Ricotta + Berries = Cheesecake-Like Muffins!

Ricotta Cheese really should come in smaller containers because most recipes only call for about 1 cup, NOT 2! So for that reason, we always seem to have half a container left over in the fridge and about 3 days to use it up. I also had some frozen mixed berries in the fridge and was SO excited when I found this recipe! They taste like mini CHEESECAKES but SO much healthier! The berries kinda melt into the cake and the sugar makes them not so tart. I brought some to my mom and she thought they were super yummy too! I'm sure between these, the Cheerio Muffins and Cookies, her breakfast is taken care of for at least 2 weeks! hehe

Ingredients: (6 cakes)

1 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 c ricotta cheese
½ c milk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c frozen mixed berries, thawed

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together melted butter, ricotta, milk, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in berries.
4. Distribute batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, until a tester inserted into the cake part comes out clean.
6. Refrigerate in an airtight container. Cakes will stay moist for about a week.

Peppermint Patty SURPRISE!

I bought 2 bags of York Peppermint Patties on at Safeway and had NO idea what I was gonna do with them! (They were on SALE.) I Google'd all morning and could only find recipes for BROWNIES with the patties inside. I really don't like baking brownies because they're such a hassle to carry to work SO I decided to be creative! I used a very basic Cocao Cookie recipe and hid the Patty in the middle. They took a while to make since I had to mold the dough around each candy but they turned out SO awesome! They look like normal cookies on the outside but as soon as you bite into them, the Peppermint inside OOZES out...YUM! These cookies were huge too! :)
Ingredients: (24 cookies)

1 c granulated sugar
½ c butter, softened
½ c Baking Cocoa
1 large egg
1½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1½ c all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
24 York Peppermint Patties (unwrapped)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Beat 1 c sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well mixed. Add cocoa, egg, vanilla extract, baking powder and baking soda; beat until well mixed. Gradually beat in flour.
3. Shape dough around the Peppermint Patties so that it covers the entire candy. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bale for 15 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Bacon Bacon Bacon!

Somehow we always seem to have left-over bacon in the house. SO...I thought...why not make Spaghetti Carbonara? I made the simple (and healthier!) version without the egg yolks and it came out super fast and yummy!
Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 pkg (7 oz) spaghetti
8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 c)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 c mushrooms, sliced
1 c Mozzerella cheese
½ c grated Parmesan cheese
½ c whipping (heavy) cream

Preparations:

1. Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package.
2. While spaghetti is cooking, cook bacon in 3-quart saucepan over low heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp. Remove bacon from saucepan with slotted spoon; drain. Drain fat from saucepan, reserving 1 tablespoon in saucepan.
3. Cook onion, mushrooms and garlic in bacon fat over medium heat about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is tender. Stir in spaghetti, Mozzerella cheese and whipping cream. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Toss with bacon.
4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top just before serving.

Honey Nut CHEERIOS!

My mom LOVES Cheerios and eats them for breakfast just about everyday. So when I saw a recipe for Cheerio Muffins here, I just couldn't resist! They're are SO healthy with APPLESAUCE instead of BUTTER and only a TINY bit of vegetable oil. I added some raisins and chopped walnuts because they're my mom's favorites and she ABSOLUTELY LOVED these muffins! What a way to start the morning right? :)

Ingredients: (6 muffins)

1 c Cheerios
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c apple sauce
1/2 c raisins
1/3 c milk
1 egg
3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/2 chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare 6 muffin cups with paper lining.
3. Crush the Cheerios into very small pieces, leaving about 24 to sprinkle on top.
4. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the crushed Cheerios, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda, Stir in all remaining ingredients just until moistened.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle whole Cheerios on top.
6. Bake about 20 minutes until golden brown. Use the toothpick test to see if they're done. A toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean if they're finished. If batter sticks to the toothpick, give it another few minutes.

Veggie of the Week

I really wanna enjoy more varieties of veggies so I'm planning on trying a new one every week or 2 and learning why they're good for me. Here's my first one:

Green Beans
-Vitamin K: maintains bone health
-Vitamin A & C: antioxidants to prevent heart attacks & boost immune system
-Magnesium & Potassium: help lower blood pressure
-Iron & Copper: produces energy

Calories: 43.75 per cup

Ricotta Pancakes???

I was watching Giada the other day (so what else is new?) and she made these pancakes with Ricotta Cheese that looked so yummy! We still had some Ricotta Cheese in the fridge so I thought I'd give them a shot. All you really have to do is add some Ricotta Cheese into the pancake mix along with a touch of Vanilla. The pancakes end up SO fluffy and moist! YUM!

Let's get WOKING!

My Wok came in the mail about a month ago and I wanted to try it out. I had some left-over canned pineapple so I decided to make Pineapple Fried Rice! It was so easy and the Wok kept the oil from splattering. I used slices of Deli Ham because that's all I had in the fridge but chicken or shrimp would work great too! Oh and the Trader Joe's frozen rice pouches were a total life saver!

Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 c ham, chopped into cubes
2 c long grain rice (cooked)
1 c chopped pineapples
3 green onions, chopped
1 c mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 eggs

Preparation:

1. Heat wok on medium heat. Sauté ham, onions, mushrooms and garlic in oil for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Stir in pineapples, rice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.
3. Beat the eggs in a bowl and pour into wok. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.