If I can, you can!

Cornflake Quiche

2012-01-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

Mmm, who doesn't love quiche? Unfortunately with the pastry crust, we can't afford to love it too much but by eliminating that it can be quite a healthy dinner or even breakfast dish. The one key ingredient to give it that "quichey" taste is a flavorful Swiss cheese.

Place cornflakes in a bag and crush with hands.

Lightly grease and 8x8 pan. Sprinkle about 2/3 of crushed cornflake evenly in pan.

Chop up broccoli and onion. Mushrooms and pepper would also be great in this dish. I also had some dill lying around so I added that.

Lay chopped vegetables on top of cornflakes. Add preferred precooked meat.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, flour, milk, dry mustard, salt and pepper.

Pour mixture over vegetables/cornflakes/meat.

Sprinkle cheese and remaining cornflakes on top.

Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes or until center is cooked.

Cornflake Quiche

1 1/3 cups cornflakes

1/2 onion

1 small floret of broccoli

1 tbsp dill (optional)

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped (optional)

1/2 bell pepper (optional)

2/3 cup precooked meat (ham, sausage etc.)

4 eggs

2/3 cup egg white

1 1/3 cup milk or unsweetened soy/nut milk

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp dry mustard

Pinch of salt and pepper

1 cup Swiss cheese

Thin Crust Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

2012-01-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

This is a super easy recipe with delicious results. This recipe is also great for the BBQ, just lay dough right on the grill, cooking 3 or so minutes each side and then topping with minimal, precooked toppings.

In a medium bowl, mix yeast flour and salt.

Add oil and applesauce. Mix.

Form a well and add warm water. Mix until dough starts to form.

Lay dough and floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes.

Place dough back in bowl, cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour (it won't rise a huge amount)

On a pizza stone, baking sheet or other surface, form dough into a sausage shape and begin gently stretching dough from all ends trying not to tear it.

Stretch until unable to stretch anymore. This will not be a perfect pizza shape as you can see.

Bake at 375F for 5 -8 minutes then switch oven to broil setting (maintaining same temperature) and broil for 2-3 minutes or until golden.

Top with favorite toppings and precooked meat. Bake at 375F for about 12 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

1/3 cup white flour

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp instant yeast

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp oil

2 tbsp applesauce

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp water

Ch-ch-ch-chia Pudding!

2012-01-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

This pudding is easier than instant pudding and much better for you. Chia seeds have many health benefits and are packed with Omega 3 fatty acid. The end product has a texture of tapioca and berry seeds.

Add chocolate milk to a bowl (see below for chocolate milk alternative recipe).

Add Chia seeds.

Mix well. The seeds tend to float so make sure they are all submerged in the milk.

Put in fridge for an hour or, mixing at least once.

Chia Pudding

1/2 cup almond, soy or regular chocolate milk

2 tbsp chia seed

No chocolate milk? No problem

1/2 cup almond, soy or regular milk

1 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp sugar or sugar substitute

2 tbsp chia seed

How To Video:

Crunchy Salmon and Dill Potatoes and Green Beans

2012-01-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Crunchy Salmon

Lay foil on a baking sheet, add a large fillet of salon.

Cover and bake for 15- 20 minutes at 375F. (Until just about cooked)

Put cornflakes in a plastic and crush with hands.

Add nutritional yeast, egg white and mustard. Mix.

Remove salmon from over, spoon on mixture. Leave uncovered. Broil for 3-5 minutes (watch carefully!)

Crunchy Salmon

1 fillet of salmon

1 1/2 cups cornflakes

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

2 tbsp egg white

2 tbsp mustard

Dill Potatoes and Green Beans

In a double boiler, steam potatoes, green beans and dill.

Heat a frying pan, add garlic and margarine. Saute. Add potatoes and beans. Toss until slightly brown.

Dill Potatoes and Green Beans

15+ baby potatoes, halved

1 cup green beans, in thirds

3 tbsp fresh dill

1 tbsp margarine

Enjoy!

Everything Cookies

2012-01-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

Everything cookies aka hunter cookies aka deliciousness! I don't know what it is about these cookies but we are so addicted to them. I make a batch every few days and the fact that they have no butter and therefore are low in fat and have about 50 calories each, they are also guilt free! I rarely measure the ingredients when making this recipe so they always turn out just a bit different and over the years I have made several versions. Here's the latest version.

In a food processor add bananas, pumpkin puree, egg white, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, applesauce, brown sugar and sugar substitute.

Blend until pureed.

Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour and mix.

Add oats and rice krispies. Mix.

Using a grating blade or a cheese grater, grate apples.

Add carob chips, cranberries, apple and any other mix ins! Mix.

Drop onto cookie sheet. They can be put fairly close as they don't expand much. Bake at 350F for 15 -20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Everything Cookies

1 1/2 - 2 bananas

1/2 cup egg white

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup applesauce

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sugar substitute

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup carob or chocolate chips

1/2 cup of any other mix ins*

Makes 70 small cookies.

*Mix ins suggestions: sunflower seeds, coconut, pepitas, chopped nuts, raisins or any other dry fruit.

Here is another variation on the cookies:

Chicken Noodle Soup

2012-01-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

Waste not want not! This is a chicken carcass from one of those store bought BBQ chickens. I would have usually removed the skin but it was frozen. I keep them in the freezer until I have time to make soup.

Place carcass in slow cooker, fill with water until carcass is pretty much covered. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, let cool slightly.

With your hands, separate bones and meat leaving meat in broth and removing bones. Let cool in fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Skim the top to remove all fat solids. (I transferred mine into another bowl only because I needed to use my slow cooker for something else)

Add carrots, potatoes, celery, noodles, salt and pepper to broth.

I like using a little chopper for the carrots, makes things a lot easier.

Add 2 cups of extra water. Cook on high for about 4 hours.

Let cool.

With only two of us, we won't eat this whole pot right away so I like to freeze individual servings by laddling soup into a ziploc bag that's sitting in a cup.

Lay flat and freeze.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 chicken carcass

8-12 cups water

2 cups baby carrots

2 large potatoes or several baby ones

5 celery stalks

1 cup whole wheat macaroni noodles

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp pepper

Pre-Workout Smoothie

2012-01-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

There are 3 optimal times to have protein; right when you wake up, 90 minutes before a workout or 15 minutes after a workout. I like to have mine before in a smoothie before because I feel it helps me stay energized through my exercise. This is my pre-workout smoothie.

Pre-Workout Smoothie

1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk)

1/2 yogurt

1.2 banana

1/2 of a large scoop of protein powder

1 cup mixed berries

1 cup spinach

1 tbsp green tea leaves

Blend all ingredients (my blender is broken so I use a food processor)

Makes a large, delicious smoothie!

Slow Cooker Roast and Vegetable

2012-01-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a slow cooker meal on a winter's day! I just got my slow cooker for Christmas so I of course needed to give it a try!

Chop a variety of vegetables into large cubes and place at bottom of slow cooker.

Place roast on top of vegetables. Add 1 cup of broth or water and season with pepper and Italian seasoning. Cover.

Cook on low for about 8 hours.

And voila!

Slow Cooker Roast - Serves 3-4

1/2 a(n):

onion

butternut squash

head of broccoli

turnip

yam

1 potato

10 brussel spouts, halved

4 cloves of garlic

1 cup broth or water

pinch of pepper and Italian seasoning

1 large roast

Jumbo Ravioli

2012-01-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Homemade ravioli may seem like a daunting, time consuming task and it can take a bit of time if you are making small ravioli but when you make jumbo size it cuts the time in half.

First start with a basic pasta recipe

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 egg

(You may need to add <1 tbsp water if your dough seems dry)

Make a well in your flour and add egg, whisk egg and slowly incorporate more and more flour into mixture. Mix with hands once dough starts to form until it forms a solid ball. Set aside.

In a food processor or blender mix:

1/2 cup light ricotta cheese

1/2 dry cheese curds

2 basil leaves

1 cup spinach

3 tbsp egg white

1 tsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic

Divide pasta dough into 3 balls. Using a pasta maker, run 1 ball through until desired thickness (I used setting 7 on mine out of 9 settings)

Using a large cookie cutter (or in this case a piece of tupperware), cut out ravioli shapes. Reform excess dough and run through pasta maker again until all dough is used.

In a shallow pot or large skillet, boil water.

Add filling to one square of dough, brush edges with egg white, add another square on top and press edges with a fork.

Gently place jumbo ravioli in boiling water.

Meanwhile, brown 1/2 pound of ground meat with 2 cloves of garlic.

Add pasta sauce.

Layer a small amount of sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 pan.

With a slotted spoon, remove ravioli from water and place in pan.

Add remaining sauce and a small amount of cheese. Bake at 350F for 10 -15 minutes.

I served the ravioli with a orange, walnut and goat cheese spinach salad. Enjoy!

Jumbo Ravioli - Serves 2

Dough

2/3 cups flour

1 egg

(maybe a tbsp water or egg white)

Filling

1/2 cup ricotta

1/2 cup dry cheese curds

2 basil leaves

3 tbsp egg white + 1 tsp for closing ravioli

1 cup spinach

1 tsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic

Sauce

1/2 pound ground meat

2 cloves garlic

2 cups pasta sauce

2 tbsp grated cheese

Gifts in a Jar

2011-12-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

This gift was for my parents. I themed it "your busy life" which is very suiting for them. With a few different sized jars and a trip to the bulk food store, my Christmas shopping for them was complete!

Start with clean empty jars of different sizes

Layer with ingredients according to recipe.

Make labels and print. I used large Avery shipping labels.

Label jar.

Repeat!

Place all jars on two stacked cookie sheets.

Wrap in novelty garbage bag and label.

Recipes

I got most of my recipes from the following site:

http://mixesinajar.com/

Breakfast Tray Gift

2011-12-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

For my family for Christmas this year we decided to go simple with the gifts since none of us really need anything anyway. For my brother and his wife, I chose to make a breakfast tray with homemade goodies and useful items.

Fill one mason jar with homemade granola.

For granola recipe:

Fill another jar with an oatmeal mixture and label both jars

Oatmeal Mix

3 1/4 cups quick oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup dried cranberries

2 tbsp cinnamon

Attached Label: Add 1/2 cup of mix with 1 cup of water, microwave for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally.

Place jars on breakfast tray.

Add a frying pan and pancake mix to tray.

Pancake Mix

(recipe will vary according to the size of your container)

12 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup baking powder

3 tablespoons cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and fill a large jar or container.

Attached label: Beat one egg, 3/4 cup milk and 3 tbsp oil together. Add 1 1/4 cup of mix until moist (batter may still be lumpy but do not over mix). Cook on hot griddle or pan.

Add flavored syrup, jam, English muffins and pajamas.

Wrap in decorative garbage bag style bag and add a name tag.