Spicy Chicken Sloppy Joes

When you cook from scratch for the majority of your meals canned and super processed foods can leave something to be desired.  I like the concept of sloppy joes but was never happy with the taste of manwich.  So we decided to look online for homemade recipes and modify, merge and tweak until we came up with a good recipe for our family.  Here is is.  Still has that sloppy joe taste, is a bit healthier and less salty and no metallic can flavors.  And who doesn't love to eat with your hands and be messy!  And this is still a quick meal.  You could even prepare the meat in the morning before work, or when the baby is napping in my case, and reheat for dinner.

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken breast (could use turkey or hamburger)

1/2 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup BBQ Sauce (we like a local place City BBQ)

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

ground pepper to taste

hot sauce to taste (we like it spicy so like 8 shakes of Chalupa)

sharp cheddar cheese slices (optional) 

whole wheat hamburger or slider buns

Recipe

1. Cook the chicken and onion over medium heat until done and no longer pink.  Add oil if you are not using a non-stick pan.
2. If you like your sandwiches extra saucy double the sauce.  Add ketchup through hot sauce and mix thoroughly.  Let the meat simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
3. Serve on buns and top with cheese if desired 

Pumpkin Donuts

Today we got lucky and called up two families we like to play with for a last minute no notice playdate.  We only had an hour and a half to play and the kids took full advantage.  While they ran around using up energy the moms hung out in the kitchen and made these yummy pumpkin donuts.  I swear I'm not obsessed with donuts, it's just so nice to be able to enjoy a fall treat while I'm eating soy and dairy free.  I'd say it was an hour and a half well spent!  Now if only I had a pumpkin late to go with the donut...

Recipe Modifications

• used fleishmanns unsalted margarine (dairy-free)
• used kirkland real eggs (like egg-beaters)
• Used own topping instead of the on in the recipe 
• added 1/2 cup pumpkin
• the batter is super thick and there isn't any to spare.  I used the baggy to put in pan then spread with a butter knife

Ingredients

For the donuts:

Baking spray

1 cup flour

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp butter, cold

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

For the topping

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

dash or two cinnamon

dash nutmeg

2 tablespoons fleishmanns unsalted or other butter/margarine

Recipe

This recipe comes from a food blog new to me Confections of a Foodie Bride but I like it!

Click Here for Recipe

For the topping

1. After the donuts cool.  Melt the butter in shallow bowl.  
2. Mix sugars and spices in another shallow bowl.
3. Dunk donuts in butter on both sides then roll in the sugar mixture

Diary-Free Hot Cocoa

Today felt a bit dreary and chilly and I just picked up some cocoa so we decided to experiment and create a yummy dairy free hot cocoa.  The end result was a success!  I have tried in the past but couldn't get it right with rice milk.  The thicker consistency of almond milk was just what we needed.  And at only 40 calories for a cup of almond milk even with sugar and marshmallows this is a treat that tastes much more indulgent than it is.  Might try sweetening with honey the next go around.  

Ingredients

dash of salt

3/8th cup of sugar

1/4 cup of cocoa

1/3 cup of water

2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

marshmallows or marshmallow fluff

Recipe

1. Cook salt, sugar, cocoa and water over medium high heat until it boils stirring frequently.  Cook for a minute at a boil stirring constantly.
2. Add almond milk and cook until hot, does not need to boil.
3. Carefully pour into cups and top with marshmallows, enjoy!

Note:  You may try adding vanilla extract but we found that this gives an off taste with almond milk.  You are better off using the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

Maple Walnut Apple Crisp

Today was my oldest daughter's first parent accompanied field trip.  We went to Erie Apple Orchard and got to pick apples, pick out a pumpkin, go for a hay ride, see how apple cider is made and of course eat cider and donuts.  The sun was trying to peak out after days of rain and the air was crisp as it should be in fall.  It was a great start to the many field trips to come and made us all want a nice warm yummy fresh apple crisp.  Here is our family's favorite recipe.  After trying Maple syrup I don't think I'd go back to sugar on the apples, it's so good!  And it's even good enough you don't have to top with ice-cream, although we often do

Recipe Modifications

• This recipe is from Cooking Light so it's still yummy but light.  Well I take away a bit of the light because I love the topping so I use 1 1/2 the amount the recipe calls for
• I am eating milk free so I substituted Fleishman's unsalted margarine for butter
• I never measure the apples I just fill up my pie plate all the way to the top.  I also eye the maple syrup and let the girls sprinkle the cinnamon.  You don't need allot of syrup and we always use real Maple Syrup
• Make sure you really work the crumple until all the ingredients combine into a nice true crumble.  There shouldn't be allot of loose sugar and flour.  For some reason it took me years to learn this!  And buying a cheap pastry blender is so much easier than using the double knife method
• You can use many types of apples for this.  Most fruit markets will suggest of have signs for apples that are good for baking

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup regular oats

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

7 cups sliced peeled Rome apple (about 3 pounds)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Recipe

This recipe comes from my favorite source Cooking Light. Not diet food, but food that is conscious of health without losing any flavor. Food for life! 

Click Here for Recipe

Apple Cider Donuts

The weather outside is dreary and I have two little girls that want to bake so we made up a new donut recipe!  These are apple donuts with a cider glaze or sugar and cider topping.  They were a huge hit today and will be added to our must-make-for-fall list.  Next weekend I'm thinking pumpkin, I absolutely love pumpkin baked goods.  One benefit of eating milk and soy free right now is that it's forcing me to create my own recipes.  Almond milk bakes very well but does impart a bit of almond flavor.  Rice Milk doesn't bake as well but doesn't add a flavor.  Good thing we love almonds ;-)

Ingredients for 6 donuts

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

dash or two  ground nutmeg (optional)

dash or two ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup almond milk (we use almond breeze original, they come in milk box size)

* can substitute buttermilk or make your own with skim/1% and vinegar) 

1 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 teaspoons real maple syrup (costco has a good deal on the real stuff!)

Sugar Coating 

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1/4 to 1/2 cup apple cider

Glaze

1/8 cup apple cider

1 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt 

Donut Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a doughnut pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt with a whisk. 
3. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla, apple sauce, maple syrup and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.
4. Pour dough into a ziplock bag.  You can place bag in a large mug to make purring easier.
5. Snip of one corner of ziplock bag and fill each doughnut cup almost but not quit full.  These are more dense donuts and will not rise as high as some recipes. 
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. They will not be brown, should appear still pale.  Allow to cool for two minutes before removing from pan.  These took two minutes longer in my oven then less dense donuts.
7. Cool completely before adding toppings.

Sugar Coating

1. Combine white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl.
2. Pour enough cider into small bowl to cover bottom.
3. Dunk donuts on both sides in cider quickly, shake off excess, and then roll to cover completely in sugar.

Apple Cider Glaze

1. Microwave cider in small bowl for 40 seconds.
2. Add powdered sugar and salt to bowl and whisk until smooth.  
3. Dunk top of donuts in mixture.  Let cool and glaze will harden.

Homemade Baked Donuts

I love playing outdoors with my girls. Hiking, walking, going to parks, farmers markets, festivals, farms, dairies, laying on the grass and looking at clouds...the list is endless. We enjoy all seasons, but there is something so magically about fall. It's simply beautiful with fall leaves, and the change to homey rich foods from summers lighter fare. So you can imagine that I absolutely love cider mills with hot apple cider and fresh donuts. We try to eat healthy but believe treats are good too as long as you're eating mostly healthy and staying active. So I was intrigued when my friend Stephanie posted on her Facebook about baking donuts. I finally got around to buying a pan and came up with the following recipe after taking bits from several I saw online. These are so good, just as good as fried cake donuts, and better than many I've tried. I will make them again and again. As an added bonus they are soy and milk free!

Ingredients for 12 donuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar, add 1/4 more if you like them really sweet
2 teaspoons baking powder
dash ground nutmeg (optional)
dash or two ground cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup almond milk (we use almond breeze original, they come in milk box size)
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

Ingredients for 6 donuts

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar, add 1/8 more if you like them really sweet

1 teaspoons baking powder

dash ground nutmeg (optional)

dash or two ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup and 1/8 cup almond milk (we use almond breeze original, they come in milk box size)

1 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

Sugar Coating

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

Chocolate Glaze (1/2 recipe for 6 donuts)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus a few more

2 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoons hot water, add more if too thick

Donut Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a doughnut pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt with a whisk. 
3. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.
4. Pour dough into a ziplock bag.  You can place bag in a large mug to make purring easier.
5. Snip of one corner of ziplock bag and fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. 
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. They will not be brown, should appear still pale.  Allow to cool for two minutes before removing from pan.
7. Cool completely before adding toppings.

Sugar Coating

1. Combine white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl.
2. Melt butter in a shallow bowl.
3. Dunk donuts on both sides in butter then roll to cover completely in sugar.

Chocolate and Sprinkle

1. Combine chips, syrup and margarine.  Melt in microwave for 1 minute at 50% power stirring ever 20 seconds.
2. Add hot water until mixture is thick but not too thick to dunk.  
3. Dunk top of donuts in mixture.
4. Top with sprinkles if desired