Crepes - a healthy version

I found this recipe is a cooking magazine and I loved the idea of making breakfast crepes. The only problem is that we need to watch out for fat and cholesterol in my house, so I made a low fat version. I checked it out with my nutritionist and she gave my variation the ok for a low cholesterol diet.

Original version
Simple Crepes:
1 c. all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 c. whole milk
4 large eggs
3 Tablespoon melted butter.

The directions say cook 1/3c of batter on a lightly buttered non-stick skillet.

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My variation
1 c. all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 salt
3/4 c. powdered milk (just the powder)
1 1/2c. skim plus milk
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
3 tablespoon light margarine (melted)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until it is the consistency of 1/2 and 1/2. Using a measuring cup, pour 1/3 cup of crepe batter into a hot 12 inch skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cook into the first side is dry and lightly brown (about 2 minutes). Turn it over and cook the other side (about 1 minute).

This recipe makes about 10 crepes.

In terms of fillings I like turkey slices and low fat Swiss cheese. Or for a treat, sliced fresh bananas with a smear of nutella.

I made a batch with my version of the recipe yesterday and me son LOVES them. I was thinking about making some and putting them in the freezer for an after school snack.

Strawberry Snow IceCream

My kids have been going WILD for Strawberry snow icecream this year. I think I made it once last year and apparently they remembered!

Here is the recipe

Bowl of fresh snow (or shaved ice)

In a separte bowl mix:

1/3 cup of milk
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon strawberry extract

Using an icecream scoop, I scoop 1-2 scoops of fresh snow into a small bowl. Drizzel the milk mixture over the snow. Voila!

Red Velvet Cake - Repost

As red velvet cake is so bright and festive, i'm posting is again for the holiday season! I frost it with a light airy, cream cheese frosting. DELISH!!!!

Whatever you're celebrating this time of year, May Your Days Be Merry And Bright!

Super Moist Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 c. flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 teaspoon apple cidar vinegar
1 3/4 c. vegtable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (1oz) bottle of red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything thoroughly in a bowl. Pour into 2 or 3 round cake pans. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

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Cream cheese frosting

1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar

Pumpkin Cake Recipe

This cake is an AWESOME fall treat. This recipe and the Red Velvet Cake recipe are my faves for the Fall/Winter season!

Pumpkin Cake Recipe

1 c. vegtable oil
3 eggs
1 (15oz) can of pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Mix oil, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla. Then mix in remaining
ingriedients. Bake approximately 35 minutes.
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Cream cheese frosting

1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar

Mix together thoroughly. Frost cooled cake.

Summer Salsa

One of my favorite things about summer is making fresh salsa. This recipe can be tweeked to meet your needs and the needs of your family.

Here is the basic fresh salsa recipe

Basic Salsa
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped yellow, green or white onion
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 to 2 jalapeño
Salt to taste

Now that recipe is amazing and delicious as is. BUT there are some variations that really take it to the next level!

Thick Salsa
Same recipe as above + 1 6oz can of tomatoe paste

Tropical Salsa
Same recipe as above, but instead of tomatoes use fresh pineapple, peaches or mango.

Salsa Add In's

• Steam one fresh ear of corn. Cut the corn from the cob and stir it into the basic salsa.
• Drain and rinse 1 can of black beans. Add to basic salsa
• Use a combination of tomatoes and mangos or tomatoes and pineapple.
• If you like your salsa sweet, stir in a teaspoon of sugar

This recipe is only limited by your imagination!!!!

Oatmeal Raisin Spice Muffins

Last night we did breakfast for dinner. I had a few of these yummy muffins in the freezer. Once thawed, I grilled them with a tiny bit of butter. YUMMY!

1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. flour
1 c. oatmeal
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. raisins
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. all spice
1/4 c. chopped nuts

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups (2 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches). Beat egg, stir in milk and oil and raisins. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown about 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan. Makes about 1 dozen.

Fried Spaghetti - a GREAT way to get rid of left overs

When I was a kid my mom used to make fried spaghetti from time to time. She used bacon grease and it was greasy, spicy and wonderful! I like the idea of this quick treat but it needed a bit of a re-do.

Listed below is the recipe that I made from my family last night. This is a quick and easy version and I didn't really measure anything. I used the leftovers that I had on hand.

In a large skillet I heated olive oil, sliced onions, thinly sliced carrots and red peppers. To get the carrots nice and even, I used a veggie peeler and sliced them lengthwise.

Once the veggies were tender I added fresh garlic, cooked (drained) spaghetti, chili powder -you could also use crushed red pepper flake (to taste) and ketchup. Sometimes I used left over jar pasta sauce. Don't add too much ketchup. Just enough to thinly coat the pasta.

I toss everything around in the pan until it is evenly heated and serve.

That's it!

The ketchup cooked into a slightly sticky, sweet and spicy sauce. My youngest ate 3 plates!

Hey it just occured to me that you could easily do this is a wok! I used an iron skillet and it worked out just fine!