Big Mac in a Bowl (New to Us Recipe)

I’m not a huge Big Mac fan, but my husband loves them.  We decided to try this recipe.

http://healthytofit.org/big-mac-in-a-bowl-healthy-and-fit/

It was a hit.  I even enjoyed them.  I did make a few changes.  I used ground turkey, which I cooked with onions and bell pepper added.  I seasoned it with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  We also used a regular Thousand Island Dressing.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk Oat Bars Recipe (with "regular" flour directions included)

Chocolate Chunk Oat Bars Recipe

1 cup of Better Batter flour (or all purpose flour if not making gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups uncooked old fashioned oats certified gluten free (or not gluten free as desired)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (I like Enjoy Life brand), divided

Preheat oven 375 F.  Grease an 8" square pan and set aside.
In small bowl mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in oats.  Set aside.
In larger bowl, cream sugar and butter.  Add egg, water, and vanilla mixing until well blended.  Stir in flour and oats.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups of chocolates.
Spread dough evenly in the pan.  Sprinkle the last 1/2 cup of chips on top of the bars and press down slightly.  Bake about 30 minutes or until the center feels firm.  Cool on wire rack.

Cut into bars.

Blueberry Muffin Recipes

The Bisquick blueberry muffins are found here:

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/blueberry-muffins/ca00251f-d317-4b55-bdce-d32fa7d8c142


I do not thaw my blueberries.  I add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of orange zest.




The Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins:
by Nicole Hunn https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/

This recipe is from Gluten Free on a Shoestring and the following is my pithy directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together:
1 stick of room temperature butter
2/3 cup of sugar

Add in:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Beat until fluffy.

Add in:
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
2 medium super ripe bananas, mashed
Mix well.

In separate bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour
3/4 tsp xanthan gum  (if using Better Batter flour, omit this.)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until it becomes thick.  Fold your blueberries in.
Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes or until done.

Baked Spaghetti -- typed recipe

Baked Spaghetti (preheat 350F)

8 ounces of cooked spaghetti noodles, drained
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk
1 to 2 cups of shredded mozzarella
about 4 cups of pasta sauce with your choice of meat and veggies
parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top

Mix egg, milk, 2/3 of mozzarella, and pasta together.  Pour into greased dish.
Top with rest of mozzarella and the parmesan.  Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Pressure Cooker Mac and Cheese

This is my grandson's favorite mac and cheese.  It's my idea of fast, easy food.  A win-win!

Although I made this in the Instant Pot, I have tried it in two other electric pressure cookers with good results.

Written Directions for the Chinese Pot Roast

Teddie, I think this is what you need.  -- Shara

Chinese Pot Roast Crockpot Style

3 pound beef roast
2 tablespoons flour
salt/pepper

Flour roast and brown in oil. Put in crockpot and add sauce.

Sauce:
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce (or liquid aminos)
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 medium onion sliced or 1/2 tsp. onion powder

Cook on high, 10 to 15 minutes.  Turn to low and cook for 8 to 10 hours. 

Chinese Pot Roast -- Crockpot Recipe

This is a family favorite -- even my pickiest loves it.  As always it is a versatile recipe and you can alter the veggies to suit personal preference.  You can use almost any cut of beef because of the slow cooking.  You can also use the same concept with a pork loin.

Cream of Whatever Soup

Carol, sorry it took so long.  On a good note, I've finished both my classes this week.  I'm slowly working on catching up on the rest of my commitments.


An easy how-to for making any kind of creamy soup you would like for use in casseroles

Casserole Recipe

This recipe is such an easy recipe.  It is really versatile.  I've used canned goods, home canned goods, rehydrated dried goods, and/or a variety of leftovers in the past.

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

I finally found an enchilada recipe that got the thumbs up from both my husband and my daughter.  This recipe made enough for two meals for the three of us.  

Pressure Cooker “Egg Bites” aka “Mini Quiches”

Apparently these things are all the rage amount the IP community.

Starbucks sells some overpriced version.

This is my quick version.

6 eggs, beaten with a dash of milk added

Some crumbled cooked bacon, shredded cheddar, onion powder, etc.

1 cup of water under the trivet in the IP

6 minutes high pressure

5 minutes natural release

Remove from pressure cooker.

Cool for 4 minutes and pop from liners.

You can easily use silicone baking cups.

If you don’t have any or just want this little shape they sell various molds.

Obviously this is a pretty versatile way to use up leftovers.

Pretty much any meat will work, pretty much any cheese, pretty much any form of milk/cream, etc.

 These are perfect to make up on a weekend to grab to go with breakfast throughout the week.

Itty Bitty Cheesecake

Did anyone else like Larkrise to Candleford?  

Dorcas Lane would always refer to something as “my one weakness.”

Well cheesecake is my one weakness.

I love, love, love cheesecake.

In fact, I’ve never tried one I didn’t like.

Normally I would say that is a good thing, but I have to be careful because if it is around I can eat the whole cake.

Yeah...literally if given a day or two.

So in an effort to both indulge and limit my indulgence I made an itty bitty cheesecake.

I started with this recipe 

“Instant Pot Cheesecake for Two”

And immediately changed it.

Another weakness of mine, I suppose.

To be fair, who uses 6 ounces of an 8 ounce package of cream cheese.

So this is my version:

8 ounces of Neufatchel cream cheese (I use Aldi brand at 65 cents a package.

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt

2 1/2 tablespoons of Turbinado sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of Better Batter Gluten Free Flour

I let everything come to room temperature, put it in a bowl, and stirred it with a rubber spatula until it was smooth.

Then I added in 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips.

I put this in a small cheesecake pan that I lightly sprayed with oil.

I skipped the crust simply because I don’t have any GF graham crackers on hand.

They’re quite expensive and just so-so — I also haven’t tried making my own.

Plus I figure the chocolate chips will make up for the calories so I’m not cheating myself.

On the trivet, 1 cup of water, high pressure 45 minutes.  

Natural pressure release for 15 minutes and then finish releasing.

(The cup is shown for size comparison.  It is a standard 6 ounce coffee cup.)

Refrigerate.

Serve with whatever you like with your cheesecake.

Notes — If I make this again I will decrease the cooking time to 30 minutes and try it.

It wasn’t bad, but I think it could have cooked a little less time.

I’ll let you know how it does the next time I try it at a shorter time.

Pressure Cooker Breakfast Casserole (Recipe Included)

We started off our new year with coffee and breakfast casserole.

The recipe is pretty much my “unrecipe” style.

I used part of my dried food storage in it, but you could easily use fresh....simply saute the onions/pepper before adding and use shredded potato.

Breakfast Casserole

Rehydrate:

3/4 cup of hash browns

2 tbsp of onion

2 tbsp of bell pepper

When rehydrated, drain and squeeze in paper towel to remove excess water.

6 eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup of milk added

Stir in 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar.

Add about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of cooked breakfast meat.

(I diced bacon and tossed in the microwave for a moment to cook it.)

Pour into a greased pan that will fit inside your pressure cooker.

Cover...foil or a lid 

Set on rack and add about 1 1/2 cups of water to bottom of pot.

Cook on high for 30 minutes.

Let pressure drop naturally for 10 minutes.

Then release.

Let the casserole cool for a few minutes and serve.

My family really enjoyed this. 

It allowed me to not run the stove.

I also got to sit and drink my coffee with everyone instead of babysitting anything in the kitchen.

4 of 12 — Homemade Hamburger Helper

In my research for pinto bean recipes I ran across a recipe for homemade hamburger helper that had beans added.  I didn’t like the way that recipe sounded and decided to try another (simply adding beans.). This dish was a hit with my family.    My package of ground beef was large and I actually divided it into two.  (The second half was cooked up into taco meat with 3/4 cup of mashed pinto beans added.  A freebie if you will.  Simply add one or two teaspoons more of taco seasoning to your meat mixture.  I cooked this at the same time I cooked the hamburger helper and put it aside for the next day.)

The original recipe I used for hamburger helper is by Kimberly of  The Daring Gourmet.

Cheeseburger Macaroni

I made a few changes.  No avacado oil, no onion, I made beef broth using bouillon, I used tomato powder to make my tomato paste, I used Spanish style paprika, and I used cheese and pasta I had on hand.  I also stirred in almost 1 cup of pinto beans to further fluff the meal and add some more fiber.  (Gluten free pastas are notoriously lacking in fiber.)

This recipe yielded 6 generous servings.

1 of 12 — Mediterranean Pinto Bean and Rice Soup

Meal 1 of 12 for the 12 Days of Pintos

For ease of recipe finding for everyone, I’ve decided to try whenever possible to use recipes I find online.

This recipe is the first in our plan.

Mediterranean Pinto Bean and Rice Soup

I’ve revised the recipe slightly to match both the pressure cooker and my daughter’s food preferences.

The original dish is cooked on the stove top.

However, at the end of this post I will share how I would convert this to a slow cooker meal for those who do not use a pressure cooker.

I used the Instant Pot and several of the settings on it, but I am also listing the times for ease of converting to other pressure cookers.

In the pot combine:

1 2/3 cup of dried pintos

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

1/4 cup of dried bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic

4 1/2 cups of water

Hit bean setting and increase time to 50 minutes. 

(Basically high pressure for 50 minutes.)

(I did not soak my beans first, but if you do I would think 30 minutes should work fine.) 

Let pressure drop naturally.

Add:

1 diced potato

3/4 cup of brown rice

1 cup of water

14.5 ounces of diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

Set pressure cooker for 22 minutes.

Let sit for 10 minutes and then vent.

Serve soup warm.

(My daughter requested no tomatoes, so I heated mine separately and added to my bowl. Also note, our personal preference is a little softer bean.  If you like them less soft, you could decrease the 50 minute cook time because they will be cooking an additional 22 with the rice.)

For my family, with three of us eating this week, this will make at least two meals worth of soup when served with bread.

If there were two of us here, I think I would halve the recipe.

Now for the slowcooker version —

I would put the first ingredient set on in the morning.

Midday add the second half.

I only recommend dividing it because sometimes tomatoes make beans take longer to cook.

Triple Protein Salad — Recipe

I’m supposed to eat a high protein diet and average around 70 to 75 grams of protein a day.  While I do like meat, I find it hard to consume that much.  Not to mention that meat is expensive and I cannot have “steak” for every meal.  I try to find a way to eat a variety of protein sourcess of varying nature and cost.  Since I had a cup of chickpeas left, I thought I would share my “un-recipe” for  what I jokingly call “Three P Salad.”  It includes three protein sources (chicken and chicken eggs, chickpeas, and sour cream).  

These are the ingredients:

2 tablespoons Light mayo

2 tablespoons of Sour cream (I buy FF)

Chicken, cooked and coarsely chopped (I did one decent sized breast.)

Red onion, 1/2 small chopped to desired size

Celery, 1 stalk diced

2 hard boiled eggs, diced

1 dill pickle, diced

1 cup of cooked chickpeas

Salt and pepper to taste

Mash your chickpeas with a fork — I leave them kind of “chunky” for texture.

Add other ingredients.

Stir.

I added salt and pepper to taste.

It is now ready to serve.

However, I usually put it in a bowl and refrigerate it for a while to allow the flavors to meld.

Although your mileage may vary, my yield was approximately 5 cups.

Now for my notes:

1.  You can use any chicken or bits.  Or almost any leftover meat for that matter.

2.  Egg size doesn’t matter and you can add more or less.

3.  Any onion you like works.

4.  In addition to celery you can add carrots, apples, grapes, or whatever you like to bulk it out more.  Dried cranberries are pretty good, too.

5. You could easily drain and rinse a can of chickpeas for this.

6.  I don’t buy relish normally, but you could use pickle relish.

7.  Simply adjust the amount of mayo and sour cream to reflect what you need for your proportions.

8. Frugal note — cook an extra breast when you are cooking for something else for power savings.

As for serving:

On crackers

On a bed of lettuce

Wrapped in lettuce

In a sandwich

In a pita

In flour tortillas 

One final serving tip to stretch this even further.

Cook a batch of your favorite pasta.

Elbow noodles work well.  (GF works fine, too)

Stir noodles in.  Adjust mayo/etc.

Refrigerate and serve as a pasta salad.

(If I am making pasta salad, I will often use a “ranch” type seasoning blend to add some zing.)

Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies (Recipe)

Chickpeas are so versatile.

 For dish three from the pound of chickpeas I cooked, I decided to go with something sweet.  The original recipe is from Veggie Inspired and is here — Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies.  

 Of course, I made some changes.   

 This is my version:   

 Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease an 8”x8” pan. 

 In food processor bowl (with blade) combine the following and puree until smooth: 

 1 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas 

 1/2 cup of sunbutter 

 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats (GF certified if needed) 

 2/3 cup sugar in the raw 

 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 

 1 1/2 tsps. Cinnamon 

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt   

 Pour into dish and bake for 30 minutes or until pulling away from side and top is firm.  (This took 35 minutes in my oven.)   

 So for my notes —

 1.  I used chickpeas without salt.  I’m not sure how well canned would work.

 2.  Sunbutter (and omitted additional nuts) due to allergies.  I would think any nut butter would work for those who don’t have to be careful. 

 3.  Original recipe calls for coconut sugar.  I’ve tried it and I’m not a fan. 

 4.  I used Aldi brand pure maple syrup.  Still costly, but not as costly as Whole Foods.

 5. I used imitation vanilla extract....sorry, but it is true.  I rarely buy the real deal because of costs. 

  

I tried to capture the texture in this photo.

These are soooo good!

The maple syrup is expensive and I would think you could use honey, agave, or perhaps even a Karo syrup.

However, it uses very little so if you keep some on hand I think it would be worth the splurge.

I have just a little bit of my chickpeas left.

Tomorrow I’ll share what I do with the last of them.

Chickpea Patties Recipe

Since I cooked one pound of chickpeas in the pressure cooker yesterday, I thought I would share how I use them in meals.  I find I don’t particularly like to eat them by themselves, but when I use them as an ingredient I am quite fond of them. I’ve always struggled with bean burgers being too wet or too crumbly.  It took me some time of playing around and after years of experimenting I have finally created the recipe that works for me.

The ingredients are pretty simple.

2 cups of cooked chickpeas (drained)

1/2 of a medium red onion, finely diced

2 tsps. Of minced garlic

2 tsps. Of Italian seasoning

2 tbsp. Of olive oil (plus more for frying pan)

Salt/pepper to taste

1 egg

1 cup of gluten free panko bread crumbs 

(If using another “grain” make sure you use dry bread crumbs.)

Lightly cook onion and garlic in a small pan.  

(I added a tiny bit of olive oil.)

The goal is to remove that raw taste.

In food processor, with blade:

Mix chickpeas, cooked onion, garlic, Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper.

(I cooked my beans without any seasonings so I tasted the mixture until I had the salt level right.)

Then add in egg and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Mix again.

Mix in 1 cup of dry bread crumbs.

The mixture is slightly damp, but forms a good patty.

Heat a tiny bit of olive oil in a non stick frying pan.

Fry patties on medium heat until browned well on both sides.

Serve with your choice of sides, in pitas, or in buns with the usual burger fixings.

I opted for sliced bell pepper and sweet potato noodles.

The texture is firm without being too dry.

Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe (with options)

At the end of this post, I’ll share exactly what I did, but this recipe has lots of options.

You can cook your beans from scratch (you’ll need about 2 cups) or you can used canned — just drain and rinse.

You can use zucchini noodle, which I did, or you can use gluten free or wheat pasta of your choice.

You can use fresh veggies or a bag of stir fry blend.

You can use soy sauce or liquid aminoes.

You can use fresh pineapple, grate ginger, etc.  I didn’t.

You get the picture — pretty versatile.

My pithy recipe:

Cook your chickpeas.

I used the Instant Pot and cooked a pound with planned leftover.

If using canned, just drain and rinse.

Set aside.

1 or so cups of sliced cabbage

1/2 of a large red bell pepper

1 cup or so broccoli florettes (I broke them up to bite sized pieces.)

Carrot pieces

1 stalk of celery, sliced

Set aside.

If you are doing a traditional posta, start your pasta cooking.

If not, spiralize a zucchini or two.

Set aside.

In small sauce pan, mix:

8 ounces of pineapple tidbits in juice with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce (I use aminoes).

Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder.

Stir in 1 teaspoon of diced garlic.

I added a tiny bit of black pepper.

Bring to a boil, turn down and let simmer a few minutes.

Meanwhile, stir fry your veggies.

I use olive oil, but you can use an oil of your choice.

I add the zucchini noodles last.

When the desired “softness” is almost reached stir in the sauce and let cook another minute or two.

Serve with your choice of sides.

I didn’t eat one.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Recipe Link included)

A week or so ago, Mama brought me two small pumpkins that she was not going to use.  They had been given to her, but she does not eat pumpkin and she thought I might like to have them.  I put them both in the XL presssure cooker — still whole.  I cooked them and then saved the flesh.  I ended up with between 5 and 6 cups of pumpkin from them.  

 I love pumpkin cheesecake and since Thanksgiving was coming up it seemed a good way to use up some of the pumpkin.

 I made this recipe — RECIPE — with a few changes. 

 I wanted a deep dish pie with a gluten free crust, so I started by making 1 1/2 times the filling.  I used reduced fat cream cheese, turbinado sugar, fresh eggs, and my home cooked pumpkin.  I added pumpkin pie spice blend instead of worrying about separates.  For the crust, I used gluten free graham crackers that I pulverized in the food processor along.  (I added a bit of melted butter.). I did not take the crust all the way up the pie because I wasn’t sure how it would handle the baking time.  I ended up baking for 45 minutes, turning the oven off, and then letting sit in a hot oven for about 10 more minutes.

I ordered the “graham” crackers from Vitacost.

While this wasn’t the most beautiful cheesecake in the world, it was delicious.

We served it with whipped cream.

Despite the cost of the crust, which is higher for gluten free products...I consider this to be a pretty frugal make this time.

Cream cheese was on sale for the holidays.

The eggs and pumpkin were free.

The spices were on hand.

If I had gone crustless it would have all but been a free dessert.