Quality Time in My Kitchen

It's almost finished! My kitchen, which we started remodeling at the beginning of the year, is almost done. In fact, it's hard not to put everything else off and just work on the kitchen because I CAN SEE THE END!
With everything from painting and sanding to cooking (or experimenting), I've spent a lot of quality time in the kitchen lately. It was a big goal of mine to improve the health of the food we eat this year. While I'm still not where I want to be (baby steps...baby steps...), I ran across a menu of ours from the very beginning of this year and laughed! I don't think we eat ANYTHING on that list anymore. It's been a crazy adventure and one I consider a worthwhile life-long pursuit.
I thought I'd take a minute to list some of the new recipes we've tried and what we thought about them (5 stars being the highest). I'm not the kind of person to go out and buy every little detail for a recipe, so I've added what we have experimented/tried/changed in the recipes too. ENJOY!


The daring taste testers have tried:

1. Black Bean Burgers on whole wheat buns**
- Austin (my husband) ate 'em up (good thing I warned him though) and Cadence (21 months) at least tried black beans. I didn't mind the flavor, but I didn't like the texture.
- Still looking for my own whole wheat bun recipe I like
2. Vegetarian Chicken Nuggets ****
- Had it for dinner and it was more of a "lunch" meal.
- Used chickpeas/garbanzo beans made at home instead of canned (1 1/2 c)
- It made for us about 18 nuggets
- Had them with some honey as a sauce - yum!
- Cade ate one I think
3. PB & J Truffles *****
- Really easy to make and easy to change based on what you have.
- Substituted oats for wheat bread (about 1 c.)
- substituted peanuts and also cashews for the pecans
4. Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot ****
- Recipe makes a LOT!
- We like it only with add in's (we never really ate yogurt plain anyway).
- For add in's try: applesauce, raisins, other dried fruit, peaches, strawberries, other fresh fruit, honey, maple syrup (all natural)
- Ours is really tangy and I read that if you add a bit of honey when making it and/or make sure your yogurt starter isn't tangy than it is less so.
- Also watched good eats (same link as below) for idea.
5. Yogurt Cheese ****
-Tangy like the yogurt, but I like having a healthier substitute for cream cheese, sour cream, whipped cream, etc. Plus it gives you something to do with all the yogurt you make
6. Wheat Bread #1 - Carolyn's Recipe
- Made it perfect with her but it always seems to fall when I make it...grr!
7. Wheat Bread #2 ***
- Pretty good recipe (meaning it actually turned out like bread for me!)
- Instead of rising they way they say, I put it in the oven and put a casserole dish filled with steaming hot water underneath. Doesn't cook the bread and keeps it moist. I can't do those quick rise recipes...
- I halfed it and used 1 9x13 bread loaf pan, and just cooked the other (though small) in a 9x13, then used the tiny loaf to make bread crumbs.
8. Granola *****
- Everyone loved this recipe, but I'm looking for one with less sugar. Went well with our yogurt too! (with how much my husband loves boxed cereal, this was a much better alternative and was eating just as fast)
9. Granola Bars ***
- Probably would've gotten a better rating if I made them right. They didn't really turn into bars, more like granola clumps. I need to distribute the honey more evenly next time. I thought they were too sweet (of course that means Austin and Cadence LOVED them)
- We added raisins for our extra mix-in
10. Cinnamon Toast Muffins ***
- These were okay. We liked them with homemade strawberry jam. Not as sweet tasting as you'd think based on the recipe
11. Pumpkin Muffins ***
- I liked them warm with butter but I LOVED them with peanut butter! I left out the chocolate chips in the recipe
12. Bean Cornmeal Pie ****
- Pretty much chili with cornbread cooked on top. Cadence wouldn't even try it, but the adults liked it. This recipe makes too much for our family (so we shared). I think next time I'll half it. I'm thinking it could be a good freezer meal too (freeze before baking)
13. Smoothies *****
- Hit and miss with Cadence, but we LOVE them. I think he just likes a runnier consistency in his smoothie. We've been using strawberries and peaches w/ grape juice and leaving out the blueberries (which are out of season and no longer stocked in my freezer either - sad)
14. Sloppy Lentils w/ a Bread Braid *****
- Austin said he'd eat this weekly which means it's a definite winner. We really liked it! The bread braid I substituted half wheat flour for white and also halfed the reciped (which made just enough for the braid). I didn't want any partly white bread leftover. I'm looking for a more full wheat bread recipe. I think I'll experiment with this one.
15. Homemade Jam *****
-This one (the recipe from the pectin box) is always a winner, but I'm looking for one with MUCH less sugar. My parents have experimented and found one they like, but I guess you need the "low sugar" pectin (which may recommend Splenda - we NEVER use Splenda! They have experimented using regular sugar with the low sugar pectin)
16. Homemade Applesauce ****
- Mine just has cinnamon in it and I LOVE it! I add raisins and that makes for a sweet, delicious snack. I'm wanting to use it as a baking substitute, but haven't quite gotten there yet.
17. Homemade Popcorn
- We dipped in peanut butter (a Cadence favorite) and a little honey mixture. He ate it up, but had a rash after (I'm nervous he's allergic to the popcorn).
18. Orange French Toast *****
- A great way to take the milk out of french toast and I liked the flavor. We had it with homemade strawberry syrup and maple syrup.
- I really liked baking it! Great idea :)

Still left to try/looking for:
Homemade Bagels
Muffins I actually REALLY like
Whole Wheat "hamburger" buns
Buckwheat Pancakes
Hummus
Additional granola/granola bar recipes to try.
Frozen yogurt (has anyone made it without the machine?)