tasty oat bran-banana muffins

 These are super tasty and moist and the only change I would make is to add blueberries and/or hazelnuts.

From here: oat bran-banana muffins.

• 1 ¹⁄₄ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oat bran
• ¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon cinnamon
• ³⁄₄ cup milk
• ¹⁄₄ cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large ripe bananas, peeled and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F; grease 12 (1/3 cup) muffin cups or use muffin liners.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Put milk, oil, egg and vanilla in medium bowl and whisk to blend.
4. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined; mix in banana, being careful not to overmix.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
6. Bake about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into centers of muffins comes out clean.
7. Transfer to rack to cool.

oven roasted chicken

I have long used a crockpot to cook chicken, and it's still a great option for moist chicken. 

But when I want it a bit crispy and done more quickly, I follow information from here.

Basically:  grind a couple teaspoons each of salt and pepper, cover the chicken inside and out with it, and let the chicken sit with it like that in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  (Can also stuff with herbs like rosemary, thyme etc. - but depends on the use for the chicken.)

Heat oven to 450, bake for 50 minutes, baste with juices, go another 10 minutes until juices run clear.

Let it sit about 20 minutes until carving.  (Long enough to oven roast some vegetables.)   

ground beef cabbage stirfry

From here.  Quite tasty!  Could be served with rice.  Would be good with rice.  I don't need the carbs, so I just ate it like this and that was fine too.

Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

 

Ingredients

STIR FRY SAUCE

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce $0.18
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil $0.33 [or less - depends on strength; I would use 1 tsp.]
• 1 Tbsp sriracha* $0.05
• ½ Tbsp brown sugar $0.02

STIR FRY

• ½ head green cabbage $1.78
• 2 carrots $0.22
• 3 green onions $0.17
• ½ Tbsp neutral cooking oil $0.02
• ½ lb. lean ground beef $3.90
• 2 cloves garlic $0.16
• 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger $0.13
• Pinch of salt and pepper $0.05

GARNISHES (optional)

• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds $0.08
• 1 Tbsp sriracha $0.05

Instructions

1. Prepare the stir fry sauce first. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sriracha, and brown sugar. Set the sauce aside.
2. Shred the vegetables so they are ready to go when you need them. Cut one small cabbage in half, remove the core, and then finely shred the leaves of one half the cabbage (4-6 cups once shredded, save the other half for another recipe). Peel two carrots, then use a cheese grater to shred them (1 cup shredded). Slice three green onions. Mince two cloves of garlic. Peel a knob of ginger using either a vegetable peeler or by scraping with the side of a spoon, then grate it using a small-holed cheese grater.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the cooking oil, ground beef, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the beef until browned (about five minutes).
4. Add the cabbage and carrots to the skillet and continue to stir and cook until the cabbage is slightly wilted (or fully wilted, if you prefer). Stir in the prepared sauce and the green onions. Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a drizzle of sriracha, then serve.

Notes

* 1 Tbsp sriracha makes a medium-spicy stir fry. If you don't like spicy, I'd start with 1 tsp. The sriracha adds flavor as well as heat, so I don't suggest skipping it all together.

 

Total Cost: $7.14

Cost Per Serving: $1.79

Serves: 4 (1.5 cups each)

 

 ***

This website seems promising.  Tasty, healthy food on a budget?  I'm in!  Also, I think this recipe would be good with other meats such as leftover chicken. 

 

posole

This chicken posole from a recipe from Publix is SO GOOD.
I've long searched for a good posole recipe but most of them call for pork.  Which I know is authentic, but doesn't agree with me.  This completely hits the spot.  Minor adjustments made below.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil 

1 onion, chopped
1 large poblano pepper, coarsely chopped (anaheims can sub in a pinch)
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 deli rotisserie chicken, shredded (I used about 2 c. of chicken) - will try substituting pinto beans

4 cups unsalted chicken stock (homemade is best of course)
2 (15.5-oz) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
2 (4.5-oz) cans diced green chiles (I used hot Hatch diced chilis)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

accoutrements
1 ripe Hass avocado, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup queso fresco (or Monterey Jack) cheese, crumbled (I used a bit of cheddar)
1 lime

Steps

1. Preheat large stockpot on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place oil in pan, then add onions and poblano; cook 4–5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cumin; cook and stir 1 minute.
2. Stir in chicken, stock, hominy, chiles, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 7–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until hot and flavors have blended. Meanwhile, dice avocado.
3. Top each bowl of soup with cilantro, cheese, avocado, and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve. (Makes 8 servings.)