The Nifty Foodie

Breads/Muffins

Pita Bread

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pita5

I’ve always loved pita bread, mostly because it has pockets in it that holds sandwich fillings very well. I never thought you could make it in your own kitchen. I’m a fairly new cook, so you have to give me some credit here.

I first saw the recipe on Annie’s Eats, and I made sure to star it for whenever I was feeling ambitious in the baking department. I finally pushed myself to make it, because I wanted to try a very popular recipe for Chicken Gyros one night (which will be featured in the next post).

I will admit, it does need a lot of rising/resting time, but as far as your effort goes? Couldn’t be easier, in my opinion. Plus, it’s so much more flavorful than the bread you buy in stores and probably cheaper! I would say, if you’re new to bread, this is a great recipe for you to start with!

Pita Bread
Source: Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour, plus 1/2-3/4 cup more as needed (I used bread flour)
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 tbsp. sugar or honey
  • 1 packet instant yeast
  • 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups water, roughly at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil, vegetable oil, butter or shortening

Directions:

Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar.  Add the olive oil and 1 ¼ cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon.  All of the ingredients should form a ball.  If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.  As the dough is mixing, continue to add flour, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky.  (I add a significant amount of flour, so don’t be afraid to keep adding more until you reach the right consistency.)

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the dough around so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

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When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it will be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450°. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while it is preheating. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between ¼ – 1/8” thick – 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently, you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5-10 minutes before trying again.

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Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.

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Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy (When the recipe says puffy, it is completely puffy!  Wow!) after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn’t necessary.

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The Skinny – per serving, serves 8

Calories 240.6
Fat 4.0 g
Fiber 1.8 g

I’m thinking of incorporating some whole wheat flour for next time to lower the calories, and to increase the flour. I didn’t want to lighten the recipe for the first time that I made it, so that I could familiarize myself with the process and understand for next time, how it’s supposed to come out, just in case whole wheat doesn’t work out. I have a good feeling that subbing 1 cup of whole wheat for the regular flour would work, though. We’ll see!

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

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I love blueberries. I’m especially happy that it’s blueberry season, because they are super cheap and fairly local. Local fruit is the best!

I’ve been wanting to make blueberry muffins for quite a while, but I also didn’t want them to be high in calories/fat either. So, I skinny-fied a highly rated recipe on Food Network. Is it any surprise that Ina’s recipe is the highest rated? So, of course, I’m going to play with her recipe.

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins
Source: adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup no-sugar added applesauce
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar (could have used half splenda/half sugar but I was out)
  • 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces fat free sour cream
  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in muffin pans.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in applesauce and mix together until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.
  3. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

Yields 24 muffins.

Nutritional Facts:
Calories: 144, Fat: 2.9 g, Fiber: 0.8 g
POINTS*: 3

Do you want to compare to Ina’s original recipe?
Calories: 218, Fat: 12.5 g, Fiber: 0.7 g
POINTS*: 5

Banana Bread

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I ended up noticing while making the Pumpkin cake, that we had some pretty ripe bananas on the counter. So, I forked out a recipe I’ve been eyeing for quite some time and went to work on this!

Banana Bread
Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup mashed banana
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (omitted)

Directions:

  1.  Grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add butter, eggs, nuts, and mashed banana. Beat until well blended.
  3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

This bread was OK, but I think next time, I’m going to look for a recipe using MORE bananas. It had a pretty subtle banana flavor, and I wanted more! I love bananas! 🙂

 

 

Pumpkin Bread

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After yesterday’s pumpkin cheesecake brownies, I had to use up a good bit of the leftover pumpkin. So, I searched blogs until I found Katie’s adaptation for a classic pumpkin bread that would use up all the rest of that yummy pumpkin before it went bad in the fridge!

Of course, I subbed applesauce for butter here. It was still very good though! 🙂 Thanks Katie!

Classic Pumpkin Bread
Source: Good Things Catered adapted from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/3 c. milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 6 Tbsp butter, at room temp (I used applesauce instead)
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 c. pumpkin puree

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Have all ingredients at room temp and prepare 9×5 loaf pan.
  3. Whisk together flour, soda, powder, salt and spices thoroughly.
  4. In another bowl combine milk and vanilla.
  5. In large bowl of mixer beat butter until creamy (about 30 sec).
  6. Gradually add sugars and beat on high speed until lightened in texture (3-4 min).
  7. Beat in eggs one at a time.
  8. Add pumpkin puree on low speed until just blended.
  9. Add flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with the milk mixture in 2 parts beating on low or stirring with spatula until just combined. (Don’t overmix here! Really just stir until just combined. Sorry, I watch too much Alton Brown….)
  10. Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly.
  11. Bake about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (It took me about 75 minutes)

Ok, drumroll for the POINTS* value (with my applesauce change in there)….

Serves: 12
POINTS*: 3

YAY! So, POINTSwise, this doesn’t make for a bad breakfast at all!! 🙂 Enjoy!

Strawberry Bread

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Hard to believe, but I reduced the calories by 100 calories per serving on this bread, and am sure that I didn’t impact the taste much at all!

My dad bought a flat of Louisiana strawberries late last week, and so I have been trying to figure out ways to get rid of the strawberries since their lives are at their end..lol. This helped me rid of a pint and in an awesome way!

This bread is delicious, especially with a dollop of cool whip. I want another piece but I know I snacked enough earlier when I got home lol. Here is the original recipe with my substitutions from AllRecipes.

Strawberry Bread

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups fresh strawberries
* 3 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 1/8 cups AP flour)
* 2 cups white sugar (1 cup splenda, 1 cup white sugar)
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (12 oz. no sugar added applesauce)
* 4 eggs, beaten
* 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans (omitted because I hate pecans)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
2. Slice strawberries, and place in medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, and set aside while preparing bread mixture.
3. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl: mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in pecans. Divide batter into pans.
4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tester inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaves out, and cool completely.

I did end up just baking this in a 8×8 pan since I couldn’t find the loaf pans :(. Worked out just fine!

All in all this was delicious and I’m looking forward to this for breakfast tomorrow morning!



Original nutritional facts:
Fib
16 servings

Calories: 285
Total Fat: 17g
Fiber: 1.5g
Points: 7*

With my substitutions and omissions (especially note the fat changes):

16 servings

Calories: 165.5
Total Fat: 1.6g
Fiber: 2.1g
Points: 3*

That’s a 4 point difference per serving! I’m sure that was just the applesauce vs. oil difference but that’s amazing!

WC Recipe Exchange: Rum Buns

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On the What’s Cooking? board, there is a recipe exchange held every couple months or so. This is my first exchange, and the challenge was to send a recipe that reigns from your region…that basically says, hey this is my town’s specialty!

EDIT: Found out through comments that the person who submitted this recipe is Sweetie Cakes. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!!

My first try, I forgot to add the yeast…ugh…so I had to start over at the very end…but it was worth it. This is a great bread with a tinge of sweetness from the icing.

Here is her recipe:

Washington, DC doesn’t have a lot of famous foods but the oldtime seafood restaurants served rum buns instead of regular bread. So when you go to the traditional DC seafood spots, you look forward to the rum buns. This recipe is from the Flagship Restaurant (now Phillips Flagship).

1/2 stick (1/4) c. butter
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. scalded milk
1 envelope dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 tbsp. rum extract
3 1/2 c. flour, sifted

For brushing the loaves:
2 tbsp. raisins, chopped
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp butter (melted)

For the icing:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp of rum extract
2 tbsp hot water

Combine butter, sugar, and salt. Add scalded milk and let mixture cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast over the mixture and beat it until it is smooth. Add the egg and 1 1/2 teaspoons rum extract. Beat in 1 3/4 cups flour until smooth. Add 1 3/4 cups more flour and beat until mixture is smooth. Let the dough rise in a warm place, covered with linen tea towel, for 2 hours or until double in bulk.

Grow little bacteria grow!(yes, I realized after this, I needed to remove the saran and put the towel on instead lol)

Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Roll out each piece of dough into a rectangle 12 inches long, 4 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.

Ready to ROLL! (after the raisins of course!)

Brush each strip with 1 tablespoon melted butter then sprinkle over each strip 2 tablespoons each of sugar and chopped raisins. Roll the dough up jelly roll fashion, stretching it so that it is 15 inches long. Cut each roll into 18 pieces, each 3/4 inch thick, and put them, cut side down in the bottom of well buttered 3 inch muffin tins.

Let buns rise in a warm place, covered with a linen towel, for 1 hour or until double in bulk. Bake in hot 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden.

In a bowl combine 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons hot water, and 1 teaspoon rum extract; spread the buns with the icing as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool buns on wire rack.

*DROOL*

They were delicious!

Now, my issue was, I ended up not being able to cut thin rolls to 36, so I made 18. Here are the nutritional facts..

18 Servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 169.3
Total Fat 3.4 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g

Points: appx. 3.5

Banana Bread with Streusel Topping!

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After a mishap with the muffins I made last time, I thought maybe there is a better way. I am a regular lurker on Hungry Girl and last week, she posted on her Chew The Right Thing thread about banana muffins. Chew The Right Thing is a blog that happens once a week concerning making high fat foods diet friendly. She showcases food from Starbucks to Taco Bell to homemade comfort food…it rocks!

So last week, she featured banana bread, which can have up to 400 calories a slice! I’ve yet to find a dense cakey banana bread that’s diet friendly, and tonight, I’m still searching unfortunately! I did play a little bit with the bread, but it wasn’t to where it would affect the texture. To see the original recipe, click here.

Here is my take on the recipe:

** denotes changes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 tbs Splenda brown sugar **
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
2 eggs **
1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. maple extract **
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
Optional Toppings: no-calorie spray butter, Cool Whip Free

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, Splenda brown sugar blend, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (in other words, all dry ingredients). In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract (all the wet ingredients). Add this mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended. Spoon batter into a cupcake tin sprayed with nonstick spray or lined with paper cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Makes 12.

Calories: 138
Fat: 1.5 g
Fiber: 3.75 g

Points: 2

This comes out more like a dry bread with a lack of flavor. I’d prefer more moisture and density with spices. I’ll have to take that into account for next time…


Whole Wheat Blueberry Streusel Muffins

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I’m back to blogging!! Last week, I made cinnamon streusel muffins from a mix, and it came out delicious. I bought a LOT of blueberries (Winn Dixie had them at $1/pack), so I wanted to use up some this week. I found this recipe off of Betty Crocker’s website, so here is my attempt.

Cinnamon Streusel Topping

1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose or whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar (I used 1 tablespoon of Splenda Brown Sugar, since it measures 1/2 cup to 1 cup regular brown sugar)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons firm butter or margarine
Muffins
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/4 cup of applesauce)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose or whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/3 cup Splenda)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or canned (drained) blueberries (I used fresh)

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. In medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup flour, the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until crumbly.
2. In large bowl, beat milk, oil, vanilla and egg until well blended. Stir in 2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder and salt all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently stir in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 2 teaspoons streusel topping.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cool.




All in all, this recipe is not very sweet at all. I think it would taste loads better with some brown sugar in the batter. I think I would also put another egg white to make the muffins more moist, since these were a bit on the dry side. Overall I would give these muffins a 6/10 since the blueberries and streusel topping helped enhance the muffin for the lack of sweetness it had.

Last Week’s Adventures

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Turkey Meatballs
Courtesy of Aimee’s Adventures

1 lb. Ground Turkey Breast
1/2 Cup Seasoned Dried Breadcrumbs
1/3 Cup Chopped Parsley
1 Egg
2 Tablespoons Grated Onion
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 Cup Spaghetti Sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except spaghetti sauce. Roll into 20-22 meatballs. Place a meatball into each well of a mini muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray. Fill un-used wells with water. Bake until lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; add the spaghetti sauce and toss meatballs.

Meatballs are 1 point each!!!!

I ended up making 22 pretty decent sized meatballs with this recipe. I made them on a cookie sheet and they actually ended up taking 25 minutes for my oven. I added some Whole Wheat Farfalle and a mix of red sauces to the meatballs. Great national championship game food (GEAUX TIGERS!!)

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Diet Coke Chicken
Courtesy of Weight Watcher’s Leader

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup ketchup
1 can diet coke

Brown chicken in skillet on both sides. Add can of coke and cup of ketchup. Put heat on medium low to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occassionally. YUM!! Turns into a BBQ chicken 🙂

4 points/breast!
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Chicken Cheese Biscuits
Courtesy of Aimee’s Adventures

5 oz. diced chicken breast
1 can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
3/4 cup FF shredded cheddar cheese
Pinch of Salt/Pepper
1 tbsp Parsley
Pack of Pillsbury Biscuits (type in a four pack at grocery store)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take a cupcake pan and spread each biscuit to where it forms a cup in each cupcake opening. Mix soup, chicken, cheese and spices in a bowl. Scoop mixture into biscuit cup. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden (timing was right here).

Makes 10 biscuits @ 2 points each!!

I found these to be VERY salty, so I wouldn’t add salt to these for the next recipe!
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Non-WW Recipe of the Week

I made these a lot for Christmas gifts and my mom requested these to be made. I make these with Splenda instead of sugar though and they come out great!!

Cranberry-Pistachio (White Chocolate) Biscotti
Courtesy of All Recipes

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup light olive oil
3/4 cup white sugar Substituted splenda in here
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts
Added 1/2 cup Ghiradelli white chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12×2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.