Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes Using Quinoa Flour

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes

Growing up once a year for my birthday my mom would buy a sheet cake from the Italian bakery. I would pretty much eat the entire sheet cake. I loved cake, and the Italian bakery sheet cake was delicious. My love affair with cake started with those birthday sheet cakes and only grew stronger once I started baking during my teen years. I would scour over cookbooks looking for new cake and cupcake recipes. Flash forward to a few years ago and my cake eating life was brought to a halt. I found out that I could no longer have gluten and I was devastated. Not only because I couldn't have pasta or bread, but because cake was taken away from me. I began trying various gluten free cake recipes using all purpose gluten free flour and pretty much hated all of them. Finally I came to the conclusion that I prefer straight flours, not store bought blends. Adding 10 different ingredients for one flour just isn't something that my taste buds seem to love. Now I try to use a variety of straight flours, some of which I have found I love and others I have never bought again. This week I tried a new recipe for Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes from the Bob's Red Mill site.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes Using Quinoa Flour

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 12 cupcakes. I made a few changes to the original recipe. First I used muffin liners that I got on clearance after Valentine's Day. I love when I only have to pay a few cents for liners. Second, I found that my baking time was a little longer than the recipe, 25 minutes total. Make sure to watch the cupcakes closely, they will go from done to burnt very quickly.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes Using Quinoa Flour

My kids loved these cupcakes. I was going to frost them, but my kids loved them plain. The fact that they ate the cupcakes without frosting says a lot since they are huge frosting fans. I was worried that the taste of the quinoa flour would be too strong, but they tasted chocolatey with no after taste. My husband thought that the quinoa flour tasted like peanut butter, which he really liked. Overall, these cupcakes were very popular with my family and I would make them again.

For the recipe go to Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes. 

Overnight Hot Oat, Dried Cranberry and Quinoa Cereal

My meal plan got thrown-out the window this week. With a Monday holiday and very cold weather, dinners haven't gone as planned. I utilized a lot of leftovers and baked a little more than usual. My youngest somehow ate an entire batch of brownies by himself. Luckily for me I was able to eat one before the rest went into his hollow stomach. Breakfast is still a struggle with my youngest son. He would rather eat anything, except something healthy. Oatmeal is the one breakfast food that I can almost always convince him to eat, he loves it. The only problem I have is that the steel cut oats that he loves take a long time to prep when he is hungry in the morning. Therefore I have been trying a variety of overnight oat recipes. Last week I made a new recipe from Bon Appetit magazine for Overnight Hot Oat, Dried Cranberry and Quinoa Cereal.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 10 minutes of prep, an overnight soak and then 5 minutes in the morning and makes 4 servings. I decided to double the recipe in order to have enough for everyone in my family. For the dried fruit I used dried cranberries. For the toppings I added pumpkin seeds, a small amount of vanilla and maple syrup. I have never been able to find cardamom at my local stores so I left it out. Make sure to rinse your quinoa very well. If you have never used quinoa before rinsing is a very important step. The rinsing gets rid of the bitter taste and without the rinse the quinoa will have a distinct bitter taste, that is not appetizing. Even if the brand that you buy claims that it is pre-rinsed, still rinse the quinoa again. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My youngest son and I both liked the idea behind this recipe. However, it needs a few changes. The taste of the quinoa was very strong. My husband wasn't a fan of the quinoa taste at all, so this recipe as written would have to be for somehow that really likes quinoa. I would suggest decreasing the amount of quinoa to 1/4 cup and increasing the steel cut oats to 3/4 cup. Adding additional fruit for sweetness might also help. The recipe suggests using barley instead of quinoa, which if you can eat gluten would be a great change and I think make the dish even better.

For the recipe go to Hot Oat and Quinoa Cereal.

Quinoa-Pumpkin Seed Granola

My normally good eating habits haven't been so great since Thanksgiving. The holidays seem to have gotten to me this year and my food choices have gone down hill. Don't get me wrong I still have cooked from scratch and enjoyed healthy dinners, but I have snacked more than usual and eaten more sugar. Luckily I haven't gained any weight, but I feel less than my normal self so I know that it's time to get back on track. One of the major things that I haven't been doing well with the last couple of months is breakfast. I have been good about eating breakfast since I had low potassium last winter. However, since Thanksgiving I have been skipping breakfast or not eating enough protein in the morning. This weekend I decided to get back on track and made some healthy snacks for the week. One of the new recipes I tried was for Quinoa-Pumpkin Seed Granola from the January issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 50 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 13 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I chose to use dried cherries for the dried fruit called for in the recipe. The recipe states to stir the mixture twice, but I forgot one of the stirs, so I only did a total of one stir half-way through the baking time. I kept my granola in larger pieces since I was going to eat it as a snack instead of with milk. I think I prefer the large chunks like I made. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and I really enjoyed this granola. The quinoa was great, I loved how it was crunchy and the whole almonds were delicious. The cranberries provided a nice sweet contrast to the crunchiness of the nuts. My husband thought that it would be even better for adults with a small amount of cayenne pepper to have a sweet/spicy combination.

For the recipe go to Quinoa-Pumpkin Seed Granola. (registration required)

Hearty Quinoa and Corn Chowder

For the last couple of weeks it seemed that fall had by-passed my area. Trick-or-treat was postponed due to snow and power outages, which I never remember having happened before. My oldest son remarked that it looked like Christmas outside....in October. Luckily this weekend the weather was in the 60's and it actually felt like fall. I am someone that absolutely loves fall. The leaves changing and the start of the holidays puts me in a great mood. All the baking and cooking remind me of growing-up in a very large family (my mom was the oldest of twelve). There is something so relaxing about baking an apple or pumpkin pie and a meal with lots of sides. One of my favorite fall dishes is soup. I love pretty much any type of soup that can be thought up and I make soup or stew at least once a week in the colder months. Recently, I tried a new recipe for Hearty Quinoa and Corn Chowder from the October/November issue of Taste of Home magazine, which looked perfect for the crisp fall weather.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking and makes 14 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store, even the super store in my area now stocks quinoa, which is a welcome change. Since I am now eating gluten-free I substituted the all-purpose flour used in the recipe for gluten-free cornstarch. I use cornstarch in recipes frequently, especially soups and stews, it thickens just as well as flour and can be found gluten-free. Since corn isn't in season I used frozen corn and as I normally do I made my own vegetable stock. If you have never made your own veggie stock, you really should try it. Vegetable stock can literally be made with any leftover fridge veggies, onions, carrots and a few bay leaves and let it simmer for a couple of hours. I do not salt my homemade stock since I like to add salt to the recipe directly instead. The recipe stirs in the last ingredients and serves the chowder immediately. I let my chowder cook for another 15 minutes on a low temp in order for all the flavors to blend. With soup I prefer a little longer on the cook time in order for the soup to be just right. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If you are looking for a recipe to feed a crowd this is the one to pick. This recipe made enough for two meals for my family of four plus a bunch of freezer leftovers. My two boys really like this soup. They both thought that it was corn soup and didn't notice the quinoa at all. I liked that it has quinoa and pinto beans for protein with the traditional chowder consistency and feel. If you are trying to watch your calories and fat the heavy whipping cream could be substituted for milk. I do this frequently in recipes. Just make sure that you add enough flour for the chowder to thicken adequetely. Overall, a great fall recipe that is very kid friendly.

For the link go to Hearty Quinoa and Corn Chowder. (registration required)

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins

Yesterday was the first day of school for my oldest son. This new change in my mornings has upended my breakfast routine again and I am determined to keep the good habits I developed over the summer. It seems that when my son is in school it is a crazy rush in the morning to get everyone in the shower, dressed and out the door by 7:30 for the bus. My youngest is not a morning person by any means and normally complains and won't eat breakfast until an hour after he wakes up. During the summer that works fine since he can wake-up when he wants and eat whenever he feels he wants to. However, during the school year this schedule doesn't work and my son grumbles all the way to drop his brother off at the bus. When we get home I like to have something quick and filling for him to eat that can be put together in minutes. In order to achieve this I do a lot of my baking in the evening and one thing that I have found that works very well for busy mornings is muffins. Recently, I tried a new recipe for Quinoa Muffins from Martha Stewart Living, which looked full of whole grains and perfect for a rushed morning.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour, 25 minutes of which is prep and makes 12 muffins. Obviously I made one major modification to this recipe. While I loved the idea of quinoa muffins, my boys and I aren't big raisins fans. So instead of raisins I substituted chocolate chips. I also used closer to 3/4 of a cup of chocolate chips, I love anything with lots of chocolate. Since I don't have a dishwasher and find cleaning muffin tins to be tedious, I chose to use muffins cups instead. There are some great muffin cups available now and they look great when served. My overall baking time was slightly longer than the recipe suggested and I turned my pan 90 degrees halfway through baking to ensure even browning. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I don't think these muffins lasted more than a day in my house. They were delicious and I love that they are full of whole grains. My oldest son has fallen in love with quinoa and loves it in waffles, cereal, cookies, pretty much anything that I can bake. This recipe was very easy and the addition of chocolate chips was perfect. I would definitely make this recipe again.

For the recipe go to Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins.

Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies

My week of eating healthy breakfasts continues. So far I have been doing really well. I have consistently been eating breakfast every morning for the last two weeks and I have noticed that I have more energy and less crabbiness than when I was skipping eating. This week I am visiting family for the week and I am hoping to not eat too much restaurant or fair food. However, I love fair food, so you might notice a few posts on hotdogs and caramel apples on my facebook page, I love them! My two boys have been doing much better than I expected them to with the new breakfast routine and have fallen in love with healthy waffles and whole-wheat couscous. With fair food tempting them this week my main goal is to not have them eat funnel cake and pop tarts for breakfast and at least include eggs or another protein with every meal. I'm pretty sure fried bread does not count as a protein (I wish it would I love those things!). Last week my two boys and I tried a recipe for Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Breakfast Cookies from the January issue of Bon Appetit magazine, which looked like a great compromise between sweet and healthy.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 2 dozen cookies. I did make a few modifications. I have been trying to limit the amount of sugar that my two boys consume so instead of granulated or brown sugar I substituted Splenda for baking. Instead of using an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter, I did it by hand. This sounds bad, but my mixer was dirty and I had no time (or desire) to clean it, so I did the mixing by hand. I did not flatten my cookies out before baking and they turned out less flat and crunchy looking than the photo in the magazine. I would suggest flattening out the cookies in order for them to have the best consistency when baked.

I love that these breakfast cookies are full of whole grains. I especially like that they use quinoa, which is a great grain and my two boys love it. Using Splenda for baking worked well and my two boys didn't notice that I didn't use real sugar. This recipe makes a large number of cookies and they lasted for several days. They would also work well frozen, which I often do with cookie recipes. Overall, a nice alternative for breakfast or a snack that is full of whole grains.

For the recipe go to Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies.

Banana-Quinoa Waffles

So my breakfast adventures continue. You might have noticed a pattern in my posts in the last couple of weeks. I am determined to fix my breakfast issues. For the longest time I have fought the idea of adding more whole grains and reducing the amount of refined carbs that I consume. This change has been in part due to  my husband deciding to start a new slow carb diet. At first I thought the whole thing was a little crazy. After two months he has lost a large amount of weight and is doing great. My two boys and I are not following in his dieting footsteps. However, I have started adding a lot more whole grains into our diet, especially at breakfast. Gone are white rice, regular pasta and I have limited the amount of baked goods such as bread that I make with white flour. I have discovered that I love white whole-wheat flour. It is great to cook with and my kids don't notice that they are eating whole-wheat. Last week I tried a new recipe for Banana-Quinoa Waffles from Parents magazine, which looked easy and perfect for a family breakfast.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 10 waffles. I was rushed for time when I made this recipe so I omitted letting the quinoa sit in the fridge to chill for an hour or more. Instead I let it sit for approximately 10 minutes and then followed the recipe as written. To make one cup of mashed bananas it took two ripe bananas. I topped the waffles with maple syrup and no berries, since my two boys raided the fridge and ate all the fruit before I had time to make the waffles. They were delicious even without any additional fruit.

These waffles only lasted a day in my house. My two boys went back for seconds, thirds and then ate the last two waffles within the day that they were made. I really liked the banana taste in the waffles and the quinoa was great for nutrition and produced a great texture. Overall, a recipe that I would definitely make for breakfast again in the future.

For the recipe go to Banana-Quinoa Waffles.

Food Network Magazine Mango-Cucumber Salad

During the summer when fruit prices are inexpensive, I love using as many different types of fruit as I can incorporate into dishes. My two boys love any type of fruit and love going to the grocery store with me and picking out new types and familiar favorites. I have also been trying to introduce my family to more types of  grains, so I was excited when the July/August issue of the Food Network Magazine had a recipe for Mango-Cucumber Rice Salad.

This recipe has 13 ingredients and takes approximately an hour of total time. I had to make a few modifications to the ingredients, due to the fact I was unable to find some of them. I substituted a green jalapeno for the red jalapeno called for in the recipe. I also had made homemade roasted peanuts, but once again my two boys got to them before I was able to prepare the recipe, so they were not included. I followed the remainder of the recipe as stated.

My husband and I loved this recipe, my two boys weren't as big of fans. I liked the combination of the mango and the quinoa, which is very high in protein. This dish made a great side to the seafood dish I prepared with it, and the citrus taste from the lime balanced nicely with the fish. A great side dish for seafood and a good  way to introduce high protein whole grains.

For the recipe go to Food Network Magazine Mango-Cucumber Rice Salad.