Rebekah's Insights

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I don't like to often use canned soups, due to the use of MSG and high-fructose corn syrup, but for a quick lunch, this is one of our favorites. This is one of those meals the children and I all enjoy eating equally well.

1 can Campbell's Reduced Salt Tomato soup
basil--fresh or dried

Prepare with water as directed, but add fresh or dried basil to taste, prior to heating through.

1-2 baguettes
shredded cheddar cheese
dijon mustard
garlic clove or garlic powder

Slice baguette lengthwise. If using a fresh clove of garlic, cut clove and rub on cut sides of bread. Spread on desired amount of dijon mustard. (If using garlic powder, sprinkle on top of mustard.) Top bread halves with cheddar cheese and toast in 350 degree oven until cheese is melted.

We like to inhale dill pickles along with this meal and add in veggie sticks/applesauce/apples slices, whatever we have around for the day.

Mmmmm...enjoy!

1 cup dried tart cherries (I use Welch's. They are sweetened.)
2/3 cup soy flour
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp demerara sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
5 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
(OPT.) 1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 Tbsp demerara sugar

Combine cherries, flours, baking powder, and soda in bowl. Combine sugar, egg, buttermilk, butter, and extracts in separate bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients until blended and spoon into greased muffin tins. Before baking, sprinkle final Tbsp of sugar evenly over twelve muffins. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for twenty minutes or until brown.

Yields one dozen muffins.

Serving Suggestion: Serve for breakfast with yogurt.

A FEW NOTES ON THIS RECIPE:

I originally tried this recipe with lemon flavoring and decided that I really don't care for lemon flavored baked goods much anymore, so I went with almond--an excellent pairing with cherries. :) If you like lemon, substitute lemon extract for the almond variety and add a bit of lemon zest. It is great if you like lemon.

These are intended to be HEALTHY muffins and to provide between 4 and 5 grams of protein per muffin. If you're looking for the type of muffins made entirely with refined white flour to be eaten as a dessert/treat, you may well find the texture a tad on the grainy side (due to part whole-wheat flour) and may find them not sweet enough if you're expecting them to be more like a cup cake.

(I find them sweet enough, but I generally cut the sugar down in recipes, finding many of them too sweet--like a cake. I happen to really LIKE the texture created by refined white flour, but like to do a mix with whole wheat to create a breakfast treat that I can feel good about feeding to my children. I am told that if you can find whole wheat PASTRY flour, it allows the texture to remain much more like refined flour. I, at the present time, I have no access to such a delightful-sounding flour.)

One-third of the flour in this recipe is soy flour--making the muffins MUCH higher in protein than if you used entirely standard wheat flour. The soy flour will also enhance the browning of the bread, however, the already short baking time required for muffins should prevent them from browning before the muffins are fully cooked. If you attempt to bake this batter in bread pans instead, you may need to lower the baking temperature some or shorten the baking time. Mine were perfectly brown when perfectly done, but everyone's ovens vary!

Let me know if anyone tries these!

Some time ago I referred to oatmeal bars which I make with oatmeal leftover from the Baked Oatmeal recipe I shared previously. As promised, I am finally getting around to sharing the bar recipe. It is a great healthful breakfast treat (tastes more like a dessert) and convenient/economical in that you make the oatmeal one day and use the leftovers to whip up these bars to eat for the next day or two. Hey, maybe it's just me, but I love to save time, money, and eat something tasty, that is still good for me. :)

Oatmeal Bars

2 C. leftover oatmeal
1/2 C. honey
1 egg
2/3 C. natural creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2-3/4 C. mini chocolate chips

Combine oatmeal, honey, egg, peanut butter, and vanilla. (I also like to save dishes, so I use the baking dish in which I baked the oatmeal as a mixing bowl for this recipe. Go ahead, YOU can call me lazy, but I choose to think of it as "wise time and resource management"--cook twice, wash once!) Combine flour and baking soda; mix into wet ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy warm or cold. (Or cold but slightly re-warmed in the microwave oven!)

Yes, I did just use the words adventure and oatmeal in the same sentence. I was even referring to the oatmeal as a part of my adventure. Let me explain...

I fully realize that for some, the thought of oatmeal conjures up unsavory images of bland, lumpy breakfast fare from a by-gone era. If you are one of those, I am sorry for you and you can just skip over this post. But IF, you enjoy perfectly cooked and flavored oatmeal, you may find this of interest.

It took some tinkering with various oatmeal recipes to arrive at this which is now my favorite. (I mean it is my favorite today--ask me tomorrow and my favorite will be something else, of course. Then oatmeal will again be my favorite again next week--for one day. I am a foodie, remember?) As you can see, it really is as easy as 1-2-3. (Or 1-2-3-3?)

1 cup dry milk powder
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3 cups hot water

Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Voila!

Of course, after dishing out each portion into a bowl I create taste variations, but our favorite is a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. It is like eating a bowl of banana bread, which if you enjoy banana bread as we do, is a great thing! :) The reason why I don't add the flavorings to the whole batch is that I usually make enough for us to eat that day and then reserve enough to make our new favorite breakfast bars for the following morning. (See, each day there's a new favorite.) I'll share that recipe too, but not today. This is enough adventure for now. :)

As it is now November and the heart of the Autumn season, I find our tastes in food have shifted with the weather. Evenings are dark by 1700, and growing darker by the day, and with the sun goes every vestige of warmth lent by the bright sun. Rain falls often, and the winds begin to gather speed, a precursor to the gale-force variety of the coming winter months. All of these cues lead up to a desire for more hearty soups, crusty bread, roasted meats, and the like. Below is my tentative menu plan for this week.

Sunday: B: Whole grain peanut butter chocolate chip bars, yogurt, fruit juice, milk
L: Leftovers
D: Crispy chicken, oven-roasted potatoes, dill peas, ice cream

Monday: B: Whole grain peanut butter chocolate chip bars, yogurt, fruit juice, milk
L: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, veggie sticks, pretzels
D: Roast beef, garlic mashed potatoes, zucchini

Tuesday: B: Baked oatmeal with banana, maple syrup, and cinnamon, fruit juice
L: chicken noodle soup, fruit, crackers
D: Bacon, stuffed french toast, homemade applesauce topping

Wednesday: B: Whole grain peanut butter chocolate chip bars, yogurt, fruit juice, milk
L: chicken noodle soup, fruit, crackers
D: Beef pot pie w/ roasted veggies

Thursday: B: Whole grain peanut butter chocolate chip bars, yogurt, fruit juice, milk
L: --------
D: BBQ chicken skewers, baked sweet potato fries, broccoli

Friday: B: Oatbran cereal w/butter and brown sugar, fruit juice
L: Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, fruit, veggie sticks, pretzels
D: Pizza night->cheese & sundried tomato w/ham, salad/veggie sticks, ice cream

Anyone with any other good and hearty ideas for meals are welcome to leave a comment! No matter how many recipes or ideas I have a mind to try, inspiration from others telling what they intend to make always piques my interest!

I have been developing this recipe since summer time--yes, we still eat hot soup in the summer here, since it really feels much the same as Spring. :) Anyway, it quickly became Aine's favorite, not only at the dinner table, but also as the recipe of choice in her own play kitchen. (Scarcely a day goes by that I will not hear her announce to Liam that she is serving up "Punkin Soup." And as a good brother does, he comes running with his best "make-believe" appetite! ;) When she again requested it this past weekend, I decided to jot down the recipe in its more final stage and share it here with those of you who enjoy something autumnal and very easy:

Pumpkin Bisque

15 ounces pumpkin puree
3 Cups chicken broth (or water and 3-1/2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon)
1/2 teaspoon salt (delete if using bouillon)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground celery seed
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 Cup whole milk

Stir together pumpkin puree, broth, salt, white pepper, celery seed, minced onion in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then simmer for five to ten minutes, depending upon how thick you prefer your bisque. Turn off heat; add butter and milk and stir to heat through. Serve with sandwiches, cheesy garlic bread, crusty bread, or crackers. I also like to sprinkle a little parsley and parmesan cheese on top before serving.

As a side note, you could definitely use fresh chunks of pumpkin or other squash, fresh celery and fresh onion in this recipe, but it would necessitate using a blender to puree the bits and this recipe was designed to be a quick version. :) (The only bits are the tiny minced onion, which we don't mind.)

Enjoy your Autumn!

This morning Liam asked if we could make Orange Cranberry Buns for breakfast--one of his favorites and also a quick and easy morning recipe. We enjoyed them so much that I thought I would share. :)

Orange Cranberry Buns

2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 C. dried cranberries (the only brands available to me here are sweetened, so if you use unsweetened you may want to increase the sugar to the recipe a bit; it is your call)
3 Tbsp. melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. orange extract
1/2 C. whole milk

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder; drizzle melted butter over dry ingredients and stir through. Combine eggs, orange extract, and milk; add to dry mixture and stir until just moistened. Add dried cranberries and drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined (or greased) baking sheet. Bake in pre-heated oven at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes*** or until golden brown. Serve fresh from the oven or warmed, if made ahead.

Recipe makes 2 dozen buns.

***I have developed this recipe here using a fan-assisted oven, so I bake them for ten minutes, but anyone using a regular conventional oven (as I would assume anyone reading my blog would be) you may need to bake for 15-25 minutes until the buns are golden brown in color. (I have had to learn how much time to cut from baking recipes while here using this oven, because they will all burn otherwise.) Also, I always use parchment paper when I bake these--I like how low in fat they are, yet the parchment keeps them from sticking.

Serving Suggestion: We like to serve these buns warm from the oven along with fromage frais or yogurt and orange juice for breakfast, although they are equally delicious with a cup of tea or coffee. I really like to add milled flax seed and/or wheat germ to my baked goods, however we are so attached to the light, airy texture of these goodies that I have just left them alone for the pleasure of eating them. If I had access to whole wheat pastry flour, I would think you could get some whole grain into these without sacrificing the delightful texture. If anyone gives it a try, please leave feedback or if you do any other variation. We particularly enjoy the orange-cranberry combination this Autumn-time of year, but I'm certain there could be some other wonderful variations. My original ispiration for these buns was a recipe that featured cinnamon and raisins with vanilla extract. (I adapted and experimented with ingredients, amounts, and method to arrive at this final recipe.)

This is such a simple recipe and Liam really likes to get up to the counter and help measure, pour, and stir. He truly seems to enjoy the finished product all the more when he has had a hand (or two) in preparing them. So grab a little pair of hands, get to the kitchen, and try these Orange Cranberry Buns.