below showed up, all nice and pretty, right here on my very own website. AND there’s even an included “Print” button. Nifty!! I may continue to do my own nutrition “labels,” but for now, this is awfully fast and easy! Like the muffins – enjoy!
Low-Fat Wheat-Free Buttermilk Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Delicious wheat-free low(er)-fat pumpkin muffins.
NOTE: Nutrition information is for 1 muffin (approx. 50 g baked), and does not include nuts.
Course: Muffins
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 Min
Cook Time: 25 Min
Total Time: 35 Min
Serves: 18
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 2/3 cup brown rice flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup chopped nuts if desired
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and eggs. Beat together for 1 minute.
- Add flour, spices, soda, and salt together. Stir into pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly until mixture is moistened. Don’t over stir.
- Fold in nuts.
- Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Pour batter into cups filling 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve while still warm.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 153
Fat: 9.4
Cholesterol: 22
Sodium: 156
Sugar: 7.2
Carbohydrate: 15.8
Fiber: 1.4
Protein: 2
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RECIPE: Manicotti
Another one I can’t believe I haven’t posted yet! This is my “birthday dinner” — you know, that ONE thing that when your mom offers to cook something special for you, this is IT. Go-to comfort food, that almost never leaves leftovers. Plus, it’s a great one to bring to a potluck or someone’s house. It ports well AND has that impressiveness factor.
NB: As with nearly everything, I usually double this recipe, because my family eats a LOT of manicotti when I make it. (Even doubled, we rarely have leftovers! :)) But here’s the small version, in case y’all aren’t quite the gluttons we are.
Without further ado: Mangia bene!
1 lb jack cheese, diced SMALL
1 cup cottage cheese (8 oz)
4 slightly beaten eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup *soft* butter (1/2 stick), CUT INTO PIECES
1 tsp pepper
14 uncooked manicotti noodles (1 box)
1 jar tomato sauce*
* You can obviously use homemade sauce instead, but I like to go for “easy” when possible. I’ve tried a variety of sauces, and find the low- or no-sodium varieties offer a sweeter contrast to the filling, which is already pretty salty-tasting, thanks to all that cheese. (Yum — love me some cheese!!)
Directions:
Mix ingredients together and stuff noodles (approx. 50g/noodle). Lay in flat pan* and cover with tomato sauce. Sprinkle liberally with more Parmesan or Romano cheese.
[STOP HERE if you want to prep early/bake later. Then...]
Bake at 350º for 45 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and noodles are soft.
* Make sure pan is small enough or stuffing will run out of manicotti. BUT – do NOT jam-pack them, or sauce won’t sink to bottom, and noodles will come out dry/hard!
Serving Notes:
1 noodles’ worth = approximately 98-100g. Typical serving = 2 noodles, so total recipe is 7 servings. *Cough* Except for us, that’s about TWO servings total. Hence the “double recipe” comment above…. 
RECIPE: Onion Soup Baked Potatoes
Here’s the promised potato recipe, that I served with my Turkey Meatloaf. Super easy! There are variations of this all over the interwebs, but this is what I came up with, that our family generally likes best.
NOTE: The KEY is to chill the sliced potatoes, before adding the oil and the soup mix. I can’t stress this enough — it REALLY makes the coating stick properly, so every slice is tasty. YUM.
2.5 lbs potatoes (unpeeled; any variety works)
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil*
1/2 cup onion soup mix (we buy this in bulk, but you can use the packets instead)
* Officially, the recipe calls for 1/2 cup. I like to cut back on fat, but the soup mix doesn’t coat the potatoes enough if you skimp on oil. However, a lot of the oil stays in the bag, so…. you decide what works best for you!
Directions:
Slice potatoes evenly. I’ve done it by hand, for thick slices, but have found it takes a lot longer to cook, so now I use my food processor. The slices are all uniform, and it cooks much better. When sliced, put potatoes in a large zip-style plastic bag and put in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes — long enough for them to be thoroughly chilled (see note above).
When ready to bake, add the oil and the onion soup mix to the bag and shake until potatoes are well coated. Empty bag into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 15 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. Or you can bake totally uncovered, if you like them a little crisper (we do!).
Serving Notes:
Makes about 10 servings of 100 g each. Of course, we all eat at least 200 g at a time — so much for being healthy!!
RECIPE: Moist & Juicy Turkey Meatloaf
Hur. Clearly, I’m on a 6-12 month schedule of food blogging. :) Actually, what really happened is the aforementioned grad school, which ended in May. I’ve spent the last month or so recovering, and then woke up yesterday and realized – I NEED TO COOK. It’s totally therapeutic for me, and since I started grad school by baking a bunch of pumpkin muffins (I literally made a freezer full, the weekend before starting summer school), I decided it would be appropriate closure to finish that way.
Actually, it started because I needed to make another batch of black beans because we were down to our last container, and since I had the food processor out, I decided to make meatloaf for dinner. Then I thought, well, I might as well make Onion Soup Potatoes while I was at it, and then I thought, I have all this canned pumpkin…. And…..
(Sponge-Bob Announcer Voice): “Five. Hours. Later….”
Literally — I spent five hours on my feet in the kitchen! But it was SO TOTALLY WORTH IT. There I was, with a freezer full of beans; a fridge with two pans of meatloaf and one of potatoes, ready to pop in the oven for dinner; and an oven full of delicious-smelling muffins. Man it felt good!
Then, since I hadn’t food-blogged in a while, I thought I’d check and see what I had up here, and was shocked (shocked, I tell you!!) to discover I’d never put my Turkey Meatloaf recipe up. Scary!! So, here it is, with the potato recipe to follow shortly, probably tomorrow (if there’s a link here, it’s up! :)).
1.5-2 lbs ground turkey breast (if your supermarket sells the 20 oz pkgs, use 1.5, or about 30 oz)
1 cup oatmeal, uncooked
3/4-1 cup chopped onion (approx. 1/2-1 lg)*
3/4-1 cup chopped carrots (approx. 1-2 med)
1 cup Low-Sodium V-8 juice
1 egg, beaten
Ketchup (optional)
* extra onion makes it MUCH moister!
Directions:
Combine all ingredients thoroughly — using your hands to mix it all together works best. Pack firmly into ungreased 8.5×4.5×2.5 loaf pan. If desired, squirt some ketchup on top before cooking. Bake in pre-heated 350º oven for 1.25-1.5 hours. Let stand 5-10 minutes before slicing (this really helps keep the slices firm!).
Serving Notes:
Makes about 8 servings of 175-200 g each per loaf pan. (I like to freeze leftovers, so I generally make a double recipe.)
RECIPE: Chipotle Chicken Mango Sausage & Tomato Quinoa
Okay, so I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been busy – just finished my second of three terms in grad school! (I’m getting an MAT – should be licensed to teach high school and middle school by May 2012. Squee!) Anyway, I’ve finally got a break, and was referring someone to this blog, when I remembered I have the WORLD’S EASIEST, and possibly YUMMIEST recipe to post. It’s definitely one of my “What’s in the fridge, and how can I also get rid of stuff in the cupboard?” recipes – a truly “found feast” that’s great, healthy comfort food on a cold fall/winter day. Mangia bene!
Ingredients:
6 cups cooked quinoa (approx. 650 g)*
4 Al Fresco Chicken Chipotle Mango Sausages (1 package; approx. 350 g)
1 med-lg onion, white or yellow, diced
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 jar red pasta sauce (I used the tomato-basil variety)
1 can chopped stewed tomatoes (optional)
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
* If you don’t have leftover quinoa on hand (and if you don’t, why not? ), it cooks up super fast. Boil 4 cups water, add 2 cups dry quinoa, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Directions:
Brown sausage, onion and (optional) mushrooms in olive oil. Add quinoa, tomato sauce, and (optional) stewed tomatoes. Heat on medium. That’s it – seriously! Serve in soup bowls, add pepper flakes for extra spice, if desired, and enjoy!
Serving Notes:
Makes about 7 servings of 250 g each. (I like to freeze leftovers, so I generally make a double recipe.) A note on the sausage: You can use any flavor you like, really. But I find the chipotle mango works really-really well with the tomato sauce and pepper flakes. Yum. (Have I drooled over this enough to convince you to try it? I sure hope so!!)
RECIPE: Turkey Chili with Fresh Pesto
This is a variation on my Turkey Pesto Corn Chili recipe. It’s thicker, and has much more pesto flavor, which might sound like an odd ingredient for a Mexican dish, but it’s not — it’s really yummy!
Ingredients:
1 lb dried pinto beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 cup water (or use the cooking liquid from the pintos)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 med-lg onion, white or yellow, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 can chopped stewed tomatoes
1/2 can (3 oz) tomato paste
1/2 jar red pasta sauce
12 oz (1 can) low-sodium V-8 juice
1/4 cup fresh pesto
Chili powder to taste
Directions:
Cook beans in enough water to cover over medium heat for 2-2.5 hours, or until done. With slotted spoon, transfer to large chili pot, then add 1 cup cooking liquid. (If using canned beans, drain and use 1 cup water.)
Brown onion and garlic in olive oil. Add to soup pot, then brown turkey in same skillet used for onion.
Add pesto, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato paste and V-8 to chili pot. Season with chili powder. Heat on medium.
When turkey is cooked, add to chili pot and heat thoroughly. Garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped onions, etc., and serve with cornbread.
Serving Notes:
Makes about 7 servings of 400 g each. I like to freeze leftovers, so generally make a double recipe, which is also easier on the proportions — you can use a whole jar of pasta sauce, and a whole can of tomato paste. If you do make a larger recipe, though, make sure you have a very large soup/chili pot, and a lot of freezer containers on hand!
RECIPE: Mexican Black Beans
Lately, I’ve been on a quest to reduce our reliance on canned goods (expensive, high in sodium, and I’m concerned about the chemicals often used to line the cans). But DH makes an awesome burrito (the recipe for which I’ll post soon) that uses black beans, and it just didn’t taste right with “plain” homecooked ones. I tried subbing homecooked pintos, which tasted better, but it still wasn’t great. I finally sought out some specific black bean recipes, and yesterday, had a cookoff. What follows is the best of the best — seriously, these are YUMMY!
Oh, and (one of) the secrets to fabulous cooked black beans turns out to be epazote (pic above; click to enlarge), a Mexican herb that, in large quantities of its essential oils, can be toxic, but which is apparently safe in small amounts in food. Who knew??
Ingredients:
1 lb uncooked black beans
6-8 cups hot water
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced
1 serrano chile, seeded and finely diced
1-2 sprigs epazote*, finely chopped
1/2 onion, diced (200 g)
1 tsp cumin
* We’re pretty lucky in that our local “cheap” grocery stocks a lot of hispanic foods. If you can’t find epazote in the refrigerator/produce section of your normal grocery store, try a specialty or natural foods chain. It really seems to be the key ingredient, although you may like the recipe without it as well!
Directions:
Rinse beans and discard any debris (it’s NOT necessary to soak them overnight), then place in a medium-sized pot and cover with the hot water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a very low simmer and cover, cooking for about 2 hours. Check every now and then, to ensure the water isn’t evaporating too quickly.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for another hour, or until the beans are soft. Check/stir often to prevent burning, and add more water, if necessary. (We have a nice model electric stove, and when I set the burner to 5, the water boiled off very fast. 4 or even lower seemed to be the magic number — just enough for very low bubbling, but it did still burn a bit on the bottom of the pan, during the final hour of cooking.)
Serve beans with a slotted spoon for a side dish. Or, serve in a bowl with the broth and add in some cooked, cubed chicken and some salsa for a main dish.
Serving Notes:
Makes about 10 side dish/burrito filling-sized servings, or about 5 main dish servings. These are truly delicious by themselves, but salsa, sour cream and cheese are always a good idea, in my opinion!
And continuing my theme of “prep lots now, use most of it later,” these can be frozen and kept for at least six months. We store in quantities of about 650 g (one medium-sized freezer container), which gives us enough for one burrito meal, for a family of four.
