Healthy Recipes for a Busy Lifestyle

Egg-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Apr 012013

We had a fun Easter dinner, but I think the best part was dessert. So many Easter recipes feature eggs, but I found this Egg-Free Chocolate Cupcake recipe with Orange Buttercream Icing. I should have made the icing a different color, to avoid the ‘Halloween look’, but these were great tasting cupcakes.

The cupcakes use basic ingredients like flour, and sugar, and cocoa powder, with chocolate chips for good measure. You don’t need flax, or chia or any other egg substitute; the recipe just works. They are so moist, they stick to your fingers when you eat them.

The frosting is a basic butter/powdered sugar blend, with orange juice for flavor and gelatin powder for color. So you really could make these any flavor and color. This will be my new go-to recipe for holiday cupcakes!

Crockpot Ground Turkey and Vegetables

Main Dishes No Responses »

Mar 272013

I wasn’t sure what to call this, really. It’s kind of a goulash, I guess. Or maybe a stew? Like chili, without any chili powder. No matter what you call it, it made some balanced meals for the week.

It’s a very simple dish of browned ground turkey and vegetables. Browning the turkey is an extra step, but worth the effort. This also allows you to drain off some of the extra fat. The vegetables came right from my freezer, no chopping required, but you could use any combination of fresh or frozen.

And now I am off to make preparations for Easter dinner, no crockpot required!

Crockpot Ground Turkey and Vegetables

1 (20 oz.) package ground turkey, browned and drained
1 (16 oz.) package frozen stew vegetables, such as onions, carrots, and potatoes
1 (16 oz.) package green beans
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. water

Mix all ingredients in your crockpot. Cook on High for 5-6 hours.

Asparagus and Egg Salad

Sandwiches and Wraps 1 Response »

Mar 262013

Asparagus is here! A sure sign of spring, even if there is still snow on the ground. I was so excited that I went ahead and bought 2 bunches.

I had seen this recipe on Serious Eats, but I had to make things a little simpler. This is really just like traditional egg salad, with over a cup of steamed asparagus mixed in. There’s enough vegetable to provide some flavor and crunch (well, it would have been more crunchy if I didn’t overcook the asparagus like I always do!) The dressing of mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar gives the salad some tang.

This makes a great spring lunch, and you’ll forget all about that white stuff that still litters the ground.

Asparagus and Egg Salad

5 medium eggs, boiled for 10 minutes, peeled and chopped
1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 1″ pieces, and steamed
1/3 c. light mayonnaise
2 T mustard
2 T red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Place egg and asparagus in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, mustard, and red wine vinegar. Mix dressing into eggs and asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in pita, or on top of a green salad.

Koulourakia

Cookies and Bars No Responses »

Mar 252013

My cooking club theme this month was “My Big Fat Greek Dinner”. We had a great buffet of Greek specialties including spanakopita, Greek chicken, Greek pasta salad, and baklava. There was plenty of feta and phyllo dough to go around.

I made these Lenten Koulourakia. Many traditional recipes featured sesame seeds, but this recipe used almonds which I like better. Plus, this recipe also included wine, always a crowd favorite.

The dough uses oil, not butter, so the texture is dense and the cookies are nice and crunchy. They are not overly sweet, but still taste like dessert. They actually remind me a bit of Italian biscotti; they’re the kind of cookie you want to dip in something. Coffee, tea, wine…your choice!

Tindora

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Mar 192013

I love finding new produce to try! I went to an Indian grocery store the other day, and picked up tindora. I didn’t photograph them next to a reference, but they’re similar in size to pickling cucumbers.

I appealed to some friends from India for help in cooking the tindora, and they made some great suggestions. I stuck to a fairly simple preparation, and sauteed them in a bit of oil and spices. It works for almost any vegetable.

I was surprised that the tindora stayed fairly crunchy, even after almost 20 minutes in the frying pan! The taste was mild, so the spices really made this dish. I enjoyed them, but even more, I had fun trying a new vegetable.