Banana Blueberry Muffins

Hi all. I feel like I've been keeping terrible secrets from you. I have all these recipes that I love that aren't here on this blog. Well...a lot of them are in my cookbook. I highly recommend my cookbook, by the way, seeing as I wrote it. Except for the tremendous amount of typos...which will be fixed eventually. Sorry. You can call me if what I wrote doesn't make sense.

Anyway, we just LOVE these muffins. We've been slowly weening ourselves off of ANY added sugar in them. I found the original recipe here, but I'm going to show you the way we like them. I'm proud to announce that these "don't have that branny taste, like other healthy muffins," according to Justin. They are soft, moist, and taste good, not "healthy." But they are...hehe.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon (more if you love cinnamon)

1 egg

1/3 cup applesauce

2 TB coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla

3 bananas, mashed

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Combine dry ingredients (flour, wheat germ, soda, powder, salt, cinnamon) in a small bowl. In medium-sized bowl, combine wet ingredients (egg, applesauce, oil, vanilla, bananas). Fold in dry ingredients, oats and blueberries gently until wet and dry are barely combined and blueberries are evenly distributed.

Spray mini muffin pan and scoop batter into each hole (my favorite way to do this is to use a cookie scoop - perfect amount every time), making sure to get at least one blueberry in each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or just until toothpick comes out clean (clean from batter - the blueberries will be wet no matter what). Do not over bake. They stay soft, moist and delicious if only baked until barely set. Serve warm.

Ice cream sandwich snack

So... treats once a week can make me kind of crazy.  I like to come up with snack alternatives to fool me. Take out the chocolate chips and I say this is not a treat.  What say you?  This is from Fork and Beans, a blog I enjoy.

Healthy Ice Cream Sandwiches Cookies

makes 5 sandwiches

Ingredients

1. 1/2 c. peanut butter, smooth or chunky (almond or sun butter works too)
2. 1/2 c. white beans, rinsed and drained
3. 1/2 c. gluten-free old-fashioned oats
4. 2 Tbsp. applesauce
5. 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
6. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
7. 1/2 tsp. baking soda
8. 1/4 tsp. salt
9. 1/3 c.  chocolate chips (plus more for rolling) - optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In food processor blend everything (except the chocolate chips) together smooth, yet thick enough to form into a dough. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Roll about 1 Tbsp. of dough into a ball between hands and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Shape with your hands by gently flattening dough down into 2" diameter circles. These will not spread while baking so it's important to shape them prior to.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly brown along the edges and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Transfer to the freezer until ready to assemble.
5. Take a 2" circle biscuit cutter and make cut-outs in the dish holding the banana ice cream. Place in between 2 frozen cookies (optional: coat with non-dairy chocolate chips) and freeze again until fully set.

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients

1. 3 ripe bananas
2. 1 Tbsp. milk
3. 2 tsp. maple syrup (optional, the bananas provide a lot of sweetness as is)
4. 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Line a small rectangular dish (I used a 6x4 sized dish) with parchment paper. Feel free to use whatever size or dish you have (you can even use a round pan). Just know that the bigger you use, the thinner the ice cream filling is vs. the small the pan, the thicker the slices.
2. Blend everything up in a high-speed blender until smooth. Place into the dish and freeze until set (approximately 2+ hours).

Squash Pasta Sauce

Seems I haven't been posting any of my new recipe loves.  I apologize.  Here is one we tried for the first time last night and loved.
Yesterday was fast Sunday.  In my currently 8-month pregnant state, I didn't fast.  Justin did and I let him pick what was for dinner.  "Pasta," he said.  Dang, I thought.  I really needed to use up that behemoth banana squash in the cupboard.  Wait, didn't I get an email from Blendtec about some squash pasta sauce or something?  We researched on their site and found what I was thinking of - a pumpkin pasta sauce that looked easy enough to substitute for banana squash (click HERE for the original recipe).  I got to work, and got creative using generous quantities of my fresh herbs (why are these still alive outside in the freezing cold? I don't know, I'm glad they are and I keep using them).  It was so good.

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
(tripled from the original recipe to generously cover 1lb bowtie pasta)

• 1 TB coconut oil
• 3/4 large onion, chopped
• 6 roma tomatoes [I only had 3, so I did 3 + 1 can tomato sauce]
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh sage [I substituted 1TB fresh chopped marjoram + 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary]
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh basil [I substituted 3/4 tsp dried basil, because I have no live basil]
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano [I substituted 2 TB fresh chopped oregano]

• 1 1/2 cups milk [I substituted for 3/4 cup heavy cream]
• 3 cups pumpkin puree [I substituted for 3 cups fresh banana squash puree]

[Prepare squash puree, if needed] Heat oil and sauté onion, tomatoes, garlic, black pepper, salt, sage, basil and oregano in large sauce pan until onion becomes tender.  Add milk and pumpkin and continue cooking until mixture is heated through [since I was using cream I added the squash and tomato sauce at this step and didn't add the cream until after pureeing].

Transfer all ingredients to blender jar and blend until chunky-smooth.  Serve with your favorite pasta.

Green Tomato Relish

Our beautiful summer has come to an end.  The leaves have turned and are "falling all around".  The gardens are waning and it just feels like life is slowing down.  Today I canned green tomato relish (a recipe Dad found) from Sister Sweeney's last tomatoes.  I just thought I'd post a few pictures and if any of you have green tomatoes you want to use up, let me know and I'll add the recipe.

Tonight, for dinner, Dad and I cooked up some hot dogs just so we could try out the relish.  It was pretty good.  Seemed so "old fashioned" to me!  Wonderful!

Pasta Salad

I made this for a church potluck that some friends invited us to today. The picnic was fun and the salad was amazing. Really amazing. I would add more tomatoes next time, but that's because I'm a tomato fiend. :) Add grilled chicken and it's a great meal. I loved it so much that I think it will enter the repertoire of "things I can make in a moment without a recipe." You know, if I have smoked gouda on hand . . .

Smoky Pasta Salad

12 oz. Penne

1 cup mayonnaise

2-4 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1 chipotle chile pepper, finely diced or 1 1/2 tsp. adobo sauce from the peppers

10 oz. grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise (double would be better!)

1/2 lb. smoked gouda, cut into small pieces

24 basil leaves, in chiffonade

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, milk, salt and chipotle and whisk well to make the dressing. When the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse until cool, then make sure most of the water is off—we don't want soggy salad! Combine pasta, tomatoes and cheese, then pour the dressing over the top. Mix well, then add the basil. Give it a final stir, test for salt and pepper, then let it chill a while to get all mixed and wonderful.

You won't regret it. :)

Wheat Thins

I have been meaning to blog this for quite sometime, but.......  So I altered the recipe from my wheat cookbook to make this 100% whole wheat and we all love it.  They are super easy to make, but do take time to cook.  Hope you love them.

Wheat Thins
3 1/4 cup whole wheat flour  (I have also used a combination of oat, wheat, and barley)
1/3 cup oil  (tried cutting this back, but didn't work as well)
1 tsp salt  (I omit this)
1 cup water

Mix all ingredients by hand in a bowl.  No need to knead.  Roll out on two baking sheets (I use my round stones).  Pierce dough with a fork several times (each cracker should be pierced).  Cut into desired size with pizza cutter and sprinkle with salt*.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  I bake mine for 27.

*Don't salt the second pan until a few minutes before putting into the oven.  The salt messes with the dough if on there too long.

Oat Snackles

Oat Snackles
This is quickly becoming a favorite in my household.  It is vegan, gluten free, and oil free.  Don't worry, they are still oh so yummy.  I found the recipe at plantpoweredkitchen.com.
Enjoy! 

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup oat flour

1/3 cup raisins (or cranberries, or combination of both)
1/4 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut or hemp seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon or orange zest (optional, but I really liked it with the orange)
¼ tsp sea salt
few pinches freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (see note for substitution)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (see note)
2-3 tbsp non-dairy chocolate chips (optional if needing sugar-free)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, raisins, hemp seeds, baking powder, cinnamon, zest, salt and nutmeg, stirring to mix well. Add the applesauce, maple syrup, and chocolate chips. Stir until well incorporated.  Use a cookie scoop (or take spoonfuls, about 1 1⁄2 tablespoons in size) to transfer mounds of the batter to the baking sheet. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes, remove from the oven, and let cool on the pan for about a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.  Makes 12-14 snackles!

Savvy Subs and Adds: You can substitute 1⁄2 cup of pureed overripe banana for the applesauce. Since very ripened banana is typically sweeter than unsweetened applesauce (and also a little thicker), you can then reduce the maple syrup to 2 to 3 tablespoons and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of nondairy milk.
Sweetener Note: To make these snackles slightly sweeter, add either extra raisins, or 1 to 2 tablespoons of an unrefined sugar such as Sucanat or coconut sugar. You can also add another 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (note that adding much more liquid sweetener will change the consistency of the batter).