Chocolate Almond Muffins (Low Fat)

On my never ending quest to make breakfast a priority rather than an after thought, I proudly present you with Chocolate Almond Muffins. Reminiscent of Cocoa Puffs and the cocoa dusted Diamond brand almonds, the muffin is chocolately, but not overly so, and chock full of nutty goodness. I modified the recipe from Sparkpeople (link) and used ingredients I had on hand. Unfortunately that meant the muffins would be low fat rather than fat free, but its not like I'm counting calories anyway.

Chocolate Almond Muffins
Makes 12, takes 20-30 min


1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup slivered almonds

3/4 cup (6oz. container) low fat yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, sifting to avoid large lumps. Include the almonds here.
3. In a different bowl, mix all the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and fold. Be careful not to overmix the batter as this will make the muffins too dense. Its okay if there is still some dry powder here and there.
5. Bake for 12 minutes. 
6. Cool and enjoy.
    

Roasted Garlic and Sundried Tomato Risotto

Risotto may sound like a difficult dish, but it just takes a little patience. This particular version of my favorite creamy rice combines pungent roasted garlic, sun dried tomato, and sweet leeks with a dash of parmesan and olive oil. It would make a great side dish for a hearty red meat or a filling side dish.

Roasted Garlic and Sundried Tomato Risotto
Makes 4-5 servings

• 1 onion or 1/2 leek
• 1 tablespoon of cured pancetta (optional)
• 1/2 head of roasted garlic, mashed (take a head of garlic, slice off the top, sprinkle with salt and a tablespoon of olive oil, and roast for 45 minutes at 375 degrees)
• 4 sun dried tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup of dry arborio rice
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1. Prep items as described.
2. Heat about 5 cups of water to boil in a small pot.
3. In your saucepan, saute the onion and pancetta in a tablespoon of olive oil until onion is translucent
4. Add the roasted garlic paste and sun dried tomato. Saute until incorporated and fragrant.
5. Add the dry arborio rice. Saute in the oil to coat the rice. If you need more olive oil, add it a little at a time. 
6. Ladle in two to three scoops of hot water. Mix the ingredients together, scraping down the dry rice into the water. As the rice absorbs the water, ladle in more hot water and continue to mix the ingredients so that the rice evenly is exposed to the water and does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
7. As the rice begins to fluff, stir more often and carefully. Keep adding water until the risotto is fully cooked (tender soft rice) and the risotto sticks to itself.
8. Mix in the parmesan and serve.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I'm always hunting for ways to make sure I eat breakfast. A simple apple muffin recipe caught my eye, and oh, do they make the kitchen smell heavenly! I modified the original recipe to eliminate the oil, add a kick of candied ginger, and add some crunch with slivered almonds.

If you don't want to add oil to a recipe, you can replace the oil with applesauce or pureed pumpkin in a 1:1 ratio. I didn't want to use oil or open a jar of applesauce just for one batch of muffins. So I made my own applesauce in the microwave. I put about 1/2 a cup of diced apple in a mug, covered it,  microwaved it for a minute and a half, and mashed it with a fork. To remove excess water, I microwaved it for another minute to get the right consistency for applesauce. I did not add extra sugar or cinnamon for the applesauce, just used it straight out of the microwave. The muffins came out great without the oil or processed applesauce!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Makes 1 dozen muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup applesauce or canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup finely diced apples
1/4 cup slivered almonds or walnuts
2 tablespoons diced candied ginger
brown sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl. (Flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt).
3. Add all wet ingredients, apple, nuts, and ginger. Mix by hand to incorporate, but don't go crazy, since over mixing yields denser baked goods. Mix only as much as necessary.
4. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Spoon about a 1.5 tablespoons into a each liner, then top with about a teaspoon of brown sugar (optional).
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool before eating.

Mushroom Scallion Fried Rice

For an impromptu dinner date, I had few ingredients on hand, and a ton of leftover rice. Creativity knows no bounds in my kitchen, and I modified my basic fried rice with some mushrooms, scallions, carrots, and sesame seeds into a fabulous dinner!

Mushroom and Scallion Fried Rice

Serves 3-4, all ingredients (minus rice) are optional and exchangeable. Took me about 45 min.

3 scallions, sliced into coins, whites separated from greens

1/2 pack button mushrooms (about 6 mushrooms), cubed

1 carrot sliced in coins

3 cloves garlic, minced

3.5 cups of already cooked, been-sitting-in-the-fridge-too-long, dry rice

1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce - you'll need more than you think

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1. Heat a large wok (or in my case, a stainless steel pot) until hot. Add one tablespoon olive or vegetable oil and saute the garlic and scallion whites.
2. Add carrot and mushroom. Saute until softened. 
3. Add the rice. Break up the large chunks with a spatula, but don't crush the rice. You want the grains to stay whole. Fry with the existing veggies and such, but keep the rice moving - if you let it sit it will stick to the bottom!
4. Season with soy sauce until desired saltiness is reached.
5. When the rice is dry and fully incorporated with the veggie mix, serve in large bowls.
6. Top with a sprinkle of scallion greens and sesame seeds.

Rosemary Roasted Potato Wedges

Simple, low maintenance, and a general crowd pleaser, rosemary potato wedges are a classy way to dress up this staple starch.


Rosemary Roasted Potato Wedges
5 potatoes (red skinned are great, but it really works with any kind you like) cut into wedges. Try to be uniform.
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried rosemary (crushed into smaller needles)
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt

1. Turn oven to 350 degrees F, middle rack.
2. On a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil, toss potatoes with olive oil and herbs until coated.
3. Place potato wedges standing up (on the round edge) so that the flat edges are exposed to the most heat.
4. Cook for 30 minutes. Stir and rotate wedges and roast for another 10-15 minutes until crispy.
5. Serve when cool enough to handle.