Pear Muffins Revised

I didn't make many changes, but I thought I'd note them:

-reduced sugar to 1/2 cup

-I had extra pears so I omitted the applesauce

-used 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 1/4 cups all purpose

The result is a little dense and not super sweet, but it's perfect for my fill-your-belly-snack purpose! My kids and hubby loved them. So did our little neighbor friend.

January 22 Menu

Breakfast: cereal, muffins at church activity

Snack: granola bars, bananas

Lunch: quesadillas, apples

Snack: pear muffins

Recipe--Spiced Pear Bread

3 cups pears, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup bean puree

3 eggs

3 1/4 cups flour

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

Combine first five ingredients in large mixing bowl. In separate bowl, mix dries. Add to pear mixture until just combined--do not overmix. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350, 10-15 minutes for mini muffins, 15-20 minutes for regular muffins, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Dinner: cheese ravioli, broccoli, sourdough garlic bread

cooked ravioli pictured without the sauce

Recipe--Cheesy Garlic Ravioli , adapted from Reader's Digest Kitchen Secrets

Pasta Dough:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 tsp olive oil

2 T oil

Filling:

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup shredded mozarella

1 egg

Sauce:

2 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 (28 oz) can Italian diced tomatoes

salt, optional

To prepare dough, combine dry ingredients. In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix well. Make well in center of dries and dump in wet. Work dough with hands and knead for at least 5 minutes or until pliable. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour. Combine all ingredients for filling in bowl. For sauce, sautee onions in oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened.

Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll each to 9x12" rectangle. Cut into 4 strips 3x9". Drop 3 mounds of filling on two of the rectangles, spacing about 1" apart and leaving 1/2" margins. Brush edges with water and place empty strip on top. Firmly press dough around edges to seal. Slice each strip into 3 ravioli. Repeat with both halves of dough.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Cook ravioli until semi-firm, yet tender--about 6 minutes. Drain well. Serve with sauce and freshly grated parmesan. Serves 4. (Makes 12 ravioli.)

Scob Scones

A 100% original muffin recipe, good for breakfast and snacks. The cornmeal, banana and soy milk provide enough flavor and sweetness to make sugar completely unnecessary. In spite of all the dry ingredients, these muffins are fluffy and moist.

A note on the name: a good name makes it much more likely that you'll look for and reuse a recipe, so I tossed around a few ideas and thought of an acronym using all the exciting healthy ingredients: SCOB (soy milk, cornmeal, oats and banana). I did a search to see if the word actually meant anything (I didn't want to name my muffins after anything gross, right?) and this is what I found:
-The word Scobs, meaning scrapings or dross of metal or other rough substances (dictionary.com). That sort of describes the origin of these muffins, which I made one day when I had to scrape together whatever was in my kitchen and try to come up with something edible.
-An archaic variation of scobe, "To scoop out roughly; to make hollow" (Joseph Wright, 1904). With all the fiber in these things, I'd say that fits!
-An American Kennel Club description of cocker spaniel breeds: ASCOB is "any solid color other than black." These muffins are yellow. There you go.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend together in a large bowl (if you don't have a stand mixer you can use a giant fork like I did):
1 banana, which can be fresh or overripe
1 to 1 1/4 C vanilla soy milk
1/3 C oil or butter (you're welcome to try a substitute but I can't guarantee the results; this recipe has no eggs so you need something stickyish)

Stir in, one at a time:
2 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1 C flour
1/2 C cornmeal
3/4 to 1 C oats

All that stirring should have made your batter nice and smooth, rather than heavy-looking.

Scoop with a 1/4 measuring cup into a greased muffin tin, filling cups 2/3 to 3/4 full, and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

I personally prefer unimposing flavors in the morning, but if you find these muffins to be somewhat bland, try topping them (or slicing them in half and stuffing them) with sliced bananas, strawberries or apples.

-Laura

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast, not dessert. My friend Katie and I adapted this butter-free recipe from allrecipes.com (original: "Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls"). It's a healthier variety than a lot of cinnamon rolls, and it is quick, light (as in fluffy), and sweet!
-Laura

Prep time: about 2 1/2 hours (rises twice for 30 mins. each, bakes for 30 mins.)
Yield: 20 small or 12 large rolls

Ingredients

3 T brown sugar, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 cup applesauce (note: use at room temperature or dough will rise slowly)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup diced apples (sweeter apples make better rolls)

Directions

1. Stir 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the yeast into the warm water in a small bowl.
2. In another small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar.
3. With stand mixer, beat together the eggs, applesauce, salt, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture. Beat in half of the flour until no dry spots remain.
4. Change to a dough hook. Stir in the remaining flour, a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form a sticky dough. Allow to knead for about 8 minutes.
5. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, then place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large inch rectangle. Spread the honey over the dough (it is hard to actually spread the honey, so try to use honey that drizzles slowly); sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar and apples. Beginning with the long side, roll the dough tightly and cut into 20 pieces (if you roll a smaller rectangle, you can cut 12 rolls instead). Place the rolls into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
8. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

January 21 Menu

Breakfast: oatmeal

Snack: pear muffins, bananas

Lunch: quesadillas, tangerines

Snack: carrots & peanut butter, ABC cookies

Dinner: pigs in blankets, leftovers (we've had a plethora this week, I know, but I'm cleaning out the fridge and freezer!)

Recipe--Pigs in Blankets

2 packages (16) hot dogs

3 cups flour

4 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/16 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Stir in milk until just moistened. Divide dough into 16 equal portions, roll into balls. Flatten ball with hand. Cover hot dog with dough, wrapping around all sides. Place onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 16; freeze leftovers. Reheat in microwave.

*without the hot dogs, this recipe makes really great biscuits. Especially drenched in butter.

January 20 Menu

Breakfast: blackberry spice oatmeal

Recipe--Blackberry Spice Oatmeal

4 cups water

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 tsp allspice

pinch salt

1 T brown sugar

1 cup blackberries (fresh or frozen)

Bring water to boil. Add oats, salt and allspice. Boil until water is mostly absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add blackberries and sugar. Mix well. Serves 4-6.

Snack: granola bars, tangerines

Lunch: PB&J, apples, milk

Snack: pear muffins

Dinner: soft tacos

Recipe--Soft Tacos

1 lb ground beef or turkey

1/4 cup (1 packet) taco seasoning & water

shredded lettuce

diced tomatoes

green onions, chopped/sliced

black olives, sliced

shredded cheddar or monterey jack

sour cream

salsa/guacamole

flour or corn tortillas

Tacos are really well suited to personal taste--these are just all the options I could think of. Brown meat and season with taco seasoning. Serve with toppings.

January 19 Menu

Breakfast: leftover cinnamon apple oatmeal

Snack: carrots, tangerines, pretzels

Lunch: PB&J, leftovers

Snack: apples, peanut butter nuggets

Dinner: pancakes, leftovers

Yeah, it was that kind of day!