You've got to try these -- Beautiful Breakfast Muffins

I need to make something that would use up some apples and muffins. I didn't have any syrup for pancakes, so it had to be muffins. I added a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and next thing you know I had warm and yummy apple, cinnamon, and banana goodness. And boy did I hit a home run with these!! These delicious bites of breakfast joy have made my top 10 list, so you've got to try them.

Beautiful Breakfast Muffins
3/4 c. white sugar
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. melted butter
2 TBS fat-free sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 bananas mashed
1 apple diced

1 1/2C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin papers. (I used my mini-loaf pans.)
2. Beat together all wet ingredients (except for apple). Mix together all dry ingredients.
3. Combine dry mixture with wet mixture. Stir until moist (don't over mix). Fold in apple pieces.
4. Fill each of the muffin cups 1/2 full. Then sprinkle a generous layer of cinnamon sugar in each muffin cup. Then fill each of the muffin cups with the remaining dough. Top each of the muffins with a quick sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.
5. Bake for 18-20 in 375 degree oven, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Sweet and Sour Beef -- it's a simple staple

Fry's had their lean hamburger on sale for $1.77 a lb, so of course I had to take advantage of the sale. And one of my favorite things to make with hamburger is the quick and simple dish of Sweet and Sour Beef. Most people have all the ingredients in their cabinet. Here's the recipe:

Sweet & Sour Beef
1 lb. ground beef
1 chopped medium onion
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 TBS. cornstarch
1/4 c. cider vinegar
3 TBS. soy sauce
1 can of pineapple tidbits - drained, and juice reserved
cooked rice

Brown and sautee beef and onions.
Combine sugar, cornstarch, cider vinegar, soy sauce. Add enough water to the reserved juice to make one cup and add the combination to the sugar mixture.


Pour over beef.
Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Stir in pineapple and heat thru.Cook stirring occasionally til thickened.

Serve over rice.(This is one of my favorite kitchen appliances...my rice cooker. Actually, I inherited it from my mother. She bought this when we were living in Hawaii, over 30 years ago, and it is still THE VERY BEST RICE COOKER around. She bought herself a new one and gave me this one, and I think she may be thinking twice about her decision, too bad!).



Deliciously simple.

A Bunch of Yummy

OK - I haven't posted in ages, but it's not because I haven't been cooking. It's actually because I've been too busy to even sit down and upload the photos. It's about all I can do to remember to take pictures of the food. So tonights post is the down-and-dirty on what's been going on in my kitchen. I'm only going to post a few recipes, but if you want one in particular that I haven't posted, you're welcome to email me and I'll send it to you. So here we go...

My new favoritest way to eat broccoli. In fact, I don't know that I'll ever eat it any other way again. It's Ina Gartner recipe (Barefoot Contessa) and IT ROCKS!!!!

ROASTED BROCCOLI

• 4 to 5 pounds broccoli
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• Good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Cut up the broccoli, toss with olive oil and garlic slices, put on baking sheet. Bake in 425 degree oven (yes, I know that's hot) for about 15 min, just until barely fork tender. Take out of oven and immediately squeeze lemon juice on the broccoli. Toss with pine nuts and put in serving bowl/platter/plate. Add parmesan and basil just before serving. YUM YUM YUM (BTW, just did some broccoli like this last night and added it to orzo pasta with tomatoes, yellow peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, and fresh parmesan...again, fabulous.)


Tropical Cupcakes -- I had to whip up a birthday treat for one of my bosses last week. In scavenging through my cupboard all I could find was an old box of coconut cake mix. "Coconut?", you ask. "Yes," Coconut. Don't ask me where I got it or how old it was. I was desperate. Fortunately I found a way to "kick-it-up" a notch. I added chopped pineapple to the cake mix and then made coconut cream cheese frosting and then toasted coconut to add to the top. Tada! Tropical Cupcakes.

Oh, yum, kitty litter! On April Fool's day I took this delicious "Kitty Litter Cake" in to work. It was a HUGE hit. Several people stood around it and dared each other to take the first bite. After waiting till the sacrificial lamb declared it, they all dug in. You can find the recipe all over the internet. I would also recommend making it the night before you serve it and allow it to sit in your fridge over night. I think it helped the cake meld together.


Several years ago while at BYU I started a tradition of making crepes on General Conference morning. This year I invited a few of my friends over to join me. And let me tell you...They were the BEST DARN CREPES I've ever made. The toppings were amazing.

Crepes
8 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
3 1/3c. milk
2 2/3 TBS sugar
1 1/3 tsp salt
1 TBS oil

Wisk all together and cook in pan. Hint: Crepes are supposed to be VERY thin. I usually pour little less than 1/4 in a pan and then swirl the pan around until the crepe batter essentially stops running because it's baking up. If you get it thin enough in the pan you only have to cook it on one side, because it will cook all the way through.

Lemon Cream -- this lemon cream was truly what set all of these crepes apart from the others.

1 c. cream cheese
1 c. confectioners sugar
1 TBS lemon zest
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/4 ts. lemon extract

cream it all together. We spread a little down the center of the crepe and added fresh strawberries, rolled them up and then topped them with homemade chocolate sauce. Aggghhh!! They were fabulous!


And finally a delicious soup/stew, or as I like to call it a "stoup". I got the recipe from Better Homes And Garden magazine and it was the perfect stoup for the crockpot. I deviated from the recipe a little because I was too cheap to by pork shoulder, and I used healthy turkey sausage instead of polish sausage, but it was still DELICIOUS and tasted just a great the 2nd and 3rd day. If you want the recipe let me know and I'll email it to you.

Slow Cooker Holiday Pork Stew - Better Homes and Garden

Mac-n-Cheese-Sans-Yellow-Powder

I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of the delicious Irish White Sharp Cheddar Cheese I had. I bought it from Costco and so of course I end up with a GIANT chunk of cheese. Sooooo, what to do with cheese....why, Macaroni-n-Cheese of course!!! So here's a delicious version of Mac-N-Cheese-sans-yellow-powder from Martha Stewart. I did a little adjustment to use up all my sharp Irish cheddar and it turned out FABULOUS. To keep from eating the entire casserole dish all by myself (very, very tempting), I'll take it over to my mom's for Sunday family dinner. You should give it a try for your own Sunday dinner.

Macaroni and Cheese
by Martha Stewart

1 lb elbow pasta, cooked and drained
4 TBS butter
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 C. milk
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/4 C. shredded yellow cheddar cheese
1 1/4 C. shredded white cheddar cheese
8 ouces ham, diced
2 slices white bread

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta, and drain -- set aside. Meanwhile, in a 5 qt heavy pot, melt butter of medium heat. Add onion, cook, stirring occasionally until softened, 3-5 minutes (I chopped the onions supper fine, because I know some little kiddies who turn up their noses at onions; however, they are needed for flavor. When I cut them so fine, they all but disappear in the cheese sauce, but still add the yum factor.) Whisk in flour to coat onion. In a slow steady stream, whisk in milk until there are no lumps.
2. Cook whisking often, until mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a wooden spoon, approx. 6-8 min. Stir in cayenne, if using, and 1 C. of yellow cheddar and 1 C. white cheddar (I just added 2 cups of white). Season with 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.3. Toss pasta with cheese mixture; fold in ham (I didn't add any but I think it would also be delicious with cooked broccoli florets). Transfer to 9"x13" baking dish. Set aside.4. In a food processor (I used my hand stick blender and I used a frozen whole wheat hamburger bun - cuz I just don't have any white bread) and pulse the 2 bread slices until fine bread crumbs form. Toss together with remaining 1/4 C. each of white and yellow cheddar, add 1/4 tsp. salt. Top pasta with breadcrumb mixture. Bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes.

A Nod to the Irish

I'm not even Irish but I love an excuse to cook with potatoes! Last year for St. Patrick's Day I was visiting my sister in ID. We had a little St. Patrick's Day celebration with the kids, made some decorations, and discovered the most delicious Irish Soda Bread Recipe. As it is that time of year again, I dug up the recipe and it's still FABULOUS.

My dinner tonight consisted of the FABULOUS Irish Soda Bread with a bowl of homemade potato soup, which turned out delicious too. Here are the recipe which you can use for your own Irish celebration.

Potato Soup
serves 4-6

5 peeled and diced golden potatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1TBS olive oil
2 C. chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried herbs, your choice (I'd suggest herbes de provence or thyme)
2 tsp. salt (you may need more depending on your preference)
1 C. sour cream
1 tsp chopped fresh dill


Sautee chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Add potatoes, allow them to brown/cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add chicken broth and then enough water to make sure that the potatoes are completely covered. Put the lid on and allow potatoes cook at a low boil for about 8-10 minutes (check them with a fork for doneness). Reduce the heat to low. Using an immersion blender CAREFULLY puree up the soup. Did I mention that you should be CAREFUL when you do this cuz its HOT!!!!
After it's blended to your desired consistency (I like lumps in mine), add the dry herbs and salt. Simmer for about another 5 minutes, stiring periodically. Just before serving stir in the sour cream and chopped dill.
I served mine with shredded white cheddar on top as a garnish.

Now along side my Irish Potato Soup I had 2 slices of the FABULOUS Irish Soda Bread. You'll definitely want to try this one out.

Irish Soda Bread
by: Arlene Costello/Agnes Walters -- allrecipes.com
Makes 2 loves

4 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. white sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 pint sour cream
1 C. raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans. Mix flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, sour cream, and raisins and mix until just combined. Distribute batter evenly between the two pans. Bake loaves at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Orange Scones with Chocolate Chips

I LOVE to bake. I Love to eat baked goods. And in order to keep from growing to roughly the size of a house I've learned to bake goods, eat a few and then share the rest with others. Yum for everyone. Tuesday morning I tried a new recipe and took it to work, where it was promptly inhaled by my fellow workers. In fact it happened so quickly that I didn't even see it happen. All I saw was the empty tray after I came back from turning on my computer. So I'm pretty sure this recipe is a keeper. You'll want to give this a try.

PS -- I made these early, early Tuesday morning in my really small dark kitchen, so the pictures aren't the best, sorry.

Orange Scones with Chocolate Chips

Scones:
2 C. flour + 1/4 C. flour
3 TBS sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3 TBS orange zest
1/2 tsp salt
1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 C. milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, salt, and chocolate chips (by hand). Pour in milk. Mix well. Dough will be sticky -- I added about another 1/4 c. flour to make it at least a little less sticky. Divide the dough into 2 sections and put it onto a greased cookie sheet -- I put it on my baking stone and it did just fine. Bake 10-12 min.Slice into wedges and let cool, just a bit, before adding the glaze.

Glaze:
1 C. powdered sugar
2-3 TBS orange juice
Mix together until a thin icing consistency and pour over warm scone.A plate of delicious scones...devoured in a matter of moments. I think I'm going to have to make some more.
Here's a recipe "card" for you. Just click on the image and then print off the larger version.

Tart Tzatziki Recipe Adds Some Pizzaz to A Turkey Sandwich

I love Greek food. I'm by no means an expert on Greek food. In fact my experience is pretty much limited to My Big Fat Greek Restaurant and two Greek Festivals held here in AZ. However, what I have had is delicious. I've pretty much mastered the hummus (if you want a killer hummus recipe check out my Megan's Corner blog) and so I wanted to tackle another favorite of mine -- Tzatziki. For those of you who are not familiar with this tart, cool, and refreshing Greek cucumber dip here is your chance. It really is darn simple to make and it can be paired with sooooo many things -- crackers, vegetables, pita bread, as a hamburger or turkey burger condiment, or sandwich spread.

First, because it's a "dip" there is a lot of flexibility in the proportions, so everything I have in this recipe is an approximation and can be adjusted according to your taste's. Here's the recipe:

Tzatziki
1 cup seeded & shredded cucumber
12 oz Greek yogurt (some times hard to find, look in the organic section or foreign cheese section of your grocery store)
6 oz sour cream
2 cloves crushed garlic (warning...I love garlic)
3 TBS finely chopped dill
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste


Seed, peel and shred your cucumber.You have to squeeze some of the water out of the cucumber so put your shredded cucumber in a paper towel and squeeze it out over the sink -- you'll be surprised at how much water comes out of it -- you don't have to squeeze it bone dry, just take some of the water out.Then mix the cucumber with all of the other ingredients. And you're done. The flavor will intensify as it sits.Tonight I spread the tzatziki on some whole wheat greek flat bread added sliced turkey, tomatoes, cucumber slices (I know...redundant), lettuce, and avacado. It was AWESOME!
If you would like this recipe for yourself, I've made a quick recipe card. Just click on the thumbnail below and then print off the larger image.