High Protein Chocolate Muffins

 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 very ripe bananas
• 8 eggs
• 1 c. plain yogurt (use applesauce for a dairy-free option)
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups oats, ground into flour in a blender 
• 3/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1 c. sugar or 1//2 c. Stevia-based sweetener
• 1 tsp. real salt
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Chocolate chips 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease 24 muffin tins
3. Peel and mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl.
4. Add eggs, yogurt, and vanilla and mix well.
5. Pour oat flour on top of the egg mixture, and measure the rest of the dry ingredients on top of that.
6. Mix the dry ingredients together a bit, then fold them into the wet stuff in the bottom of the bowl. Add chocolate chips. 
7. Divide batter into muffin tins. If you have extra, you can pour it into a bread pan and make a loaf for snacking later.
8. Bake at 350 for aprox. 20 minutes until muffins have risen and the top bounces back when you poke it. (Mini-muffins 11 mins)

(Trinaholden.com)

Caldo de Pollo con Arroz - Mexican Chicken Soup with floating rice

Ingredients:

4 small bone-in chicken thighs
4 small bone-in chicken legs
1 chicken breast (or any extra cut of chicken for more meat)
1 onion
2-4 garlic cloves
dash of oregano
1-2 Bay leaves
Salt

4 roma tomatoes
1/2 large onion
2-3 cloves garlic

1 cup rice

tortillas
Serrano chiles

Instructions

1. Cover Chicken and broth ingredients with water

2. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 40 minutes. 

3. Strain and set aside broth. 

4. Remove any chicken skin, but leave bone-in whole. (I leave half whole and I de-bone half for those in my family with different preferences).

5. Blend and finely strain tomato, onion and garlic. 

6. Use all tomato sauce, plus add enough chicken broth to get 2 cups total red broth. 

7. Cook rice separately in the red broth. 

8. Return the chicken and rice to the original broth. It should NOT be thick with the rice. It should still be mostly broth. 

Serve as a soup with corn tortillas and serrano chiles on the side. 

Chalupas from Guerrero

 If you can find Chalupas (small fried tortilla bowls, sort of like a giant Frito chip) at your local Mexican tienda, toast them a little on a pan in the stove before serving. 

If you don't have chalupas, you can use the topping on Tostadas instead, but it's just not the same ;)

1 chicken breast, 3 bone-in chicken legs
1/2 onion
1-2 garlic cloves
Salt
Bay leaf

3 white potatoes

About a cup tomatillos (find the most yellow or purple you can. NOT the greenest...)
1-2 chile serrano
1/4 onion
1 garlic clove
Salt

Serve with: 
Chile Chipotle
Thinly sliced onions
Shredded Mexican cheese

In one pot, make the Chicken and Broth:
1. Cover all ingredients with water, bring to a boil, then lower and let simmer 40-60 minutes.

2. Strain and set aside broth. 

3. Cool and shred chicken.

At the same time, in another pot, make the Potatoes:

1. Boil three small potatoes with salt until cooked through.

2. Cool, peel, chop into cubes

After the 40 minutes of cooking the chicken
In a third pot, make the Salsa:

1. Boil tomatoes and chiles until they lose their color (5-10 minutes)

2. Blend with remaining ingredients. 

3. Taste test the salsa. Slowly add it to the chicken broth until you reach a spice level you like. 

4. Let everything simmer another 15 minutes. 

Fill the chalupas with chicken and potatoes, pour caldo into the chalupa, drip chipotle and cheese and onions over the top. 

Serve only a few at a time and eat quickly before the chalupa gets soggy. 

Picadillo

Ingredients

2 Carrots - diced

2 potatoes - diced

1.5 lbs ground beef

3-4 roma tomatoes

half an onion, plus more diced

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup water

bouillion

6 bay leaves

sprig of fresh thyme if you have it

salt

Instructions

1. In a small pot, cover carrots and potatoes with water and bring to a boil at medium heat, simmer until soft.

2. At medium heat, fry diced onion for a few minutes in oil and add meat, chopping it small with the spatula as it cooks.

3. While cooking, blend tomatoes, garlic, half an onion and ½ cup water with bouillion (if paste). When the meat is cooked add the blended salsa. Simmer for a few minutes.

4. Add the cooked carrot and potato and increase heat to medium high. When it boils, add bouillon if using powder.

5. Check for flavor and add salt if needed.

6. Add bay leaves and sprig of thyme, lower to medium heat and let simmer until thick.

Serve on tostadas

optional toppings: cream, tomato, lettuce, cheese, diced onion

Calabacitas a la Mexicana - Mexican Zucchini

 Ingredients:

1 clove garlic
1 diced onion
3-4 diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon chicken boullion
2 diced serrano chiles (less if you can't handle it ;)
3 chopped zucchini
1 cup corn

Serve on tostadas with sour cream

Instructions

1. Heat oil, sautee garlic and onion

2. Add tomato, boullion, and serrano; simmer until combined

3. Add zucchini and corn, cook 20 minutes

4. Cover, cook another 20 minutes. 

Christmas Jam - Annette Greer

 12 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen, thaw first if frozen)

1 orange - peeled & sectioned

2 tsp orange peel zest

16 oz strawberries (fresh or frozen, thaw first if frozen)

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

3-4 cups sugar

1- 1.75 oz pkg powdered fruit pectin

1/2 c water

Directions

1- Wash jars, lids & rings. Fill jars 2/3's full of water & place in water-bath canner. Fill with water. Put canner on stove over medium-high heat to sterilize jars while you make the jam.

2- Place lids in a small saucepan covered with water. Boil over medium-high heat while you make the jam. Set rings to the side, they don't need sterilization.

3- Place cranberries and sectioned orange into blender. You just want them coarsely chopped. My blender has a food chop option. 

4- Add in the strawberries, orange zest and spices. Stir a bit in the blender to make sure they get mixed a little. Blend until everything is chopped fine. You don't want it pureed. 

5- Stir fruit mixture and water together in a 5 qt stock pot.

6- Stir in fruit pectin and add your 1/2 teaspoon of butter (this reduces foaming). 

7- Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. 

8- Add sugar to the mixture. Return to full rolling boil. Boil exactly 1 minute. 

9- Remove from heat. Using a metal spoon, skim off any foam.

10- Immediately ladle hot jam into prepared jars. Leaving 1/4" headspace. n

11- Wipe rims & threads. Center lid. Place ring on just finger tight. Place jars back in canner. 

12- When all the jars are filled, fill canner with water until jars are covered with 2".

13- Cover canner. Bring to a boil. Process for 10 minutes. 

14- Turn off heat. Uncover canner. Allow jars to sit for 5 minutes. 

Shrimp Cocktail

 You may poach the shrimp or bake them. I love the easy baked option. 

Poaching Liquid: 

    3 qt cold water

    1/4 onion, cliced

    1/2 lemon

    2 cloves garlic, peeled & bruised

    2 sprigs fresh tarragon

    1 Tab seafood seasoning (Old Bay)

    1 teas whole black peppercorns

    1 bay leaf

Stir together & simmer for 15 minutes. Then bring to boil & add 2 lbs shrimp until they are bright pink on the outside & meat is no longer transparent in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a bowl of ice water & immerse in ice water until cold; drain. 

Baked Option: 

Clean shrimp well. Place in bowl & sprinkle with 

    Lemon infused olive oil

    kosher salt

    ground black pepper

    garlic powder

    Old Bay seasoning 

Allow to sit while oven heats to 325*

Line shrimp on cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. 

Bake for 8 minutes, take them out & chill. May be baked the day before. The texture is perfect. 

NOTE: if the shrimp take the shape of "C" they are cooked. If they become the letter "O" you have overcooked them. 

Cocktail Sauce: 

    1/2 c ketchup

    1/4 c chili sauce (in short red jar, not Asian sweet chili sauce)

    1/4 c prepared horseradish or less as this was mighty spicey

    1 teas lemon juice

    1 teas Worcestershire sauce

    3 drops hot sauce

    1 pinch salt

Shrimp:

    2 pounds shelled with tail on deveined jumbo shrimp