Strawberry Lemonade Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon zest, then blend in the eggs one at a time.

Stir in about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix well, then add in vanilla extract and half of the lemon juice. Add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining juice and the remaining flour mix. Stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Mix in finely chopped strawberries quickly, just to distribute them evenly into the batter.

Spoon batter out into prepared muffin cups. The muffin cups should be very full.

Bake for 17-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs attached. Start at 17 mins and keep adding time in 3 min. increments until cooked through. Turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.

Notes & Tips:
You'll need about 3 or 4 large lemons to get enough juice for the quantity needed. Please use fresh lemons and strawberries. It gives the muffins a fizzy pop. Also, the 1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries looks like alot but the amount is just about perfect. Fresh and delicious. The muffins don't rise very much so feel free to fill the cups to the top.

Cranberry-Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Recipe Taken From:
Midwest Living Magazine
April 2011

Ingredients:
1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1-1/2 pounds uncooked ground chicken or turkey
1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed (or rosemary)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt or 1/8 teaspoon regular salt
1 to 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved
4 thin slices fresh mozzarella cheese or 4 slices regular mozzarella cheese
4 Kaiser rolls or sesame hamburger buns, split and toasted
Lettuce leaves

Preparation:
1. In a small saucepan, bring orange juice to boiling. Remove from heat; stir in cranberries. Let stand for 5 minutes. Drain cranberries, discarding orange juice.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine ground chicken/turkey, bread crumbs, marjoram/rosemary and salt. Shape chicken/turkey mixture into 8 1/2-inch-thick patties. (The mixture may be sticky. If necessary, wet hands to shape patties.)

3. Place one-fourth of the cranberries and one-fourth of the Parmesan cheese on the center of each of 4 patties. Top with the remaining patties; press edges to seal.

4. For a charcoal grill: Grill patties on the greased rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 14 to 18 minutes or until no longer pink (165 degrees F)*, turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill: Preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place patties on greased grill rack over heat. Cover; grill as above.) Top each burger with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Grill, uncovered, about 3 minutes more or until cheese begins to melt. Serve burgers on toasted rolls with lettuce leaves. Makes 4 burgers.

Notes & Tips:
Well the orginal recipe was for chicken burgers, but I don't know about you but where in the world do you get ground chicken? So I subbed turkey. Also I didn't have any marjoram in my cabinet so I used rosemary. I think these turned out great. Since it was raining out I used my little indoor electric grill and they came out great. Mat even said he'd love to have them again. My one pice of advice is to make sure you have big enough buns...mine were tiny haha.

Nutrition Facts:
552 Calories
22g Fat
47g Carbs
3g Fiber
42g Protein

Salmon Noodle Bake

Recipe Taken From:
Good Housekeeping Magazine
January 2011

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup(s) low-fat (1 percent) milk
1 large (1-pound) leek
10 ounce(s) sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon(s) lower-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 teaspoon(s) olive oil
2 stalk(s) (large) celery, finely chopped
2 teaspoon(s) chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1 can(s) (1 3/4 cups) lower-sodium chicken broth
8 ounce(s) curly egg noodles
12 ounce(s) skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup(s) frozen peas
Salt
Pepper
1/3 cup(s) panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
1 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3-quart shallow baking dish. Heat large covered saucepot of water to boiling on high. In glass measuring cup, microwave milk on High 2 minutes or until warm.
Meanwhile, trim and discard root and dark green top from leek. Discard any tough outer leaves. Cut leek lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide slices. Place leek in large bowl of cold water; with hand, swish to remove any sand. Remove leek to colander. Repeat process with fresh water, changing water several times until sand is removed. Drain leek well and set aside.
In 12-inch skillet, combine mushrooms and soy sauce. Cook 5 to 6 minutes on medium-high until mushrooms are tender and sauce evaporates, stirring occa­sionally. Transfer to large bowl.
In same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil on medium-high. Add leek, celery, and half of thyme. Cook 2 minutes or until golden and just tender, stirring occasionally. Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Continue stirring and add broth, then milk, in steady stream. Heat to boiling while stirring, then cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Transfer to bowl with mushrooms.
While sauce cooks, add noodles to boiling water; cook 1 minute. Drain well.
To bowl with mushroom mixture, add noodles, salmon, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Gently stir to combine. Spread mixture in prepared dish.
In small bowl, combine panko, remaining thyme, and remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle evenly over top of noodle mixture. Bake 17 to 18 minutes or until topping turns golden brown. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Notes & Tips:
I thought this was a little odd, I loved the noodles/casserole part and I loved the salmon part, but I'm not sure how much I liked them together. I also thought that there was a bit too many peas, I'd probably cut it back to 1/2 cup.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 370
Total Fat 12g
Saturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 61mg
Sodium 570mg
Total Carbohydrate 43g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Protein 22g

King Ranch Chicken

Recipe Adapted From:
Good Housekeeping January 2011

Ingredients:

2 cup(s) low-fat (1 percent) milk
2 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 small (4- to 6- ounce) onion, finely chopped
1 large (8- to 10-ounce) red pepper, finely chopped
1 large (4- to 6-ounce) poblano chile, seeds discarded, finely chopped
1 jalapeño chile, seeds discarded, finely chopped
2 clove(s) garlic, crushed with press
3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1 cup(s) lower-sodium chicken broth
1 can(s) (14.5-ounce) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
Salt
Pepper
3 1/2 ounce(s) baked tortilla chips, crushed (1 1/2 cups)
2 cup(s) cooked shredded chicken breast meat
4 ounce(s) pepper Jack or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1 green onion, thinly sliced, for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease shallow 3-quart baking dish. Microwave milk on High 2 minutes or until warm.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add onion, red pepper, and poblano and jalapeño chiles. Cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are just tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.
Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Continue stirring and add broth, then milk, in steady stream. Heat to boiling while stirring, then cook 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Spread thin, even layer of sauce on bottom of prepared dish. Top with half of chips, sauce, chicken, and cheese. Repeat layering once.
Bake 30 minutes or until bubbling. Garnish with green onions.

Notes & Tips:
Ok so when I went to make this (a week after I had planned), I didn't have some of the ingredients anymore, so I had to improvise. I subbed fresh snow peas for the pepper, I subbed spinach for the peppers (which seemed a little spicy for my taste anyways). Also, I used the Lime flavored tortilla chips. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this turned out. It might be a good idea to use the 1% milk the call for, skim has a hard time thickening up.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 365
Total Fat 18g
Saturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 60mg
Sodium 535mg
Total Carbohydrate 30g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Protein 22g

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

Recipe Taken From:
www.AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

3/4 pound sliced bacon
1 (9 inch) single refrigerated pie crust
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
5 dashes hot pepper sauce, or to taste
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop when cool.

Fit the pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish, and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Spread the spinach into the bottom of the pie crust; top with bacon, Cheddar cheese, and green onion. Pour the egg mixture over the filling, and sprinkle the quiche with Parmesan cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top is lightly puffed and browned, and a knife inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

Notes & Tips:
You won't use all of the egg mixture if you use all of the spinach, bacon and cheese. Just adjust as you see fit, either use less filling or less egg mix (I used less egg mix). Also, you will want to put a sheet pan under quiche pan, just in case of spillage as it bakes. I baked this for about 40 minutes. It came out beautiful, nice and firm. Also, I browned the bacon, sliced the onion and thawed/dried the spinach the night before so it was super quick for this Easter morning.

Nutrition Facts:
Amount Per Serving:
Serves 8
Calories: 506 | Total Fat: 41.5g | Cholesterol: 260mg

Stuffed Portobellos

Recipe Taken From:
Good Housekeeping Magazine January 2011

Ingredients:

1/2 cup(s) quinoa, rinsed
1 1/4 pound(s) brussels sprouts
4 teaspoon(s) extra virgin olive oil
4 large portobello mushroom caps
1 teaspoon(s) fresh thyme leaves
2/3 cup(s) frozen corn
3 ounce(s) feta cheese, crumbled (3/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In 2-quart saucepan, combine quinoa and 3/4 cup water. Heat to boiling on high; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile, trim and halve sprouts. In an 18-inch by 12-inch jelly-roll pan, toss sprouts, 2 teaspoons oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper to evenly coat. Roast 10 minutes.
While sprouts cook, brush mushrooms with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Finely chop thyme and add to medium bowl along with corn, feta, cumin, and cooked quinoa.
When sprouts have roasted 10 minutes, push to one side of pan and arrange mushrooms, gill side up, on other side. Divide quinoa mixture among mushrooms; roast 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

Notes & Tips:
I loved the roasted fresh brussel sprouts. I'd never tried them before and I'm a HUGE fan now. I didn't have any feta so I subbed in Gorgonzola, it was still good though. Make sure you salt the mushrooms or else they'll be pretty bland.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 290
Total Fat 11g
Sodium 500mg
Total Carbohydrate 38g
Dietary Fiber 9g
Protein 14g

Swiss Steak

Recipe Taken From:
Kris Collier

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Cube Steaks or Tenderized Round Steak
• 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Cup Chopped Onion
• 3/4 Cup Green Pepper Chopped
• 2 or 3 Ribs of Celery
• 1 14oz Can Diced Tomato, juice & all
• 3/4 cup Beef Broth
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

Preparation:
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown steak in oil on both sides. Remove steaks and set aside.
In the same skillet, saute onion, celery and green pepper until they begin to get soft. Sprinkle in pepper , garlic & onion powder. Add broth, soy sauce and tomatoes. Add steak, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:
I thought this was great! The only thing I would change would be I think I would add red pepper flakes for a little kick. I served this with a salad. Next time I would serve it with rice or mashed potatoes.