Morning Glory Breakfast Bars

I like to keep homemade, ready to grab foods like muffins in the freezer.  It takes 20 seconds or less to defrost them in the microwave if I need them right away.  If I won't be eating it for a couple of hours, I just throw it in my bag and it is usually defrosted by the time I'm ready to eat it.

Between myself, Darcy and Calista, I've been baking a lot of muffins lately to keep the supply up in the freezer.  I was in the mood to try something different other then muffins.  I came across the recipe for Morning Glory Breakfast Bars in The Costco Connection (magazine/catalogue we get in the mail from Costco) and they looked interesting so I gave them a whirl.

Time frame wise, I would compare this recipe to the same amount of time it takes to make a batch of carrot bran muffins.  The only time consuming thing was at the end when I individually wrapped each bar that was going to go into the freezer.  They don't need to be individually wrapped, although; I would suggest placing wax paper in between each bar so that they don't stick together while in the freezer.  I wrapped mine because I wanted them to be ready to throw into my purse on the way out the door.

They're very moist and not too sweet and loaded with lots of healthy ingredients.  I gave one to Calista for her afternoon snack and not one piece hit the floor.  That's a very good sign that they are kid friendly!

Morning Glory Breakfast Bars


Ingredients:

2 cups bran cereal
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup milk
3/4 cup drained canned crushed pineapple
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt as that is what I have started buying)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup liquid honey

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Line a 13x9 metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang at each end.  Lightly butter foil.

2. In a bowl, combine bran cereal, carrot, milk, pineapple and yogurt; let stand for 5 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Whisk egg and honey into mix mixture. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

3. Spread into prepared pan, smoothing top.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely in pan.  Using foil overhang as handles, gently remove from pan and cut into bars.  Makes 16 bars.

Enjoy!!

Turkey Lasagna

This evening for dinner, we made turkey lasagna!  We've really taken a liking to turkey over the last little while and almost always have ground turkey in the freezer.  It was our first time making turkey lasagna and I was pleased with the results.

I don't think I would classify this dish as healthy nor would I classify it as unhealthy.  It's certainly not something I would eat on a regular basis unless the copious amounts of cheese were scaled back.  The added vegetables help make the dish a little more well-balanced.  The flavor was certainly delicious and in some cases, that is all that matters!
Ingredients:


1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced (we love garlic around here)
1 pound ground turkey
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)

1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup light ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese (or goat cheese), crumbled
2 tbsp parsley

1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained of liquid
1 can of mushrooms
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, chopped

350 g shredded mozzarella

12 lasagna noodles
Cooking spray

Method:
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.

Spray large pan with oil and saute onion and garlic together.  Add seasonings.  Add turkey and cook until browned then add the tomato sauce.

In a medium sized bowl, combine egg with cheese and parsley and mix well.

In a small bowl, combine spinach, mushrooms and sun-dried tomato.

In a 9x13 sized baking dish, spread 1/3 of turkey mixture on the bottom.  Lay 4 lasagna noodles over top of mixture, overlapping if necessary.  Sprinkle with 1/2 of the spinach mixture followed by 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top, sparingly.  Repeat layers, finishing with turkey on top followed by mozzarella cheese.

Cover with tinfoil and place on baking sheet to collect any drippings.  Bake in preheated 400F oven for about 30 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before removing foil, slicing and serving.

Enjoy!!

Applesauce Muffins

This recipe is from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious. 

These muffins are very moist and delicious, with a hint of carrot flavour.  Carrot and apple pair very well together so I knew that the combination would be a hit.  I made some of the muffins with the streusel topping and others without.  While the streusel is delicious, I don't think that the added sugar is needed.  The recipe also calls for pureed carrots but I left mine a little more chunkier.

 

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

Topping:

2/3 cups old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp trans-fat free soft tub margarine spread, melted (I used butter)

Batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk

1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree (I had carrots on hand but I would be interested to know how the butternut squash would taste!)

1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 large egg

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

2. To make topping, stir together the oats, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir in margarine.

3. To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl or zipper lock bag and stir or shake to mix (shaking would be great for the little ones helping in the kitchen.)  In a second bowl, mix the applesauce, milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil and egg with a wooden spoon.  Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened.  Do not over - the batter is supposed to be lumpy.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the streusel topping.  Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins, about 18-20 minutes.  Place the muffins on a rack to cool slightly.  May be served warm or cool.

ENJOY!!