PB & J Muffins

PB & J muffins--yep, like the classic sandwich, but these just might be better. (Plus, they're made with lots of good-for-you organic ingredients) The first time I made them, I used strawberry banana jam (which was a perfect combination, if you ask me), but this time around I used plum jam because it's what we had in the cupboard. You could certainly use whatever you happen to have on hand, or whatever your particular favorite jam happens to be. The recipe makes about 12 regular-sized muffins, but I think they'd be great as mini muffins too, especially if you're making them for little tummies. They're best just minutes out of the oven, washed down with--what else? A tall glass of cold milk.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk (I used skim)
2 large eggs
2/3 cups sucanat or rapadura (natural cane sugar)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2/3 cups pureed banana
1/2 cup jam (approximately)

Method:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt). 

Add milk, eggs, sugar, peanut butter and bananas to the bowl. Using an electric mixer, combine ingredients together (on low speed) until just moistened.

Fill prepared muffin cups evenly with half of the batter (each cup should be about halfway full). Put 1 1/2 teaspoons of jam in the center of each muffin. (As you can see, it doesn't matter if it's perfect...).

Use the remaining batter to top each muffin cup and sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, and then transfer the muffins to a rack.

 

I love how crackley and gooey they are when they first come out of the oven. And the smell? So good. Not sure much beats the smell of freshly made muffins in the morning.

Gingered Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas

The sugar snap peas we got at the Farmers' Market last week were the plumpest, most beautiful snap peas I've ever seen, and they paired beautifully with the fresh ginger we bought that same day. Inspired to make healthy homemade Chinese "takeout," I served it with steamed edamame and a recipe for bok choy that turned out to be a flop (truly--Joey said it was one of the few things I've made that he didn't like, which he said was a compliment. I took it as such, because I agreed with him--it was terrible.)

Anyhow, this recipe should prove that homemade Chinese food can be made just as fast as ordering takeout. Plus, it's a much healthier version (and even tastier, if you ask me) than what you can find in the restaurants.

Gingered Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients:
A drizzle of olive oil
2 lbs sugar snap peas
4 chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1 1/2-2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled
4 large garlic cloves
salt & pepper
Sriracha to taste

Method:
Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Drizzle a bit of olive oil and add the chicken. Let brown on one side; as it's cooking, crush the garlic into the pan, grate the ginger over the chicken, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the chicken is golden on one side, flip the pieces over, toss a bit, and continue to cook. It's ok if there are golden bits of chicken stuck to the pan.

Add the sugar snap peas; deglaze the pan with some water (a couple of tablespoons' worth). Give it a good toss; cook until the snap peas turn bright green and are as tender as you prefer them. I cooked mine for about 5-7 minutes or so.

Toss with Sriracha, as much or as little as you like. (Watch out--it's spicy, so be careful!)

Blue Cheese and Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Sometimes, chicken bores me.

I like it. It's good. Joey loves it. We eat a lot of it. But sometimes I sort of think cooking it is a drag.

Last Saturday night I got a little fancy with the chicken because I didn't want to fall into the "let's just grill it" trap. Grilling is great. I love grilling. But sometimes I get bored with it. Sorry, but it's true.

I opened up the fridge and was inspired by a package of cranberry blue cheese that hadn't been used yet. There was spinach and red onion around too, so I thought a stuffed chicken breast might make a nice Saturday night dinner. It was very, very easy, so don't let the "stuffed" part of the recipe make you think it's terribly hard or complicated. It's not. So easy, anyone could do it. Plus, it's fancy enough to serve for a fancy get together, but easy enough to serve on a quiet Saturday evening at home.

I don't have pictures of this one, but rest assured that it is terribly good. If you don't have cranberry blue cheese, just use regular blue cheese and stuff a few cranberries in the chicken along with the cheese crumbles. I don't think it'd be much different. Also, I don't really have measurements for this one because you don't really need them. Just use as much of the fillings as you can get into the breast and still pin it closed with a toothpick or two.

Ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts, cut in half and split open
cranberry blue cheese crumbles
spinach
red onion, thinly sliced
salt & pepper
onion powder
plum jam

Method:
Slice open the chicken breast halves so that you have a nice flat piece of meat. Lay a few spinach leaves on top of the whole breast. Toss on a few slices of red onion, then top with cheese crumbles. Fold chicken over itself so that you sort of have a raw chicken sandwich (raw chicken on two sides, filling on the inside). Pull the chicken close to itself so that it seals the filling inside. This won't be perfect--some pieces will work better than others, so just do the best you can. Secure with a toothpick or two, and place in a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion powder.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-1 hour. Brush plum jam on top of the chicken pieces when there's about 15 minutes left to go. The jam should carmelize a bit and make the tops look just lovely.

I served this with mashed sweet potatoes a simple salad of red leaf lettuce, cranberries, pecans and balsalmic vinegar dressing, but it would pair nicely with a variety of things, I'm sure.

Mac & Trees

Remember how just yesterday I said that friends who have been asking me for recipes would finally have a place to find them? Well, wouldn't you know that today a friend asked me for my recipe for Mac & Trees just a few minutes ago, so I figured I should make good on my promise and add it to my list here! It's a yummy recipe for Macaroni & Cheese with Broccoli that I love, and I think you might too.

I wish I could take credit and say I was clever enough to come up with the recipe completely on my own, but alas, I cannot. I did, however, blend two recipes into this particular version of Mac & Trees. Laura at Heavenly Homemakers has a recipe for Creamy Mac & Cheese that is awesome. Having already tried (and loved) her recipe a few times, I was inspired to combine it with the Whole Foods’ recipe for Macaroni & Trees (that I found on my awesome Whole Foods App. There are tons of great recipes there! I find that I use it for inspiration all the time! Highly recommend it. But I digress.)

The recipe below is lower in fat than either of the originals, as I used skim milk. I also added a bit of butter to help make things a bit more creamy so if you use a different kind of milk, you might want to omit the butter, but that’s your call. It also works fine with regular pasta, but as Laura points out, not brown rice pasta.

Mac & Trees

Ingredients:

4 cups broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta
3 cups skim milk
1 T butter
1/2 t. kosher salt (or 1 t. table salt)
2 cups shredded cheese (divided into two 1-cup portions)

Method:

Cook the broccoli until crisp-tender (whatever method you like best for cooking broccoli. I typically microwave them for two minutes, then one additional minute until done). Set aside.

Put the pasta, milk and salt in a large sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring all the while. Do this until the pasta is tender. It will seem as if it’s not doing anything for the first several minutes. Do not despair! It will almost suddenly start to boil. Keep cooking until the pasta is tender (takes about 10 minutes or so). Remove from the heat. Add 1 cup of the cheese and stir until melted and completely absorbed. Pour into a greased 9 ½ x 11 baking pan. Place broccoli on top, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Put under the broiler for a few minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn. You’re just looking for the cheese to be melted over the top. When it's melted, and is as crispy (or not) as you like it, take it out, let it sit for a minute, and serve.