The Healthy Kitchen: One Pot Creole Shrimp and Sausage Quinoa

When I did not have any meat thawed out, I had to see what I could pull together for dinner. My addition to this recipe was adding green pepper and smoked sausage. To keep it healthy you could use turkey kielbasa.  Kielbasa and shrimp are great things to keep on hand in the freezer because you can thaw them out quickly for a last-minute meal. 

The ingredients:

Vegetable oil for cooking

1/2 lb. large shrimp

Kielbasa or andouille sausage

1/2-1 tsp of creole or Cajun seasoning to taste

1 small yellow onion diced

1green bell pepper diced

3 large garlic cloves

2 1/4 C chicken broth or vegetable broth

1/4 C tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1/2-1 tsp Cajun or creole seasoning to taste

salt

1 C quinoa

green onion and parsley for garnish

The recipe:

Preheat a medium cooking pan over medium hi heat.

Peel and devein shrimp, mix shrimp and sliced sausage with the seasoning creole or Cajun. Toss to coat. 

Add oil to the pan and add the sausage and shrimp sear on both sides until opaque, take out and set aside.

Add diced onion and pepper to the pan and sauté until onion is translucent. Smash garlic and add to the pan. Sauté until fragrant and browned. 

Add broth and bring to boil, lower heat to med-low and add tomato sauce, salt, seasoning, and lemon juice. 

Add quinoa, stir, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until quinoa is just done. 

Stir in the garnish onion and parsley if desired. Add the meat back to the pot and cook until just heated through. 

The Classic Kitchen: Lighter Chicken Pot Pie

 Comforting food always brings to mind chicken pot pie. However, I don't like all the crust and bread. I found a lighter version that uses biscuits instead of crust. 

The Ingredients:

Rotisserie chicken shredded

2-3 C chicken broth

4 TBSP butter

1/2 C diced onion

1/2 C diced celery

1 C mixed vegetables

2 gloves of garlic minced

1/2 tsp: onion powder, thyme, rosemary

1/4 tsp sage

1/3 C flour (I used white whole wheat)

1/2 C half and half or evaporated milk

1 TBSP chicken Better than Bouillon

1 tsp soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce

1 package of refrigerated biscuits

The recipe:

1. Melt butter in a pot over medium heat and sauté the vegetables for 5-6 minutes. Add the seasonings and toss to coat and cook for another minute. 

2. Add flour and toss to coat. Cook for 2 minutes or until no longer smell raw flour. 

3. Add 2 C of the chicken broth in small splashes stirring to incorporate. Add the half and half or evaporated milk the same way. 

4. Add the bouillon and soy sauce and the shredded chicken and stir to combine and simmer. 

5. If you would like to thin the gravy add the other 1 C of broth if desired. (The bottom of the biscuits will absorb some liquid).

6. Transfer filling to a 9x13 baking dish. 

7. Add the biscuits to the top and bake per biscuit instructions or until golden brown and set in the middle. The biscuits will be soft due to the liquid if you would like a crispier bottom bake the biscuits first. 

The Sweet Kitchen: Oatmeal Scotchies with Browned Butter

A couple years ago, I discovered this recipe during Christmas when I was making cookies. I love butterscotch so I was intrigued. This is basically like an oatmeal raisin cookie but replacing the raisins with butterscotch chips. This time I decided to brown the butter for some added flavor. This cookie has become one of my favorites and it is so easy to make. 

The ingredients:

2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

14 TBSP of browned butter, cooled for 20 minutes

3/4 C sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C old fashioned oats

1 C butterscotch chips

The recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until completely mixed. 

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well combined. Approx. 10 min.

Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. 

Add in the flour mixture on low until begins to combine. Then turn up to finish until just combined. 

Mix in the oats and butterscotch chips. 

Scoop onto baking sheet and place 2.5 in apart and bake for 11-12 minutes until edges begin to golden.

Let cool for 2 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. 

The Sweet Kitchen: Salted Double Dark Chocolate Cookies with Salted Carmel Sugar Sprinkle

As Christmas and the Holidays approach I am ready to experiment with some new cookie recipes. I am trying to adjust some to see if I can use healthier ingredients and still have a good tasting cookie. In today's recipe I swapped regular flour for white whole wheat flour. I swapped the brown sugar for coconut sugar and the granulated sugar for Truvia sugar blend. Since this recipe uses dark chocolate already, I made no changes to that. 

The Ingredients:

1 C white whole wheat flour

3/4 C dark cocoa powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

10 TBSP butter room temperature

3/4 C coconut sugar

1/3 C Truvia sugar blend

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 C of dark chocolate chips

flaky sea salt

salted caramel sugar (optional)

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and soda in a bowl and set aside. 

Cream the butter and sugars in a mixer until light and fluffly. (The coconut sugar will not get as fluffy as regular brown sugar). Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. 

Add the dry ingredients and slowly mix until combined. 

Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined. 

Scoop onto baking sheet and sprinkle with flaky salt. 

Bake until cookies are set approx 15-18 minutes. 

Sprinkle the tops with a pinch of salted caramel sugar. 

The Family Kitchen: Mom's 6 Week Bran Muffins

 To continue celebrating Mom's birthday, I wanted to make one of Mom's recipes I have not made before. I loved these muffins, but the actual recipe is a bit daunting because it makes so much and uses such high amounts of ingredients. I decided I could adjust it for some of my healthier ingredients and I would half the recipe. It still makes a ton but not as much as the original. 

Here is mom's original recipe.

Some adjustments I made are to swap out regular flour for white whole wheat. I used Truvia sugar blend instead of granulated and used less. I swapped the molasses for coconut sugar. Instead of Raisin Bran I used Bran Flakes and raisins. Lastly, I halved the recipe. Halving the recipe will still make around 2 dozen or more muffins of a decent size. 

The ingredients:

1/2 Box of Bran Flakes

1 C raisins

2.5 C White whole wheat flour

1/2 C Truvia sugar blend

2.5 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 C milk + 1 TBSP vinegar or 2 C buttermilk

1/2 C vegetable oil

1/4 C coconut sugar

2 eggs 

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Combine the bran, raisins, flour, sugar blend, baking soda, and salt and mix well. 

Add the milk/vinegar or buttermilk, oil, coconut sugar, and eggs. Mix until well combined. 

Fill greased muffin tin with batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Let cool. 

Notes: These are very good and taste amazing the differences are they are not as sweet and are denser using the less sugar and whole wheat flour. See the photo below for the amount of batter that was left after baking 12 muffins. This batter will stay good in the fridge for 6 weeks hence the name 6-week bran muffins so you can make a batch at a time. 

The Breakfast Kitchen: Upside down cheesy garlic breakfast casserole

I saw a variation of this on Pinterest and thought it sounded good and it is! A twist on the breakfast casserole.

The ingredients:

Crumbled bacon

Diced green bell pepper

Can of rotel drained

1 C cheddar cheese divided

8 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 c Milk

1 box cheddar garlic biscuits

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook bacon, bell pepper, and rotel.

In a bowl combine eggs, seasonings, and milk, and 1/2 c shredded cheddar.

Top egg mixture on top of the meat veggie mix and cook for 30 minutes.

Make biscuit dough according to box instructions using the other 1/2 C cheese.

Cover top of casserole with the dough and spread out and cook another 17-20 minutes. 

Once done top with the butter herb mixture.

Note: you can change the meat and veggies as you would like. The egg mix won't be cooked through when you add the dough so just be gentle and cook until dough and eggs are cooked through. For me it was about 20 minutes.

The Sweet Kitchen: Apple Butter Cake with a Maple Glaze

 If you are looking for a great fall recipe to use up some of that Apple Butter you have on hand this is a fantastic recipe! I even changed some of the ingredients to try and make it healthier and it was fantastic! It reminds me of my Grandma's Raisin Bars a bit but instead of raisins you add apple butter. I also used a juice sweetened apple butter to cut down on some of the sugar but even with all the alternatives it is still plenty sweet. 

The Ingredients:

1 C salted butter melted

1 C milk

1/2 C apple butter

1 C sugar ( I used Truvia sugar blend and only used 1/2 C)

1 C brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C flour (I used white whole wheat flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp apple pie spice (I used just cinnamon)

The Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment or grease the pan. 

In a bowl, whisk the butter, milk, apple butter, and sugars until combined. 

Add in the eggs and vanilla and blend until smooth. 

Whisk in the flour, baking soda, and spice until blended. 

Pour and spread the batter into the pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until the center springs back when touched. 

Remove and let it cool. 

For the Maple Glaze

4 TBSP butter melted

1/2 C maple syrup

1 C powdered sugar (I used Splenda)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the butter in small saucepan or microwave. 

Add butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to a bowl and stir. 

Whisk in powdered sugar until thoroughly mixed. 

Pour over cooled cake.