3. Try 30 New Recipes : Doughnuts

Again, using Emily Bites, Katie and I decided to try our hand at homemade (baked) doughnuts! These cake doughnuts are hands down, THE BEST doughnuts I've ever had. Think cake doughnuts, only fluffy and moiste and melt in your mouth delicious. They are perfect to fit your sweet tooth, without the sticky sweet frosting!!

The two recipes we made are Strawberry Doughnuts (which can be made with ANY fruit, really) and PB&J Doughnuts!

Ingredients:
1 c white whole wheat flour
1/3 c sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 T melted butter
1/3 c diced strawberries
1 T agave nectar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine strawberries and agave/maple syrup and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add milk, egg and melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix until just combines. Stir in berry mixture.
4. Fill each space (6) in your prepared doughnut pan about 2/3 full. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Ingredients:
¼ c peanut butter
¼ c sugar
1/3 c plus 1 T skim milk
1T fat free Greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
½ t vanilla extract
1 egg
1 c white whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
¼ t salt
2 T sugar free preserves (I used Smuckers Raspberry)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325. Lightly spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, add the peanut butter and sugar and blend with an electric mixer until combined. Add the milk, yogurt, vanilla and egg and mix again. Add flour, baking powder and salt and use mixer again until just combined.
3. Using a spoon or piping bag, evenly distribute the batter mixture into the spaces in the doughnut pan. Put the two rounded tablespoons of jelly into a small dish and microwave on high for 10-15 seconds. Drizzle a teaspoon of melted jelly over the batter in each doughnut space. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick stuck in comes out clean. Cool before eating.

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We did find that the PB&J donuts were just a bit rich, although they would be DELICIOUS with milk to dunk in! The strawberry were by far our favorite, and with a bit of extra cinnamon they were extra yummy.

Again, both recipes are property of Emily Bites and only pasted here for my personal storage and to share with my family and friends! I definitely think you should check out her blog and make a few of her delicious recipes! They are healthy and everything we've tried has been delicious!

3: Try 30 New Recipes: Cheeseburger Cupcakes & French Fries

On my most recent trip to Nebraska, my sister and I were both trying to find healthier ways to make some of our favorite foods and we stumbled upon the website Emily Bites. She has a lot of healthy recipes, mostly Weight Watchers themed. And they are all yummy. Every one of them that I've tried.

Today? I bring to you, the Cheeseburger Cupcake! I've since made these multiple times, each time better than the last and with rave reviews from everyone who has tried them! (Although the recipe below has a few tweaks of my own...) And what better way to get a 3 year old to eat than to give her a cupcake for dinner?

Ingredients:
¼ c onion, finely chopped
½ lb Ground Turkey (or extra lean ground beef)
1/2 T Garlic Powder
1/2 T Your Favorite Mrs. Dash Sodium Free Hamburger Seasoning
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
4 Laughing Cow Queso Fresco & Chipotle wedges, chopped (Swiss also works GREAT!)
3 T ketchup
1 T mustard
16 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
½ c tomatoes, chopped
4oz (1 cup) reduced FF shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Mist a large skillet with cooking spray and bring to medium heat. Add chopped onions and sauté until cooked. Add ground beef and Hamburger seasoning and cook until meat is browned. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until mushrooms are browned as well.
3.    Add in cheese wedges, ketchup and mustard and stir frequently until meat mixture is fully coated.
4. Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the meat mixture, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Follow by sprinkling some of the chopped tomatoes into each cup (using about half the total tomatoes). Sprinkle about half the cheddar cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

And what Cheeseburger is complete without some French Fries? I have to say, this recipe for (baked) Fries? One of the best I've ever had - and so simple!!

Ingredients
2 large potatoes, russet
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp herbs (your choice - I used Rosemary and Thyme)
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp  paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 475°. Line baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Lightly coat with cooking spray.
Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices; cut each slice into 1/4 inch fries.
In a large bowl, combine cut potatoes and oil; toss well. Add  seasoning. Toss to coat.

Place in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until tender crisp, turning once half way through.