Pumpkin Apple Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
3/4 baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cup peeled and chopped apple

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin, and oil.  Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten.  Fold in apples.  Spoon batter into prepared cups.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Source: adapted from Allrecipes

Try #??:

I halved the amount of sugar (to 1/2 cup), and used some brown sugar because I had run out of white sugar. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (use mini chips for mini muffins)

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt and vanilla. 

3. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. 

4. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. 

5. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes (10-12 minutes for mini muffins) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Source: Let's Eat!

Try #1 - October 24, 2014

Yummy!  

Peanut Butter Chicken in Crockpot

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut in chunks *
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy or chunky, your choice)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth

*Note: Double sauce for a whole chicken.

1. Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the bottom of your pot and add the peanut butter. 2. Toss in the vegetables and cumin. Squeeze in lime, and add soy sauce and chicken broth. Stir as well as you can to combine (the peanut butter will be clumpy, and that's just fine).

3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. Serve over rice or quinoa.

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

Try #1 - October 24, 2014
This was good, although I have to remember that with many crockpot recipes, they are better after they've sat for a little while.  In this case, this would have been better if I had turned off the heat and let it sit for a while to let the sauce thicken up.  It was definitely better as leftovers the next day.  I used drumsticks and thighs.  After we had eaten all the chicken, there was still quite a bit of sauce left so I froze the leftover sauce to serve over rice (and perhaps add some more chicken) for a future meal.

New England Clam Chowder

1/2 pound bacon, cooked and diced
1 (6.5-ounce) can minced clams, drained
5 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 cup sliced celery
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme (I used 8 sprigs fresh thyme)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups chicken broth (I used fish broth)
2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream (I used 1 cup whole milk)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Brown the bacon on the stovetop, and drain the accumulated grease.
Put the bacon into your crockpot, and add clams. Add all the vegetables and spices and pour in the broth. Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the onion is translucent and the potatoes squish easily with a fork.
2. Use a hand-held stick blender and pulse a few times to naturally thicken the soup. Stir in half and half and shredded cheese. Ladle into wide-mouthed bowls or bread bowls.

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

Try #1 - October 21, 2014
I made this with some leftover salmon Nathan had cooked over the weekend.  I omitted the bacon (and clams, since I was using salmon instead).  So I guess I should call this salmon chowder.  Either way, it was delicious!  A great use of leftover salmon.  I used the salmon bones to make the broth a day or two before I made this soup (just added water and some herbes de provence to the bones and cooked it in the crockpot for several hours).  There was quite a bit of salmon meat left on the bones so I picked it off and added that to the chowder.  I will definitely make this again!

General Tso Chicken in Crockpot

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut in 1-inch chunks
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1 (16-ounce) package stir-fry vegetables (to add later)

1. Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the bottom of your crockpot and then add the garlic, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. Toss the chicken to fully coat with the sauce ingredients.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, then add the frozen vegetables. Re-cover and cook on high for an hour, or until the veggies are fully hot and the chicken has reached desired tenderness.
3. Serve with white or brown rice.

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

Try #1 - October 16, 2014
This was pretty good, but not really General Tso Chicken. So as long as you don't expect what you might find in a Chinese restaurant, you should be happy. Really easy dinner. Instead of chopping chicken into pieces, I used whole boneless/skinless chicken thighs, and just broke it up into pieces at the end. I added a bag of frozen broccoli. Definitely needed a full hour on high to get the broccoli hot enough. The kids seemed to like it.