Pots & Plots

I have made the decision to move my cooking blog over to Wordpress in order to avoid the myriad of ads that seem to severely impact loading time here at Today.com.  I don’t have huge traffic here, so it’s hardly worth the pittance I’m paid for blogging.  I’m not maintaining a cooking blog for money (though the idea that I could is cool), and I don’t post as often as I should in order to make a real go of this.  I dislike how you cannot edit posts here after they have been reviewed (because inevitably I find typos or would like to go back and add a better picture).  So, if you’ve found me here, please follow me over to the new Pots and Plots at http://potsandplots.wordpress.com.   Thanks for visiting.

It is crock pot central in my kitchen today.  It’s Sunday, and I’m trying to get some batch cooking done so that I have something healthy to eat for lunch the next couple of weeks.  The name of the game is veggie type soups.  I’ve already got a batch of my Crock Pot Tomato Soup going in my 3 quart crock pot (which freezes beautifully, I’ll have you know).  Now I’m going to try an experiment to see if I can make good French Onion Soup in a crock pot, caramelized onions and all.  French Onion Soup is a big favorite of mine (though my onionphobic husband won’t touch it).  There’s nothing better on a chill winter day than a piping hot bowl of it with some nice crusty cheese toast floating on top.  Delish.  Now, this isn’t as Fix It And Forget It as most of my crock pot recipes, but the end results are worth it.  So without further ado…

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter (or in my case, Smart Balance Omega Light, extra virgin olive oil flavor)
• 6 medium onions, sliced thin
• 1 Tbsp granulated white sugar
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste (if you have it–you can make it without, but it’s better with)
• 3 cups of beef broth
• 1/2 cup wine (dry red or a white–I actually used Nick Faldo’s Sauvignon Blanc as it’s what I had on hand–it’s kind of a sweet wine)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

Directions:

1. Go ahead and turn your slow cooker to high.  Add in the olive oil and butter and allow to melt while you’re slicing onions.  This process can be sped up by melting the butter ahead of time and pouring it in.
2. Are you weeping yet?  I’ve read tips about a zillion different ways to keep from crying over the smell of onions.  Stick a slice of bread up to the hilt of your knife.  Refrigerate the onions.  Wear swim goggles (I have actually done that).  So far, I haven’t come up with a way to stop the tears.   BUT for getting the onion smell off your hands when you’re finished, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and then rub them all over stainless steel (in my house that’s the faucet or the sink…you could use a stainless spoon or something).  I have no idea why this works, but somehow it neutralizes the onion odor.
3. When fats are melted, add sliced onions and stir to coat.
4. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and put the top back on.  Cook on high for 1-2 hours (until slightly brown), stirring occasionally.
5. Once the onions are caramelized, add in the remaining ingredients.
6. Allow to simmer on high for another three hours.

This freezes really well.  If you want to serve immediately, make up some crustini with gruyere or swiss melted on top.  Or you could make nice cheesy croutons to float in it.  It’s all good.  I usually freeze this in individual portions.  You can also take a portion and dump it in the crock pot over a roast.  Makes a fabulous gravy.

From a nutrition standpoint, the soup alone is only 96 calories and 4.75 grams of fat per serving (the batch makes 4 servings), so really not bad at all.

Okay, since we’ve established muffins are a good sort of portable breakfast for DH, I’ve been experimenting.  I wanted to add oatmeal and adapt my original Banana Bread recipe because it seems to hold him a bit longer.  Whole grains and all that.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup milled flax
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 6 medium)
• 1 1/2 cup Splenda (or sugar)
• 1/2 cup applesauce (or oil)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray
3. In a large bowl combine flour, flax, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine the egg, bananas, Splenda (or sugar), and applesauce (or oil).
5. Add wet mixture all at once to the dry.
6. Stir until just moistened (batter will be lumpy)
7. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans, about 2/3rds full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
8. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and cool on rack.

Hubby declared these definite keepers.
Makes 24 muffins.

Nutrition info:  I calculated this using the full fat/calorie version of stuff.  Each muffin breaks down to 166 calories and 6 grams of fat.  If you replace the oil with applesauce and the sugar with splenda, it works out to 117 calories and 1.5 grams of fat per muffin.  If you additionally replace the eggs with 1/2 a cup of egg substitute, it’s 114 calories and 1 gram of fat.  I don’t think that’s a big enough difference to merit the removal of virtually all fat.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium squash, jullianed (cut into fries)
• 1 medium zucchini, jullianed(cut into fries)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup skim milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. If you have a baking rack that can go in the oven, place it on top of your cookie sheet.
3. Pour milk into a bowl.
4. Put breadcrumbs 1 thin layer at a time onto a plate.
5. Dip squash and zucchini into milk, then into breadcrumbs to coat.
6. Layer on baking rack.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. If you don’t have a baking rack, flip the fries at 10 minutes.

Can be served with Parmesan cheese.  I frequently eat the whole batch as a meal.  Total calories are 310, 3 grams of fat.  If serving as a side, this makes enough for 2-3 people.

Okay, I’m on another experimental kick.  I’m trying to make some muffins for DH to take to work for breakfast without having to hit the grocery for the 800 things I’m out of.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Quaker weight control oatmeal: maple brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oatmeal (I used Scottish oatmeal, which is stone ground)
• 1 c. applesauce
• 1 lg. egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. double acting baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. skim milk
• 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. cranberries, dried cranberries or raisins

Directions

1. Spray 12 (3 inch) muffin cups with Pam or use metal muffin liners.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F degrees.
3. Stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, and oil. Set aside.
4. Stir together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the center, and add the applesauce mixture. Stir until well combined, but do not over beat.
5. Add raisins or cranberries if desired. Pour into the muffin tin. Each cup should be 2/3 full.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

The verdict:  Hubby said that these were pretty tasty.  I’m not an apple-cinnamon person myself, so we’ll take his word for it.  Each muffin (this makes 12 regular sized muffins) comes out to 125 calories and 4 grams of fat.  This could be further cut down by using egg substitute for the egg and replacing some (or all) of the oil with more applesauce. Given how my fat cutting attempts have been going lately, I’d try replacing perhaps half of the oil with applesauce instead of all.  In any event, these have a nice whole grain content with the oatmeal, so they should be pretty hearty as muffins go.