Double-Chocolate Nutrient-Rich Oil-Free Bran Muffins

I got this recipe from a ward member while at BYU. She taught a lesson on nutrition and gave out these amazing muffins as well as the recipe. I love them because they taste almost like a cupcake but are packed full of nutrients. They make a lot (24-36, depending on how much you fill the muffin tins), but they freeze well and make an excellent on-the-go (read: college student) breakfast. We never end up freezing them though because the three of us love them so much! The chocolate chips stay melty and gooey even after the muffins are cooled!

3 c. wheat bran (I usually use Bob's Red Mill)

1 c. boiling water

2 c. buttermilk

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. canned pumpkin

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. chocolate chips

Let 1 c. bran+1 c. boiling water stand for 5 minutes. Add buttermilk, eggs, sugar, and pumpkin. Combine flour, remaining bran, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add pumpkin mixture and chocolate chips. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. They don't rise very much, so you can fill the muffin tins pretty much to the top.

Veggie Rice

This recipe came from Bill Welsh's wife (although I added in measurements). Bill brought it to a work party once, and Jocilyn and I just loved it, along with the rest of the office. I rediscovered this a few weeks ago and we have been loving it!

2 1/2 cups brown rice, measured dry

2 cans chicken broth

1 cup water

2 anjou pears, diced

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 red onion, minced

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 green pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp. parsley

1/2 bottle Italian dressing

3-4 Tbsp. mayonnaise

juice from 1 small lime

Combine rice with water and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 35-40 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Mix in pears, vegetables, and parsley. Combine dressing, mayonnaise, and lime juice and stir into rice/vegetable mixture. Serve slightly warm, but not hot. The pears and cucumbers become quite disgusting if this dish is heated up too much, but we think it tastes best when it's a bit warm. Adjust the veggie quantities to suit your tastes!

Sloppy Josés and Homemade Tortillas

I came up with this recipe one night when I decided we would have sloppy joes for dinner, but substitute in rice for hamburger. After I made the filling, I realized it would be even better with tortillas. Sam and I like thinking of weird names for my inventions (like "Party in a Pan," or "The Brady Twist"), but I was just calling these Mexican Sloppy Joes. The next day Sam informed me that he had thought of the perfect name...and so we have Sloppy Josés! They taste best with homemade tortillas, but if you are crunched on time you can get some from a tortillaria (Kroger and some Walmarts have them, so Smith's probably does too). Don't settle for thin, dry flaky ones from a package, though! They won't do this dish justice.

Sloppy Josés Filling

2 1/2 c. brown rice, measured dry

1 1/4 c. ketchup (adjust according to your tastes)

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 medium onion

1 Tbsp. mustard

1-2 Tbsp. lime juice

Sour cream+additional limes, if desired, for serving

Cook rice according to package directions. Combine remaining ingredients in a large frying pan and cook until onions begin to get tender. Stir in rice and heat through.

Homemade Tortillas

Now for a quick note on these--most flour tortilla recipes I have tried tend to be very tough and excessively floury in taste. This recipe is different! Because there is a fair amount of butter in it, the dough stays quite tender (and is consequently easier to roll out) and they taste much better. (Recipe adapted from cooking class at BYU.)

4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. salt

1 c. warm water

1/3 c. milk

1/2 c. butter

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix milk and water, and heat to just below boiling. Remove from heat and stir in butter, letting it sit in liquid until completely melted. Add milk/water/butter mixture to flour mixture and knead to a soft dough. Break into 16 balls and let rest 10-20 minutes. Roll out tortillas and cook over medium heat, flipping occasionally with a pancake turner until both sides start to have light brown spots on them. Tortillas may still appear doughy, which is okay. If they are cooked until dark brown spots appear and the tortillas have no doughy spots, they will not be very tender and will likely break when you try to roll them up. Eat warm rolled around sloppy josé filling and topped with sour cream and lime juice, if desired! (Although I highly recommend the sour cream...it adds just the right touch.) Enjoy!

Yice for Dinduh

This special recipe comes straight from the kitchen of Peter May.

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1. Grunt and groan as you pull the rice cooker out of the corner cupboard - if you have to pull a few other things out in the process, that's okay.

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2. Go over to the pantry and stand up on your very tippy toes, reaching as high as you can. If you still can't reach the rice, say "Yice, yice..." repeatedly until Mommy gets it down for you. If you're in a really good mood, you can add a "hep pweess," and that should get it a little sooner.

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3. Carry the bucket of rice over to the rice cooker.

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4. Open the rice cooker and carefully place the whole bucket of rice inside.

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5. Close the cooker.

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6. Open the cooker and bang the rice bucket around with the rice paddle a few times, then close the cooker.

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7. Repeat step #6 until you get bored or Mommy says it's time for dinner.

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8. Make a pose and say "cheeeess" when Mommy wants to take a picture of your amazing Yice for Dinduh.

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Brazilian Lemonade

I got this recipe here, and it quickly became a favorite of ours! I never really thought sweetened condensed milk and citrus fruit would be a good pair, but it turns out they're fabulous together! It's perfect for those times you need a light, refreshing treat.

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they're the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)

1 c. sugar

6 c. cold water

6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time. Wash limes thoroughly with soap. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths. Place half of the limes and half of the sugar water in the blender, put the lid on, and pulse 5 -7 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Discard pulp and peel remnants in strainer. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk. Taste test and add more sugar and/or sweetened condensed milk if needed. It tastes best if served over ice!

Note: the original recipe says it doesn't keep well, but I usually double the recipe and it still tastes great the following day or two.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

I made these for dessert yesterday and they were a hit! I adjusted this recipe a bit to come up with them. They're quite rich, so I suggest cutting them kind of small.

8 oz. brick cream cheese

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp. milk

Brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines)

Additional ingredients needed to prepare brownies according to directions on box

12 oz. pkg. milk chocolate chips

Whip cream cheese until smooth. Beat in peanut butter, sugar, egg, and milk and set aside. Prepare brownie batter as directed on box. Add chocolate chips. Spread into greased 9x13 pan, reserving a few tablespoons to swirl on top. Spread peanut butter/cream cheese mixture on top of brownie batter. Make 5 thin horizontal lines with remaining brownie batter. Insert butter knife into batter in one corner of the pan and drag it through the batter vertically, alternating directions with each column made with the knife, until the batter is sufficiently swirled together across the pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. Let cool before eating.

**These brownies taste best if allowed to sit for at least 12 hours after baking to allow everything to set up and the flavors to come together.

Spiced Peaches and Chicken

This is definitely one of my very favorite dishes, both to make and to eat. One of my roommates at BYU gave me the recipe (Cara Powers, now Vivian, for anyone wondering) before my mission, and it's been a favorite ever since. I make it a lot of times when I take dinner to other people because it's so great. It's easy, fast, inexpensive, kid friendly, and has a totally different sort of taste that is exciting and lovable. Might as well rename it Mary Poppins. Practically prefect in every way.

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Ingredients:

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2 lb chicken

1/2 C flour

salt and pepper

3 Tbsp cooking oil

1 C orange juice

1 1/2 C diced peaches

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp basil

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Directions:

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1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Combine the flour and salt and pepper in a bowl and coat the chicken pieces with the flour mixture.

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2. Warm the oil in a frying pan, and fry the chicken until nicely golden (add more oil if needed).

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3. While the chicken is cooking, combine the orange juice, peaches, brown sugar, vinegar, nutmeg, and basil in a very large frying pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

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4. When chicken is done, pour off the oil and add the chicken to the sauce mixture. Don't forget to scrape the bottom of the pan - there's a lot of goodness in those brown bits stuck on there.

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5. Stir it all together, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

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6. Serve with rice. Yum!

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Substitution Tips:

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You can make this gluten-free by not breading the chicken at the beginning, just salt and pepper it and fry it up. Then add some cornstarch or other thickening agent to the sauce after adding the chicken.

If you don't have orange juice, you can use the juice from a can of mandarin oranges, just measure it out and make up the difference with juice from the peach jar.

I generally use regular white vinegar, but apple cider vinegar works well too.