Healthy Greek Yogurt Chunky Apple Muffins

Apples, apples, and more apples. I just can't get enough of them right now! I'm not an apple pie fan, but I wanted to make something sweet with a big bag of honeycrisps I picked up at the farmer's market.

While searching for apple recipes, I stumbled upon this great article for how to make healthy muffins from what you have available. With some additional inspiration from Martha, I created healthy greek yogurt chunky apple muffins. They are perfect for breakfast with a big cup of joe. 

greek yogurt chunky apple muffins

Ingredients:
1 C all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 C rolled oats
1 C honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 C 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 t powdered cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla extract

optional: 1/4 C walnuts, chopped

Directions:
preheat oven to 350.
spray a 12-muffin pan with cooking spray.
peel, core, and dice apples.
combine dry ingredients in a large bowl - flour, oats, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, & cinnamon.
add apples and walnuts and mix to coat.
in a separate small bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla.
fold yogurt mixture into dry ingredients. 
fill each muffin cup with batter (about 75% - 80% full).
bake 22 - 27 minutes.
cool 5 minutes and serve.
store in an air-tight container and serve at room temperature.

dry ingredients

diced apples (also make a nice mid-recipe snack)

coat apples & walnuts with dry ingredients

get ready to whisk!

two bowls, get ready to fold

fold wet ingredients into dry

fill muffin cups ~ 80% full

when done, tops are golden brown

look at those chunks of apple - yum

tips & extras

brown sugar - You can use normal sugar to make these, but I felt the ingredients really went with brown. These are more of a breakfast muffin. If you want something a bit sweeter, double the sugar.

yogurt - You can use plain yogurt if you can't find Greek. Since there is no butter in this recipe, use 2% or full-fat yogurt. 

apples - Any apples will work! Something sweet is best. Dice them into as little or big pieces as you want. 

helpful kitchen tip - Annoyed with needing to use an ice pick to break up your brown sugar? Store brown sugar in a zip lock bag in your refrigerator. It will last forever and will stay soft & crumbly.

Greek Spaghetti

Greek spaghetti with meat sauce is the ultimate comfort food. I remember going to my Yiayia's growing up and eating plates of spaghetti while soaking up the sauce with heaps of bread. The ingredients are simple, but a tiny bit of cinnamon, parsley, and a bay leaf give it a unique and warming flavor. Perfect for a cool fall day. 

I made this for a family dinner the other night and my Yiayia gave me her stamp of approval. Enjoy!

greek spaghetti with meat sauce

Ingredients:
1 T butter
1 medium onion, shredded (with a grater or food processor)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C red wine
1/2 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground sirloin
1 bay leaf
1/4 C fresh parsley, finely chopped
15 oz can tomato sauce
salt & pepper
1/8 - 1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 package spaghetti
1/4 C grated kefalotiri, mizithra, or parmesan cheese

Directions:
in a large pot or pan, melt the butter over medium-high eat.
add the onion and sauté until it starts to change color (about 5 - 7 minutes).
add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
add the beef and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon.
cook the meat until there is no more pink.
add the red wine and continue to cook (about 3 minutes or until alcohol burns off).
add the tomato sauce, bay leaf, parsley, salt & pepper, and cinnamon.
stir and bring to a boil.
lower heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
with 15 minutes left, cook spaghetti according to package.
drain spaghetti and add gradually to meat sauce.
stir to coat spaghetti and disperse meat.
sprinkle with cheese and serve.

shred onions in a mini food processor (great kitchen gadget and pretty cheap)

cook onions in butter with garlic

brown the meat, mix with the onions

boil the mixture - look at all that parsley!

perfect bite

tips & extras

onions - Shredding the onion releases all of its flavor. I use a small food processor, but you can also grate the onions. Grating onions makes me cry like crazy, but it still works. 

cinnamon - Cinnamon is a very powerful spice and can easily overwhelm the sauce. I'd recommend starting with an 1/8 t (or even less) and possibly increasing it to 1/4 t after tasting your sauce. Greeks can't get enough of it, and even sprinkle cinnamon on spaghetti with just butter & cheese (another great quick recipe). 

salt - Watch how much salt you add to the sauce. Add just a bit to start and then taste the sauce while cooking and adjust where necessary. The tomato sauce has quite a bit of salt and so will the cheese.

cooking meat - Be careful not to burn the meat while cooking it. Stir it occasionally and loosen it from the bottom of the pot.

leftovers - You can double (or even triple) this recipe and freeze the sauce. Boil a pot of spaghetti, defrost the sauce, and you have an easy weeknight meal.

meat - Chuck makes this sooo good, but you can use all sirloin or even turkey for a healthier dish.

cheese - If you can't find Greek cheese, serve with parmesan.

wine - No biggie if you don't have this ingredient. The sauce is still delicious (but better with the wine of course).

sauce consistency - If you want a thinner sauce, add water or more tomato sauce. I like it thick and meaty, but you still want to be able to coat the spaghetti. 

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

There were so many green peppers at the farmer's market, I felt I just had to make stuffed peppers this week. I usually go with Greek stuffed peppers, but I wanted to try something new and healthy. A great little app I downloaded, Ziplist, recommended this gem of a recipe from an amazing blog, Skinnytaste. I made a few tweaks, and it was delicious. The best part of this recipe is you can make the filling the night before and bake the peppers the next day.

Side note - you have to download Ziplist. It is a grocery list app that turns ingredient lists from your recipes into actual grocery lists and even suggests recipes you'd like based on your shopping history. It organizes everything into aisles, so you never have to backtrack when you forgot tomato sauce and are already in the deli! Beyond that, the app lets you check things off your list so you can see how many items still need to make it into your cart. 

mexican turkey stuffed peppers

Ingredients:

filling

1 T olive oil

3/4 lb 99% lean ground turkey

3/4 C black beans, drained & rinsed

3/4 C frozen corn kernels

1 hot serrano, jalapeño, or banana pepper, diced (I used a banana pepper)

1 large tomato, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 C chopped onion

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1 t cumin

1 t chili powder

salt

1/3 C water

optional - scallions, sour cream, avocado

peppers

3 green or red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed

1/3 C reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth or water

9 T grated Monterey Jack Cheese, reduced fat if available

Directions:

filling

heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

add turkey and cook through, breaking up with a spoon.

season with salt.

add black beans, diced pepper, tomato, garlic, onion, cilantro, cumin, and chili powder. 

add 1/3 C water and mix.

lower heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

remove lid, add corn, and simmer for 5 minutes uncovered.

if you are making this the night before, transfer mixture to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

cover with saran wrap or put in tupperware and refrigerate. 

peppers

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

remove meat from refrigerator if you made it the night before.

place peppers on a baking dish.

spoon filling into peppers.

pour chicken broth or water into dish.

cover with aluminum foil.

bake 30 - 35 minutes.

remove and discard foil.

sprinkle cheese on peppers.

bake uncovered for 5 minutes. 

serve with a sprinkle of scallions, a dollop of sour cream, or some avocado (optional).

you can make the filling the day before and refrigerate (make your live a bit easier)

perfect plate

tips & extras

peppers - You can use red or green or any pepper you have available. I like the flavor of green peppers when they're stuffed

filling - If you hate turkey, use ground beef. 

cheese - I used Monterey Jack, but white cheddar or something similar would also work. 

heat - Add the jalapeño seeds and some cayenne pepper if you want to spice this up a bit.

serving size - If you want to make this for 4 people, add another pepper and up the turkey to a full pound. I'd add a bit more onion and cheese, but the rest of the ingredients should be ok.  I was good with 2 peppers, my husband went for 3. 

Greek Lamb or Beef Stew "Hilopites"

There are a few things we never learn to cook because we love the way someone else makes it. I'm finally making an attempt at my grandmother's hilopites! Hilopites are egg noodles and every Greek family and Greek restaurant has a different recipe for hilopites with some type of meat (beef, lamb, or chicken). 

This recipe uses either beef stew meat or lamb stew meat (if you can find it on the bone, even better). The lamb definitely has more flavor, but it is sometimes difficult to find. 

hilopites with lamb

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

1 lb beef or lamb stew

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

1 C water + 1 1/2 C water

1 medium onion, diced

1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced

salt & pepper

4 C egg noodles

grated kefalotiri & mizithra or parmesan cheese

Directions:

meat

heat olive oil and butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. 

pat meat dry with paper towel.

when butter is melted and starting to sizzle, add meat and brown on both sides (about 3 minutes per side).

remove meat from pot and place on a plate.

with a spoon, skim off and discard any dark-colored fat from top of liquid in pot.

add onion and garlic and sauté until the onions start to brown (about 5 - 7 minutes).

add meat and juices back to pot.

add salt & pepper.

stir meat and cook with onions & garlic for another 5 minutes.

add tomato sauce and water to pot and stir.

cook on high heat until tomato sauce starts to boil.

reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 - 5 hours. 

remove meat from pot with a slotted spoon.

turn heat up to medium-high until sauce begins to boil.

noodles

add 1 to 1 1/2 C water to sauce and bring to a boil. 
add noodles to sauce and cook according to package.
salt & pepper to taste.

serve beef over noodles and sprinkle with cheese. 

onions will thicken the sauce and add flavor

use butter & olive oil - best of both worlds

raw meat, pat dry before adding to pot

brown meat in oil & butter on both sides

remove browned meat and transfer to plate

add onions directly to pot after skimming fat

onions will brown and become translucent

add meat back to onion mixture and cook

simmer time! oh boy, it smells good in here 

this is my favorite shape of egg noodle 

sauce is a beautiful vibrant red / orange

tips & extras

cheese - If you can find Greek cheese (kefalotiri or mizithra), use one of those. If not, parmesan is fine. freshly grated cheese is always better.

noodles - Unless you are doing so for health reasons, do not use egg noodles without yolk. The ones with the yolk taste much better and have a nicer texture.

cooking time - The longer you cook the meat, the more tender it will become. For beef, I'd recommend at least 3 hours. Lamb is naturally more tender, so an hour or two is will work, but 5 hours is better.

water - Depending on the amount of sauce, you may need to add more or less than 1 1/2 C water to the sauce before adding the noodles. When the noodles are finished, the remaining sauce will be thick (you don't want it runny, so watch the water).

noodles - You can use any shape of egg noodle you want. Greeks often use mini squares. 

Game-Day Chili

Fall and football are finally here. Over the past few years, I've been trying to perfect this chili recipe. I think I finally have it down! It will satisfy both the meat lover and the health nut.

game-day chili with white cheddar

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T ground cumin
2 1/2 T chili powder
1.5 lb 85% to 90% lean ground beef
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
1 t sauce from chile can
1 t dried oregano
1 15.5 oz can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed or 1/2 can black beans & 1/2 can kidney beans
1 + 1/4 C water
salt & pepper

Optional Ingredients:
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
scallions or diced onion

Directions:
heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot or dutch oven.
when hot, add the diced onion and bell pepper.
saute onion & pepper until they begin to soften (8 - 10 minutes).
add garlic and stir (1 minute).
add cumin & chili powder and stir (1 minute).
add ground beef, break up with spoon.
cook beef, while stirring occasionally, until the pink has disappeared and beef is cooked through. 
add the crushed tomatoes, chili, sauce, oregano, and 1 C water.
lower heat to low-medium and cook partially covered for 30 minutes (stir every 10 minutes).
add drained and rinsed kidney beans + 1/4 C water and stir. 
lower heat to low.
cook partially covered for another 30 minutes (stir every 10 minutes).
add salt & pepper to taste.
garnish with sour cream, scallions, cheddar cheese, and / or onions. 

ingredients (plus beef)

diced onions & peppers - roughly dice for chunky bites

the cumin & chili powder will coat the veggies

seeded pepper (scrape away seeds with a knife)

meaty

the perfect bite

tips & extras

spice - If you want to make this a little hotter, add another chile and / or 1/4 - 1/2 t cayenne pepper.

water - Be careful with the water. You want the chili to be hearty and not too brothy. Depending on the amount of juice in your meat and tomatoes, you might need to add more or less water. If the chili is looking a bit too thick at the end, add the 1/4 C (to 1/2 C if necessary). If it seems watery, do not add anymore water. The beans and extra 30 minutes will allow the chili to absorb more of the liquid. 

portion - This makes about 4 servings. This recipe can be doubled and frozen.

beans - You can add any bean you like, but I prefer red kidney beans in my chili.

Quinoa with Chicken and Veggies

I picked up a bunch of veggies at the farmer's market this weekend and wanted to make a simple healthy dinner with quinoa as a base. Quinoa is full of protein & fiber. It coats the veggies in this dish, so you get your carb fix without feeling like you ate a bowl of pasta. This recipe makes about 4 servings, so I have a nice lunch to bring to work this week!

quinoa with chicken and veggies

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced

1 zucchini, halved and sliced

1 yellow squash, halved and sliced

1 green pepper, cut intro strips and then cut in half

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

1 C quinoa (tri-color if you have it)
2 C water

1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 t cumin
salt & pepper

Directions:

quinoa
in a saucepan, mix 1 C quinoa with 2 C water.
bring to a boil.
once boiling, lower heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 10 - 15 minutes until quinoa is done.

stir-fry
while quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in pan over medium-high heat.
add onion and sauté until soft and turning clear. add garlic and cumin and stir (about 1 minute).
add chicken, salt & pepper.
turn chicken over a few times so that it browns and cooks through (about 5 - 8 minutes).
add zucchini, squash, and peppers and sauté until vegetables start to brown.
add cooked quinoa and cherry tomatoes. stir quickly and turn off heat.
sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
add parmesan on top before serving.

tips & extras

quinoa - I used tri-color quinoa because it has bit more texture and color. Regular quinoa also works well.

veggies - You can use any veggies you like. Mushrooms and eggplant would also work.

seasoning -  Fresh herbs are a nice addition to this dish. You can add parsley or basil. 

Skillet Pork Chops with Apples & Onions

Fall is almost here! I picked up some delicious apples and wanted to incorporate them into a pork chop recipe. My husband complains we eat too much chicken and turkey, so I decided to make the other white meat. After some serious google / pinterest searching and recipe comparison, I came across this great little recipe from Mark Bittman. I took out a few steps and cut it in half. This is a perfect weeknight meal for two. 

skillet pork chops with apples and onions

tasty bite

ingredients:

2 1"-thick bone in pork chops

1 1/2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper

1/4 cup white wine

1 tbsp chopped shallot or red onion

1/2 large onion, sliced

1/4 cup water

directions:

place pan over medium-high eat.

add olive oil.

blot pork chops with paper towel.

season with salt & pepper.

when skillet is hot, add chops and turn heat to high.

when brown, turn and cook other side (about 2 - 3 minutes / side).

reduce heat to medium.

add wine.

add shallots.

cook shallots in wine until wine is almost evaporated (about 2 minutes).

turn chops while cooking shallots. 

remove the chops and put on a plate.

turn heat back up to high.

add apples and onion and stir (about 2 minutes).

add water and scrape up any brown bits in the pan.

place chops and juices back in pan.

bring juices to a boil, reduce heat.

cover and cook, turn chops a few times (about 5 - 10 minutes).

tips & extras

sides - I didn't serve this with any sides since it was a light weeknight meal. However, I think it would be perfect with garlic mashed potatoes or roasted red potatoes. 

wine - The wine really splatters when you add it to the pan, so stand back and wear an apron. There will be a bit of burner cleaning after this recipe.

original recipe - The original recipe calls for the addition of a lemon juice, butter, & parsley topping. I thought the chops tasted great without this, but if you want to be a little fancier, include it! It also gives you the option of adding chicken stock or water. I didn't have any stock, but water was just fine. 

apples - I used gala apples but many recipes call for granny smith with pork chops. If you don't have apples, peaches would be nice in this dish. If you don't like the fruit and meat combo, the original recipe suggests adding peppers and mushrooms. 

I ate New York

This is my first restaurant post (and it covers an entire weekend of dining out)! As much as I love to cook, I love to eat (especially what I can't cook).  

I spent the past weekend in New York with my husband's family.  We stayed at a fun hotel and pretty much ate and drank our way through New York. I had the chance to dine at some phenomenal restaurants across many cuisines and different parts of NYC. If you're taking a trip there and want to splurge a bit, I'd highly recommend this itinerary for your culinary pleasure (not your waistline).

Friday Dinner

After landing, we met at The Post House at the Lowell Hotel on the Upper East Side. It's a fairly traditional steak house with an old school feel. The menu has something for everyone. My husband and I split tuna tartare and caprese salad (with in-season heirloom tomatoes - yum) to start. He went for the New York strip with mac and cheese while I chose the sea scallops. Everything was delicious - classic, elegant, and generous portions. I managed to take a bite of my neighbor's lamb chops, which were thick & juicy and cooked to a perfect medium. 

seared scallops at the post house

Saturday Lunch

After sleeping in, we missed breakfast and headed straight to lunch at Amaranth Restaurant. Definitely a place to see and be seen. Great people watching. It was overpriced (as everything seems to be in Manhattan), but the service was great and the food was perfect for a nice lunch. I ordered the avocado salad and my husband chose the fish of the day, a chilean sea bass (so good) with sautéed spinach & mushrooms. Fortunately for me, he hates both of those delicious vegetables, so I gladly ate his sides. 

avocado salad at amaranth

Saturday Dinner

After a nice lunch and some shopping, we changed into our trendy clothes and headed to Marcus Samuelsoon's Red Rooster in Harlem. From what I was told and read, Red Rooster is a new hot spot in New York. It was nice to get away from hoity-toity Manhattan and walk into a place with live music and a fun crowd. I enjoyed myself a little too much here and forgot to snap a few pics (this is my first restaurant blog post, so will need to work on remembering this). We were served corn bread with honey butter and tomato jam. I only had one slice, but could have eaten an entire loaf! If you like seafood, I would highly recommend the Harlem chowder for two. It is served in a spicy tomato-based sauce with mussels, lobster, shrimp, grilled bread, and corn. The Harlem chowder is more like a bowl of deliciousness than a traditional chowder. This is a dish you will crave. For dessert, I ordered the sweet potato doughnuts with cinnamon sugar and could not have been happier with my choice. You can probably split these (they give you about 5), but I needed all 5. 

Sunday Brunch

We escaped from the city on Sunday and drove 20 miles outside of Manhattan to what looked like the English countryside. I could not believe the green beauty so close to New York! We had a beautiful brunch at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. This place is truly "from farm to table" and you can taste it in every bite. The service is outstanding. The servers would sneak up from behind us and place our plates down in unison (top chef style). Brunch started with an heirloom tomato & green bean salad with crusty french bread, which I used to soak up all of the delicious juice. The second course was a lobster and corn chowder (I could not get enough chowder) and brunch was finished with peaches with sweet polenta and lemon sorbet. To top it off, they brought out mini chocolates after dessert (petits fours to be correct). 

tomato salad at blue hill at stone barns

You can never go wrong with good food and family. It was a perfect weekend.