Cinnamon Sugar Quick Bread

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup sugar in large bowl.  Add egg, milk, and oil to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened.
Pour half of the batter into loaf pan.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture (1/3 cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon).  You can either put all of it on here or save a little bit for sprinkling on top before baking.
Cover with remaining batter. (Then sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture if you saved some.)
Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: It is recommended that you wrap it in foil and let sit overnight before slicing, but you don't have to.  I just had it cool and wrapped for about an hour before everyone woke up and it cut just fine.  Some people even cut without wrapping it in foil at all.

When I made it I think I used a loaf pan smaller than a 9x5 (not sure what size it was) so it took the whole 50 minutes.  Be sure to check it at 45 just in case my loaf pan was smaller than yours.  I did reserve some for on top.  It looks a little ugly but tastes good.

When I make this again I am going to try using pumpkin (or applesauce) instead of oil and some sort of artificial sweetener to replace the sugar in the batter (not the sugar in the filling).  If it is good it will cut the calories pretty much in half.  It will obviously also majorly cut carbs, sugars, and fat.

WARNING: These are not healtified.  If you are worried about calories, do not look below. :)


Nutrition (1/12th loaf):
Calories: 219
Total Fat: 6.8 g
Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
Sodium: 194.4 mg
Total Carbs: 38.3 g
Sugars: 21.7 g
Protein: 3 g



UPDATE: I made it as described above to be healthier, and it is awesome.  I used 1 cup splenda in the batter and 1/3 cup pumpkin.  If you do this be sure to check the bread early.  I checked mine at 40 minutes, and it was done.

Nutrition (1/12th loaf):
Calories: 108
Fat: 0.333 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Sodium: 190.7 g
Carbs: 24.8 g
Fiber: 0.3 g
Sugar: 2 g
Protein: 0.1 g

Healthy Strawberry Muffins

I got this idea from pinterest.  (The ones on pinterest look all cute and stuff, but don't judge me based on my lack of ability to make food look good... except the sandwiches I made two days ago.. and of course I didn't take a picture!)  Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
2 eggs
2 cups strawberries (diced and patted dry)
1/2 cup baking stevia or 1 cup artificial sweetener that measures 1:1 with sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except strawberries in blender or food processor until oats are smooth.  Pour mixture into bowl and mix in 1 1/2 cups diced strawberries.  Divide batter amongst 12 muffins and top muffins with remaining 1/2 cup strawberries.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Note: If you choose to use liners then you need to use either silicone liners or just foil liners.  Paper liners will stick like crazy because there isn't any actual flour in these muffins. I just sprayed my muffin pan and washed it after.

Our blender sucks so I didn't get to make the oats smooth.  I would reccommend actually making the oats smooth, otherwise it is difficult to "mix" in the strawberries.  I also only had stevia packets so I used 5 for 6 muffins.  I would probably use 6 for 6 muffins next time (or 12 for 12).  Apparently I am retarded and didn't read the directions because I did not pat my strawberries dry.. thus I had bubbles on the edges and super moist muffins that are a little soggy on spots.. oops.  Also, I used the lemon juice, but I think it set of the baking soda early or something because I heard it bubbling so I am not sure if this affected them rising?  Aside from all the dumb things I did they still taste yummy so if you make them the right way I am sure they are awesome!

Nutrition (1 muffin):
Calores: 95
Total Fat: 2.2 g
Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
Sodium: 112.3 mg
Total Carbs: 16.4 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 2.1 g
Protein: 5.3 g

Ground Beef Mummy Bread

I made these yummy sandwiches that somewhat resemble a philly cheese steak, but are made with ground beef and a homemade creamy italian dressing.  Yum. Yum.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium green bell pepper, julienned and then halved
1 medium red bell pepper, julienned and then halved
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup creamy italian dressing
4 kaiser rolls, or whatever hard roll you like
4 slices thinly sliced provolone cheese

Creamy Italian Dressing:
1 Tbs fat-free mayonnaise
2 tsp skim milk
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp parmesean cheese
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp basil
1/8 tsp italian seasoning
1 clove (1/2 tsp) minced garlic
1 tsp olive oil

Note: When I made this I didn't know how much it would make because it wasn't part of the original recipe for the sandwiches.  This recipe makes a little less than 1/4 cup dressing so I just put what I had in the beef mixture and wasn't able to put any extra on the bread.  Next time I would double it, put 1/4 cup in the beef mixture and use the rest to spread lightly on the bread before broiling.


1. Set oven control to broil. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef, bell peppers, and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked, drain.  Stir in 1/4 cup of the dressing.

2. Spread remaning 1/4 cup dressing on cut rolls.  Place all halves of cut rolls on ungreased large cookie sheet.  Broil with tops 4 to 6 inches from heat 2 to 4 minutes or until lightly toasted.  Remove bread from broiler.  Spread beef mixture over the 4 sandwiches.  Top with cheese.

3. Return halves with beef mixture and cheese to broiler.  Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat 2 to 3 minues or until cheese is melted.  Remove from broiler and place top halves of rolls on sandwiches.

Note: The original recipe uses a loaf of french bread cut in half and makes open faced sandwiches (2 per half). I just went to the day old bread section and got what looked good.  Also, I used one large green bell pepper and half a large onion because that is what we had (plus Brad doesn't like red, yellow, or orange bell peppers).

I will put the nutrition for the beef mixture as I made it yesterday.  I only had low fat mayonnaise and 1 % milk, but that amount is so little I don't think it makes much difference.  Calories for cheese and bread will depend on what you pick.  I used the kaiser rolls (200-250 calories) and sargento ultra thin provolone (40 calories).


Nutrition (Beef mixture only made the way I said I did with 91% lean ground beef)::
Calories: 220
Total Fat: 12.1 g
Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
Sodium: 114.7 g
Total Carbs: 4.5 g
Fiber: 0.8 g
Sugars: 2.3 g
Protein: 23.7 g

The beef alone had 180 calories so between the veggies and the sauce it only had 40.  I'm pretty sure it's like 25 calories for the dressing as the recipe is stated so if you double it you won't be adding to much calories, but it will have a little more flavor in case you choose a large roll like I did.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I made this soup in the crockpot, but I will post the alternative way to make it as well.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp olive oil (alternative cooking method only)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 T lemon juice
1 cup chunky salsa
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

Toppings:
corn tortilla chip
shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Put all ingredients in a crock pot. You can even throw the chicken in frozen.  Cook on high for 3 hours.  Pull chicken out, shred it, and put in back in the crock pot.  Cook for 30 more minutes.
2. Put tortilla chips on the bottom of your bowl.  Pour soup over chips.  Garnish with shredded cheese.  Mix it all up together if you like.  (That's what I do!)

Alternative Method:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook and stir chicken (cubed) in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and mix well. Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice, and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Same as above.

Nutrition (1/4 of pot with only 9.4 ounces chicken):
Calories: 230
Fat: 1 g
Carbs: 30.9 g
Fiber: 2.7 g
Sugars: 7.2 g
Protein: 21.4 g

The nutrition does not include the chips or cheese.  I didn't list sodium because it will depend on a lot of the ingredients.  Also, I only had one large chicken breast so that is why I only had 9.4 ounces chicken.  I would reccommend using two chicken breasts (closer to about a pound).

Pepperoni Bread

This is a really yummy pepperoni bread recipe.  We let our dough sit out the full 7 hours since we were out and about. YUM!

Ingredients:
1 (1 pound) frozen bread dough, (thawed)
1 egg, beaten
4 ounces turkey pepperoni
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese (not the powder in a bottle)
italian seasoning (to taste)
garlic powder (to taste)

Directions:
1. Thaw bread dough and let rise according to package.
2. Roll bread dough into rectangle.  Mix garlic powder (to taste) with beaten egg in small bowl.  Brush dough with slightly more than 3/4 of the egg mixture.  Arrange pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and parmesean cheese over the dough.  Sprinkle italian seasoning on (to taste).  Roll up dough like a jelly roll and pinch seam to seal; place seam side down on slightly greased baking sheet.
3. Brush remaining egg mixture onto outisde of roll.  Sprinkle additional italian seasoning onto outside of roll (to taste).
3. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until golden.  Bake time will depend on how thin you roll out your dough.
4. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

Nutritional Information (1/4 roll):
Calories: 480
Total Fat: 15.7 g
Saturated Fat: 5.9 g
Cholesterol:108.2 mg
Sodium: 1419.5 mg
Carbs: 54.4 g
Sugars: 4.1 g
Protein: 25.8 g

Note: Some people have used a Pillsbury thin crust pizza or french loaf to make it quicker and probably less calories.  You just need to adjust your bake time accordingly.  However, Rhodes bread makes me think of eating mom's stromboli as a kid so I think it's worth it!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk, plus more if necessary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon artifical sweetner
1/2 cup blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside. Beat together the egg, milk, salt and artifical sweetner in a bowl. Stir flour until moistened, add blueberries and stir.

2. Preheat griddle. Recipe calls for 1/4 cup on griddle but I use 1/2 cup just depends on the size you want your pancake to be.

Biscuits

Here is the recipe for the biscuits I used to make for chicken a la king or just to eat when I was at home for the summer after sophomore year at BYU.  I am still working on remembering the right temp and time so I may update this after another try.  I also have a suggestion for making them healthier, but I haven't actually made them the healthier way yet so I'm not sure if it will be good.  I made 12 biscuits, but we had already eaten 3 before I remembered a picture.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour + 1/3 cup flour -1 Tbs flour (a little weird because you are supposed to use cake flour I think)
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

Directions:
1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in medium sized bowl. 
2. Work shortening into dry ingredients with you hands.
3. Add milk until dough sticks together into ball.  Dough should be somewhat wet/sticky.
4. Pinch off dough and drop onto stone.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.  (This is where I need to do some experimenting.  when I used to make them, I could just wait until the tops slightly browned and pulled them.  However, at 375 they weren't browning so they ended up being in 20 minutes but are a tad dry.  That is why I suggest closer to 15 minutes at 375.  A higher temp for a shorter amount of time may also be the key.)

Nutrition (1/12th using 1% milk):
Calories: 156
Total Fat: 8.8 g
Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
Sodium: 282.9 g
Total Carbs: 16.3 g
Sugars: 0.6 g
Protein: 2.4 g

Note: The yogurt substitute will cut the calories down to closer to 120-125 and basically cut the fat in half.  I haven't made them yet so I don't have the exact nutrition on it.

Fruit Pizza

Here is a fruit pizza recipe.  You can either make little pizzas on individual cookies like Meghan did in the picture, or you can make one large pizza on a pizza stone or in a 9x13 or 10x15 pan.

For the crust:
Use the full (Almond) Sugar Cookie recipe I posted earlier, minus the almond.  You can choose the traditional recipe or the yogurt substitution.  Meghan made about 30 cookies instead of 48 because she used mom's cookie scoop (also will be easier to top if a little bigger).  If you do a large pizza you may want to try to bake it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  I am not sure exactly how long it will take, but I assume as one large cookie it will take longer than the smaller so you may need the lower temp to avoid burning on the edges?

The filling:
4 oz cream cheese (softened)
4 oz cool whip
1/2 C. sugar
Mix and spread on cooled crust(s).

Add any fruit you want, cut up or whole and place on top.   Top with glaze:

1/4 C sugar
1 T. corn starch
3/8 cup OJ
1/8 cup lemon juce or pineapple juice
Bring to a boil, cool slightly, then pour over pizza.

Refrigerate pizza.

Here are some changes the Brad's sister Brittany made to make it healthier or for her flavor preference.

1) She uses whipped cream cheese (easier to work with)
2) She uses lite cool whip to reduce fat/calories (no change in taste)
3) She does 3/8 cup pineapple juice and 1/8 cup lemon juice or 1/8 cup orange juice (basically she adjusts the juices to the flavor she prefers).

I don't have nutrition facts as I have never made it and there are so many places it can be varied, so sorry but you'll have to do the work yourself! :)

(Almond) Butter Cream Frosting

Here is the recipe for Brad's butter cream frosting.  When we made this with the (almond) sugar cookies we added almond as well, but you can make it as white butter cream frosting just omit the almond.  I put the nutrition assuming 24 servings, but you would really have to weigh how much it makes and figure out how many grams you use vs how many grams in 1/24th if you want to get technical.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter softened, not melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
1/8 cup milk (at most)

Directions:
Cream Butter. Beat in sugar and vanilla (and almond extract).  Add milk until desired consistency is reached.

Nutrition (assuming 24 servings):
Calories: 74
Total Fat: 3.6 g
Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
Sodium: 32 g
Total Carbs: 10 g
Sugars: 9.8 g
Protein: 0 g

(Almond) Sugar Cookies

Here is a yummy sugar cookie recipe that we have used.  We added almond as an optional addition since we love almond.

Ingredients (Makes 48 cookies):

2 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract (optional)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:
1. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda in small bowl and set aside.
2. Creamed butter and sugar.  Beat in egg and vanilla (and almond extract).
3. Gradually add in dry ingredients.
4. Roll dough into balls and drop onto ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  Allow to cool for 2 minutes on pan before moving to cooling rack.

When we made these we halved the recipe (except the egg, we just still used one egg) and made 24 cookies. You could chill the dough if you want, but you don't have to before you scoop it out. We also frosted them with the (almond) butter cream frosting I am posting after this.

Nutrition (per cookie):
Calories: 82
Total Fat: 3.9 g
Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
Sodium: 63.9 mg
Total Carbs: 11.1 g
Sugars: 6.2 g
Protein: 0.2 g

UPDATE: I found another version of the recipe that is a little healthier, but I haven't actually tried it yet.  When making the entire recipe (48 cookies) replace 1/2 cup of the butter with 1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt.  All directions are the same.  This reduces the calories per cookie to about 70 or a little less (I haven't actually tried it, so I haven't put it in myfitness pal to find out).  Let me know if you try it!