Blueberry Health Muffins

I bring my own breakfast and lunch to work everyday. So sometimes I like to make my meals ahead for the week -- especially for breakfast. Muffins are always a nice treat in the morning with a coffee or tea. However, they can be fattening depending on the kind you eat. I found this health conscious muffin recipe in my binder and had all the ingredients on hand. They were easy to make and tasted great. The only thing I would change next time I make this recipe is to make them a little larger--I enjoy my muffin tops! So instead of making 12 small muffins, making 8 larger ones. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Enjoy!

Blueberry Health Muffins
Recipe by Whole Living magazine
Makes 12

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup rolled oats

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl whisk together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ, baking powder, salt, and 2/3 cup brown sugar. Make a well in center of bowl and add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Gently mix until just combined. Fold in blueberries.

Divide batter among muffin cups. Combine 2 Tbsp. toasted wheat germ, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, and rolled oats in a small bowl. Sprinkle over tops of muffins. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let sit in pan 10 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack to cool.

Fresh out the oven.

Beef Daube Provencal

It is a gorgeous Sunday afternoon and I need to start thinking about what to make for dinner. I usually like to cook a bigger portion for Sunday dinner so that I can have lunch covered for a couple days during the week. I found this recipe in my new Cooking Light Comfort Food cookbook which came in the mail Friday. At first when I looked at this cookbook I didn't think it was going to have any good recipes but I was so wrong. I love that it breaks down the recipes by mealtime: Breakfast, lunch, dinner and sides & desserts. Each recipe has a picture too!

Well, this was the first recipe I tried from the book because it looked delicious and I had everything I needed for it except the fresh rosemary. I didn't even have the dry stuff so I substituted it with oregano. I also added a teaspoon of granulated sugar at the end. It just needed a little something and the sugar did the trick. Also, I didn't want to turn the oven on for 2 1/2 hours so at the end of the recipe instead of baking I turned the stove to low and simmered it for 1 1/2 hours. There are also directions below on how to make this in a slow cooker. This recipe is definitely a keeper -- enjoy!

Beef Daube Provencal
Recipe from Cooking Light Comfort Food
Serves 6


Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup red wine
2 cups chopped carrot
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Dash of ground cloves
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional)
3 cups cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked noodles)


Directions: Preheat oven to 300°.  Heat oil in a small Dutch oven over low heat.  Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally.  Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high.  Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides.  Remove beef from pan.  Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Add garlic, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients (through bay leaf) -- sugar is optional-- and bring to a boil.  Cover and bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Serve over noodles.
Note: To make in a slow cooker, prepare through Step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.

I have my ingredients prepped.

For the red wine in this recipe, I use burgundy.

All the ingredients are in the pan and ready to be simmered.