Mini Chip Chocolate Chip Mega Muffin

I have stumbled upon the best mini chip muffin recipe ever! NEVER buy those hydrogenated, crap filled, 100 ingredient store chocolate chip muffins again. These muffins are so easy and ridiculously delicious! I would love to take credit for these but I found these over at www.littlesweetbaker.com her site is fantastic and her recipes blow my mind.

Yes they have white flour and NO they are not a diet recipe. If you are going to have a treat and “own your sugar” this is the recipe to do it with. I changed it up a bit by putting them in a mega muffin pan. More is better in my book when talking about a muffin.

All I have left to say is….. Your Welcome!

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Servings: 12 Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (whole or buttermilk is preferred)
1 tbsp vanilla
1 & 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 425°F and spray a 12 cup muffin tray with non-stick cooking spray.
2) In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Set aside.
3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Slowly add to the dry ingredients. Gently fold together until JUST combined.
4) Divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups and bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 375°F and bake for another 13-15 minutes. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy warm.
Muffins taste best the day of, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Recipe by Little Sweet Baker

Perfect Pie Crust
If you are like me Pie Crust scares the crap out of you. Even though it goes against everything I believe I usually buy a pre made refrigerated crust. Every time I buy a pre made crust I cringe. Those pre made crusts are filled with nothing redeeming. The recipes I have found usually call for shortening and shortening completely grosses me out. For some reason the idea of that white chunky paste turns my stomach. So I decided that it was time to conquer my fears and create a no fail pie crust. I wanted something that was easy, no fail, and flaky and delicious just like those other pie crusts. So here it goes!

Perfect Pie Crust
2 1/4 cups all purpose white flour (Trust me- whole wheat does not work)
3/4 tsp salt
12 Tbsp COLD unsalted butter, cut into chunks
6-8 Tbsp cold water
*Additional flour will be needed when it is time to roll out the crust
*Makes TWO pie crusts

In a large bowl add flour and salt. Mix together with a fork.
Next add the butter. Now you need to cut the butter (Don’t freak out!) into the flour to form coarse crumbs.

I like to use a pastry blender but you can pulse it in a food processor or use a fork.

You basically just mash the butter and flour together like you would mashed potatoes.

Once the course crumbs have formed begin to add the water. Add about 5 tbsp then get your hands in the bowl. A spoon did not work for me to mix the water and flour mixture. It’s kind of like meatballs, you have to get in with your hands. Add the remaining water and mix until the dough comes together. Your hands will be covered in sticky dough, don’t worry just peel it off and add it back to the dough ball.

Once the dough is mostly together and there is no loose flour or crumbs at the bottom of the bowl, separate it into two servings. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Now you are waiting……… You can do this up to two days before but you will need to pull it out of refrigerator about 20 minutes before if you do that.

Pie time! Remove the plastic wrap and dump your dough ball onto a floured surface. I love silicone baking mats (I get mine at Costco and they are half the price) because the dough doesn’t stick to it.

Once on the mat, flour your rolling pin and roll the dough out until it is about an inch bigger than your pie plate.

Now you are ready to make pie!!!!

I have a soup lover in the house so I am constantly trying to come up with new soup recipes that my soup lover will like but that is hearty enough for my husband. I also need something that is quick and easy in case I didn’t plan in advance. Tonight was one of those nights in our house. With Thanksgiving on Thursday I have been a little distracted with that menu so 4:30pm rolled around and I did not have a dinner plan. I knew I had a chicken breast in the freezer and it was cool enough that soup sounded good. After a peek in the fridge and pantry, Southwestern Chicken and Vegetable soup was born!

Southwestern Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 celery sticks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can (14.5oz) hominy, drained
1/2 cup Frozen Okra (optional)-Total fav. of mine
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1 can (7oz) verde sauce (Herdez)
1 can (14.5oz) diced stewed tomatoes
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped
2 cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp each: garlic powder, cumin, chile powder, black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
In a large soup pot add butter onions, celery, and carrots. Saute until onions are translucent; approx. 5 minutes.
Add hominy, okra, green chiles, verde sauce, diced stewed tomatoes, and chicken breast pieces.

Stir well and add chicken broth, once broth is added bring to a slow boil.
Once boiling add seasoning and bay leaf.

Cover, cook on medium low heat, maintaining a low boil for 30 minutes.

When ready to serve remove bay leaf and serve with warmed flour tortillas.

My friend Jenn has a Gluten sensitivity and she asked me if I would do a little research for her and locate a no fail Gluten Free Chocolate Cake. Being a girl that has a deep love for chocolate ANYTHING I responded…. “If I must”. So out into the recipe world I went and after three tries I have landed on what I think is the BEST Gluten Free cake to ever grace the planet.

The recipe and image is from the website: Real Simple

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Serves:10 (It is very rich) Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for the pan
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting

Directions
Heat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with cocoa powder.
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter with ¼ cup of the heavy cream over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth; remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder; whisk in the chocolate mixture.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool in the pan for 1 hour (this is very important! DO NOT take out too soon). Run a knife around the edge of the cake before unmolding.

Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream with the sour cream and confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form. Dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar and serve with the whipped cream.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

Photo Credit: Sandra Lee Semi-homemade

I am a huge fan of Sandra Lee and her show Semi-Homemade. I love that she takes recipes and reworks them to make them easy for the busy mom. I also appreciate her flare for fun food that the kids will love. If Sandra says the kids will love it; they will love it!

When looking at recipes to incorporate into our meal rotation she is a regular go-to. I just go in and do a few whole food and unprocessed tweaks. I need my meals to be quick and easy too; so my tweaks have to fit into that category as well. Remember we do not have to reinvent the wheel we need to utilize our internet and cooks we love and tweak them to fit our family. You may have a diabetic in the family, or someone who is lactose intolerant, don’t let that stop you. You can make most recipes work for you! So let’s get started!

Recipe remake RNforWellness style: My changes will be in BOLD

Pizza Casserole

Ingredients
Makes: 8 servings
Cook: 30 minutes

1 package (16-ounce) mini penne pasta (Whole Wheat Pasta)
1 jar (26-ounce) pasta sauce (Homemade simple marinara sauce)
1 container (5-ounce) diced bell peppers, chopped, Ready Pac® Tri Peppers (Fresh Veggies)
11⁄2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (3 cups mozzarella cheese)
1 jar (4.5-ounce) sliced mushrooms, drained (Fresh Mushrooms)
1 can (3.8-ounce) sliced black olives, drained
1⁄2 package (3.5-ounce) sliced pepperoni (25 slices)(Preservative free Pepperoni)
1⁄3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 roll (8-ounce) garlic breadsticks (Immaculate Brand crescent rolls OR pizza crust)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne for 7 minutes or until tender but not quite al dente. Drain well.

In a saute pan add fresh peppers and mushrooms and cook until tender. Add in homemade marinara sauce of your choice and seasoning. Pour sauce over drained noodles and stir well to coat. Stir in 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese until well mixed.

Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the remaining mozzarella over top. Top with olives. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella over top. Arrange pepperoni slices over mozzarella; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove crescent dough from can and separate into individual triangles and then use a pizza cutter to cut into strips. Once strips are cut twist.

Remove casserole from oven and place twisted dough around edge of baking dish. Return to oven; bake for 15 to 18 minutes more or until twists are golden brown. Serve hot.

•  1 medium onion, Diced
• 2 whole Carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 stalks Celery, Diced
• 1 Tbs unsalted butter and 1 Tbs olive oil
• 6 whole Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
• 6 cups Organic Low Sodium Chicken
• 3 Tbs All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 strips “real” bacon, cooked and chopped