Low Fat Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am huge muffin fan and when I saw this recipe on "For the Love of Cooking" I knew I needed to try it. Pretty impressive since she says her young daughter came up with the recipe. Except for one thing...my version is modified to make them healthier and tastier! These have a great chocolatey wholesome flavor with a hint of banana. I will absolutely be making these over and over again! Try it this weekend!

Chocolate, Banana, and White Chocolate Chip Muffins:
Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking
Adapted by me...

1/4 cup of butter, softened
1/4 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed up
1 cup of flour
1 cup oat flour (measure one cup quick oats in blender and blend until a course powder forms)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup of white chocolate chips plus additional for topping
1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter, yogurt, and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend 1 cup quick oats in blender until a course powder forms, then dump into batter. Add 1 flour, baking soda, and salt. Add mashed bananas. Stir in white and milk chocolate chips. Spoon into greased muffin cups. (I used jumbo muffin tin)
Press additional white chocolate chips onto top of muffins if you want to improve the aesthetics.
I got 6 jumbo muffins and 2 regular size out of this recipe. Cook the jumbo about 6-8 minutes more than regular size.
Regular muffins bake 20 minutes
Jumbo 26-30 minutes

Dreamy Fruit Dip

This delightful orange-tinged fruit dip is a favorite of the (Ralph) Stewart girls, from Grandma Lyle.  And it's a hit at parties! It is the perfect compliment to fruit, without being overly sweet (like the dips with marshmallow in it.)  I'm posting the "full fat" version, and a similar low-fat version I found online (I haven't tried it, but it looks good.)

Dreamy Fruit Dip

Makes 2 – 3 Cups

·         1 Tbl lemon juice + grated orange rind

·         1 Tbl corn starch

·         1 egg

·         1/2 pint whipping cream

·         1/2 Cup frozen orange juice

Heat OJ in saucepan, stirring constantly.  Liquify the corn starch in a little cold water and add to the OJ.  Stir constantly until boiling rapidly and it turns glossy.  Remove from heat.

Whip whole egg in a bowl.  Very slowly add the OJ mixture (so the egg doesn’t cook) and beat it into the egg.  Pour mixture back into the saucepan, and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and cool in a bowl of ice + water.

Whip whipping cream till creamy (not stiff peaked).  Fold the OJ mixture into the whipping cream and mix until evenly incorporated.

Serve with your favorite fruits!

Low-fat version:

Orange Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

• 4 oz (half of 8-oz package) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
• 1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® Original 99% Fat Free orange crème or French vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
• Assorted fresh fruit for dipping, if desired

Directions:

• In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on low speed until smooth.
• Add yogurt, powdered sugar, orange juice concentrate and vanilla; beat 30 to 60 seconds on low speed until blended and smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping until well blended. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 24 hours. Serve with fresh fruit.

Yields 12 Servings (2 tablespoons dip each).

Nutritional Information:
Calories 50 (Calories from Fat 20); Total Fat 2 1/2g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 10mg; Sodium 45mg; Total Carbohydrate 6g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 5g); Protein 1g

Honey Glazed Chicken Stir Fry

From The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook
1996

Start to finish : 25 minutes
Fast & Low-Fat
Frozen vegetables save on the preparation time.

Ingredients

12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cups vegetables, fresh or frozen
hot cooked rice or couscous
Directions

1. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces; set aside. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together honey, vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, and cornstarch; set aside. (I double to sauce for this recipe, but I am a saucy kind of girl)

2. Pour cooking oil into a wok or a large skillet. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry vegetables for 3 minutes or till vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove vegetables from wok. Add chicken to hot wok. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes or till chicken is no longer pink. Push chicken from the center of the wok. Stir sauce; add to center of the wok. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.

3. Return cooked vegetables to wok. Stir all ingredients together to coat. Cook and stir about 1 minute more or till heated through. If desire, serve immediately over rice or couscous. Makes 4 servings.

Turkey Meatloaf

My husband the greatest beef lover of all time didn't miss the beef. For me, that makes this recipe a keeper! It was moist and had great flavor. It will be sure to become a regular around here! No picture because meatloaf is not a pretty food. You know what it looks like....looks like meatloaf.

2 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
3/4 cup catsup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a skillet.
2. Cook onion and garlic in melted butter for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Place mixture in a large bowl to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, 1/4 cup of the catsup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper with onion mixture.
5. Press meatloaf into an 8x4-inch loaf pan.
6. Spread remaining catsup on top.
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes.8(Internal temperature should reach 165 degrees.) Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Linguine Carbonara Pasta

(picture from cooking light website)
This recipe whips up in a flash and is one that you might just have everything already on hand. Precook the chicken and bacon before hand and everything can come together in 15 minutes. Although this is a healthier, dumbed down version of the Italian classic, it's tasty and will satisfy your family audience. The recipe is adapted from cooking light.
Serves 4

8 ounces uncooked linguine
1/2 lb cooked chicken cut into bite size pieces (optional)
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 c grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (2 t dried)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped pancetta (I used bacon)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs

Preparation
1.Precook chicken and bacon
2. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid.
3. Combine milk, parmesan, parsley and s&p in a small bowl; set milk mixture aside.
4. Place egg in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Gradually add 1/3 cup reserved hot cooking liquid, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add egg mixture to pan, stirring constantly. Add milk/cheese mixture. cook on low heat 2 minutes or until sauce is thick and creamy. Add milk or more pasta water to sauce until desired consistency is reached.

Hills Butternut Soup

I always grow butternut squash in my garden each year. My favorite way to eat is is roasted in the oven with red onion but this is a close second. I took bits and pieces of two recipes and I think the addition of apple, ginger, and curry powder give this soup that "je ne sais quoi".

1 medium butter nut squash peeled and cubed into 1 inch cubes
1 Fuji apple peeled and chopped
1 can chicken broth

Put chopped squash,apple and chicken broth in a large saucepan and boil until very tender. Approx 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium skillet saute

2 T butter
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 t grated fresh ginger

Pour sauteed onion mixture into pot with squash. Puree all veggies with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.

Then add
1 c whole milk
1 c half and half
1/4-1/2 t curry powder
1-2 T brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
dash of nutmeg

Stir and heat for a few minutes but do not bring to a boil. Serve with crusty bread. YUMMY!

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

*Stole this pic from myrecipies.com b/c my camera is broken but the recipe is mine all mine.
I am LOVING this smoothie right now. I like my sister have an obsession with all things pumpkin flavored and this smoothie really helps me keep the craving to whip up a batch of pumpkin cookies or bread every day at bay.

1 small banana (or 1/2 a lg)
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
1 t pumpkin pie spice (seems like a lot I know, but trust me)
1/3 c pumpkin puree
1/2-1 c ice
1 T honey
4 small store bought gingersnap cookies

*if you only have plain yogurt just add more honey
*don't over do the banana flavor, you want to add thickness without taking away from the pumpkin
*I use Greek yogurt for added protein