15 delicious better Recipes

bacon grease or 4 tbsp oil, beef stew meat, seasoning salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder, diced tomatoes (undrained ), crushed red pepper flakes (optional or taste ), low sodium beef broth (can use water but broth is better), dry tapioca, beef bouillon powder, worcestershire sauce, sugar, thick carrots, peeled and cut onto 1-inch pieces, celery (sliced into 3/4-inch pieces) (optional), potatoes, peeled and cubed, onion , coarsly chopped, fresh button mushrooms, bread (broken into very small pieces)

very warm water, active dry yeast (i use saf instant), salt, honey, light olive oil or 2/3 cup canola oil, vitamin cup powder (it helps the bread to rise better) (optional), whole wheat flour (may be a little more or less), lecithin granules (optional)

frozen broccoli florets, yoghurt , the thicker the better, onion, almonds, olive oil, tarragon, salt, black pepper

day-old bread (better if low in fat ), oil (can use butter or margarine), raisins (optional), egg whites, low-fat milk, white sugar (or sweetner), ground cinnamon, vanilla extract

red potatoes (not pre-bagged, hand picked, the smaller the better), olive oil, oregano, rosemary, chili powder, ground ginger, red cayenne pepper, garlic powder or 4 large cloves, finely minced, ground cumin, coarse sea salt

apples (2 golden delicious and 2 macintosh or 4 of your favorite but the apple sauce is better if you), lemon juice, sugar (depending on the sweetness of the apples and how sweet you want the apple sauce), gingerroot, cinnamon

muffin pans, a special metal baking pan , sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. most often this pan is made from aluminum., muffin cups are, standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter., giant or texas-size muffin cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter., muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp batter., muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep ., substituting a different size muffin cup, substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. if substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. the bake time will be changed also. bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time., tips on baking muffins, grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup., use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up., if muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, flying saucer tops. if sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top., if some muffin cups will remain empty during baking , put 2 to 3 tbsp water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping., if baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes., source : land o lakes, all about muffins, are you eating muffins or cupcakes, hot breads are always a hit and muffins are 1 of the easiest to make. they are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. they can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. but like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don tsp tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. a recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in new york delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 g of fat. that s more fat than two egg mcmuffins., what is the difference between muffins and cupcakes, some say cupcakes have frosting. a basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tbsp sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. when the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level., other technical difference between muffins and cupcakes, method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. the muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. this is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients., making and baking muffins, in a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. then the milk is stirred in. this much mixing can be done ahead and held. the two are combined just before baking., combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. mix only to combine. batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. the general rule is only 12 strokes., bake as soon as it s mixed. when filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. excessive mixing causes loss of leavening., cake method for making muffins, sometimes muffins are made using the cake method , i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. this is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin., perfect muffin, perfect muffin has a thin brown crust , a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. there should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid)., more leavening is not better, just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. a guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder, or 4 tsp fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 tsp soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 tsp baking powder. excess baking powder and soda taste bitter., here are a few tips for altering muffin recipes, substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg in the recipe. if these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat., use non-fat milk instead of whole milk ., use salad oil in place of butter. in place of the fat in the recipe , use 1-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit puree such as applesauce. jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purees other than apple. adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin., create your own taste sensations, begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts., make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. use 1 and package 1 with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date.

red delicious apple, reduced-fat peanut butter (better yet, make your own and use less salt), marshmallows or 5 -20 vegan

eggs (fresh are the best because they peel easier and have better color yolks), mayonaise, sweet relish, mustard, paprika

prawns (try to use queen or big ones always better for grilling), butter (no substitutes), freshly crushed garlic, tomato paste, red chili pepper flakes (use more if you like it hotter the original recipe has 10ml), black pepper, salt, mayonnaise, chili sauce, lemon juice

flour, butter (but is better, naturally!) or 1 cup margarine (but is better, naturally!), powdered sugar, powdered sugar, cool whip (buy the large tub), cream cheese (room temp ), instant pudding mix (your choice of flavor), milk, instant vanilla pudding, canned pumpkin (optional), chopped nuts

wild rice, water, better than bouillon no chicken base, white mushrooms, sliced, onion, diced, stalks celery, diced, unsweetened almond milk, wondra flour, almonds, black pepper, garlic powder, sherry wine

betty crocker golden yellow cake mix, eggs, unsalted butter, softened, eggs, sour cream, water