finding time for cooking

Jan 29, 2017

Easy Homemade Naan Bread

Once upon a time, I made homemade naan bread, and it turned out terrible.

This is not that naan bread. This is awesome.

This has become my go-to homemade naan bread recipe

I have no idea what went wrong with the first recipe I tried, probably a year or more ago. But it did put me off trying it again for quite a while. However, when I decided to try my hand for the first time at Indian cooking with this chicken tikka masala over winter break this year, I knew that naan had to be in the cards for me again.

My go-to homemade naan recipe

This recipe comes together super easily and doesn’t require any special handling. It’s not finicky at all. Just proof your yeast, add the ingredients all at once and knead in the machine for a couple minutes, let it rise, and then roll out and fry up. Very hands-off.

Homemade naan bread recipe...easy and yummy

I tend to use half white whole wheat and half regular flour. To me, when I use all whole wheat it tends to be a bit too dense and loses a bit of that chewiness that makes naan so satisfying. But you can use all of one, or mix it up however you want.

The other important thing is that you use ghee, not just regular butter. You can buy ghee fairly easily these days (Trader Joe’s, Amazon, or a well-stocked grocery store), but if you can’t get it for whatever reason I’d recommend making a batch of your own and storing it. The water in regular butter will keep it from frying up right.
[Read more…]

Snickerdoodle Zucchini Bread

By starshy926 · Leave a Comment

This bread is the BOMB!

Snickerdoodle zucchini bread...cinnamon-sugar is my kryptonite

Cinnamon-sugar is my kryptonite in general, so it’s no surprise that I was drawn to this recipe. It’s all the best things about my snickerdoodle bread (which is amazing, but also will make a major dent in your calories for the day), combined with a bit of whole wheat flour and fiber from zucchini. Make no mistake, this is definitely a breakfast dessert, but it’s now only a bit of splurge rather than a complete diet derail.

Snickerdoodle zucchini bread...plenty of sweet, with a bit of healthy mixed in

The hardest thing is finding the cinnamon chips—if you see them, buy like 6 bags! (Though this may be part of the scarcity problem…). I think Hershey’s discontinued theirs, so I’ve been buying them on the Amazon black market, and will need to look elsewhere soon. Cinnamon chips are seriously the best, and appropriate in all manner of delicious breakfast and dessert recipes.

Snickerdoodle zucchini bread

This was a hit at work. And I had trouble keeping my hands off it. I had a piece with my morning espresso, but went back several times throughout the day for another bite. I probably had three pieces total, one bite at a time! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Foods I'm Obsessed With, Recipe Experimentation · Tagged: all-purpose flour, applesauce, baking powder, baking soda, breakfast, breakfast recipes, cinnamon, cinnamon baking chips, cinnamon sugar zucchini bread, cinnamon-sugar, cream of targar, egg, oil, recipe experimentation, salt, shredded zucchini, snickerdoodle bread, snickerdoodle zucchini bread, sugar, vanilla, white whole wheat flour, zucchini bread

Jan 2, 2017

Best Healthy Recipes of 2016

By starshy926 · Leave a Comment

I guess it’s that time again. After all the holiday gluttony (and general comfort food craving this time of year), everyone is making resolutions and getting back to the gym and meal planning.

Honestly, I’m not. I know myself well, and I have to have small, sustainable life choices vs. a diet or life change. I try to eat healthy (except when I’m traveling) and work out every day (even when I’m traveling), and overall that works for me. I let 15-20 pounds sneak up on me in late 2014, so I started tracking everything I eat and do in MyFitnessPal and finding healthy recipes I actually *liked*. And by spring of 2015 I was back to normal and have been able to maintain.

So the good news is that I have a bunch of healthy recipes to re-visit from the last couple years, all now listed in one place for 2017 healthy living ease!

Don’t forget to look at all these great healthy recipes I posted at the beginning of 2015. There are a ton of yummy make-ahead breakfast options, easy healthy dinners that also make satisfying lunches to pack for work, and (duh) healthy desserts. Because I don’t believe eating healthy should be sad or boring or a chore.

Main Dishes:

“Crack” Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry

Sweet and savory and crunchy and super satisfying. But mostly cabbage, which is both cheap and super healthy (yay colon health!). This is crazy fast and makes good lunch leftovers as well. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Super Healthy · Tagged: healthy eating, healthy recipes, new years resolutions, resolutions

Dec 31, 2016

Maple and Oat Scones

By starshy926 · Leave a Comment

This is my new breakfast obsession.

oat-maple-scones-done

I don’t know the last time I found a scone recipe I was so into. Don’t get me wrong, I love scones, but they’re generally more of just a vehicle for condiments, an excuse to slather on jam or honey. The scone itself is not so much the point. But these scones are completely the point.

oat-maple-scones-baked

These are absolutely divine with a tiny bit of honey, but they’re honestly even amazing without anything at all. There’s butter and maple syrup baked right in, so they really don’t need anything. And they only took a few minutes to whip up and get in the oven. Perfect for company, or just for you to devour by yourself with coffee and a blanket on a cold winter morning… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Foods I'm Obsessed With, Recipe Experimentation · Tagged: all-purpose flour, baking powder, breakfast recipes, brunch recipes, buttermilk, easy scones, granulated sugar, maple oat scones, maple syrup, oat scones, recipe experimentation, rolled oats, scone recipes, sweet scones, unsalted butter, whole wheat flour

Dec 23, 2016

Healthy Scone (or Biscuit) for One Person

By starshy926 · Leave a Comment

For a while I tried tons of different single-serving recipes, particularly mug cakes. But the results were typically underwhelming and significantly higher-calorie than just having one serving of a normal recipe. But this one is an exception.

Single-serving scone recipe, using healthier ingredients | FindingTimeForCooking

I stopped eating breakfast a couple years ago, and generally on weekends I just have tons of strong coffee to start my morning. Every so often, though, I’m struck with an intense craving for hot biscuits and honey. That’s basically what scones and biscuits are to me—an excuse to pile on jam or honey. You can’t say I don’t have my priorities straight.

healthy-scones-for-one-person-apricot-lavender-jam

Healthier scone recipe, only makes one serving

Especially this jam. I got it in a little jam shop in the tiny town of St. Paul-de-Vence, in the south of France. I’m a sucker for anything apricot, but apricot and lavender is totally divine. I was dying for an excuse to use it, so a few weeks ago I whipped up my go-to single-serving recipe and took it out on my patio to enjoy the last gasp of warm(ish) weather.

healthy-scones-for-one-person-with-tea

Now don’t confuse healthy and low-cal. The texture of this is definitely not a traditional light and flaky biscuit, or the nice dense (but dry) crumb of a traditional UK scone. Due to the whole wheat flour and coconut oil, it’s a bit heavier but also very moist. And super easy to make, versus taking the time to cut butter in and roll things out nicely. This recipe clocks in at about 300 calories total, which is totally acceptable for a treat. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cooking for One, Go-To Recipes, Recipe Experimentation · Tagged: biscuit for one person, brown sugar, cinnamon, coconut oil, easy breakfast recipes, healthy biscuit recipes, healthy scone recipes, milk, recipe experimentation, scone for one person, scone recipes, single serving biscuit, single serving scones, single-serving recipes, whole wheat flour

Dec 5, 2016

Mom’s Sweet Potato Casserole: A Thanksgiving Staple

By starshy926 · Leave a Comment

Pretty much anyone you talk to will tell you what their non-negotiable Thanksgiving dish is. For some it’s pumpkin pie or mashed potatoes. For me it’s Stovetop stuffing (original recipe).

And for my mom it’s this sweet potato pudding.

Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole, her must-have for Thanksgiving. None of that marshmallow nonsense here.

And I have to admit, it’s pretty doggone good. None of those nasty marshmallows here. No, sir. This is creamy and warm but not too sweet—the only really sweet part is the topping, which has a great crunch to it. It’s really easy to put together and is always a crowd pleaser. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Secret Recipes · Tagged: brown sugar, butter, easy side dishes, flour, honey, pecans, streusel topping, sweet potato casserole, sweet potato pudding, sweet potato recipes, thanksgiving recipes, thanksgiving side dishes

Nov 27, 2016

Lemon Shallot Chicken

By starshy926 · 1 Comment

I literally don’t know what to call this chicken.

lemon-shallot-chicken

Sure, it has lemon juice. And chopped shallots. And garlic. And paprika. And brown sugar. And chopped rosemary.

lemon-shallot-chicken-rosemary

It’s…complex.

lemon-shallot-chicken-shallots-chopped

And ugly. Sorry, this dish won’t photograph well no matter how hard I try. But it is really easy, unique, flavorful, and makes great leftovers. So despite its ugly appearance, that’s a win in my book. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Recipe Experimentation, Super Healthy · Tagged: boneless skinless chicken breasts, brown sugar, easy chicken recipes, fast dinner recipes, garlic, healthy dinner recipes, lemon juice, lemon shallot chicken, lemons, paprika, recipe experimentation, shallot

Nov 13, 2016

“Crack” Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry

By starshy926 · 1 Comment

This was my first “back on the healthy train” recipe since coming back from quite a bit of travel over the past few months—including a week and a half inhaling pastries on the French Riviera. So I didn’t need normal healthy, I needed SUPER healthy. A sort of food detox, if you will.

Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry...healthy, easy, yummy

What I didn’t expect was for this to be SUPER yummy as well.

beef-cabbage-stir-fry-green-onions

And cheap and easy. Fast, cheap, healthy, easy, and yummy is like a unicorn of a recipe. I mean, it’s no mac and cheese, but it’ll do.

beef-cabbage-stir-fry

This is going into my regular rotation of uber healthy meals. It’s got a ton of fiber from all the veggies, is surprisingly satiating, and still has just enough protein from the beef. You could definitely use a whole pound of beef instead of a half-pound (or substitute turkey, chicken, pork, whatever), but I didn’t feel cheated by the amount of meat, and it lets you stretch your meat further. This was lunch leftovers all week for me, and I didn’t get sick of it, which is a miracle in and of itself. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Recipe Experimentation, Super Healthy · Tagged: brown sugar, cabbage & beef stir fry, carrots, detox recipes, easy dinner recipes, fresh ginger, garlic, green cabbage, green onions, ground beef, healthy eating, healthy leftovers for work lunch, healthy recipes, recipe experimentation, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, sriracha

Nov 6, 2016

Tex Mex Breakfast Casserole

By starshy926 · 1 Comment

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I am a super lazy breakfast casserole maker. Which is why I basically refuse to try new recipes, because they all have, like, a billion ingredients (which makes them expensive) and require way too much prep work. So it’s pretty unusual for me to take on this recipe on a Thursday night for Friday morning department breakfast.

But boy, am I glad I did.

$Easy Tex Mex Breakfast Bake$

While this requires a tad more prep than my usual recipe (mostly cooking up the potatoes), it was super yummy and totally worth it. The prep probably only took 30 minutes total, and I was also getting a coffee cake in the oven as well so I could have cut that down a bit with some focus. The spice mix is awesome, and the tortillas add a great texture along with the black beans. This is definitely going into my regular breakfast rotation.

$tex-mex-breakfast-casserole-potatoes-onions-peppers-cooking-closeup$

It’s also worth nothing that this is really doggone healthy as well. Full of protein and fiber, and weighing in at around 100 calories per serving (assuming a 15-serving pan…probably more like 130 calories per serving if you have hungry people). It was super filling and stuck with me all morning. I had a second helping for a late lunch, in fact.

$Tex Mex Egg Casserole$

I made a few changes to the original recipe, including omitting the bacon out of laziness—also, turkey bacon doesn’t quite have the same effect. I considered adding ground beef instead, but I was both lazy and cheap. And honestly it doesn’t need it. I also left out the cilantro (meh) and added cheese because…duh. There’s a lot of flexibility in this recipe, so if there’s something you’re dying to add or substitute, go for it. I’m not the boss of you. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Recipe Experimentation, Super Healthy · Tagged: black beans, black pepper, breakfast casserole recipes, breakfast recipes, chili powder, corn tortillas, cumin, diced tomato, easy breakfast recipes, easy brunch recipes, egg casserole, eggs, healthy breakfast recipes, kosher salt, make ahead breakfast casserole, mexican blend cheese, olive oil, recipe experimentation, red bell pepper, red onion, russet potato, sour cream, tex mex breakfast casserole

Oct 30, 2016

Clean Eating Banana Muffins (gluten-free)

By starshy926 · 1 Comment

*womp womp* After the last couple months of travel gluttony, it’s time to get back on track, and these muffins at least have the consolation of being delicious as well as super healthy.

Clean Eating Banana Oat Muffins

In the interest of full transparency, to be truly clean eating you’ll need to omit the chocolate chips from the recipe and use one of the other mix-ins instead (nuts, dried fruit, etc.). But unless you’re completely following a clean eating diet, the mini chocolate chips do really add something to the muffins so I’d recommend leaving them in. Because, duh.

clean-eating-banana-oatmeal-muffins-chocolate-chips

I made these on a Sunday night on a whim, and brought them to work the next day. They were scarfed by my co-workers within a few hours, and got rave reviews. They’re moist, flavorful, and—best part—insanely fast and easy to make.

clean-eating-banana-oatmeal-muffins

They’re the kind of healthy breakfast that gives you the fiber and protein you need, but still makes you feel like you’re getting a bit of a treat to start the day. That’s a win in my book. Add a couple strong espressos and you’re all set. Bring it on, Monday. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Gluten-Free, Recipe Experimentation, Super Healthy · Tagged: baking powder, baking soda, banana oat muffins, chocolate chip muffins, clean eating recipes, easy muffin recipes, eggs, healthy breakfast recipes, healthy muffin recipes, healthy muffins, honey, make ahead breakfast recipes, mini chocolate chips, old fashioned oats, plain greek yogurt, recipe experimentation, vanilla extract, very ripe bananas

finding time for cooking

Easy Homemade Naan Bread

Snickerdoodle Zucchini Bread

Best Healthy Recipes of 2016

Main Dishes:

Maple and Oat Scones

Healthy Scone (or Biscuit) for One Person

Mom’s Sweet Potato Casserole: A Thanksgiving Staple

Lemon Shallot Chicken

“Crack” Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry

Tex Mex Breakfast Casserole

Clean Eating Banana Muffins (gluten-free)

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