51 better you cheese Recipes

softened cream cheese, frozen spinach, thawed and drained, milk, garlic & onion powder, to taste, salt and pepper, to taste, parmesean or romano cheese, to taste, bacon bits, optional, egg, tubes refrigerated crescent rolls, kicked up version, i always buy bags of frozen chopped spinach. you can saute it with the seasonings , and have very little, if any liquid to drain. i like to saute with some onion and red pepper, both chopped fine, as well as a heaping tbsp of minced or chopped garlic. i like this better than the onion and garlic powder, however, those are good options that are quicker. i almost always add a squeeze of fresh lemon and a dash of worcestershire to anything using spinach. i usually add chopped fresh fried bacon instead of bacon bits. just wanted to post the original recipe as given to me by a friend for foodies who prefer the easier methods.

eggs, flour, milk, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, cheese, shredded (use a good melting type like cheddar or jack), cooked sausage (you can use crumbly sausage or even better, smoked sausage cut into bite sized pieces), butter or 2 tbsp margarine

baby spinach, chopped, head iceberg lettuce or 1 small head of romaine, chopped, sweet onion, diced, creamy blue cheese, chopped into small pieces (the creamier the blue cheese for this, the better), sweet apple , like gala or pacific rose, core removed and apple diced (i leave the skin on - it s good for you!) - sprinkle the diced apple with fruit fresh to prevent browning, pecans, chopped (you may toast the pecans, or candy them, if you prefer - to candy them, see my recipe for banana cream pie supreme with caramelized pecans), poppy seed dressing in the blender (posted separately), or our favorite bottled poppy seed dressing is marie s, available in the produce dept.

ground beef, tomato sauce (or homemade sauce if you like), tomato paste, cottage cheese or 1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese, if you like that better, egg, beaten, chopped fresh parsley, lasagna noodle, uncooked, mozzarella cheese

water and 3/4 cups rice - salted/cooked accordingly, butter/1tbls. olive oil, chopped green onions (i had three), minced garlic, chopped mushrooms (approximately ), torn fresh spinach (approximately ), dried basil (even better with fresh basil, if you have it), shredded mozzarella (or any other cheese)

muffin pans, a special metal baking pan , sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. most often this pan is made from aluminum., muffin cups are, standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter., giant or texas-size muffin cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter., muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp batter., muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep ., substituting a different size muffin cup, substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. if substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. the bake time will be changed also. bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time., tips on baking muffins, grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup., use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up., if muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, flying saucer tops. if sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top., if some muffin cups will remain empty during baking , put 2 to 3 tbsp water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping., if baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes., source : land o lakes, all about muffins, are you eating muffins or cupcakes, hot breads are always a hit and muffins are 1 of the easiest to make. they are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. they can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. but like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don tsp tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. a recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in new york delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 g of fat. that s more fat than two egg mcmuffins., what is the difference between muffins and cupcakes, some say cupcakes have frosting. a basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tbsp sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. when the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level., other technical difference between muffins and cupcakes, method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. the muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. this is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients., making and baking muffins, in a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. then the milk is stirred in. this much mixing can be done ahead and held. the two are combined just before baking., combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. mix only to combine. batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. the general rule is only 12 strokes., bake as soon as it s mixed. when filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. excessive mixing causes loss of leavening., cake method for making muffins, sometimes muffins are made using the cake method , i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. this is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin., perfect muffin, perfect muffin has a thin brown crust , a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. there should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid)., more leavening is not better, just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. a guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder, or 4 tsp fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 tsp soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 tsp baking powder. excess baking powder and soda taste bitter., here are a few tips for altering muffin recipes, substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg in the recipe. if these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat., use non-fat milk instead of whole milk ., use salad oil in place of butter. in place of the fat in the recipe , use 1-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit puree such as applesauce. jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purees other than apple. adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin., create your own taste sensations, begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts., make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. use 1 and package 1 with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date.

onion, chopped, fresh minced garlic, green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped, oil, carrot, peeled and diced (about 1/8-inch), white button mushrooms, very finely chopped (can use less ), seasoning salt (or use white salt is better), black pepper, worcestershire sauce, chopped fresh parsley, chili sauce or 1/4 cup ketchup, grated parmesan cheese (can use more or less ), fresh breadcrumbs, full-fat milk (or use half and half), eggs , slighty beaten (if you are using extra large or jumbo only use 1 egg), ground turkey (use a mixture of both white and dark meat), chili sauce (or use 1 cup ketchup mixed with 2 tablespooons brown sugar)

dried fruit compote with sambuca, this quick compote is a good choice for a winter dinner when you have little time to cook but want to make an impression. you can prepare it ahead (it s better made ahead), then spoon it over store-bought ice cream to create an original and memorable dessert. i also like it with blue cheese at the end of a meal, especially if there s a dessert wine on the table., dried peaches or nectarines, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips, dried pears , cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips, dried apricots, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips or quartered, golden raisins, dried cherries, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon zest strips, fresh lemon juice, sambuca or other anise liqueur

olive oil (the more expensive the better, i prefer never to skimp on ), water, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, chopped, garlic cloves, crushed, mushroom, thinly sliced, onion, chopped, mozzarella cheese, shredded, parmesan cheese, grated, cottage cheese, tomato paste (11 oz is fine if you can only find 5 1/2 oz cans), canned tomatoes, bacon, chopped, salami, chopped, eggs, beaten, ground beef, lasagna noodle, cooked (12 of the 12x3 inch lasagna noodles is perfect)

chicken breasts, shredded cheddar cheese or 1 cup monterey jack cheese, blend, crumbled tortilla chips, water, teriyaki sauce (i like the kikoman brand), lime juice, minced garlic, mesquite liquid smoke flavoring, salt, grated ginger, tequila (optional), mayonnaise (generic brand is better ), sour cream, milk (or butter if you ve got it handy), tomatoes, white vinegar (or more if you like ), canned jalapeno slices (sometimes i throw in a few more), onion, dried parsley, tabasco sauce, salt, paprika, dill weed, cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper

lean but good quality ground beef, chopped onion, garlic, minced, cumin, flour, fresh marjoram (or a little dry marjoram but fresh is better), bay leaf, ground black pepper, sugar, red wine vinegar, beef base or 2 beef bouillon cubes, chopped tomatoes (don tsp substitute whole canned tomatoes, they don tsp have as much tomato in them, says cook s), pastitsio or 8 oz long other slender tubular pasta, flour, unsalted butter (don tsp use salted butter if you can help it; unsalted has better flavor and it will show in this reci), eggs, milk, nutmeg, salt , to taste, white pepper, freshly and finely grated hard cheese , like romano or 3 tbsp parmesan cheese (don tsp even think of using that canned stuff)

whole wheat pasta (i used penne), almond milk, whole wheat flour, margarine (olive oil spread is better for you), soy cheese (i used veggie slices), black pepper

low-fat tortilla chips or 10 -12 non-fat tortilla chips, frozen veggie crumbles (or frozen cooked lean ground beef, if you aren tsp vegetarian), black beans (fat free if you want) or 1/2 cup refried (fat free if you want) or 1/2 cup refried beans (fat free if you want), light cream cheese (neufchatel tastes better!) or 2 tbsp neufchatel cheese (neufchatel tastes better!), roma tomato , juice and seeds removed, diced, hot sauce (to taste), red onions (optional) or 1/2 white onion, diced (optional), jalapeno, diced (optional), green peppers (optional) or 1/2-1 red pepper, chopped (optional), black olives (optional) or 1/2-1 cup green olives, sliced (optional), romaine lettuce, shredded , to taste (optional), sour cream , to taste (optional), salsa , to taste (optional), cumin , to taste (optional), kosher salt , to taste (optional)

italian sausage, lean ground beef, olive oil, mushrooms , sliced as thinly as possible, garlic (depends on how ky you like it, i love so i use a lot), red wine (good wine or cooking wine, the better the wine, the better the sauce), italian spices (or if you have fresh italian herbs on hand,use them to your taste, but it does turn out much better), tomato sauce, peeled crushed tomatoes (you can also use fresh tomatoes, but this makes the sauce really watery), tomato paste, parmesan cheese, romano cheese (not totally necessary, but the parmesan is really good), sugar (helps cut the acidity), salt (i ve never really measured on a lot of the stuff, but it sounds about right.)

meufchatel (low fat cream cheese), softened, light sour cream, artichoke hearts, undrained (you can buy marinaded artichokes as well, for an extra twang), roasted red peppers, drained, more colves of garlic (you can never have too much garlic), parmesan cheese , finally graded (the fresh stuff tastes better, but you can use the canned stuff too), frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, pepper to taste

olive oil, onion, chopped, garlic, minced, fresh rosemary, stems removed, salt, pepper, prepared pizza crust (i get these premade so i don tsp have to mess with dough.), romano cheese, grated (parmesan will work too), mozzarella cheese, shredded, provolone cheese, shredded (you can use 1 cup of either mozzarella or provolone if you prefer, but i like it better with both.)

bologna (regular sliced works better than thick sliced), mashed potatoes (can be leftover or instant made for 4-6 servings), yellow cheese (you can fancy it up and use other cheese)

vegetable oil, sliced stemmed mushrooms, corn kernels, preferably fresh and cut off the cobs (about 2 ears), stemmed spinach leaves, well rinsed but not dried, salt, tortillas (this is better with store-bought rather than homemade), chipotle cascabel salsa or substitute, heavy (whipping ) cream, creme fraiche or plain yogurt, shredded mexican asadero-style cheese , brick, monterey jack or just about any melting cheese you like, carton ricotta cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish