Banana Berry Muffins

Ingredients

·                     1 cup plain yogurt

·                     2 eggs

·                     6 tablespoons butter, melted

·                     2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·                     2 cups white whole wheat all-purpose flour*

·                     1 cup rolled oats

·                     1 cup brown sugar

·                     1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

·                     1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·                     1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

·                     1/2 teaspoon salt

·                     1 ½ cup of fresh blackberries or blueberries

·                     1/4 cup raw sugar

·                     3 bananas

Directions

1.      Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper muffin cups. Whisk the yogurt, eggs, butter, mashed bananas and vanilla extract together in a bowl.

2.      In another large bowl or a stand mixer mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the egg mixture. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in the berries. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups, and sprinkle with the remaining berries.

3.      Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

*note: if you don’t have white whole wheat flour, you can substitute it for 1 cup of whole wheat mixed with 1 cup white all-purpose flour.

Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken

Here’s a healthier version of fried chicken, but just as delicious.  To make things less messy, use a plastic bag instead of a bowl to marinate.  Leave the chicken in the buttermilk overnight for best results.  Serve with a nice, light salad.

Ingredients

    * 5 chicken drumsticks
    * salt and ground pepper
    * 4 cups breadcrumbs
    * 2/3 cup buttermilk
    * 2 tablespoons dijon mustard

Directions
Rub chicken with mustard, salt and pepper. Pour your buttermilk into a plastic bag, add the chicken drumsticks and leave for two hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rub baking sheet with oil. Remove the chicken from the liquid, dredge in the breadcrumbs, turning to coat evenly.  
Arrange the chicken pieces on the rack and place in the hot oven. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, lower the heat to 375 degrees and cook for another 25 to 30 minutes, until cooked through and crispy.

Blackberry Rice Pudding

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• ½ cup Arborio rice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Blackberry/ Blueberry Jam
• A few blackberries

Place the milk, rice, vanilla extract and sugar in a deep saucepan. Bring to a simmer and put on the lid. Cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally, until the rice pudding is creamy. Keep a close eye on it as milk tends to bubble up rather quickly. If the pudding ends up being a bit too thick, you can thin it down by adding a little more milk. Serve in glasses, topped with spoonful of jam and a few blackberries.