London Fog Ice Cream

Just popping by to share my first recipe as a Steeped Tea rep! I had a great time making this ice cream; how could I resist when faced with the sheer gorgeousness that is... THIS:

This display of beauty just so happens to be our loose leaf Earl Grey de la Creme, and it is FANTASTIC!

I had whipping cream in the fridge that was calling my name, screaming to be used, abused (well, not really), and devoured. The solution?

London Fog Ice Cream!
INGREDIENTS

*2 cups whole milk
*2 cups whipping cream (any cream would work well I think; this is simply what I had on hand)
*1/2 cup granulated sugar
*1 tsp vanilla extract
*pinch of salt
*1/4 cup Earl Grey de la Creme loose leaf tea
*5 egg yolks

DIRECTIONS

1: Combine the milk, one cup of cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium to large saucepan. Bring just to a simmer, then remove from heat and stir in the tea. Let steep, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Using cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer (or both), strain the mixture, discarding all tea leaves. Return to saucepan and allow to cool further for 20 minutes.

2: In a separate bowl, whisk together the 5 egg yolks. Whisking constantly,
slowly pour in about a half cup of the cooled cream mixture to temper the
yolks, then add the yolk mixture to the saucepan.

3: Cook over a very low-medium heat until it reads 170-175 degrees on a candy thermometer, stirring frequently. Once the mixture has reached the
appropriate temperature, remove from heat and strain again through fresh cheesecloth, into a 1 quart mason jar. Your purpose in doing so is to remove any lingering bits of egg that may be lurking. Stir in your final cup of cream, lid securely, and shake gently once or twice to combine well.

4: Chill thoroughly in refrigerator for several hours or overnight; I almost
always go with overnight. You can use an ice bath to speed things up a bit, but why rush perfection?

5: Churn in ice cream maker according to instructions. When done, the ice cream will have a soft-serve consistancy; you can serve it like so, or pop it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for a couple hours to bring it to the degree of scoopable hardness.

Makes 8 servings of 1/2 cup apiece. Not that most of us are content with a
measly 1/2 cup of ice cream...

Inspired by: http://sugarandcloth.com/2014/07/eats-homemade-chai-latte-ice-cream/

Skinnier Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Maybe eventually I'll find the time to actually POST here. Maybe. I hope so!
Today it is dreary and grey in small-town Canada. Spring break is almost over, summer will be here before we know it.
Until then, the sunshine will have to be improvised.
These muffins here? They TOTALLY did the trick. I slightly tinkered around with another blogger's recipe and came up with these.
They're already gone. Seriously. My three kids were kind enough to let me have one.
Generosity, thy name is NOT J, Q, or S.
In any case, here's the recipe. I imagine it could be improved upon by swapping lemon yoghurt for the vanilla, by adding a tbsp of instant lemon pudding, etc.

 Skinnier Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins
   2 cups all-purpose flour
   2 tsp baking powder
   1/2 tsp salt
   1/2 cup sugar
   1/2 cup nonfat milk
   2 eggs
   2 tbsp canola oil (coconut oil would work beautifully)
   2 tbsp lemon juice
   1 tsp lemon extract
   1/3 cup fat-free vanilla yoghurt
   1 cup zucchini, shredded

Glaze
   1 cup powdered sugar
   2 tbsp lemon juice
  
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or grease lightly and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine eggs, yoghurt, oil and sugar and blend well.  Add the milk, lemon juice, extract, and stir to combine.  Fold in the zucchini.
Add wet to dry and blend gently; don't over mix!
Divide evenly Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full and bake approximately 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to rack, cooling completely.
Meanwhile, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make the glaze, adding more juice if necessary to reach the right consistancy.
Glaze when cool.

***I've included nutritional information for both glazed and unglazed muffins. At under 200 calories there's really little reason to not indulge in the glaze, unless sugar is a huge concern for you, in which case, do what you must and go without.
But I recommend the glaze!

Makes 12 muffins

Nutritional Information

*Glazed*

Amount Per Serving
  Calories     192.7
  Total Fat     3.5 g
          Saturated Fat     0.5 g
          Polyunsaturated Fat     1.0 g
          Monounsaturated Fat     1.7 g
  Cholesterol     36.4 mg
  Sodium     200.9 mg
  Potassium     117.4 mg
  Total Carbohydrate     36.7 g
          Dietary Fiber     0.9 g
          Sugars     19.6 g
  Protein     4.1 g

*Unglazed*

Amount Per Serving
  Calories     153.6
  Total Fat     3.5 g
          Saturated Fat     0.5 g
          Polyunsaturated Fat     1.0 g
          Monounsaturated Fat     1.7 g
  Cholesterol     36.4 mg
  Sodium     200.6 mg
  Potassium     115.9 mg
  Total Carbohydrate     26.7 g
          Dietary Fiber     0.9 g
          Sugars     9.8 g
  Protein     4.1 g
 

Adapted from Lemon Zucchini Bread SRC

Coconut Mango Yoghurt Popsicles

I don't know about everybody else, but as soon as summer hits, I start trying to think up new and different ways to beat the heat. One of my (and my family's) favourite ways to cool down is to indulge in a frozen treat, and popsicles are pretty much THE best way to do so!
I was checking out one of my absolute favourite food blogs (okay, my favourite), Skinnytaste, and found a recipe for some truly delish looking mango and coconut pops. Me, being, well.... me, I had to tweak the recipe just a tad to make it my own. This was the result. Yum. Really, really, incredibly fabulous YUM.

Coconut Mango Yoghurt Popsicles

Makes: 8

Ingredients:

1 large mango, peeled and cut up
3/4 cup greek yoghurt, divided
1 cup light coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp coconut extract

Directions:

Puree mango in a blender or food processor with 2 tbsp of the coconut milk, 3 tsbp of the greek yoghurt, and the sugar til smooth. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients until smooth. Grab your popsicle molds and divide the mango mixture evenly among them. Pour your coconut mixture over that, pop the lids on the molds (or stick popsicle sticks in them, whatever works best for you) and freeze until solid.


Adapted from Skinnytaste's Simply Obsessed Frozen Coconut Mango Pops

Nutritional Info:

 8 Servings

Amount Per Serving
  Calories     103.2
  Total Fat     3.1 g
          Saturated Fat     3.0 g
          Polyunsaturated Fat     0.0 g
          Monounsaturated Fat     0.0 g
  Cholesterol     0.0 mg
  Sodium     15.9 mg
  Potassium     87.8 mg
  Total Carbohydrate     17.5 g
          Dietary Fiber     0.7 g
          Sugars     16.7 g
  Protein     2.6 g

Skinny Zuppa Toscana

So.... here's the deal! Summer is technically here, but it keeps raining and raining, which to me, calls for a hearty soup for dinner. As luck would have it, all 10 of my kale plants are producing beautifully, and while my favourite soup just so happens to be a Sausage, Kale, and Lentil soup, I wanted something different.
Enter Zuppa Toscana.
For those of you unaware of this heavenly concoction, let me just say that the original recipes usually add up to anywhere from 500 calories per bowl to 800. Not exactly weight friendly, especially with bikini season technically around the corner.
MY Zuppa Toscana... 230 calories per bowl. Oh, and it is kid-approved. No wrinkled noses, no "is this diet food?" queries, nope! Nothing but..... silence while everyone filled their grumbly tumblies.
Without further ado...... here is the recipe!

Skinny Zuppa Toscana

  Ingredients:
    1/2 lb hot italian sausage, casings removed
    1 tbsp red pepper flakes
    6 cups chicken broth
    4 cups water
    2 tbsp cornstarch
    1 tbsp olive oil, divided
    1 medium yellow onion, chopped
    1 tbsp minced garlic
    4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
    4 cups kale, stalks removed, chopped
    3 tbsp bacon bits
    1 can evaporated milk, light

Directions:
In a large pot on medium-high heat, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil, sausage and crushed red pepper flakes. Using a wooden spoon, break up the sausage until it's cooked through. Pour sausage into a large bowl and set aside.
In the same pot add the remaining olive oil, chopped onion, and bacon bits until the onions become translucent. Add garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Add chicken stock and water; stir well and bring to a boil
Add potatoes, reduce heat to a good simmer and cook until fork tender. Add a little salt to the broth if necessary to make sure the potatoes will absorb for maximum flavor.
Meanwhile, make a slurry with the cornstarch and evaporated milk.
After potatoes are done, add the cooked sausage back into the soup. Skim off most of the fat from the sausage that floats onto the surface.
Add the kale and stir in to allow the leaves to soften slightly.
Add the slurry and stir frequently until slightly thickened.
Salt and pepper to taste.

 Makes 12 generous servings of just over 1 cup each.

Nutritional Info
  Calories     230.47
  Total Fat     13.2 g

S'mores Rice Krispie Treats

A year... almost an entire year has passed since I took the time to update this blog and share recipes :-( After such a crazy amount of time I really can't think of anything that would justify such a prolonged absence, so I'll just leave that be and offer up this fabulous bit of pure YUM:

S'mores Rice Krispie Treats! I know I am not the first, and these are definitely not the most gourmet or special SRKTs you could dig up online, but they came together fast, easily, and taste delish!
Without further ado....... here's the recipe.

S'mores Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups slightly crushed Golden Grahams (or the no-name version, which is what I used; moms have to    budget!!!!!)
4 cups Rice Krispies (or, as before, no-name)
1/2 cup Chocolate Cheerios
1 10 oz bag marshmallows (save plastic bag they came in; trust me!)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Line a 9x13" pan with aluminum foil or wax paper. Spray lightly with cooking spray or lightly grease with margarine. In a large bowl, combine cereals and toss gently. In another large bowl, measure out butter or margarine. Melt in microwave, approximately 30 seconds; add marshmallows and return to microwave. Cook in 30 second intervals, stirring each time you check, just until marshmallows puff up. Working quickly, dump cereals into the marshmallow bowl and stir quickly and thoroughly. Add chocolate chips and pour the whole thing into the prepared pan.
Place plastic marshmallow bag on your hard, lightly spray it with cooking spray and use your greasy, plastic-covered hand to spread and press down the mixture into all corners of the pan. When the whole thing looks nice and uniform, toss the bag, place the pan somewhere to let it cool and set, and prepare to be AMAZED.

I know my picture is not amazing, but these things ARE!

Once cool and firm, cut into 24 squares and serve. 
Nutritional information will be added soon :-)

Pumpkin Pudding Pops

So the other day I made pudding pops for the kiddos. Super yummy and chocolately, and just what their little hearts desired. It left me thinking though: could I make something similar in a flavour that *MY* little heart desires?
Of course I could! So I did!

This was the result. And delish does not even come close to describing it!

So without further ado, here's the recipe!

Pumpkin Pudding Pops

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, or canned pumpkin
1 package Jello Vanilla Pudding, fat free
2 cups Cool Whip Free
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix by hand with a whisk until smooth.
Divide evenly among 12 paper Dixie cups; insert a wooden popsicle stick in each and freeze.
To serve: briefly run each under warm water until paper loosens and can be easily removed from pop.
Enjoy!

As always, if you're not watching your calories, go ahead and use regular ingredients, for even more decadent results!

12 Servings

Amount Per Serving
  Calories     41.8
  Total Fat     0.1 g
          Saturated Fat     0.1 g
          Polyunsaturated Fat     0.0 g
          Monounsaturated Fat     0.0 g
  Cholesterol     0.4 mg
  Sodium     47.5 mg
  Potassium     141.0 mg
  Total Carbohydrate     10.7 g
          Dietary Fiber     0.6 g
          Sugars     4.4 g
  Protein     0.8 g

Banana-Raspberry Muffins

Yet another muffin offering! I seem to be going wild for muffins right now; could be the fact that my son is turning into a late-night snacking machine, and since he is a very slender young man, with a pretty spare appetite due to his medication, I try to have healthy snacks available for him. This is most definitely not an original recipe; lots of other bloggers have bananaberry muffin recipes floating around, and I am sure that a few got all mushed together in my head to help create this one.

Banana-Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp  cinnamon
2 ripe mashed bananas
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp low fat plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups raspberries (I use frozen)

Directions:
 Preheat oven to 400°F
Grease or line 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until almost blended and make a well.
Beat bananas, eggs, brown sugar, butter and vanilla in a bowl until well mixed. Add to dry ingredients and
stir just until combined.  Gently fold in berries
Spoon into prepared cups evenly. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack.
Makes 12 good-sized muffins

Nutritional Analysis:
 Amount Per Muffin
  Calories     216.4
  Total Fat     4.9 g
          Saturated Fat     0.7 g
          Polyunsaturated Fat     1.4 g
          Monounsaturated Fat     2.5 g
  Cholesterol     31.4 mg
  Sodium     202.1 mg
  Potassium     206.4 mg
  Total Carbohydrate     43.5 g
          Dietary Fiber     2.3 g
          Sugars     19.3 g
  Protein     4.6 g