Crazy Cake Cupcakes

There is a type of cake called Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake.  It does not contain butter or eggs and gets its leavening from chemical reactions between the baking soda and vinegar.  If you have ever had one, you know that it is absolutely moist and delicious and that you would never know there was anything different about it. 

What I love about this type of cake is that it’s so simple to prepare.  My twist on it is the addition of avocado.  Although avocado contains fat, the majority of it is in the form of monounsaturated fat (the good fat).  Avocado is also  heart-healthy, a good source of fiber, and is rich in vitamins.

And, no exaggeration, you can’t taste the avocado in this cupcake, and I mean not even a hint of it!

This is a quick, no fuss, feel-good-about-eating cupcake for any occasion.  I top it with a ganache or a dusting of powdered sugar.  To keep my ganache on the lighter side, I use milk instead of the more commonly used heavy cream.

Crazy Cake Cupcakes

1 1/2 cup flour

2 tbsp. flaxseed meal

1 tbsp. Stevia Powder

1/2 cup sugar (if you want to omit Stevia, use 1 cup sugar)

1/2 to 2/3 medium avocado, well mashed with fork

3 tbsp. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. vinegar

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup cold water

Ganache:

¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 scant tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Use a whisk to blend.  Make three holes in mixture.  Put oil in one hole, vanilla in the second, and vinegar in the third.  Add water and avocado.  Blend using a whisk (about 50 strokes).  Line a muffin tin with baking liners or coat with cooking spray.  Fill each cup 2/3 full with batter.  Bake about 16 - 18 minutes.  Allow to cool.

To make the ganache, place chocolate chips and milk in a small microwaveable bowl.  Microwave for 20 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  If needed, microwave for an additional 10 seconds and stir.  Spread over top of the cupcakes.  Store ganache topped cupcakes in the refrigerator. 

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Baked Coconut Chicken Tenders

I love coconut, but I know many little kids who do.  The only other person in my household who liked coconut was my daughter, but somehow she has grown out of favor with it over the years.  However, the entire family does like to eat coconut shrimp and coconut chicken.  In my attempt to also share my love of coconut with the daycare children, I came up with my version of coconut chicken for them.  

The one thing that I discovered about kids and chicken is if it looks like nuggets or chicken strips, but appears a little odd, many of the children will be reluctant to even try them.  There will be THE LOOK, the one that clearly says, “Ewww! I’m not going to eat THAT!”  My strategy is to make the chicken look as much as possible like the ubiquitous nuggets and strips in order to entice them to try it.

My secret to achieving this is to alter the look of the coconut.  Shredded coconut usually gives the chicken a bristly look, one that children would not associate with nuggets.  To remedy this, I fine-chop the coconut in the food processor, resolving the bristly appearance.

To provide additional goodness, I added flaxseed for fiber, lignans (antioxidants) and Omega-3s and almonds for healthy fats, vitamin E, potassium and magnesium.  Why not, right?  Just make sure that no one has nut allergies before serving.

These baked tenders actually look as if they were fried.  My secret is to toast the coconut and panko crumbs first to give the tenders an absolutely delicious golden brown finish without frying and without drying out the chicken.  The result, baked coconut chicken that looks good enough for all kids, big and small, to enjoy!

I tested this recipe a couple of times with my group of one, two and three year olds.  Although some of the kids embraced it, others were not impressed.  Even with the mildly favorable results with the youngest of children, I decided to post this recipe because it was a hit with the older kids and adults and actually won over non-coconut lovers.

 

Baked Coconut Chicken Tenders

2 lbs. chicken tenters (about 14 pcs)

1 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

2/3 cup panko crumbs

1/3 cup slivered almonds

2 tbsp. flaxseed meal

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 eggs + 2 tbsp. water

Pinch of salt and pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake coconut and panko separately on greased cookie sheets.  Panko crumbs will take about 4 minutes to become golden brown and the coconut about 5 minutes.  Keep a close eye as they will brown quickly.  Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Place coconut and almonds in food processor and grind until crumbly.

Combine coconut, panko, and almonds on a plate.  On another plate, combine flour, flaxseed meal, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Beat eggs and water, a pinch of salt and pepper to make an egg wash in a third plate.

 toasted coconut

coconut and panko crumb mixture

To assemble chicken, dip each piece first in the flour mixture, then egg mixture, then coconut mixture.  Placed on a greased cookie sheet.  Generously spray the top of the tenderloins with cooking spray.  Bake for about 20 minutes, turning over after 12 minutes.  Smaller pieces of tenderloin might be done around 20 minutes while the larger pieces might require a couple of additional minutes.  To test for doneness, make a small slit in the thickest part of the chicken; it should no longer be pink.

Serve with heated apricot preserve, sweet and sour sauce, or a sauce of your choosing.

Banana Peaches and Cream Pancake

                                                                                                                                                                   QP3T3X6G3R3P

Start the family's morning right with delicious and fruit packed pancakes.  The banana and peaches make them perfectly moist.  I freeze leftovers for a quick, convenient breakfast at a later time.

Banana Peaches and Cream Pancake

1 cup flour

2 tbsp. golden flaxseed

1 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 ¼ tsp. baking powder

1 egg slightly beaten

1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

15 oz. can peach slices in 100% juice, drained and pureed (use only 3/4 cup of the puree)

1 ripe medium banana, pureed

Combine dry ingredients.  Add remaining ingredients until blended, be careful not to over mix.  Preheat a large skillet on medium heat.  Spray skillet with cooking spray.  For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup batter to skillet, spreading in circular motion with a spoon.  Leave a couple inches of space between each pancake.  Allow the bottom to turn lightly brown and top to slightly bubble, turn over pancake and cook for an additional 1 -2 minutes.  Repeat until all of the batter is used up.  Makes about ten 4-5 inch pancakes.

Topping options:

My favorite topping is margarine, light whipped cream and a dusting of powdered sugar. Or, serve with heated (to liquefy) peach preserves and light whipped cream.   Or, use your own creativity and have fun with the topping!

Garbanzo Bean Crust Pizza with Turkey Pepperoni

My teenage kids were the first set of guinea pigs for this creation.  My son was reluctant to try it declaring, “No, it looks like hummus!” when he saw the uncooked batter.  But, immediately after taking the first bite of the pizza, both he and his sister asked for more.  The only problem, there were no more! I made only a small sample batch to avoid waste in the event it didn’t go well.  Delighted by the kids’ enthusiasm, I immediately whipped up a new batch from scratch.  My husband, who can be harder to feed than the daycare children because he is acutely aware that my creations tend to have secret ingredients that are good for him, also gave the pizza a thumbs up.

I had a good feeling the little daycare children would like the pizza as well.  My feelings were confirmed; the kids loved it. They devoured it like they would any other pizza.

Now, why bother with garbanzo bean flour?  Per serving, it contains 5 times more fiber and twice as much protein as regular all purpose flour.  This is such an easy switch with big rewards.

For the topping, turkey pepperoni is a great choice at 70% less fat than regular pepperoni (at least that’s what the packaging claims) and has only 70 calories for 17 slices compared to 140 calories for 14 slices of regular pepperoni.  So, when you must have something salty, chewy, and meaty on your pizza, reach for the turkey pepperoni!

In this recipe, I used a small quantity of regular flour because it really balances the flavor of the bean flour.  It definitely makes a big difference in taste, but feel free to leave it out for a gluten free crust.

Garbanzo Bean Crust Pizza with Turkey Pepperoni

Pizza Dough:

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. flaxseed

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 cup water

Topping:

1 cup shredded pizza cheese

1 cup pizza sauce

about 3 oz. turkey pepperoni

Thoroughly combine all dough ingredients in a medium bowl.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Dough should be the consistency of pancake batter.   

Preheat skillet on medium heat.  Move skillet off heat and spray skillet with cooking spray.  Add 1/4 cup batter.  Swirl pan in circular motion or use a spoon to spread batter to 1/8 inch thickness.  Place back on heat and cook until golden brown on bottom, about 2-3 minutes.  Spray cooking spray on the top of  the crust. Turn crust over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Makes about eitght 5-inch individual crusts.  Crusts can be made ahead of time an frozen for convenience.

Layer each crust with about 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 5-6 pepperoni.  Place pizzas on a greased cooking sheet and broil on high for about 2 minutes or until cheese becomes slightly golden and bubbly.  

Strawberry Applesauce Granita

A granita is a semi frozen dessert that very much resembles a sorbet.  I was inspired by Melissa D’Arabian who made Applesauce Granita with Maple Yogurt.  She has many wonderful recipes.  I made her granita, which consisted of applesauce and lemon juice, and although it may appeal to adults, the children were not enthusiastic about it.  So…it was back to the drawing board for me.

I loved the simplicity of Melissa’s recipe, liked her used of applesauce, and wanted incorporate it into my version.   After several trials and flavor combinations, fresh strawberry and applesauce was decidedly the winning pairing. It was much better received by the kids than its predecessor.  To keep the granita low sugar, I also used unsweetened applesauce, but added Stevia powder as my sweetener.  You could, of course, use the sweetener of your choice.  

This granita is so full of goodness that it doesn't do it justice to call it a dessert—it is good anytime.  It is a deliciously simple, healthy, and refreshing treat that you will feel good giving to the kids.

Strawberry Applesauce Granita

2 cups fresh strawberries, halved

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. Stevia powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

6 oz. vanilla yogurt

Puree all ingredients except yogurt in a food processor or a blender.  

Place in a shallow container, cover and freeze for 1 hour.  Remove from freezer and scrape the frozen areas of the granita using a fork.  The center may be soft, return to the freezer for 1 hour and scrape again.  Repeat as necessary.  Serve with a dollop of vanilla yogurt.

Any unused granita will solidify once again in the freezer after a period of time.  To serve, allow to defrost at room temperature for about 10 minutes and fluff with fork.

Slow Cooker Honey Ribs

I have used this recipe from HMICHAUD at allrecipes.com for years.  It is delicious.  I made a couple of minor adjustments to the recipe to suit my taste.  Those who don’t care for barbeque sauce really like this dish because it doesn't have a BBQ taste, and even better, the kids love it.  It is sweet, savory and tender.  I usually serve it with rice, but it also goes well with mashed potato, couscous, or polenta.

Slow Cooker Honey Spare Ribs

1 (10.5 oz.) can beef broth

3 tbsp. honey mustard

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup honey barbeque sauce

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

3 lbs. pork spareribs

Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl.  Slice ribs apart and place in slow cooker.  Pour sauce over pork.  Cook on high for 5 hours or until the meat falls off the bones.   Stir the meat halfway through cooking, if possible, so that the top layer of meat is on the bottom.  Use a spoon to strain off top layer of fat before serving.  Serve with mashed potato, rice polenta, or couscous.

The pork is fall-off-the-bone tender, so watch out for small fragments of bones.  To avoid dealing with them, use boneless pork ribs.  When making this substitution, cooking time might need to be slightly reduced.

Okay, the plated picture at the top of this post is my “pretty picture” to capture your attention, but when I present the dish to the children, it looks like the below.  The pork is shredded and meat juice mixed into the rice.  Yum!

Tuna Fried Rice

I swear, when I gave this dish to a group of four toddlers and preschoolers for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by the result.  Not only did ALL of them finished their serving, but 3 asked for seconds!!  If you want to introduce tuna to a child, try this first!  I believe the soy sauce is the key because it masks the taste of the tuna. Additionally, the super sweet corn adds a nice contrast to the saltiness of the dish, and all the children can taste is deliciousness.

Note:  Tuna, while nutritious, contains some amount of mercury and should be eaten in limited quantities.  This recipe uses only one 5 oz. can of tuna for about 10 half cup servings, therefore, I feel comfortable serving this once or twice a month.  The American Pregnancy Association’s web page has recommendations on portion size and frequency of tuna consumption.

Tuna Fried Rice

4 cups refrigerated cooked rice

1 5-oz. canned tuna, drained and flaked with fork

2 eggs

1 tbsp. milk

3/4 cup super sweet canned corn, drained

3 tbsp. cup finely chopped scallion (greens only)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. soy sauce

olive oil

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Coat the bottom of pan with oil.  In a small bowl, whisk milk and eggs.   Add to skillet, allow bottom of eggs to set and become lightly golden, about 2 minutes.  Flip eggs over and cook for about 15 seconds.  Remove from heat and  chop eggs using spatula.  Transfer to a plate.

To the same pan, on medium high heat, add oil to coat bottom.  Add scallion, stirring for 2 minutes.  Add rice, corn, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and soy sauce.  Stir until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Add tuna and eggs, gently stirring for another 2 minutes.  Serve.