Faux Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Muffins

These little puppies were sure tasty and a hit on the 4 hour road trip to DC, my husband took some youth from church on, last weekend. I had some butternut squash I needed to use and since it is basically the same consistency and color as pumpkin, I used it in the place of pumpkin for this muffins. I don't know if there is a person in the world who could tell the difference. I got this yummy recipe from my friend Michelle. She is the Muffin Queen!

Pumpkin (Butternut Squash) Chocolate Chip Muffins
cream together:
2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (that is 1/2 a cube)
1/2 cup apple sauce (If you don't want to use applesauce you substitue veg. oil or butter)
add:
2 cup butternut squash or pumpkin of course
4 eggs
mix well.
sift the following together, then add to creamed mixture:
3 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, you can use white if you want, but if you use wheat you can eat them for breakfast. :)
3 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. ginger
3/4 t. nutmeg
3/4 t. allspice or ground cloves
2 t. baking soda
1/2t. baking powder
1/2t. salt

stir until well mixed.
if desired, add 1-2 cups chocolate chips.
fill muffin tins (24 muffins)
Bake @ 350 for ~20 minutes

If you do mini-muffins reduce cooking time to 12 minutes.

White Chicken Chili

A few months ago our ward (church) had a chili cook-off. I realized I didn't have any ground beef that morning, and instead of risking the craziness of shopping on Saturday, (I really try to avoid it) I decided to try a white chili. I had some bone in chicken breast that I stuck in the crock pot with some lemon juice and salt and pepper. Then I started the beans because I new they would take at least 4 hours. I rinsed them, covered them with water and then put in lots of garlic, a whole onion in wedges and a couple teaspoons of salt. I do pinto beans the same way and freeze them in 2 cup batches. I really like beans and could go on and on but I'll dedicate an entire post to them someday. Anyhow, I was pretty happy with the end resultof the chili and ended up getting second, I missed first by one vote. And can I just say, the prizes were awesome. I got a $50 dollar gift card to Chili's and two bottles of hot sauce. Go Chicken!

Maria's White Chicken Chili

1 small or medium onion, chopped

2 pieces of garlic, crushed

3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded

5 cups white navy beans, or three 15 oz. cans

2 cans mild rotel, drained unless you like it really spicy then leave the juice, or get the regular or spicy variety for more heat.

1 packet dry italian dressing seasoning, or 1 cup italian salad dressing

2-4 cups of water, depending on if you drain the rotel or if you use dressing instead of the seasoning packet

2-4 chicken bullion cubes (to personal taste) I like to also add the drippings from meat if I cook it in the crock pot.

1-2 Tbsp lime or lemon juice

1 spoonful of sugar (secret ingredient)

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 1-2 tsp cumin

Sour cream

Grated cheese

Saute the onion for 3 minutes and then add crushed garlic, chili powder and cumin. Suate 1 more minute. Add tomatoes, water, 3 1/2 cups of beans or two cans, and chicken. Add chicken bullion, and italian seasoning. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Mash remaining beans and add them to help thicken the chili. Add the sugar and lemon or lime juice. Simmer a little longer and then serve with sour cream and grated cheese.

The great thing about this soup is you can use whatever you have on hand. If you have a lime use fresh lime juice. If all you've got is bottled lemon juice, use that. You really can't mess it up if you have the key ingredients. If you think that two cans of Rotel is going to be to spicy for your kids, do one can mild rotel and one can plain crushed or diced tomatos. I can't tell you how many people asked me for this recipe. You are definately going to want to keep this one in your favorites. I personally think what makes it great is the beans being cooked with onion and garlic and the meat being slowcooked with a little lemon juice. I am telling you lemon juice is my best friend when it comes to poultry. Toodles

Easy Peasy Whole Wheat Bread

When I make bread, which I do about once every two weeks, I make one of two recipes. This is my favorite of the two because it is the fastest, easiest, tastiest, 100% whole wheat bread I have ever had. I got it from my sister-in-law Becky about two years ago, and have been making it and passing on the recipe ever since.

Bread is one of those things that take time to get right. I will be the first to let you know that I have had my share of failures in the bread department. However, this recipe is pretty hard to mess up (although I have done it -right Aubrey:).) The thing I like the best about this recipe is that you don't have to let it rise and then put it in the loaf pans and then let it rise again. You take it straight from the mixer and form it into loaves and put it in the pans. It rises for a half hour and then cooks for 23 minutes. Doesn't get much easier then that folks.

Oh, and it only has 6 ingredients. If you store wheat, this is a great way to keep it rotating.

Set your oven temp to the lowest setting *this is very important, make sure you do it before you start combining the ingredients*

Combine:

4 cups warm water

1-1/2 or 2 Tbsp yeast. The origianal recipe calls for 2. (I do 1-1/2 ,it makes it a little better for sandwiches)

Let stand 10 minutes

Add:

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup honey

1 Tbsp salt

9-12 cups wheat flour.

I start with 9 and then add more if it sticks to the sides of the bowl while it mixes. Try to NEVER add more then 10 1/2 or 11. Depending on the area you live in you may have to add a little more. I have a wheat grinder and grind my own wheat into flour. I have found that it is best to have the flour completely cooled or even refridgerated for a day before I make the bread. The dough tends to be stickier if you add warm flour and then you end up adding more flour.

To Mix:

put all ingredients as listed into a Bosch or Kitchen-aid mixer. Turn onto lowest setting and as soon as the dough is together and not sticking to the sides, time it for 5 minutes. During that time if the dough starts sticking badly slowly shake a little more flour around the edges a little at a time to defer the sticking. Your bread will still work even if your dough is really sticky, it will just be harder to work with.

Once the dough is done, pour a tablespoon or two of oil onto a clean, flat surface. Your counter should work great. Spread the oil around and then dump the dough out onto it. Knead it with your hands for a minute and then divide it into four equal sections. Flatten out each section one at a time. This helps smash out any air bubbles. Then roll it up like you would cinnomon rolls and squish the ends and form it into a loaf. Throw it at your counter a couple times to get out any remaining air bubbles and then place it into a greased bread pan. Repeat with the remaining three sections.

Place pans in the oven (which has been preheated to the lowest temprature you can set your oven at. 150 or 200 degrees works well. Once the pans are in, turn the oven completely off and set you timer for thirty minutes. The dough will rise. When the timer goes off. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for about 23 minutes.

That's it. Easy Peasy

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

I hadn't made these cookies since I was a kid and just remebered how much I like them. I couldn't find the good old recipe my mom made, and it was too late to call her, so.....I looked on line and combined a few. This is what I got. They are so tasty!!!

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 egg

1 cup applesauce

2-1/4 cup flour (I used half wheat, half white)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream sugar and shortening. Add egg, applesauce and vanilla: mix well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg and salt. Mix until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by the tablespoon onto a lightly greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until very light brown. These little guys are tasty fresh out of the oven, but I personally like them the next day when they have softened a little. They make a great breakfast. :)