do chickens have fingers?

I realized that from what recipes I usually post it may look like we eat nothing but cookies.

In my dream world that would be true, but, alas, it is not real life.

This is a recipe that comes from Cook This, Not That, Kitchen Survival Guide.

I’m a big fan of this book series. I feel like I’m reading a horror novel when I read about restaurant entrees that have about 1500 calories.

This is a recipe for chicken fingers which uses panko (japanese bread crumbs) which I am also becoming a huge fan of because of its wonderful crispiness without being fried.

Healthified Chicken Fingers

1 lb, boneless, skinless chicken tenders (I just slice up chicken breasts)

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 egg whites lightly beaten

2 cups panko

Preheat oven to 450. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Place the crumbs on a plate and season those, too. (I used some season-all here.) Dip the chicken tenders into the egg, then toss in the crumbs being sure to coat fully.

Place the breaded chicken pieces on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crumbs have browned and the chicken in firm.

healthier peanut butter cookies

Peanut butter cookies were one treat I could pass up as a child. I wish I was still that way now.

This was actually my first time making peanut butter cookies because of the peanut allergy in our house, but I really, really wanted some cookies.

I found this much lower-fat version with some whole wheat flour in there in my Eating Well Dessert Cookbook.

I thought they were very yummy.

They are best right out of the oven when they are still soft, but they were still good when they cooled down and went mostly crisp.

It did make a lot of cookies though, (4 dozen) so I will probably half the recipe next time.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES (from Eating Well Dessert Cookbook)

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose white flour

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped peanuts (i left this out)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, oil, eggs and vanilla; add 5 teaspoons water and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. In a small bowl, stir together white and whole-wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients in to the brown-sugar mixture just until combined.

3. Roll the dough between your palms into 1-inch-balls. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the cookies with a fork, (I think peanut butter cookies without the identifying criss-cross should be illegal as Cali has been given them at school before with bad results) Sprinkle with peanuts, pressing them lightly into the dough with your fingers

4. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, or until just golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool. (Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days)

95 calories per cookie; 2 grams protein, 3 grams fat (0 grams saturated), 15 grams carbohydrates; 65 mg sodium; 9 mg cholesterol

Sam's Special

For Michelle's Birthday we wanted to do a Low-Fat, High-Fiber Birthday Cake. Either we have watched too much Wiggles lately or Michelle was being very kind and not making Daddy sit and watch her a super yummy High-Fat, Low-Fiber Ice Cream Birthday Cake. Either way, it was a good change. We looked up tons of recipes and finally made this one up ourselves.

Ingredients

Two Packages of Crescent Rolls (We even found Low-Fat ones)

Two small boxes of Jell-O Cheesecake flavored pudding

Skim milk as called for on pudding packages

Fruit (we used blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and pineapple tidbits-save the juices)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

So we unrolled all the packaged crescent rolls, placed on a cookie sheet, and pressed the seams together and baked as directed on the package. Meanwhile we made up the pudding. Now, since we used Skim Milk it didn't set up well so we added about 2/3 cup of low-fat sour cream. Afterwards, I saw on the package that for pies they recommended using less milk, I would definitely try that next time, but it might still need some sour cream (low-fat of course) to give it a better consistency. Then take the fruit juices and bring to boil, add cornstarch take off heat and vigorously whisk for a fruit glaze. After the crust is done baking we put it in the freezer to cool quickly (probably could have baked it earlier or the night before, but I love working under pressure.) After it was cooled, covered it with pudding until it was covered to my wishes (Ryker was excited for the left-over pudding) then topped with the fruit (next time I am getting kiwis, just forgot this time) and then the glaze and put back in freezer until it was time to eat (it was only an hour later, so the fridge would probably work).

SO very yummy, and not super dense, heavy, and rich so it was pretty guilt free. I am sure there are ways to increase the fiber, but I figured I did pretty good since we didn't go with the traditional DQ ice cream cake.

Healthy Banana Drop Cookies

These cookies are not going to win any awards for beauty, or taste for that matter. But, if you are on a diet, or want to give your kids something healthy these are good cookies. I enjoyed them, and the kids would eat them if they were hungry, but Scott was done with them after his first cookie.

I made them to take on vacation so I would have something to eat while everyone else ate the more fattening (fun) food. I might experiment with the recipe to see if adding some baking soda or something would make them bake up a bit bigger. They pretty much just stayed exactly the same glob of dough on the pan, only baked.

Healthy Banana Drop Cookies

(recipe from food.com formerly known as recipezaar.com)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

5 tbls. softened margarine

1 cup mashed bananas

1/4 cup orange juice

(I also added 1/2 cup of raisins)

---Process oats in food processor or blender until finely ground.

--- Combine first six ingredients

---Use a pastry cutter to cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles crumbs

---Add banana and orange juice and mix well

--- Chill 20 minutes in the freezer

--- Drop teaspoon sized cookies on well greased baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes

buttermilk biscuits

I am not going to say that these biscuits will melt in your mouth or are like eating a cloud or any of the other things I have read about biscuits, but I will say they are pretty easy, pretty healthy, and pretty tasty. They are a lot better for you than those other biscuits that have shortening as a main ingredient so you can enjoy them more. At least I do.

It gives us a yummy bread addition to dinner, and gives me something to make with my cookie cutters besides cookies.

I tweaked a regular buttermilk biscuit recipe until I came up with this.

One more thing, when I use 100% whole wheat in a recipe it is whole wheat from hard white winter wheat as opposed to red. It is much lighter and better tasting than the red wheat.

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour (I use whole wheat)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup applesauce (instead of oil)

1 cup buttermilk (I always make sour milk made with lemon juice and skim milk)

Mix dry ingredients. Mix applesauce and buttermilk together in a separate bowl. Add liquid to dry ingredients. barely moistening. Carefully roll out 1/2 inch thick; cut and bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes. The less you handle the dough the lighter and fluffier the biscuits will be.

dinner rolls and chicken salad

These are two of my favorite recipes.

These are my go-to rolls that I make about once a week. I started using this recipe because it didn't call for shortening or butter. This makes a great all-around dough that I have used for rolls, cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, etc.

I make the chicken salad less often, but when I do make it I think, "I should make this more often." Its pretty basic salad recipe, but the dressing makes it delicious.

I got both of these recipes from a cookbook from our college ward.

Dinner Rolls

1 1/2 c. warm water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. rapid rise yeast

1 cup warm milk

5 Tblsp. vegetable oil

6 Tblsp. sugar

1 Tblsp. salt

1 egg

6 cups flour ( I use 4 cups wheat and 2 cups of white)

Mix water, sugar and yeast. Set aside

Mix milk, vegetable oil, sugar, salt and egg. Add yeast mixture. Add flour.

Mix it all together until it forms a nice dough.

Let it rise until double. (one hour)

Punch it down and divide into rolls. (I get exactly 2 dozen in 2, 9X13 pans if I plan it well)

Let it rise another hour.

Bake for 10-20 minutes (depends on size) in a 350 degree oven.

Chicken Salad

10 boneless chicken breasts or 3-4 cans of chicken

1 can water chestnuts

1 lb. green or red grapes

1 cup celery slices

1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits

Dressing:

1 1/2 cup mayo (I always use light mayo)

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Cook chicken and shred it.

Mix together mayo, soy sauce and lemon juice.

Mix dressing with all other ingredients.

Refrigerate overnight. (It really is better when you do this)

Serve on rolls or croissants.

good and hearty pancakes

These are my new favorite pancakes. These take a little more time than my regular whole-wheat pancakes but they are worth it. They are dense, moist, and hearty, and I love that they have whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and wheat germ in them.

One thing about wheat germ that I just discovered: buy it bulk. I bought my first jar at Walmart for almost $4. I just refilled it from Winco bulk section for about 25 cents. Quite a difference.

Oatmeal Pancakes

(taken from recipezaar #13372)

Serves 4

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I fill up my liquid measuring cup with almost 1/4 cup of applesauce and then top it off with about a tablespoon of oil and it works great)

My two additions for flavor:

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In bowl, pour milk over rolled oats; let stand for 5 minutes.

2. In another bowl, stir together flours, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat eggs and oil (applesauce) together; add o dry ingredients along with the milk/oats mixture, stirring just until mixed. (If it is too thick at a little more milk)

4. Cook on large skillet or griddle.

5. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake and cook for about 2 minutes or until bubbles on top break but do not fill in, and bottoms are golden and set.

6. Turn over and cook for about 30-60 seconds longer, or until set.

The recipe recommended serving with peeled apple slices that have been sautéed in butter and brown sugar and kept warm. (sounds good to me)

I like it topped with applesauce or fruit.

Or there's always maple syrup.

eat your beans cookies

Yes, these cookies have a can of garbonzo beans (aka chickpeas) in them.

And yes, they are pretty darn tasty.

Kimi who will turn her nose up at cakes, candybars, and other desserts with or without chocolate ate a lot of these and even wanted them for breakfast. I almost said yes.

Only 87 calories per cookie.

I took this from Trainer Mama's blog because she rocks.

I also added 1 tsp. cinnamon.

It makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies

adapted from Deceptively Delicious

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar free applesauce
2 large egg whites
2 tsp vanilla
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients and bake between 11-13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

After a day refrigerate to store. That is, if there are any left after a day.

87 calories per cookie

skinny fries

I haven't enjoyed a french fry in quite a while now so when I saw this recipe in a book called "Natural Meals in Minutes" I really wanted to give it a try. It claims to be fat-free fries.

Everyone thought this were really good! Except for my eldest who won't even touch a potato in chip form.

( They are battered and baked which makes just about anything taste good.)

Skinny Fries

From Natural Meals in Minutes

2 tsp chicken flavored bullion

2 tsp pinto bean flour (I substituted whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 Tbl water

2 egg whites

3 medium potatoes cut into wedges (I cut them up into fries)

Salt and Pepper (I used seasoning salt)

Parmesan Cheese (optional) ( I left it out)

In a medium bowl, mix bullion flour, water, and egg whites. Add potatoes and stir to coat. Place wedges on a cookie sheet well greased with cooking spray. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (or seasoning salt). Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn over and cook another 10 minutes. Broil about 1 minute to brown. ( I didn't even see the broiling step until I typed this up. I thought they were browned pretty well but I will try this next time.)

Enjoy!

carrot cupcakes (healthified)

Let me begin by saying I will not every proclaim a dessert to be healthy, just that some desserts can be made in a way that you can save yourself a few hundred calories.

And life without dessert is meaningless.

I made these cupcakes out of the "Eating Well: Desserts" cookbook. It said they were perfect for a children's party so I trusted that children wouldn't mind eating them.

I have one word: YUM. They were so moist and and chewy with the right amount of spice and chunks of fruit. I LOVED them. Everyone else enjoyed them too.

The frosting was a bit different. It is basically just cream cheese and marshmallow fluff whipped together. Even though it was marshmallow fluff, it wasn't overly sweet. It complimented the sweetness of the cupcakes very well, but I think it was best to make and serve the same day. The next day the frosting wasn't quite the same, but that didn't stop me from eating it.

It calls for cake flour which I don't keep on hand. If you are the same way an acceptable substitute is to replace 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of constarch for every cup of flour.

There are only 195 calories per cupcake (including the frosting).

Carrot Cupcakes

makes one dozen cupcakes

cupcakes

1/2 cup pitted prunes

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple

1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (if you don't have cake flour see my tip above)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 large egg white

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup grated carrots

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or lightly oil or coat the cups with nonstick spray.

2. In a food processor, combine prunes with 1/4 cup hot water and process until smooth; set aside. Drain pineapple in a strainer set over a small bowl, pressing firmly to extract most of the juice. (I just spun my pineapple in the good old salad spinner) Set the pineapple aside and reserve the juice for another use. (such as drinking it)

3. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, sugar, oil, and the prune puree. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until blended. Stir in carrots and the reserved pineapple.

4. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. (mine got pretty full but I kept to the 12 cupcakes) Bake cupcakes for 25-30 minutes, or until they spring back when lightly pressed in the center. Let the cupcakes sit in the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (I used fat-free)

1/2 cup marshmallow creme, such as Fluff

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I used bottled)

2 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans (left out so kids would eat)

In a bowl, beat cream cheese, marshmallow creme and lemon juice with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Spread each cupcake with frosting and sprinkle with pecans (or in my case, sprinkles).

Brown Soda Bread

I made this loaf to go with some homemade chicken soup. The loaf was down to these last two pieces before I found my camera to get a photo.

The recipe came from Cooking Light. It is a dense a hearty bread that was easy to throw together so it is a perfect pairing for a soup.

Brown Soda Bread

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup steel-cut oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg-beaten

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2 Coat a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray

3. Combine flours through salt.

4. Combine buttermilk with egg and add to the flour mixture.

5. Stir until just combined.

6. Spoon mixture into pan.

7. Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

8. Invert on wire rack.

something green: hearty split pea soup

It would take a professional food photographer to make this soup look yummy in a photo.

I thought we should have some green recipes for St. Patrick's Day this week. This is referred to as "that green soup" around here so this fits the bill.

Besides being downright delicious let me tell you what else I love about this recipe: one serving (1/2 cup) has only 198 calories , 11 grams of fiber (wow!) and 15 grams of protein. It also only has 2 grams of fat, only a trace of that being saturated fat.

All that, plus its easy to make. I love it.

I found it in The Taste of Home Cookbook on page 75.

Hearty Split Pea Soup

Prep: 15 minutes CookTime: 1 1/2 hours

1 package (16 ounces) split peas

8 cups water

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 cups cubed fully cooked lean ham or cooked corned beef

1/2 cup chopped celery

5 teaspoons reduced-sodium chicken bullion granules

1 teaspoon dried majoram

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1/2 - 1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

In a large Dutch oven or soup kettle, combine all ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until peas and vegetables are tender.

Yield: 12 servings (3 quarts)

(This reheats very well and I can eat it for lunch all week.)

crock pot roasted chicken and vegetables

This is actually a picture of the leftover byproduct of this recipe. I love leftover byproducts for lunch.

This recipe is more of a method for how I make shredded chicken. I hate dealing with raw meat so I like to cook it all up at once.

By cooking it this way we eat roast chicken and veggies one night with homemade rolls, I get to eat chicken soup with what's left of the vegetables and broth the next day, and I get enough shredded chicken for about three more meals like chicken enchiladas, hawaiian haystacks, chicken pot pie, chicken salad sandwiches, etc. This makes life easier and I love that.

Here's the basics:

Like I said this is not really a recipe so the measurement isn't exact

I just try to cram as much as I can into my 6 quart crock pot

I use 1 package (about 5 lbs) of fresh boneless skinless chicken,

1 onion cut into large chunks

a couple potatoes (I think that time I used 3)

a couple carrots cut into big chunks

a couple ribs of celery cut into big pieces

Trim the chicken and put a layer in the crock pot

sprinkle with seasonings such as poultry seasoning, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

layer veggies on it

repeat until its all in the crockpot

It will then look like this:

Pour 2 cups of broth (made from bullion) into the crock pot and cook the stuff on low all day long.

Serve vegetables and large pieces of chicken for dinner. Remove the rest of the chicken and shred and freeze for later. Add some pepper and salt to the broth, veggies and fine shreds of chicken left in the crockpot for a delicious soup for lunch the next day. Yum.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Healthier Banana Bread

I was trying to find a better alternative to my favorite banana bread recipe which is scrumptious, but contains a whole stick of butter.

I found a muffin recipe that I thought might work. I also reduced the sugar in it, substituted wheat flour for part of the white, and added vanilla. Really there wasn't a noticeable difference from my other banana bread recipe as far as taste or texture go, and my family ate a whole loaf in one sitting.

Healthier Banana Bread

(adapted from a muffin recipe in the Favorites cookbook)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar and oil well. Add eggs and mashed bananas and beat. Add flour, soda and salt. Pour into greased pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes for small loaves (it baked 3, 7x3 1/2)

(It would probably make 2 medium loaves or 1 large loaf. Increase bake times accordingly.)

(also makes 18-24 muffins, bake for 18-20 minutes.)

(UPDATE: I just made this again the other day and substituted applesauce for all of the oil. It was a little more dry, but still very yummy.)

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Here's a great recipe for any New Year's Eve celebrations.

I can eat this stuff by the bucket. I use it to top lots of different things, but of course it is good with chips or by itself if you are a real purist.

I made some recently to take to a party, but I threw together a cheeseball at the last second so I could keep this home.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa


1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, cut fine
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/3 bottle of Fat Free Italian Dressing (about 2/3 cup)


Mix all ingredients in bowl and serve with chips. (This is also better when you make it ahead and let all the flavors "marry")