Pizza Muffins

Yet another yummy recipe from my "Fabulous Freezer Meals" book. The freezer is slowly starting to fill up. :o)

Pizza Muffins
Yield: 20 muffins

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup diced pepperoni (I found a bag of Pepperoni Minis and didn't have to chop them)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
4 green onions, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, bakind soda, salt, garlic powder, basil, oregano, and sugar. Mix in green onions, pepperoni and 1 cup cheese.

In a smaller bowl beat the egg, then whisk in buttermilk. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups until half full. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese on top of muffins.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the muffin comes out clean.

To make jumbo pizza muffins, use a jumbo muffin tin (sprayed with cooking spray) and increase the cooking time by a few minutes. Watch closely to make sure muffins don't overcook and dry out. Insert a toothpick to check doneness.

Cool muffins, individually wrap in plastic, and freeze in a large zip-top bag. Place one or two muffins in a lunchbox and they will defrost and be ready to eat by lunch time.

Wholesome Oat Muffins

This recipe comes from the South Beach Diet Cookbook. I bought the cookbook years ago and this is the only recipe that I still make. I find the muffins delicious and especially good with a smoothie on the side. :o) I made a batch of them today and froze them for later use.

Wholesome Oat Muffins
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole grain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup brown sugar substitute (I am not into substitutes and use regular brown sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.
In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the oats and the buttermilk. Let soak for 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and walnuts.
In a large bowl, stir together the oil, egg, brown sugar substitute, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the oat mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full (I don't use muffin cups, just put them directly in the pan). Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons oats over the muffins. Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove to the rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins at 180 calories each!

Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese

We recently joined a Dinner Co-op with 3 other families from Church. Basically, I make all of them dinner on Wednesday and bring it to their home for them. Three other nights of the week I am getting dinner brought to my house from the other families. This is my first week and it is so fun having dinner just show up at the doorstep! For my first meal I made this mac-n-cheese along with a green salad and snickers salad. I got this recipe from a Rachael Ray cookbook and I love it because it adds a little umph to the meal that your kids don't see coming.

Boo's Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese

Coarse Salt
1 pound macaroni with ridges, such as tubettini or mini penne rigate
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, plus a few sprigs for garnish
1/2 medium onion
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 10-ounce box frozen cooked butternut squash, defrosted
1 cup cream or half-and-half
2 cups (8 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Salt the water, then add the pasta and cook al dente, or with a bite to it.

While the pasta cooks, heat a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the EVOO and butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the thyme and grate the onion directly into the pot with a hand-held grater or Microplane. Cook the grated onion for a minute or 2, then add the flour and cook together for a minute or 2 more. Whisk in the stock, then add the butternut squash and cook until warmed through and smooth. Stir in the cream and bring the sauce to a bubble. Stir in the cheeses in a figure-eight motion and season the completed sauce with salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Taste to adjust seasonings.

Drain the cooked pasta well and combine with the sauce. Serve alongside chicken sammies or all on its own with a green salad. Garnish with thyme leaves.

5 Servings

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

Another fun recipe from my "Fabulous Freezer Meals" book:

Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen cookies

1 devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
24 Rolos candies, unwrapped

Thoroughly combine ingredients with a wooden spoon. Then place 2 tablespoons cookie dough in your hand and flatten it. Place a Rolo in the center and wrap the cookie dough around it to form a ball. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar and serve warm.

To Freeze
Place cookie-dough balls (with Rolo wrapped inside) on a cookie sheet for 1 hour. Then put frozen dough balls in a large zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Serve
Remove frozen cookie-dough balls from freezer and place on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Then bake at 350 degrees F for 7 to 10 minutes and serve. Baked cookies may be frozen for up to 3 months.

Snickers Salad

Yes, you read that right! SNICKERS SALAD! Fabulous stuff. I bought a book on how to make some freezer meals to stock my newly acquired deep freeze (I have wanted one for years for this purpose!) Here is the recipe:

Snickers Salad
Yield: 8 to 10 servings

4 Snickers candy bars (2.07 ounces each), cut into 1/2-inch chunks (I cut them up into small pieces so more Snickers in each bite)
5 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped
1 small container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 drops foold coloring, your choice (I skipped this step as it seemed unnecessary)

Unwrap and slice Snickers candy bars into 1/2-inch chunks. Peel and chop the apples. Mix together candy bars and apple chunks in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together food coloring and whipped topping. Add to apples and candy bar chunks and stir until all pieces are completely covered with whipped topping. Pour into a large zip-top bag, label, and freeze until ready to serve.

To Serve
Remove the salad from the freezer 1 to 2 hours before you are ready to serve it. Set it in a large bowl and let it defrost on the counter. Serve the salad cold as a side dish.

That is the recipe straight from the book, but here is what I did differently. I didn't follow the measurements exactly, mainly because I wanted it to make more. I bought a six-pack of Snickers bars and chopped them all up into small pieces and then chopped and peeled 4 green apples. I had 5 apples, but it seemed to be a lot of apples so I am guessing mine were large apples and not the medium sized the recipe calls for. Then I added the whip cream and it didn't seem enough so I ended up using an entire 16 ounce carton of whipped cream instead of the 8 ounces. I didn't use the food coloring at all. Then I got two quart-sized freezer bags and filled them to what I thought would be enough for my small family for one meal each and then served what was left-over for dinner tonight. Before eating it, I added a sliced banana, I didn't put bananas in the freezer bags. So there you have it, dessert and fruit salad in one scrumptious side dish! I googled the recipe and found several variations and one calls for marshmallow cream! I might try that next time.

**Update** While this salad is delicious, it wasn't any good after thawing it as a freezer meal. The whip cream got all weird and only Stephen would eat it.