Monday, February 16, 2009
One of the food blogs I read is Apartment Therapy: The Kitchn. When the post popped up in my Google Reader for these muffins, I immediately starred it and knew I would be making them sometime over my 3 day weekend. I knew I had every single ingredient in my kitchen already. Plus I liked the fact that they were a Weight Watchers recipe, so I knew they’d be healthy. (Two Weight Watcher’s recipes in a row, that is VERY random for me). The Kitchn figured up that these were 163 calories and 3g fat each. I made a couple substitutions, I subbed whole wheat flour for one of the cups of flour, and the sour cream I used was reduced fat. Plus, I ended up with 14 muffins, instead of 12. My changes bring them to 120 calories & 1g fat each. Not too bad for these yummy muffins! This is a recipe I’ll definitely keep on hand, as it would be great to serve to company.
(PS. the ingredient list LOOKS long, but it’s all pantry staples you’re most likely to have on hand)
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Ginger Glazed Pear Muffins
Ingredients:
2 spray(s) cooking spray
2 large pear(s), ripe, Bosc, with skin (I used 1 bosc & 1 d'anjou)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup(s) sugar, granulated
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup(s) sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1 large egg(s), beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 cup whole wheat flour (you can use 2 cups all-purpose if you prefer)
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup(s) powdered sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp water, warm, or more if necessary
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF and coat a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray or muffin liners.
Core and chop pears into tiny cubes; place in a large bowl. Add cinnamon, granulated sugar and lemon juice to pears; set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and milk; set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Make a well with a spoon in center of flour mixture and pour in sour cream mixture and fruit mixture, alternating in small batches; mix until barely blended. Do not over beat. (NOTE: Batter will be very thick.)
Drop batter by heaping tablespoons into muffin holes until about 2/3 to 3/4 full; bake until top is golden, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in muffin tin; remove from tins to racks and cool completely. (Or leave slightly warm to dip into glaze for easier preparation.)
While muffins are cooling, make glaze: Mix powdered sugar, ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla and warm water together in a small bowl (add another teaspoon of water if glaze is too thick) . Spread a thin layer of glaze over each muffin.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
If you’ve never been to the website Tastespotting, you’re really missing out. It’s what I call “food porn” (I didn’t come up with that!). It’s a great way to discover new foods & new food blogs. I’m proud to say I’ve made it on there a few times too! It was through Tastespotting I discovered Gina’s Weight Watcher’s Recipes. She has a great blog, and I knew all the recipes would be pretty healthy, even though I’m not on Weight Watchers. I spent some time browsing it and came across this recipe for Chili Shrimp Asparagus Stirfry. I had purchased asparagus earlier in the week when I caught a great sale on it. So when I saw this recipe I was really glad to find a yummy way to use it, plus I had some ginger I wanted to use up. I also added some crushed red pepper to pump up the heat, as we like things a little hot. I served ours over brown rice.
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Chili Shrimp Asparagus Stirfry
Ingredients:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sherry
1 tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
1 chili pepper, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 lb large shrimp, cleaned
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
garlic cloves* (see note below)
salt and pepper to taste
*amount not mentioned in original recipe's ingredients list, so I used 2 cloves
Directions:
Stir together soy sauce, sherry and ginger; set aside.
In a wok, heat 1 tsp sesame oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turns white, about 3 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside.
Add remaining oil to wok. When oil is hot, add asparagus and cook 5 minutes or until tender-crisp, stirring frequently. Add garlic. Add peppers and stir another minute. Add shrimp back into the wok. Pour sauce over everything and mix another minute. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over rice if desired.
Serves 4. 3 WW points per serving not including rice.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Using this Cooking Light recipe I saw on Food alla Puttanesca (who saw it on Cheap Healthy Good), I whipped up these simple Light Buttermilk Pancakes. I put some of the batter in a squeeze bottle. I then drew the heart shape, and wrote I (heart) U inside it. I wrote this because an I, a heart, and a U would look the same both ways! Let the outline cook for a little while, then fill it in with the rest of the batter. Because the outline is drawn first, it cooks a little longer, and gets darker than the rest of the pancake. I saw this done in the Jan/Feb issue of Food Network magazine. Click here to see more on Food Network’s site.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Here’s a recipe for a quick, colorful, & healthy salad that’s perfect for lunch or dinner. It was inspired by the leftover chow mein noodles from the wasabi chex mix. I know it’s quite simple to prep your own dressing, and I’m pretty sure I have all the necessary ingredients, but I actually had a bottle of Kraft’s Light Asian Sesame dressing on hand, (even though I don’t remember purchasing it). So to help use it up, I marinated the chicken the night before, and cooked it on the George Foreman. All ingredient amounts can be varied depending on how much you want, and add or omit any ingredients to your convenience.
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Asian Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
romaine or butterhead lettuce
red cabbage
mushrooms
shredded carrots
grape tomatoes
green onions
mandarin oranges
chicken breast
slivered almonds
crispy chow mein noodles
Directions:
If desired, marinate chicken overnight in asian dressing.
Chop vegetables, toss with lettuce. Cook chicken & cut into pieces. Add to salad, top with oranges, almonds, & noodles. Serve with dressing of your choice.
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