Delicious Pumpkin Muffins

This is my favourite recipe for pumpkin muffins and is also great as pumpkin loaf if you are lazy like me and don’t want to bother filling all those paper cups 🙂

I purchased these muffin wrappers which I think look a little more spooky for a Halloween party I went to, but if you would like to make your own, you can find a tutorial here.

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2 Cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Oil – I use light olive oil which is pricey but healthy. Any quality vegetable or canola oil should do
• 1 3/4 Cups pure pumpkin from a can (be careful not to get pumpkin pie filling by mistake)
• 3 Cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Cups rasins or chocolate chips
• Brown sugar for sprinkling on top*Note: if you double the recipe, you can use a full 796ml can.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Mix together eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of ingredients (except the brown sugar).
4. Add bowl of dry ingredients to wet and mix all together thoroughly.
5. Fill muffin tins and sprinkle top with brown sugar.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean after poking centre)

Enjoy!

Easy AND Healthy Pie Crust!

I am going to share with you a very old family recipe from my great aunt who was a nutritionist many years ago at a fancy prep-school. I’m not sure where she got it from but it has been the “go-to” crust in our family for decades. To have a crust recipe without lard and/or hydrogenated oils that still tastes awesome and is quick and easy to make is a real find…in my opinion.

Recipe for 1 pie:

2 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 Cup Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons cold milk

1) Mix flour and salt together with a fork in a pie plate
2) In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and olive oil until well combined
3) Add wet to dry in pie plate, combine with fork and/or hands and press into plate until it is all an even thickness
4) Use fork to poke holes
5) Bake 425° for 15 minutes

It is not the fanciest crust but I like the rustic nature of it and when it is yummy and healthy, who cares 🙂

Here are a couple of pics of my fave rhubarb pie which I will post the recipe for soon. The first pic shows after it has been baked and before the filling is added.

Enjoy!

Best Cookie Recipe for Baking With Young Kids

I have been making this recipe since my kids were toddlers because it is about the simplest cookie recipe possible and it has some fun “hands-on” steps the kids love. Oh yeah, AND the cookies are delicious!

Thumbprint Jelly Cookies

1 Egg yolk
1/2 Cup white sugar
2 Cups flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)
1 Cup butter melted
jelly or jam

1) Preheat oven to 350F (177C).
2) Mix all ingredients except jelly and form into a big ball.
3) Break off small, meatball-sized pieces.
4) Have child roll piece into ball, then flatten ball with palm of hand.
5) Ask child to show you his/her thumb by sticking it into the air, then push thumb into centre of each cookie.
6) Fill each thumbprint with jelly or have child do this depending on how old he/she is.
7) Bake for about 10-15 minutes. That’s it, have fun!

“Ok Daisy, lets do a puzzle while the cookies bake.”

Steak Wraps with Aoli Sauce

Here is a wrap we seem to be making pretty frequently these days because it is easy, healthy and the whole family loves it.

First make Aoli Sauce from recipe found here.

Then we wrap up the following ingredients in a whole wheat wrap and chow down:

Red pepper sliced thinly lenghtwise
Thinly sliced Barbecued/grilled steak
Spreadable Cream Cheese
Organic Romaine lettuce
Aoli Sauce (here is that recipe again)

Easy and Delicious Aoli Sauce

This sauce is quick, easy and adds a tonne of flavour to sandwiches, wraps, or even use it as a salad dressing. My sister taught me this recipe except her version had lemon. Once I added lime instead because I was out of lemon, and I now do it this way all the time. I find lime has a stronger flavour so you don’t require salt.

Ingredients:
1 Clove garlic minced
1/8 Cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons (heaped) of mayonnaise (I like the canola mayo best)
**note: don’t use mayo that already has olive oil in it or it will coagulate.
1 Lime  (freshly squeezed juice of)
May need salt to taste but probably not.

Heat oil on stove and add garlic. Cook until garlic is just golden brown.
Next, rest pot with oil in another pot containing ice water (to cool the oil-garlic mixture).

Once cooled slightly, add the mayo and mix. The sauce will now start looking like this but don’t worry!

Once you add the lime (which is now), it all comes back together again to form a nice smooth creamy texture like this.

That is it!  “Easy, peasy, lemon lime squeezy!” (As my daughter’s teacher would say).

Just remember the goal is to taste salty and sour equally. If it doesn’t, you may wish to add some salt and/or olive oil and/or more lime to taste until you get it just the way you like. Enjoy!

Awesome Spinach Salad with Warm Feta Dressing

 

This is one of my favourite salads. It is easy, healthy and the combination of warm, sweet and salty make it a delicious staple in our family. The kids even like it! I got the recipe from my sister who is a fantastic cook but I am not sure where it originated from. When I find the source I will note it.

Ingredients
1 Bag of pre-washed baby spinach (preferably organic)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Red onion
1 Large handful of crumbled Feta cheese
2 Tablespoons Red wine vinegar or Sherry Vinegar or rice vinegar (I have tried them all and they all work well)

1) Wash spinach and spin or let sit to dry a little

2) Crumble a large handful of feta and set aside

3) Slice onion into 1/4″ slivers

4) Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in skillet 

5) Sautee onions in oil until carmelized (about 7 minutes) 

6) Place onions hot from the pan onto the spinach

7) In the same pan, add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, heat and ad your crumbled feta. Also ad the vinegar and heat until feta is melted and mixture is bubbling. 

8) Drizzle mixture over spinach and onion while warm. Toss and serve immediately. 

Note: Feta in this picture is not melted quite enough. There should not really be visible lumps of feta, although it is still yummy!