Master Muffin Mix

I found this recipe on Pinterest and ended up making some tweeks of my own to it.

One place I found it was
Home Joys: http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2010/01/master-muffin-mix.html
Another was
Super Healthy Kids: http://www.superhealthykids.com/mastermuffinmix.html

Original Master Muffin Mix
6 c. whole wheat flour
6 c. all purpose flour
2 c. sugar
4 T. baking powder
1 T. salt

Master Muffin Mix - sweeter
6 c. whole wheat flour
6 c. all purpose flour
4 c. sugar
4 T. baking powder
1 T. salt

I doubled the sugar from the original recipe.  If you want to have muffins that taste more like bread, stick with less sugar.  If you have a sweet-tooth like me, you probably want to go with more sugar, even with 4 cups, it is not overly sweet. 

Mix up all the dry ingredients with a whisk and store the mix for up to -- weeks.


Muffin Recipes:

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk - yum, yum, yum!
2 3/4 c. Master Muffin Mix
1/3 c. melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. Nestle mini chocolate chips
Mix until just blended, bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.  Yields 18 muffins.
  

Bran Muffins

Here is a great recipe for bran muffins that doesn't use bran cereal. All 'whole' ingredients, for those who want to stay away from processed foods!

Bran Muffins
1 c. bran
1/2 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. applesauce
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 T. oil
1 t. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together, add remaining ingredients, mix well. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Healthy Vegetable Soup

This is a soup I made Friday night for supper, it turned out really good. It is based on this recipe that I got off of Shannon A.'s - We're Eating What? blog.

Shannon's recipe

Jana's Version
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
Saute until onions are golden, then add:
3 leeks, rinsed, chopped
6 cloves of garlic
Saute for another minute, then add to pot with:

1 bell pepper
3 roma tomatoes
4 large russet potatoes
2-3 carrots, I used about 1 1/2 cups
1 cup lentils
6 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
additional water to fill the pot
4 bay leaves
Lawry's season salt
ground pepper

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 min.
Remove bay leaves, then add:

1 c. frozen peas
3-4 handfuls of spinach
1 lb. crispy fried bacon, chopped

Simmer for another 5 minutes and serve.
Makes 7-8 quarts of soup.

All the ingredients, looks very healthy, doesn't it!

Peel onion

Slice one way

Then cross chop

rinse leeks

Lay leek flat and cut in half down the center

There will still be dirt between the leaves, even after rinsing

Bend the leaves backwards so the splay apart and you can easily rinse in between them

All the leeks cut and rinsed

cut the leaves off where they start to get dark green

cut off the root and check the first couple of layers for dirt, rinse if you find any

slice down the center

Cross chop

3 leeks makes about 5 cups of chopped leeks

Pretty bell pepper

Cut out the stem

Quarter and remove the white flesh and seeds

slice and then cross chop

3 roma tomatoes

Remove stem ends, cut in half, slice and then cross chop

Carrots, I used the baby cut carrots, all you have to do is chop

about 1 1/2 cups, you can use more if you want

4 big potatoes, peel

cut in half and then I sliced each half into 8 sticks,
cross chop and you get nice cubes.

If you cube potatoes ahead of time,
put in cold water to prevent oxidation, turning brown.

6 cups chicken broth, 4 bay leaves, Lawry's, ground pepper

Saute onions in olive oil

until golden brown,

6 peeled cloves of garlic

Add leeks and garlic to onions and saute for another minute

Add lentils, tomatoes and red bell pepper to pot

Add onions, leeks and garlic to the pot

Add potatoes and carrots to the pot

Cover, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes

Add peas, handfuls of spinach and bacon
(*bacon was unfortunately unable to make it to the photo shoot)

Mmmmm, the finished pot of soup

Served up

Enjoy with fresh bread and friends!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 - 16 oz. bags of frozen corn, I used mixed white and yellow, it is also recommended to use all white corn
1 can black beans, I used black beans and jalapenos in lime juice and picked out the jalapenos. You can also use black beans with cumin and chile spices.
1/2 c. lime juice
1/2 c. honey
1 t. minced garlic, I just used 1 clove, pressed
1/2 t. cumin
1 1/2 t. rice vinegar
1 t. salt
1 t. dried cilantro, this has a more mild flavor than fresh
1 t. tobasco sauce
Thaw corn, do not cook it though. Rinse beans and stir the beans and corn together in a large bowl. In another bowl mix up the sauce, make sure the honey and salt dissolve into the mixture before you mix it with the corn and beans. Slowly add the sauce to the corn and beans, stirring gently, making sure not to break up the beans. Serve with Tostitos Multigrain chips. Enjoy!!

When I made this I was having a major craving for it so I doubled the sauce recipe and added an extra bag of corn and an extra can of beans. I think having extra sauce was good, and make sure that if you leave it sit for a bit before serving, that give it a good stir before you dig in, this will redistribute the sauce.

Corn, I thawed it in the microwave until just barely thawed

Rinsing beans, I picked out the jalapenos, if you want more kick, go ahead and leave them in

corn and beans in a large bowl

Ingredients, here is a tip, the small bottles of lime juice are 1/2 c.

Oops, forgot the cilantro

And also the cumin

Whisk all the ingredients together

pour over mixed beans and corn

MMMMMMmmmmmmm, this is sooo good.
It is great served with Tostitos Multigrain chips.

Black Bean, Chicken and Corn Bean Dip

So, we didn't have anything to make for supper last night and I ended coming up with this combination of ingredients and it turned out pretty tastey. It is a bean dip I suppose.

Black Bean, Chicken and Corn Bean Dip
1 cans black beans, rinsed
1 or 2 c. frozen corn
2 chicken breasts
1 T. cooking oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. salt
juice of 1 lime
On the side:
salsa
sour cream
shredded cheese
black olives
Cook frozen corn in microwave add rinsed beans and cook for a couple more minutes. Cook up chicken breasts in oil with garlic, then add cayenne pepper, chili powder and cumin to the meat. Mix corn, beans and chicken in a large bowl and add salt and juice from one lime. Serve with your choice of bonus side items.

corn and black beans

chicken and corn and black beans

I mixed the salsa in with the corn, beans and chicken, I think next time I will leave it on the side, the lime makes it great!

ready to dig into!