Zucchini Spice Muffins

First here’s the original recipe from the book Low Fat Living

Zucchini Spice Bread
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs (or 4 egg whites or ½ cup fat-free egg substitute)
2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or canola oil
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°
Lightly coat two 8” x 4” loaf pans with no-stick spray.
In a large bowel mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs, add zucchini, honey, butter or oil, applesauce and vanilla. Mix.
Pour into the flour mixture and mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients.
Pour the batter into the pans and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist but not wet.
Cool slightly in pans, remove from pans and cool on a rack.
Makes 20 slices.
Nutritional information per slice: 157 calories, 2.1 g fat, 3.3 g protein, 33.1 g carbs, 2.5 g fiber

Here’s my tweaked version.

Zucchini Spice Muffins
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Spenda granulated
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla
About a teaspoon or so of ground flax seed (I didn’t measure, I just sprinkled it in)

Spray muffin pan or foil muffin cups with Pam.
In a large bowel mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg.
In a medium bowl beat eggs, add zucchini, honey, butter or oil, applesauce, vanilla and flax seeds. Mix.
Pour liquid mixture into flour mixture and mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way to the top.
Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist but not wet.
Cool slightly before removing from pans/cups and cool on a rack.
Makes 20 muffins
Nutritional information per muffin: 126 calories, 2 g fat, 3 g protein, 24 g carbs, 3 g fiber.

Patti’s Notes: I basically subbed half the sugar for Splenda granulated, used canola instead of butter, decreased the honey to ½ cup and increased the applesauce to ½ cup. I buy unsweetened applesauce in the individual serving cups. They are ½ cup each. Even though they are unsweetened, they are still naturally sweet. I used the whole container to add moisture from decreasing the honey and a little sweetness that was removed by only using half of the honey. I added ground flax seed which I always think about doing but usually forget.
I decided to make muffins so I can freeze them for a good grab, nuke and go breakfast.
I shaved about 30 calories and 9 carbs per serving and they taste pretty darn good.

Easy Meter: Not too bad. Be careful when using a box grater. They tend to want to bite your knuckles. Just sayin'...

Tip of the Day: Spray your measuring cup with Pam before adding the honey. It will pour right out.

Added Bonus: It took 1½ zucchinis to make 2 cups of shredded. What to do with ½ leftover zucchini? Zucchini Chips. Why not? I sliced the remaining half zucchini as thin as I could. Put them out on a baking sheet, drizzled with EVOO, sea salt and ground pepper, tossed and put them in the oven (single layer on baking sheet) til crispy. About 20 minutes or so.

M-M-Good.

Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
4 Slices Prosciutto
4 Slices Mozzarella Cheese
4 Tablespoons Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
4 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Italian Spice Blend
1 Cup Patti's Marinara Sauce (see recipe June 21, 2010)

Preheat oven to 350º
Butterfly chicken breast (slice towards the meatier edge) to open up. On each breast put one slice mozzarella, one slice prosciutto, spread 1T ricotta over the prosciutto and top with 1T parmesan. Sprinkle with Italian spice blend, salt and pepper to taste. Roll up and secure with kitchen twine (or toothpicks). Place in baking dish and top each chicken bundle with 1/4 cup marinara sauce. Bake about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way thru.

~Source: I made this one up myself ;-)

Patti’s Notes: You could use store bought marinara sauce, but my sauce is so quick and easy to make and has no added chemicals or preservatives. Instead of butterflying the chicken, you could pound the chicken between pieces of plastic wrap but I’m not a fan. Don't forget to remove the twine (or toothpicks) before serving.
Tip of the Day: Deli Counter. I got the prosciutto and mozzarella at the deli counter. That way I only had to buy 4 slices instead of an entire package of each.

Healthy Meter: for a 6 ounce chicken breast: 227 cal; 6g fat, 6 carbs, 39g protein.
Note to Aaron: I even got out the food scale and weighted the raw chicken just for you. :xoxo:

My plate as shown above: just under 300 calories for 1/2 chicken breast, 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta with marinara, roasted Brussels sprouts (with EVOO S&P). Paul's plate as shown below, around 500.

Easy Meter: Not difficult but assembly required. I’d say on a scale of 1-10, 1 being easiest, this would be about a 3.5.

Mushroom-Herb Chicken

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
3 large shallots, peeled
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation
1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/3-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; coat with cooking spray. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until browned.
2. While chicken cooks, cut shallots vertically into thin slices. Remove chicken from pan. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add mushrooms and shallots to pan; coat vegetables with cooking spray. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sherry and marjoram. Return chicken to pan; cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and chicken is done. Transfer chicken to a platter. Pour mushroom mixture over chicken; sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

~source – Cooking Light

Patti’s Notes: I made a few changes to this recipe. First, I don’t pound chicken. I handle raw chicken as little as possible. I didn’t use cooking spray; I put a little olive oil in the pan instead which only added 30 calories per serving which was worth the flavor (IMO). I bought whole mushrooms and sliced them myself because they were much cheaper. I used marsala wine instead of dry sherry because that’s what I had. After I sautéed the mushrooms and shallots and added the chicken back to the pan and put the fry pan in the oven at 350º until the chicken was done, about 10 minutes. (That probably wouldn’t be necessary if you pounded the chicken however the entire meal only took about 40 minutes so it wasn't much of an investment in time.)
Serving suggestion was mashed potatoes and broccoli. I made Brown & Wild Rice and fresh Green Beans.
Healthy Meter: Here’s the info from Cooking Light (from original recipe):
Calories 226 (10% from fat); Fat 3g, Carbohydrate 5g; Protein 41.6g
My version upped the calories and fat a smidgeon with the olive oil to about 256 calories per serving.
Easy Meter: Easy schmeasy.

ETA: alcohol cooks out of food so don’t be afraid to serve this to children. If you are totally opposed to cooking with wine you can sub apple juice or grape juice.

Corn & Basil Cakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 large ears) or frozen
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Preparation
Whisk flour, milk, eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in corn and basil.
Brush a large nonstick skillet lightly with some of the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; heat over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). Cook 4 cakes at a time, using about 1/4 cup batter for each, making them about 3 inches wide. Cook until the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, 1 to 3 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining oil and batter, making 10 cakes total. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent burning.

Nutrition: Per serving : 180 Calories; 9 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 86 mg Cholesterol; 21 g Carbohydrates; 7 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 329 mg Sodium; 250 mg Potassium

ETA: Recipe makes 10, serving size is 2 pancakes. I only ate one which was plenty, so 90 calories each.

.

~Source: Eating Well

.

Patti’s Notes: I cut the oil in half by using the tablespoon as recommended in the batter but used Pam instead of oil in the pan. I used AP flour, fresh corn and instead of low fat milk I used unsweetened almond milk to almost the ½ cup mark and topped it off with a splash of cream to add a little fat back in. I would not recommend using dried basil. The fresh basil really made the cakes special with that pop of flavor. When I read the recipe I thought they might need some type of sauce but they didn’t need anything at all. They were nice and moist and had an interesting texture with the crunch of the corn and great flavor from the basil. Paul said “don’t lose this recipe”.

Serving suggestion was steak or BBQ chicken. I made steak but I think these would also go great with pork chops.

Easy Meter: I’d say bordering intermediate because of removing the fresh corn from the cob but would bump it down to average if you used frozen corn. There is also that turning before burning but not before the batter is cooked thing that comes into play.