Mighty Mini Muffins!!

There's this trick I learned from a Weight Watchers leader… by adding canned Pumpkin (or fresh mashed if you have it) you can avoid adding eggs & oil & such to box mixes… I've taken this in many different directions over time, this is it one of its simplest forms…

Mini Muffins!!  Today I made two batches of these delicious little bits for munching (within reason) over the holidays… these are great examples of using this method!

I took a brownie mix, dumped the powder in a bowl, mixed in a 15oz can of Pumpkin (I ran out of the fresh stuff)...

Preheated the oven to 325 (temp on the box), put them in a mini-muffin pan lined with papers…

Then I watched as they baked, these took 20 minutes… made about 40 mini-muffins… hubby likes!

I repeated the process with a Fiber One Apple Muffin mix, setting the oven to 425 (box had the higher temp)….

Again I watched as they baked… 15 minutes was the right amount of time (the ones pictured went about 17 & were slightly scorched - still yummy)…

Hope this gives you ideas, enjoy!!

Try Going Miniature!!

What to do with all those wonderful old recipes during the holidays… you know, that decadent cheesecake or those wonderfully gooey chocolaty treats???

When you just can't lighten go mini…

This is an assortment of my pans… some silicon, some metal… some with shapes, some with contours… all Mini!!

I made some little Tea Cakes with my silicon pans… just saying!!

Enjoy the Holidays, just don't over-indulge!!

Kinda Quiet Lately...

I haven't posted in a while… but I haven't cooked anything New in a while… why?

Well, there was Thanksgiving, and that was pretty traditional here at our house…

And there was a death in the family, and that part of the family is in another state… so I flew back to California to be with my Mom & Brother & other family… check out my main blog "My Zany GAVOT" (find link on sidebar) if you're curious…

Since getting back I've been getting caught up with all kinds of things & struggling with my health a bit…

SO, though I've been cooking there hasn't been anything "blog-worthy"…

To satisfy those who like pretty pictures I'm presenting the following, a fresh loaf of Artisan Bread I baked yesterday, this one has the Spices: Sage, Dried Chives.

I'll be blogging more soon...

Taste of Autumn Curried Lamb Stew

The soup I posted earlier was a variation of one I'd seen in a book I love (see that post if you like), but this soup came right out of my own twisted mind…  This is makes about 3 quarts, adjust to the size of your Crock Pot.

I'd been in a bread baking mood yesterday, shown here are two of the three loaves I made… the one in the back of this photo has sweet curry & saffron & orange zest, so I thought I'd make a stew that would work well with it… this is what I came up with & it's a winner!!  It's also very simple to make, and cooks itself once the chopping gets done :)

Doesn't this bread just make you want soup?

Ingredients:
  1 pound Lamb Stew Meat
  1/4 cup young (inexpensive) Balsamic Vinegar
  1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
  1/2 medium Onion, chopped
  1 medium Cooking Apple, chopped (this time I used Honeycrisp)
  1 medium Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped
  1 medium Parsnip, chopped
  1 cup chopped Carrots
  1 stalk Celery, chopped
  1 cup cooked Pumpkin (optional)
  1 tsp Red Curry Paste (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
  1 Tbl Moroccan Spice (follow link to my spice blend)
  1 Tbl Sea Salt
  5 cups Water

Now comes the hard part… throw everything in a Crock Pot and let it cook all day...

Once its cooked all day (6-8 hours) it is ready to eat… just make sure you have some good bread on hand :)

Yum!!

Light Rustic Potato Leek Soup

I love cookbooks, I have way more than I need, and there's one called "Love Soup" by Anna Thomas that's a particular favorite.  I'm not a vegetarian but I appreciate vegetarian/vegan recipes because they frequently make interesting use of spices, and "Love Soup" is a vegetarian cookbook that I've enjoyed.  That said even vegetarian recipes can be fattening… so this recipe started with the recipe "rustic leek and potato soup" from "Love Soup", but then I changed it for my own needs.

Also, I happened to have a lot of Leeks, so in the picture you're going to see a huge soup pot & a lot larger quantity (2 1/2 times) what would normally go into a pot of soup…

Ingredients:

  Spray Olive Oil

  3-4 large Leeks, white and light green parts (12oz / 350g trimmed)

  3 cups Vegetable Broth 

      OR 3 cups Water + 3 tsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable

  2 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes

  1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt

  3 Tbl chopped fresh Italian Parsley

  1/2 tsp chopped fresh Thyme

  2 tsp fresh Lemon Juice

  additional Sea Salt & fresh ground Black Pepper, to taste

Spray a soup pot with Olive Oil.  Add the chopped Leeks and cook on a high flame.

Cook the Leeks, stirring continuously, until they are translucent and just starting to turn gold.

When Leeks are cooked add the Vegetable Broth, continue to leave on a high flame.

Add Potatoes and Sea Salt, bring to a Boil then lower to a Simmer, cover.

Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Stir in Parsley, Thyme, and Lemon Juice, add Sea Salt & Pepper to taste.

To vary this try adding in a diced up boneless/skinless Chicken Breast, or a cup of grated Carrots, or both… we've tried all these variations & liked them all!