Almost Healthy Muffins - AKA Flax Seed Muffins

Moist muffins with a taste reminiscent of old fashioned gingerbread. They're full of good things ... and just a smidgen of not-so-good. Give them a try for one of those days when you only want to feel a little bit guilty for indulging.

Flax Seed Muffins

1-1/4 cup of ground up flax seeds ( I used my VitaMix, but a coffee grinder would work too)
2 teaspoons of Baking Powder
1 tablespoon of Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of Salt
3/4 cup Sugar
4 large Eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Oil
1/2 cup Water
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
1 medium Apple, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 muffin pan very well, or line with paper liners.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the rest of them and mix well.

Let the batter sit for 10 minutes then put into the muffin pan.

Bake 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients

16 large to extra large Baby Bella or White Mushrooms (your taste preference)
5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 Pound sweet Italian Sausage, removed from casings (or you can buy the roll type)
1/2 Cup Chopped onion
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2/3 Cup Panko bread crumbs
8 Ounces Mascarpone cheese
1/3 Cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 Tablespoon dried Parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside.
Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a medium skillet, over medium heat. Add the Sausage, crumbling it. Cook the sausage 8 mintes, stirring frequently. It should be completely browned. Add the chopped Mushroom Stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Add in the chopped Onion and minced Garlic and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly. Lastly, mix in the Mascarpone Cheese and continue to cook until the mascarpone has melted and makes the sausage mixture creamy.

Take off the heat and stir in the Parmesan, dried Parsley, and season with Salt and Pepper to taste.

Fill each mushroom generously with the Sausage Mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake 45 minutes or until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

If you have extra stuffing cook it in a separate casserole dish. It makes a nice side dish for meat, such as pork chops.

Here's the Mushrooms before they were cooked