Whole Wheat Waffles

Absolutely fantastic! They're extra good with a little applesauce on top.

1-3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1-3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tsp Splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
In a large mixing bowl stir flour, baking powder, Splenda and salt. In a small mixing bowl beat egg yolks, milk, vanilla and applesauce. Add to the flour mixture all at once. Stir mixture until blended.

In small mixer bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold beaten egg whites into original mixture and do not over mix.

Pour batter onto preheated waffle maker which has been sprayed with non-fat cooking spray. They take about 3-5 minutes depending on your waffle maker.

To keep waffles warm while making the batch, turn oven on to 200 and place the cooked waffles on the wire rack. These waffles freeze well and will reheat in a toaster. This is a much healther choice than frozen ones from the grocery.

Number of Servings: 5

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 216.3
Total Fat: 2.9 g
Cholesterol: 86.7 mg
Sodium: 595.5 mg
Total Carbs: 38.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.4 g
Protein: 11.1 g

Chicken Waikiki Beach

This is one of those great tried-and-true recipes from a ward cookbook. The recipe calls for whole chicken legs and breasts, but you can also use like 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts instead, just eyeball it. It also says to bake it for a total of 1 hour, but you can skip the first step and add all the ingredients together and bake it about 40 minutes, or until the chicken and pineapple and pepper are tender.

Chicken Waikiki Beach
2 whole chicken legs
2 whole chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1 large can pineapple chunks
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 chicken boullion cube
1 large green pepper cut into cubes

Heat oven to 350. Wash chicken, pat dry. Coat chicken with flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet, add chicken, and brown on all sides. Remove as browned to shallow roasting pan, skin side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sauce: Drain pineapple, pouring syrup into 2-cup measuring cup. Add water to make 1 1/2 cups. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, pineapple syrup, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and boullion cube. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil 2 minutes. Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Add pineapple and green pepper. Bake 30 minutes longer or until chicken and vegetables are tender. Serve with fluffy white rice (jasmine is my favorite.)

Homemade Ravioli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Make your own ravioli appetizer with ricotta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.

1/2 cup ricotta cheese, fat free

2 tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes

salt to taste

16 to 20 won ton wrappers

4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp olive oil

Mix tomatoes and ricotta together and season to taste. Drop a spoonful of the filling into the won ton, and use water to seal the won ton wrappers.In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook the ravioli at moderate heat for 2 -3 minutes.Drain and serve immediately, drizzle with olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Can also add pecans or walnuts.

Number of Servings: 4

Fat: 3.0 g

Carbohydrates: 27.5g

Calories: 169.2

Protein: 8.4g

Pumpkin Pancakes

This recipe is thanks to Martha Stewart, and is really good. I love fall and all the festive recipes!

1 1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. each of cinnamon, ginger, and salt
pinch cloves
1 cup milk
6 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 egg
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and spices. In a seperate bowl, mix the milk, pumpkin, butter and egg. Fold together and cook on a greased griddle over medium-to-medium-high heat. Use about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.

Butterscotch Apple Dip

My mom got this recipe from our cousin Amy Dunn Jacobsen, or so the story goes, and we've been calling it "Amy's Apple Dip" ever since. But seeing that none of you know Amy (or me, for that matter) I thought I'd call it what it is. This dip is so good for this time of year, when the apples are in season.

1 can sweetened condensed milk
6-8 oz. butterscotch chips
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vinegar
Melt in a double doiler on low heat. Serve warm with granny smith apples, or any other apples you prefer, but, the more tart the better!

Chocolate Chip Date Cake

This cake has been a Dunn family favorite for many years. When I was little, I thought it was called "Chocolate Chip Date Cake" because it was something to eat when you went out on a date. As I got older, I realized that there are actually dates in the batter, and they are the secret to its moist consistency and good taste. It is a great chocolate cake that is delicious, and not super-sweet. I've added pictures to my recipe (a la "Pioneer Woman Cooks") because I had made this cake wrong for so many years, and then finally, after talking to my mom one day after another failed attempt, I realized what I was doing that was making it not quite as I remembered it growing up. So, forgive my feeble attempts to be creative or funny with my pictures, but I didn't want the same mistake to happen to anyone else! Ok, so let's get started!

The "cast of characters": sugar, flour, vanilla, chopped pecans, chopped dates (found by the raisins in the grocery store), chocolate chips, cocoa, eggs, butter, baking soda, and boiling water (not pictured.)

Start by taking 1 cup chopped dates and putting it in a bowl

then add 1 tsp. baking soda

and 1 cup boiling water

and let stand for 40 minutes. Go for a walk, go play with your kids, watch some "Oprah", whatever.

In the meantime, add 1 Tbsp. cocoa to 1 cup sugar.

Mix well.

Then cream the sugar/cocoa mixture with 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter. Don't even think about substituting it with something else, and heaven forbid, lower in fat.

Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Then add 1 & 3/4 cups flour, gradually.

Your batter should be pretty thick after you've added the flour.

Now, here comes the key part (and the thing I had been doing wrong for so long): Add the dates, with the liquid, to the batter. For so long I had been just adding the dates, sometimes straining it, and wondering why my cake was so dry and didn't ever taste like my mom's. The liquid and the plump dates make your cake so moist and good. Oh, and don't worry if you're not a big date fan; you can't even taste them in the cake, they just help with the consistency of the cake.
Now add 1 tsp. real vanilla

and 1/2 cup chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter. Mix gently.

Now grease and flour an oblong cake pan, this one is 13x9.


Spread the gooey yummy batter in the pan evenly.

Now add another 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the top,

and 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the top.

Bake at 325 for 30 minutes until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.

Let cool and cut into pieces and serve. This cake is really good warm with some vanilla ice cream, and needs no icing! Enjoy!

Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

This recipe comes from the "Real Simple: Meals Made Easy" cookbook (as in the magazine.) It is a great way to sneak in vegetables into your meal, and has a wonderful flavor. Also, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. It calls for white wine, but you can use alcohol-removed cooking wine from any gourmet grocery store, and it works great (I got mine at Wegman's). It also calls for pancetta, but I have never put it in due to how expensive it is! I also use ground turkey instead of ground beef, but you can use whichever according to your preference. You can also find a copy of this recipe and picture here.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 pound pancetta, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup whole milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 pound dry fettucine
Grated parmesan
Heat the oil in a dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until no trace of pink remains, about 7 minutes. Spoon off and discard any excess fat. Add the wine, milk, tomato paste, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, oregano, parsley, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Cover partially, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and transfer to individual bowls. Top with the sauce and parmesan.
To freeze...Omit the pasta and parmesan. Let the sauce cool, then ladle it into resealable freezer bags. Store up to 3 months.
To reheat...Thaw the sauce overnight in the refrigerator or thaw partially in the microwave. Warm in a covered saucepan over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Spoon the sauce over it and sprinkle with the parmesan.