thoughts on a page: recipe rendevous

Here is a list (in no apparent order) of some of my favorite recipes. Warning, I am a sweet tooth and a carb fiend so these things may be a slant bit biased. I will list things separately that I have yet to make but sound great and I will include any notes or comments on the recipes I've already made. Here is to a delicious and healthy life! Good appetite.

Tried & True with commentary and links:

Farmer John's Pumpkin Bread

I skip the raisins and nuts and the bread turns out perfect every time.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

A faithful favorite. Great source of protein with the cottage cheese. Fast to make and delicious to eat!

Buttermilk Berry Muffins-

Delicious muffins and turned out with a crumbly but delicious texture and flavor. Reduced sugar to 1/2 C but still sweet.
unique recipe in that it calls to stir in the lemon zest and the berries into the dry ingredients before adding the wet but makes a thick dough-like batter and then I spooned a few large spoonfuls into the muffin cups and baked

Black Olive Tuna Panini Sandwiches (my own recipe): (makes about 4 large sandwiches), prep time 5-10 mins, cooking time 5-10 mins

2 T capers
2 cans of tuna (5 oz each) oil packed and drained
zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1/4 t salt and pepper, each
2 T olive oil
1- 1 1/2 t dill
1/2 C pitted kalamata olives
directions: put all ingredients (less tuna) in a food processor or blender and create marinade then mix to coat in a bowl with the tuna. If grilling, brush olive oil on the outside of two slices of sourdough or whole wheat bread, pile with a generous helping of the tuna mix and grill until desired. The tuna mix would also go lovely with crackers or chips as an appetizer dip.

Grandma's Buttermilk Waffles:

notes: these were delicious. They came out perfect. The batter was thick but easy to pour. Contrary to some of the other reviews for this recipe, I didn't find it salty at all (however, I did use unsalted butter, this could make a huge difference). I added a little vanilla and then put fresh strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar on top. My only "complaint" would be that the buttermilk flavor was a bit too mild for this girl but it may have been slightly masked by the other toppings! Made 4 large waffles and have a leftover bowl of batter in the fridge for another morning all ready to go. One thing I loved about this recipe is that it didn't require the egg whites to be beaten until frothy (can be time consuming when you just want to whip up some waffles) and I still felt they turned out great. Recipe was easy and delicious and mixed up quick and easy.

Pumpkin muffins: (notes: a lot of times I try to stick to the recipe but I like a spicier muffin so I added 1 tsp nutmeg; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 1/4 tsp ground allspice; 1/2 tsp ground ginger. Didn't have sour cream on hand so I used plain non-fat yogurt instead. Made some with topping and some without. Both came out lovely with dense heavy texture like a pumpkin bread! My toddler helped make them and gobbled them up fresh out of the oven. Will definitely make again. Made the full 18 muffins. If you have leftovers put in the fridge. I find muffins made with yogurt don't keep well overnight without being refrigerated- they get a little sticky.)
Homemade Croutons (my new favorite)

A few notes: I substituted garlic powder for the minced garlic (1 t) and went generously with the pinch of cayenne (adds a little spicy zip) and I used smoked paprika instead of the "regular." These are delicious as a little snack or on a salad! Warning, after about 5 days they will get a little soft and chewy so eat them fresh or within a few days. Store in an airtight container.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Notes: I used frozen broccoli and just let the soup simmer a bit longer and it sort of made a mix between the blended and the chunky so it turned out great. Served with Turkey panini sandwiches and it was a hit. Rich and tasty and leftovers reheated nicely with good flavor. Used fat free half & half and 2 percent milk and it was still rich and creamy. I have made other cream soups and this was nice because you add the flour to the onions and make the rue that way which turns out nicely rather than adding flour to a small cup of milk and stirring in separately (hard to keep smooth and without lumps that way).

Oatmeal Chocolate Chips with Applesauce

Notes: as many reviews on websites will tell you, when you substitute butter for applesauce it does change the consistency. These certainly turned out in the "cake-like" category but I found them to be tasty and relatively guilt free since they didn't contain any butter. Used 1/2 t cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves as one reviewer suggested and it made for a nice finish. I froze the extra cookies and was able to eat them fresh out of the freezer without out any real defrosting.

Peanut Butter Fruit Dip:

recipe: 1/2 C peanut butter, 1/2 C non-fat plain or vanilla yogurt, 1/4 C powder sugar- blend until smooth and add sugar or vanilla to taste depending on tanginess of yogurt or finished flavor desired. Delicious with thinly sliced apples to dip into or other fruit. I added a bit of chocolate to this (you could just use cocoa powder) and spread it on chocolate cupcakes as a frosting. Nice because it wasn't too sweet and made a fun frosting.

Lemon Buttermilk Poppy Seed Muffins:

note: these are delicious, they are light and fluffy and stay fresh for a few days in an airtight container for a few days. They aren't dense (if that is what you like) but they have nice lemony flavor with a bit of tang (from the buttermilk). I didn't have the lemon essence/oil so I just skipped it and went a little heavy on the lemon juice...seemed to work out just fine. They also came out of the muffin cups so easily. Generally I have to wait until the muffins cool before removing them from the paper wrappers but these were a delight. No other modifications necessary for a perfect muffin.

Thin Crust Bread Machine Pizza Dough (for 2 round Medium crusts):

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F.)
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons semolina flour
~~{3 tablespoons Dough Relaxer (optional)~~} (I haven't used this so I don't think it is necessary)
3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

notes: (don't chill this dough; it has a tough time rising after being chilled. I have tried this recipe several times and really like the results. I wouldn't say it is "thin crust" as the recipe reports but it certainly turns out less-bready and more crunchy. Brush a little melted butter or olive oil on the exposed crust before baking for a crisp crunchy but still moist crust).