What's up stud muffin?

I woke up early this morning- smooshed between my husband and our 5 month old- and decided I wanted to make muffins for breakfast. I have a recipe that I use all the time. It's kind of the family muffin recipe, one of my sisters and my mom use it. It's really good, but not really healthy...think 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of oil, white flour...they could be healthier. I thought why not try to make them a better breakfast option. This is what I came up with:

Rise and Shine Pumpkin Muffins

3 Cups Whole White Wheat Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

3 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce

1 Cup Honey

2 Cups Pumpkin Puree

3 tsp Vanilla

3 Eggs- I used Ener-G egg replacer

1/4 Cup water(eyeball it, if your batter seems wet enough leave it out)

1 Cup Chopped Nuts, Optional

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix all wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix well. Pre heat oven to 375* and cook for 15 minutes. Use a tooth pick to make sure they are done. Cool on a rack(if they don't get gobbled up to fast). Makes about 24 Muffins.

I was trying to get these done This morning so I had to through off my sons whole morning routine, he normally eats before he gets dressed but today he was all ready for the day before he got to eat. He gobbled 2 muffins and said they filled him up- this is unheard of lately, the kid is always hungry!

These where taken with my phone, nothing like finding out you're batteries are dead in you camera right when you need to use it, so they are not the best picture. You get the idea right?

I am loving these muffins and the fact that my family is loving them too! Yay!

My thoughts and good Documentaries to watch

I made the choice to me semi-veg when I was 17 or 18 after reading a book(I can remember the name, come on it's been over 10 years!) that had some statistics that floored me. I started eating meat again about a year later, but it was in total moderation.

Fast forward through graduating, getting a job, getting first Apt., meeting hubby, getting married, having 1 child and 6 of his years. Then you end up with me being vegetarian again. Then trying the whole Vegan thing, that lasted about a month. I felt so good while I was vegetarian, more energy, I slept better and had an over all feeling of wellness.

I found out I was pregnant with #2 in Dec. 2010 and tried to have a veggie pregnancy but unfortunately, fruits and veggies made me totally sick for the first 4 months and I really didn't feel that I knew enough about nutrition to make sure that Baby and I were getting what we needed.

She's here now and I want very much to get back to my vegetarian lifestyle. It's been a slow process so far. I'm working on making some of my favorite meals meat free(I'm not a big fan of meat substitutions). I think I've done some pretty good ones.

I have to say, I hate the way animals are treated on big farms and the butchering process. BUT that is not my reason for wanting to avoid meat. I just don't like it that much. I have never been a fan of red meat. I feel better when I don't consume meat.

Now here are some really good food documentaries that I think everyone should watch:

Food INC.

Food Matters

Forks over Knives

These are my favorites. As soon as I get batteries back in my camera(They keep being confiscated by the males in my house for video games controllers) I will be posting the meals I'm working on. In the meantime watch the 3 documentaries.

What a slacker

I haven't posted since Nov. How lame am I? To be fair a lot has happened.
1. We are expecting baby # 2 and guess what? It's a GIRL!! WoooHooo!
2. We are expecting a baby and I was sick for 4 months
3. I was lazy(why lie, right?)

I have been eating meat occasionally. Some days I feel like I need it. As soon as the baby gets here I'm jumping back on the wagon. I think that a lot of people would wonder why I did just do a Veggie pregnancy. I have what I think is one great reason.

I didn't know enough.

I'm not an expert on getting what I need without meat when I'm not pregnant so I felt it wasn't a healthy option for baby and I. I still do a lot of my meals meat free, just not all.

My newest discovery is the Greek Salad. YUM!
http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_greek_salad.htm

I know that Feta is one of those things that you either love it or hate it. I happen to love it. If you're not a fan leave it off. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Enjoy,
The Slacker(I promise to be better!)

Ready to snicker? These are called "Pasties". You can call them whatever you like, we say it so it doesn't sound the way it's spelled. All I need is for my son you go to school and tell everyone that his mommy made pasties!
I'm giving a version of a recipe that I found. I have made changes to the recipe and have listed how I made them. The only thing I didn't add was that I put asparagus in the pasties I made. They were fantastic! Logan loved that he could eat them with his hands.
I hope you will try and enjoy this recipe!

Pasties
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, sliced thin
1 turnip, peeled and diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1/4 pound mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 pound shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten

The Crust:
• 2 cups flour
• 2/3 cups butter (or Crisco)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Divide pastry dough into four equal portions and roll each one out in a square shape. Set pastry aside to rest.
3. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter or margarine and allow to melt. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes, until translucent and beginning to brown. Add carrot, turnip, potato, mushrooms, and water. Lower heat and cover skillet. Allow mixture to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. In a small bowl add milk and whisked 1 egg. Stir this mixture into cooked vegetables. Continue to stir until mixture thickens. Add cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.
5. Place 1/4 of filling on one half of each pastry square. Fold pastry diagonally and seal edges. Brush tops of pastry with beaten egg.
6. Place pasties on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.

Menus

Ugh! Am I the only one who doesn't like making menus every month? I would rather clean the bathroom...well almost. I decided to try something new, hoping it would make the whole process easier. I made a list of 30 meals that I thought the family would like and that I could make a portion meat free. Then I found a great printable menu and picked 2 weeks worth of meal and put them on 2 of the menus. So far it is working out great! I can't wait to make and take a picture of tomorrows meal. Stay tuned! I will be getting more posts out soon, a lot of things came up this month that kept me from posting.

Fall=Warm yummy soup!

I haven't been posting in the last week because I really haven't cooked in the last week(good reason, eh?). I was in FL for a few days for my Grandmothers funeral and most of the food was brought in by friends and neighbors. This was my first day cooking from scratch and having it not be Spaghetti.
Here in MI, the weather has taken a turn and we are welcoming in fall. For me this means a few things. First, it means the weather cooling down. Second, it means that leaves changing(LOVE that!). Third, it means I can make soup again without melting while eating it!
Everyone loved this soup! I was surprised that even Logan and Estrella(my sweet "god-daughter") dug in with gusto.

Butternut Squash and Onion Soup

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 medium or large sized onion
  
• 1 large baking potato
  
• Garlic powder to taste
  
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 3 cups water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, optional
• A handful of chopped fresh chives
  

1) Peel and cut Squash into smallish chunks. Cut Potato and Onion into small chunks(smaller than the Squash).
2) Saute Onion in Olive Oil until tender(It helps if you do this in a large sauce pan). Add Squash, Potato, and broth to pan.
3)Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 min.
4)Remove small portions from pan and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until it reaches the consistency you desire.(I put the blended portions into a large mixing bowl until the pan was empty and then poured it all back in the pan).
5)Salt, Pepper and Garlic to taste. I served the soup with whole grain french bread. Yummm.

By the way- My husband was really surprised by how filling this meal was.

This made enough for about 10 to 12 servings.

Tortilla Soup

I love this soup! It's really yummy, and one of the best parts is, if you are the only one eating it, you can freeze some and just just as good as when it was first made. Just leave the Tortilla chips out, put in a freezer safe container and there you have a meal for another day.

Tortilla Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1 tsp chili powder

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans black beans

1 can Veggie broth

10 oz package frozen corn

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup crushed tortilla chips

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice.

1. In large saucepan, heat oil medium. Cook garlic and chili powder until fragrant about 1 minute.

2. Add tomatoes with juice, beans, broth, corn and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Bring soup to boil, reduce to simmer. Add tortilla chips and cook until softened about 2 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Serve with extra tortilla chips.