Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins

I have fond memories of my mom making cornbread in a cast iron skillet when I was a kid. My siblings and I would enjoy a warm piece drizzled with honey. It was a special treat.
I don't get to eat cornbread very often now, simply because no one in my family really likes it and I don't want to eat an entire pan of it. And, it can be a very unhealthy food.

Because of all this, I was very excited when I spotted a recipe for Whole Wheat Cornbread in a recent issue of Food Network Magazine. It used whole wheat flour, a small amount of honey as a sweetener, and buttermilk. I made it a little bit healthier by swapping canola oil for the melted butter and I used nonfat buttermilk.

I decided to make these into muffins since those are easy to freeze and enjoy as a single serving. Much to my surprise my 5 year old really liked these. One by one, maybe I can get my family to like cornbread. This recipe is a great way to start that trend.

Here is the recipe for Whole Wheat Cornbread
* I used whole wheat pastry flour
* I subbed canola oil for the melted butter
* I used nonfat buttermilk
* I reduced the baking time by a few minutes

Whole Wheat Dinner Muffins

I don't usually serve bread with dinner, but when I saw these muffins I thought they would be a great way to liven up a week night meal. I decided to make them on a night when we were having soup and they were a great addition to enjoy on the side. My kids decided that they liked these better with some jam spread on them and I thought they were really good with or without anything on them.
I made a 1/2 recipe and got 8 muffins. They are fairly easy to mix together and bake up quickly. You do whip the egg whites and fold them into the rest of the batter, but that gives these muffins a really light, airy texture.

Here is the recipe for Whole Wheat Dinner Muffins
* I used non-fat buttermilk
* I used olive oil instead of butter
* I used non-fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream

Strata with Swiss Chard

I love growing swiss chard in my garden. It is so pretty and it has really done a great job producing lots of chard. I hadn't picked it for a couple of weeks, so when I went to harvest it, I ended up with more swiss chard than I have ever seen. I also had two whole wheat baguettes in the freezer that I wanted to thaw and use, so I somehow found this recipe and threw it together.

I love these types of recipes because you don't have to follow them to a tee. You can sub different veggies, according to what you have on hand and the results are still fabulous.
This was a really tasty strata that we all enjoyed.

Here is the recipe for Strata with Swiss Chard
* I used green bell peppers instead of mushrooms because I had them
* I used mozzarella and parmesan
* I added about a cup of cooked, shredded chicken to the bread, veggie, milk/egg mixture before cooking

Homemade Whole Wheat Strawberry Pop Tarts

Pop Tarts. I remember using some of my own money when I was a kid to buy a pack of Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts. My mom never, ever bought them and it was a treat to eat those things right out of the package.
I have seen a ton of recipes floating around for Homemade Pop Tarts. I decided to make some when I realized I had some leftover whole wheat dough in the freezer from this crostada. I had just enough dough to make 3 or 4 pop tarts. I decided to make a strawberry filling because for some reason, frosted strawberry poptarts are the most iconic to me.

The filling was great and so was the dough, but the icing was way too sweet. All of my kids thought it was just too much, although the texture of the icing was perfect.

These breakfast/dessert treats won't make an appearance very often in the kitchen, but it was a fun thing to try. Oh and if you live nearby- Happy first day of school!!

Here is the recipe for Perfect Whole Wheat Pie Crust from the Cheeky Kitchen

Here is the recipe for the Fresh Strawberry Filling and Glaze
* We all thought the glaze was too sweet. The consistency was perfect but it was just too much

Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

I have to apologize for the fact that my blog has been taken over by zucchini and summer squash, but when you pick at least 5-6 a day out of your garden, you kind of have to eat them fast and in everything. I have been using a small zucchini in my breakfast everyday, sauteed/ on the side of my eggs, but I still have to incorporate them into our dinners.

When I saw this recipe over at Ezra Pound Cake, I knew it would be a great one for a summer night. Light and quick. Lots of veggies. bright flavors. This dish has it all. I wasn't sure if my kids would enjoy the yogurt/lemon sauce since it was tart and well, quite lemon-y, but they gobbled this one down. And, I used grapes tomatoes from the garden. Nothing tastes as good as a home grown tomato. Nothing at all.

Here is the recipe for Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce
* I didn't cook my tomatoes, I just tossed them in when everything was mixed together

Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

This cake has made an appearance here before, but not in it's full-sized glory. And last time, I didn't include the ganache glaze. Those two things meant that it had to be re-made.
Not to mention the fact that it is delicious and I remembered how good it was even though I made it a year and a half ago.

Not to worry. We didn't eat this entire cake. It was part of the dessert table at a recent church gathering. It didn't last long and that didn't surprise me. This cake is a really good way to use some of your zucchini. Do you need any??- because I have some I could share!!!!


Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Cake from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking
use 9*13-inch pan or a 10-cup Bundt

Cake:
2 1/2 cups traditional whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, or vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips
Glaze: (optional)
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 tsp corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the pan of your choice. (I used baking spray w/ flour)
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, powder and salt in a medium bowl
Stir together the sugars and butter (or oil) in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.
Add half the dry ingredients. stirring until evenly moistened. Stir in the zucchini, then the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
If using a bundt pan, remove the cake from the pan and cool completely.
If using 9*13-inch pan, you can serve from the pan of invert cake onto a platter and drizzle with the glaze.

To make the glaze: Heat the heavy cream to a simmer, and pour over the chocolate chips in a bowl. Stir in the corn syrup, and keep stirring until there are no more lumps and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake, if desired.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I wasn't expecting to take a photo of these, but they were soo good and soo quick, that I felt I had to share them. I have made them a few times already and will continue to make them. I just love it when a whole wheat breakfast tastes so good. Plus, chocolate chips can make any child love anything. The batter is simple and it takes just a few moments to mix up. So, go whip up a batch. They are fluffy and perfect!

Unfortunately, I don't have time to make them today. We've got baseball tournaments, softball tournaments, a baby shower, a birthday party, another baseball game smack dab in the middle of that, and the list goes on. But, maybe tomorrow when the weekend slows down, I will make them again, because they are so delicious! Have a good one!

Here is the recipe for Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes from Recipe Girl
* I used low-fat buttermilk
* I added 2 Tablespoons of water to the batter, just so it was pourable
* I used milk chocolate chips
* I made 3-4 inch pancakes and got about 12

Lighter Everyday Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are a once in a blue moon treat for us around here.
Mostly because I think the work required is not really equal to the result. I do not mind a cinnamon roll every once in awhile but they aren't a favorite of mine.

I decided to give these particular cinnamon rolls a chance because they were both quicker and healthier, well, if a cinnamon roll can really be healthy in any way, shape or form. You know what I'm getting at.

This recipe is actually the first recipe that I have tried from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook and if this recipe is any telling of what the rest of this book has to offer, then I can't wait to get busy cooking and baking from it.

We could all tell that these weren't as decadent as a normal cinnamon roll, but they still had great flavor and the texture was just as good. Plus, they were ready in a fraction of the time. I mixed up the dough and right after that I rolled it out, filled it up and popped these in the oven.

My son was so excited that these were called "Everyday" cinnamon rolls because he figured that meant I could easily make them on a school morning. It is a possibility!
Recipe for Lighter Everyday Cinnamon Rolls
* using a bench scraper is essential so you can get this dough to roll up- it is very sticky and soft, but it is possible if you follow the directions
* I used low-fat buttermilk

Brown Soda Bread

Last night I all of the sudden got excited about making some St. Patrick's day food. One of the things that I really love is Soda Bread. I have made it before, but never with a recipe that calls for currants and mostly white flour. I love Brown Soda bread that is full of yummy grains and oats and is not sweet. It is hearty and delicious. Plus, it is so easy to make-kind of like biscuits, but you don't have to cut out shapes. All you do is mix the dry ingredients together, cut in a small amount of butter and then stir in the buttermilk until the dough forms. I decided to make a round loaf out of my dough, because it looks more exciting than a plain loaf of bread.

My daughter and I sliced a piece of this bread as soon as it came out of the oven and it is absolutely perfect. I love the color, flavor and delicious health-y taste of this yummy bread.


Here is the recipe for Brown Soda Bread from epicurious
* I used reduced fat buttermilk
* I didn't have wheat bran, so I used a mixture of flaxseed meal, wheat germ and old fashioned oats to make up that part of the dough
* I wanted a rustic looking loaf, so I formed the dough into a round, topped it with some oats, and baked it on a baking sheet

TWD- Great Grains Muffins

Today's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe- Great Grains Muffins, was chosen by Christine, who blogs over at Happy Tummy. You can find the original recipe on her blog.

I made these a few days ago and since I was still working my way through "the month without using or buying butter", I had to switch things up a bit in these muffins. I just used a little bit more low-fat buttermilk and some canola oil to make up for the butter that I cut out. I like muffins better when they aren't made with butter anyway, because then they seem healthier and more like breakfast food and less like cupcakes or dessert.

I also used more whole wheat flour than the recipe originally called for and used raw honey instead of maple syrup because I didn't have any maple syrup on hand. I used raisins and sunflower seeds for my mix-ins.

These muffins were delicious. They tasted healthy, but once again, that is what I like muffins to taste like. The oatmeal and cornmeal gave them great texture and flavor.

Go see what the other TWD-er's thought about these Great Grains Muffins by checking the LYL page over at TWD!

Great Grains Muffins

adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons low-fat buttermilk

1/3 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter or spray a muffin tin

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, eggs, and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and gently, but quickly stir together. Don’t worry about being thorough — if the batter is lumpy, that’s fine. Stir in the fruit or nuts, if you are using them. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the tops are gold and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto the rack to cool

Midwinter Minestrone

I can't believe that we are snowed in! I really thought when I moved from Utah back to Georgia we were leaving the snow behind, which was just fine with me.
But, the snow started to fall last night and when we woke up this morning, there was a nice blanket of snow on the ground. Luckily, they had already cancelled school, so we got to sleep in.

I have the perfect thing for a cold, snowy day like today-Rachael Ray's Midwinter Minestrone.

This recipe comes from Rachael Ray's new cookbook, Look + Cook. This cookbook contains more photos than her normal cookbooks and showcases some of the steps of the recipe, so you can look and see if you are proceeding with a certain recipe correctly. This particular recipe is also posted on many of Rachael Ray's websites. And it is one that she has made on at least one of her shows.

This was the first recipe I wanted to try from the book because I absolutely love minestrone and love to try different takes on it. It starts out with some cubed pancetta, which I found out a couple weeks ago really gives soup a great flavor. I used about 1/2 of the pancetta called for in the recipe to start off the soup. I used roasted red peppers instead of sun-dried tomatoes, simply because I had the roasted red peppers in the fridge. I really loved that this soup contains kale, one of my favorite dark greens.

The best thing about minestrone is that it is full of vegetables, but it is also hearty enough to be a complete dinner. We didn't need to have biscuits or breadsticks or anything else with this soup because it contained all the makings of a great dinner in one delicious bowl.


Recipe for Midwinter Minestrone
* I omitted the olive oil since pancetta lends enough oil to start off the soup, in my opinion
* I used jarred roasted red peppers instead of sun-dried tomatoes
* I omitted the mushrooms
* I used only 2 oz of chopped pancetta
* I used whole wheat shell pasta

Eggs Poached in Curried Tomato Sauce or in my case, Curried Tomato Sauce with a Fried Egg

Has anyone else been enjoying the articles and recipes by Mark Bittman in Cooking Light Magazine?
I sure have. I like his food philosophy. I can't say that I am a expert on him or what he thinks, but he has been popping up in different magazines lately and I like what he has to say.
He is trying to help people realize that you can enjoy lots of vegetables/plants and less meat/animal products and still have delicious food. That isn't his only point, but it is one that stuck out to me and I agree with him.

This is one of his recipes that was featured in recently in Cooking Light.

I decided to make this on a weekday morning just as a special treat for me. I don't usually do that with new recipes that I want to try- I usually make them for the entire family. But, my husband hates tomatoes and refuses to eat them, so this was a special treat for me after my morning workout. I was also excited about having leftovers for later in the week.

I am not a fan of runny yolks, so I decided to fry my eggs in a little bit of olive oil, instead of poaching them, although I am sure that the original way of preparing this dish is really delicious.
I love curry powder and the flavor that it gives to a dish. It really added something to this tomato sauce.
I loved how spicy this was. It was great. Such a yummy way to start the day, but it would be good for lunch or dinner too.

Recipe for Eggs Poached in Curried Tomato Sauce
* I didn't poach my eggs, I fried my eggs in a little bit of olive oil and then served it over a whole wheat english muffin
* I used olive oil instead of peanut oil and only used 1 Tablespoon


Have a great weekend everyone!

S'mores Cookies

When my sister was here visiting in August, we cooked dinner a couple of times together at my mother-in-law's house, (which also happens to be her mother-in-law since we married brothers)
and one day we decided we needed to make some cookies.
I had seen this recipe online and wanted to try it, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity since there would be lots of kids around.

I mixed up the dough and took it over to my mil's house. I baked the cookies while we were getting dinner ready and then we all enjoyed them before we watched a movie together.
These were pretty popular all around.
The combination of the oats and whole wheat flour give the cookie a nice texture that is slightly reminiscent of graham crackers. There is also a little bit of cinnamon which goes nicely with the other flavors. And who can resist toasted marshmallows? I don't know, but not very many people in my family can.

Recipe for S'mores Cookies
* I used dark chocolate squares for some of the cookies, but also used some plain old Hershey's chocolate for those who prefer milk chocolate

Whole Wheat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been wanting to try this recipe for Whole Wheat Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies ever since I went to the King Arthur Flour Baking Demonstration quite a few months ago. This recipe was included in the booklet they handed out after the demonstration.
I wanted to try it because it only uses whole wheat and because it is for a chewy cookie, which I prefer over other textures when it comes to cookies.

We had some new neighbors move in a couple weeks ago and I thought it would be the perfect time to bake the cookies and share them. Plus, my neighbor had already told me that she had a wheat grinder and made her own bread, so I had a feeling her family would appreciate the whole wheat-y "ness" of these cookies.

I read the recipe ahead of time, so I knew to mix the dough up the night before. It made it really easy to just take out the dough and bake up the cookies the next day.

My neighbors loved these! We really liked them too. Of course you can taste the whole wheat, but we all liked it that way. Give them a try!

KA’s Whole Wheat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup (7 ½ ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup (3 ½ oz) light corn syrup or brown sugar corn syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cup (9 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour
2 2/3 cups (16 oz) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place butter in a saucepan and heat over medium until it melts. Add the brown sugar to the hot, bubbly, butter and turn off heat. Stir sugar and hot butter in saucepan, allowing sugar to dissolve slightly from residual heat. Pour into a mixing bowl and let cool for about 30 minutes (or to room temperature)

Stir in the vanilla, salt, baking soda, baking powder, corn syrup and vinegar. Add the eggs, beating well after each. Add flour, stirring to combine, and then mix in the chips. Cover dough and chill overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or Silpat.

Drop the dough be rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies (reversing the pans midway through, top to bottom, bottom to top…if you are baking more than one sheet at a time) until they are just beginning to brown around the edges, 12 to 13 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the pan.

Remove with spatula.

Roasted Veggie Pizza

I saw a recipe for Grilled Veggie Pizza in Cooking Light and really thought it looked delicious. I decided to roast some veggies and make my own version of the pizza.

I roasted 2 huge half-sheets of veggies w/ olive oil, salt & pepper in the oven for 10-15 minutes @ 425 degrees F- which gave me enough leftover veggies for a quinoa/veggie dish and quesadillas later in the week.
The veggies I roasted were:
1 lb asparagus- cut in 2-inch pieces
1 eggplant-chopped
1 red pepper-chopped
1 green pepper-chopped
2 yellow/summer squash-chopped
2 zucchini-chopped

I used a whole wheat pizza dough from my local grocery store to make the crust.
I used my basic pizza sauce


The original recipe- Veggie Grilled Pizza
*I used fontina cheese and the fresh thyme/mint herb combination, like the recipe suggested but chopped my herbs before sprinkling them on top.

I really liked this healthy version of pizza and roasting that many vegetables at a time was great, because I had enough extra to last for a couple other meals during the week.

What is your favorite way to top your pizza?

Strawberry Mango Oatmeal Almond Muffins

It has been almost 2 months since my family came to visit from Utah, but I still have some of the recipes that I made when they were here to post.

My brother was begging me to make him muffins one morning and kept on coming up with all these crazy ingredient combinations.
I can't remember all of them but he wanted something like this: berry-oat-mango-applesauce-whole wheat-banana-nut muffins.

I remembered that we had leftover mango sauce from his birthday, so I decided to incorporate that into the muffins. Somehow I found a muffin recipe that included strawberries and a few other things and started messing around with it. I added the mango sauce, some whole wheat flour, oats, almonds- you name it and it was probably added to the batter.

The good news is that these muffins turned out tasting great. My brother was very pleased. Healthy tasting, not too sweet, but still with a great flavor and texture.

I wish he was here today so I could bake him more muffins. Nothing beats a teenage boy when you have baked goods to get rid of.

Strawberry Mango Oatmeal Almond Muffins heavily adapted from Cooks.com

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup quick oats

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 egg white

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries

1 cup mango puree (I used the leftover mango sauce from this recipe)

1 Tbls granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

sliced almonds

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. In bowl, combine flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; make a well in center and set aside.
3. In separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, egg, and egg white. Add canola oil, vanilla, and almond extract and beat well. Stir buttermilk mixture, strawberries and mango puree into well in flour mixture, just until moistened.
4. Fill prepared muffin tin 3/4 full. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over muffins. Sprinkle sliced almonds over top and lightly press them into the batter.
5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

I love browsing through cookbooks. A few weeks ago we were at a book store and I was thumbing through one of Giada's cookbooks, I don't remember which one, but I saw this recipe for pasta with roasted veggies.

I love roasted veggies. It is the best way to eat any vegetable, in my opinion.
My parents and brother were still here when I made this pasta dish and it was really good.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe, but they were small ones. I subbed in asparagus for the mushrooms, mostly because asparagus was really cheap and my family loves it and because mushrooms aren't my favorite.
I also used whole wheat pasta because I always do and my family likes it.
I didn't use smoked mozzarella because it was too expensive for me to buy, but I am sure that adds something special to the flavor of this dish. I just used mozzarella.

The leftovers were fabulous. My brother and I were fighting over them to the very last bite.



Recipe for Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
* I used 1 lb of asparagus instead of the mushrooms
*I used regular mozzarella instead of smoked
*I used whole wheat penne

Curried Vegetable Couscous

This is another great recipe from the Mayo Clinic Cookbook that caught my eye, even though there was not a picture provided alongside the recipe. Kind of disproves something I said the other day about pictures being the inspiration for the dishes I choose to cook and bake, but oh well!

I love anything that has curry in it. Curry powder, curry paste- whatever it is, I love it.
My mom used curry powder in quite a few dishes when I was growing up and I think that is probably part of the reason why I love it so much.

I made this to take to a family dinner as a side dish and it was well liked by everyone which meant I didn't get as much of it leftover throughout the week for my lunch, but at least it was a hit.
It uses whole wheat couscous, which is almost exactly the same tastewise as normal couscous.
You use a food processor to mince celery, carrot, red bell pepper, onion, garlic and gingerroot and then saute the veggie mixture with the curry powder. (That is why the whole dish looks yellow, not bad lighting, just curry powder!)
Meanwhile the couscous cooks up and then you throw the whole thing together. It was so easy and really delicious.

I am going to try it again with quinoa or millet and can't wait to eat it again!


Recipe for Curried Vegetable Couscous

Whole Wheat Linguine with Tuna, Spinach, Lemon, and Breadcrumbs

Here is a quick pasta dinner that we enjoyed a few weeks ago.
I saw it in an issue of Everyday Food Magazine and knew it would be quick and easy, which makes getting dinner on the table a little bit easier.

I changed a couple of things in this recipe. I used whole wheat linguine instead of normal spaghetti. I usually try to use whole wheat pasta whenever we have pasta dishes just to get some extra nutrition and whole grains into our meals. No one in my family can tell the difference between whole wheat and "normal" pasta. This isn't a picky food for us.
I used black olives instead of kalamata olives simply because I already had them in my pantry and my family likes the taste of black olives better than any other olive.
I also used albacore tuna.
I decided to wilt some spinach and add it to this dish because I wanted it to have some vegetables.

The fresh breadcrumbs and lemon flavor in this pasta really make it a winner. Everyone here really enjoyed it.
I saved the leftover breadcrumbs in a little baggie and then re-used them when I reheated the pasta that was leftover.

I also included the link to the recipe in its original form, in case making it that way sounds more appealing to you.

Whole Wheat Linguine with Tuna, Spinach, Lemon, and Breadcrumbs adapted from Everyday Food Magazine

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4 pound whole wheat linguine
  
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons sliced black olives
• 2 cans (6 ounces each) albacore tuna in water, drained
• 5 or 6 oz bag spinach
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse bread and 1 teaspoon oil until coarse crumbs form. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden, tossing occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Steam spinach in microwave or on stovetop. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta, and return to pot. Add lemon zest and juice, parsley, olives, and 1 tablespoon oil; toss, adding enough pasta water to coat. Add tuna; toss gently. Stir in wilted spinach. Serve sprinkled with breadcrumbs.

Recipe for Spaghetti with Tuna, Lemon, and Breadcrumbs

Chewy Oatmeal Cookie/Granola Bars

This month for Secret Baker, we had a healthy theme. We were encouraged to bake something a little bit healthier than usual to send in the mail.
I went to my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook to find a recipe.

I decided to turn the Chewy Oatmeal Cookie recipe into bar cookies and made some changes with the add-ins so the finished product would be kind of like a granola bar.
This recipe contains whole wheat flour and old-fashioned oats for the whole grains.
I decided to use dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips as my add-ins.
I also subbed in honey, instead of using dark corn syrup, simply because I didn't have any dark corn syrup.

I put the batter in a 9x13-inch baking pan and estimated the baking time. I went with 25 minutes and when I pulled them out of the oven, they looked done.

I let them cool, and then cut them into bars. I sent 1/2 to my Secret Baker recipient and half to my teenage brother, who adores oats more than almost anything.

I didn't try a single bite of these! ( Part of my goal for 10in10 is to eat less sugar and I am doing really well at not sampling baked goods! Yay!)
I just hoped for the best.

My brother LOVED these. And the SB person I sent them to, said they were really good.

I also recieved some goodies from Leslie, who blogs over at Lethally Delicious.
She sent me The Barefoot Contessa's (Ina Garten) Granola Bars and Fruit and Nut Squares from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies. Here is a similar recipe.
Both of these treats were really delicious!
Thanks Leslie!


Chewy Oatmeal Cookie/Granola Bars adapted from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking

3/4th cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
3 Tbls dark corn syrup (I used honey)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbls cider vinegar
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups traditional whole wheat flour
2 cups dried fruit: diced dried apples, chopped dates, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped dried apricots, or dried fruit of your choice (I used 1 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used 3/4 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

Cream the butter, sugar, corn syrup, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat in the egg. Add the oats, flour, dried fruit and nuts, and stir to combine.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies, reversing the pans midway through, (top to bottom, bottom to top), until they're beginning to brown around the edges but are still soft in the center, 14 minutes. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

* I spread the batter in a 9*13 inch baking pan and baked them for 25 minutes.