Mousaka

http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/615902

salsa salad

salsa salad

sugar free banana bread

 It uses honey and applesauce instead of sugar and oil. 
 Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
3/4 cup honey 
2 eggs, beaten 
3 mashed overripe bananas 

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

* I have not tried this yet but it looks good.

sugar free

sugar free frosting

sugar free brownies 
they are good not amazing but great to give to kids and they will think they are great.

chicken a la king
this was good I made mine too soupy but that is because I changed some things stick with the normal and it is good and not soupy.

sugar free carret cake

first birthday sugar free recipies
I made the banana apple sauce cake and it is good, it need frosting or it feels a little lacking, but all cakes need frosting, I will make the frosting later today and see how they taste together.

Veggie Burgers

I tried experimenting with veggie burgers....... to torture my husband (bwah haha) - and he liked them. And I think they are pretty good too, so we will be making these often. Another great thing about these is you can add in some other veggies you have on hand and need to use up as well. A handful of mushrooms would go good if you like them. I don't, but I'm going to try putting them in next time because maybe it will mask the texture for me!

They also freeze great and if you don't have left over buns they make good left overs on top of a whole wheat tortilla.......(with sriracha sauce on top too, MMmmmm!)

Here's my recipe:
(Adapted from 100 days of real food)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup garbanzo beans
• ½ cup frozen or fresh corn kernels (no need to thaw the frozen ones)
• 2 scallions, or 1/2 a small onion, coarsely chopped
• ½ red (or green) bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
• 1 small raw sweet potato, peeled and chopped into big chunks
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• ¼ cup carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ cup bread crumb
• ¾ cup grated cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you want)

Instructions

1. In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the corn, scallions (or onion) and bell pepper. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
3. While those veggies are cooking put the peeled and cut potato into a food processor (with the regular slicing blade, it is not necessary to use the grating blade) and chop it up into fine little pieces.
4. Scoop the potato out onto an old, clean dish towel and twist it tightly over the sink to squeeze all the liquid out of the chopped potato. (I didn't actually do this and it was fine without it.)
5. Meanwhile, add the garlic, cumin and cayenne to the veggie mixture on the stove and cook for 30 more seconds.
6. Remove the pan from heat and add the chopped spinach which should wilt slightly.
7. Next, add all of the vegetables to the food processor as well as the egg, bread crumbs, garbanzo beans, and cheese. Process until all items are blended together well (scrape the sides as needed.)
8. Use your hands to scoop up some of the mush, then form it into the shape of a burger. Place them on a plate lined with sheets of wax paper until you are ready to cook and/or freeze them.
9. Using the same non-stick skillet, heat 2 more tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the burgers on both sides until brown (being gentle when turning them over).
10. Toast hamburger buns if desired and serve! Goes well with zucchini chips or baked potato cubes drizzled in olive oil and garlic.

Hope you enjoy!

Spinach and Walnut Stuffed Manicotti

Spinach and Walnut Stuffed Manicotti

This was a recipe I made up using two other recipes. My husband really likes meals to have texture, even when there is no meat- and adding the walnuts to this made it even more enjoyable- for us at least. If you're worried just let your family and friends know to expect the crunchiness and then it tastes pretty good. 

This is super easy to make, especially since you don't have to cook the noodles first- although you do want to plan on some extra prep time for stuffing those shells. I'd say give yourself 20 extra minutes just in case. It also works well to double this recipe and then put one of those casseroles (not yet baked) in the freezer for another busy day when you can just pop it in the oven! So yummy! Goes well with a salad and some fresh veggies or fruit.

Ingredients

• 1 package manicotti noodles
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 (15) ounce carton ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 oz.)
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (4 oz.)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup chopped spinach 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 (26) ounce jar thick and chunky pasta sauce (2-3/4 cups)
• 1/4 cup water

 Directions

1. In a large bowl stir together the eggs, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 3/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, the walnuts, spinach, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
2. Combine one cup of the spaghetti sauce and a quarter cup of water together. Spread evenly into a 13x9 inch baking dish.
3. Now preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Using a teaspoon or clean hands, stuff each shell with equal amounts of the cheese mixture until it is almost falling out of both sides. Place stuffed manicotti into baking dish. Pour remaining cup of spaghetti sauce over the top of pasta. Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Easy Whole Wheat Tortillas

This month I've been experimenting quite a bit to make more things that I normally buy at the stores, in order to cut out more of the overly processed, sugar, and preservative filled foods. One thing we use often at our house is tortillas. For tacos, burritos, wraps, pb&j "sushi"- if there aren't some tortillas somewhere in our kitchen we just might not make it through the week! But buying the healthier whole wheat choices of tortillas at the stores is just more expensive and I can't even be sure when they say "100 % whole wheat" that it really is- not to mention, they aren't always nearly as tasty as the white tortillas.

I've wanted to learn how to make some good tortillas for a long time now but haven't been able to find a recipe where the tortilla actually folds like a torilla is supposed to. And I also wanted something that wasn't an insane amount of work- I mean, I'm already going to be making dinner and I do have kids to take care of too.

Well, I finally stumbled across a home made whole wheat tortilla recipe from a blog called 100 days of real food and not only are they super easy to make, they are super delicious in my opinion! (Actually the more recipes I try from this blog the more I love it- I will have to feature some other recipes I've tried from it soon.)

I made these tortillas with a friend who doesn't eat whole wheat as often as we do and so she was a little more suspicious that they would even taste as good- and she loved them too! So if you are in need of a good and easy whole wheat tortilla recipe too- look no further! Here it is:

Whole-Wheat Tortillas

SERVES: 12 TORTILLAS

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ cups whole-wheat flour (King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour or your favorite whole wheat flour)
• ½ cup oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or  and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.