Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

This is just SO easy and SO AMAZINGLY GOOD!

Here's all you need:

2/3 Cup fresh or frozen strawberries

2/3 Cup sugar

 1 envelope whipped dessert topping mix

1 Cup low-fat milk

1 Cup nonfat yogurt

1 quart-sized zip lock freezer bag

Put strawberries and sugar in freezer bag. Zip closed, squeezing out excess air.

Mash strawberries and sugar together in the bag.

(my strawberries were frozen, so I waited for them to thaw a little for easier mashing)

Pour in the powdered whipped topping mix and milk.
Zip the bag closed and squeeze the mix to blend.

Open and add yogurt, seal tightly and squeeze mixture until well blended.
Keep at it until thoroughly mixed.

(If you have an immersion blender you can use it carefully inside the bag to blend if desired)

Put the bag in the freezer for a few hours to harden or freeze overnight.

You can obviously use any kind of fruit you like. I made this with some frozen papaya and WOW!

ENJOY!

Update: In place of the Dream Whip (for those of us here in PNG where you may not have it) I have used 1/3 C of milk powder. I didn't add extra sugar since it's sweet enough for me, but you could add a little more to taste.

Cake Mix Biscotti

I am a Biscotti maniac! I love to try different recipes of this wonderful cookie. Yesterday I needed something quick and I had some cake mixes in my cupboard that I would never get around to using. This recipe can be used with any cake mix (18 oz). As you can see below, I used a Carrot Cake mix here. I've also used a Lemon Cake mix before and added poppy seeds - YUM. So get creative because as you'll see, this is SO EASY!

This is all you need: 

1 Cake Mix

2 eggs 

1 Cup of flour

1/2 Cup butter (melted)

(nuts, chocolate chips, poppy seeds, or whatever creative addition will go with the flavor of cake mix)

Mix until it forms a ball of dough.

Divide dough in half and pat or roll out to about 1/2 inch thick (appx 5x8"). I put them on a silicone baking mat that I've cut in two to fit 2 small cookie sheets. You can use parchment paper or just grease the pan, but I find this the easiest for me. I use 2 cookie sheets because they fit in my oven best. You can put them together on one large cookie sheet as they won't spread much. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 325. If you baked these on baking mats or parchment paper, you can gently lift them off the cookie sheet to a rack to cool. If baked on a greased pan let cool on pan and remove carefully to cutting board.

Using a sharp knife, slice carefully into 1/2-3/4" slices. Try not to saw through the biscotti or it will break up. Place the slices back on the cookie sheet, cut side down (no need to grease pan at this point) and return to oven.

Bake for 7-8 minutes, turn slices over and bake another 7-8 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.

I topped these with some melted white chocolate.

You can get very creative with biscotti at this point. For the lemon poppy seed biscotti I make a glaze with lemon juice and powdered sugar and spread on top. For chocolate or other biscotti you can dip in melted chocolate. The possibilities are endless! Now if only my diet allowed me to actually EAT these...

Banana Muffins

I have 2 versions of this recipe. The first one is the "healthy" version (shown above) that I just re-worked from the original recipe that I used to make for my kids. I'll include that version too:

Banana Muffins (healthy)                          Banana Muffins (original)

1/2 C honey                                                            1 C sugar

1/2 C applesauce                                                  1/2 C margarine

2 eggs                                                                     2 eggs

1/4 C yogurt (or sour milk)                                    1/4 C yogurt (or sour milk)

1 tsp. vanilla                                                            1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt                                                             1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 C whole wheat flour                                      2 1/2 C flour

1/4 C bran                                                               1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking soda                                                 1 C mashed bananas

1 C mashed bananas                                            1/2 C raisins

1/3 C chopped dates or raisins                            1/2 C chocolate chips

1/3 C chopped nuts

Mix first 6 ingredients well. Add flour, bran (for healthy recipe) and baking soda. Add mashed bananas and finally the dates, nuts, raisins &/or chocolate chips. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Tortillas!

We have a number of recipes using tortillas, so it's time I add the recipe for making these things. Now my friends here in Papua New Guinea can just skip this one since we've been making these ourselves for years, but for the rest of you I've described MY method here and taken plenty of pictures all along the way...

These are made with whole wheat flour that has been sifted (for reasons you don't want to know), so the larger flakes of bran have been removed. You can use a combination of white & whole wheat flours or even just plain white flour for different tastes and textures.

Ingredients:
6 C whole wheat flour
1 T salt
1 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 C oil
2 C boiling water
  (boiling water will make them soft and easier to roll out)

Mix until the dough looks like this. Knead about 5 minutes. Dough should not stick to the bowl (or to your counter top if you are kneading by hand). If it is sticky, add a little more flour.

While it is kneading, clean your stove and counter top so the pictures won't show all the mess. Oh wait, that's just for me...

Cut the ball of dough in half, and then in half again and so on until you have 16 balls of dough. Keep them covered with a piece of plastic wrap.

Begin to roll out a ball of dough. It will stick to the rolling pin so I let it wrap around a bit and then pull it off. Put the "stuck" side of the dough down on your counter (it will help it stick to the counter as you shape it).

Roll out tortilla, pushing the thicker areas around to fill in the thinner areas as you shape it. Round is the preferred shape but it really doesn't matter. They're home made after all!
Peel gently from the counter top, flip over and place off to the side while you roll out another. If you do this, the tortillas shouldn't stick to your counter.

Put your ultra wide non-stick 2-burner griddle (that might be just me again) or another wide bottom pan on the stove and turn the burner(s) to medium. Not too high or they will burn, but not too low so they take too long to cook and dry out. It may take some experimenting. Let it get hot.

After the tortilla begins to bubble, turn it over (I just use my fingers - real FAST). It takes appox. 60-90 seconds on the first side, but only 30-45 seconds on the second side depending on how hot the pan is. Also, they may not bubble up at all, but still turn them over when brown spots begin to form on the bottom. Keep watch not to burn them.

ENJOY! You may never be satisfied with store-bought tortillas again :)

Strawberries, SOUR Cream & Brown Sugar

This one is not so much a recipe but more of a way of life. Just ask my kids... This is how we love our strawberries and I challenge you to try it once.

 Yes, that is SOUR CREAM up there (not whipped cream) - Oh so delectable!

We usually pile on more sour cream than this before dipping in the brown sugar, but for the sake of those trying this for the first time, moderation is the key. 

Warning: This may be habit forming!

Italian Meat Loaves

Combine

Mix

Shape

Top

Bake & Serve

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten
1/3 C bread or cracker crumbs
1/4 C milk
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C finely chopped onion (I used some leftover green onion here)
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 lb. hamburger

Topping:
2 T ketchup
1 T grated Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Add the hamburger and mix well. Shape into 4-5 individual loaves. Place on a rack in a greased shallow baking pan. Spread ketchup over loaves & sprinkle with the cheese and Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Salsa with Homemade Tortilla Chips

SALSA
Stir together the following veggies:
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large white onion, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
2 Tbs diced green chilies
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs fresh cilantro, minced
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Vary the chilies & jalapeno according to how hot you like it. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours (if you can wait that long!)

Homemade Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray each whole wheat tortilla (1 per person at least) with olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle with a little salt and stack on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife cut the stack into strips. Place in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm with the salsa you've been cooling! SO GOOD :)

Veggie Stir Fry with Brown Rice

Pictured without egg due to the fact that this was my bowl and I can't eat eggs. My husband's bowl had the egg in it, but no green veggies, which he could eat but chooses not to...

Ingredients:

1 egg
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 - 1 C chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 lg. carrot, sliced into matchstick sized pieces
1 C broccoli florets
1 C green beans, roughly chopped (I used frozen & broke them to size :)
2 cups brown rice, cooked & cooled (leftover brown rice from previous recipe)
3 T soy sauce
2 t honey (optional)
1 sliced, cooked chicken breast (optional)

Stir together soy sauce and honey if you want a slightly sweet taste, and set aside.

Beat egg with a fork. Heat wok over med-high heat. Add 1 tsp olive oil to hot wok. Add egg and swirl around to form a thin omelet. Cook about a minute, turn and cook another minute. Remove to a cutting board & thinly slice.

Add remaining 1 tsp. olive oil to wok. Add onion, garlic, carrot, broccoli, & green beans. Stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender. Add rice and soy sauce (and chicken if desired). Stir fry 3 minutes or until heated through. Add egg and stir to combine. Serve immediately. This makes 2 big servings.

Obviously you can mix up the veggies and include peppers or whatever you like, which we choose not to (because we don't like).

Tortilla Pizza - Garlic Ranch Chicken

This is our FAVORITE Friday night pizza! 

It's very light and extra thin - to help us stay extra thin...

First, put 2 tortillas down a on cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray (we love using whole wheat tortillas)

Spread minced garlic over the tortillas, and then spread Ranch dressing on top, coating all the way to the edges

Add your cooked chicken, sliced or shredded, and top with mozzarella cheese. I also sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese on top of that.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes. This is how my husband likes it - with Ranch dressing poured on top.

And this is how I like it!!!

 

Of course you can make it even "lighter" by using things like low-fat Ranch dressing and cheese if you're lucky enough have those thing available to you. Also add onions or peppers or whatever you like on top. We've done the same thing with barbecue chicken pizza and pepperoni too!

Oven Brown Rice

So not as scrumptious looking as the Coconut Bars, but a little balance here would do us some good! Brown rice is better for you and way more tasty than white rice. I'm not always successful with brown rice, but I get it right most consistently with this recipe:

2 Cup brown rice
1 t salt (or seasoned salt)
1 T olive oil
3 1/2 Cups boiling water
1-2 t chicken bouillon (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 2 qt. casserole dish that has a lid (or else you can cover the top with a double layer of aluminum foil that you pinch around the edges of the dish to seal). Put the rice, salt and olive oil in the dish, and pour the boiling water over it all. Put the lid on (or foil) tight and bake for 1 hour. Fluff with a fork and let sit 5 minutes with lid on. Delicious!

Later I'll use some of this for veggie fried rice...recipe to come!