Donut Muffins!

Seriously? Its been since April?! I thought for sure I had posted something in June!? Guess not. Anway. I am alive for the 5 of you who read this!

With all of the relocation business, I didn't get to cook as much as I would've liked to. We move into our house Sept 1 so things will change then!!

I have gotten to try out a few recipes that Ive really liked, so I will try to post these over the next week or so.

To start....a recipe from TastyKitchen.com. I am not even sure how I came across these but they are absolutely awesome! I love how easy they are to make and the impressive flavor they have. Muffinman has named them "MuffinNuts" but I didn't think that was appropriate....My recipe below is a little different from the one on Tasty Kitchen. I used mini muffin pans and added vanilla and LorAnn's Buttery Sweet Dough Emulsion.  I first read about this on Joy the Baker's blog. I am now obsessed. DONT STRESS!! You can find it at Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section (fair warning, its on a low shelf, so don't panic if you have to really search!)

Donut Muffins (makes 4 dozen mini muffins)
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh zested nutmeg (or you can use the bottled)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp Lorann Buttery Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsions
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray the mini muffin tin lightly with cooking spray
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinamon in a medium bowl
4. Combine the remaining ingredients with a whisk in a separate bowl
5. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined
6. Fill the muffin tins up a little over halfway (they come out looking more like donut holes than muffins this way)
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes (18 was perfect for my oven)
8. While they bake, prepare your toppings: cinnamon sugar, chocolate glaze, vanilla glaze.....you name it!
9. Pop the muffins out immediately and dip in toppings.
10. Let cool completely and store in ziploc bags or an airtight container.

Toppings:
Cinnamon Sugar: Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, melt butter in another. Dip donuts in butter then in cinnamon sugar
Chocolate glaze: Pour 1/2 cup boiling hot cream over 6 oz chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Dip donuts in the chocolate
Vanilla Glaze: Melt 4 tbs of butter. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla and 1 cup (or more as needed) powdered sugar. Dip donuts into glaze. You can also add the Lorann Emulsion to this as well!!
*Add sprinkles as desired! :-)

Vegetari-WHAT?

After reading blogs like this and this, and vowing to use up the ingredients in my kitchen before going to the grocery store. I was inspired to run out and buy the pasta attachment for my kitchen aid. Thankfully (I’m not sure for whom), I convinced myself that it would be ineffective to not grocery shop this week but buy kitchen goodies. Instead I decided to try to recreate both of these vegetarian pastas because I knew I had canned pumpkin and artichokes in my pantry. Don’t worry, I am not mixing the 2. It just gave me options. Plus, I figured the Muffinman and I could use a little vegetarian-ness in our diet (yup, there I go again making up words.)


The outcome was surprisingly good! Feel free to mix around the vegetables (I think spinach and kalamata olives with feta cheese would rock!). Also, you can easily top this wish shrimp or chicken to make it a little more filling. What I am more excited about is that I finally got a new charger for my camera, so I can use it instead of my iphone to document my recipes! Unfortunately, this is not a very pretty dish to photograph!! Enjoy!

Vegetarian Pasta

4 servings, 6 pts

Ingredients

6 oz dry penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped (about 5 artichoke hearts)
1 handful flat leaf parsley
3 oz grated gruyere cheese (you can use parmesan, I just had gruyere on hand)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried minced onion

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 tsp flour
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbs heavy cream

Directions
1. In a large food processor, add the bell peppers, artichokes, and parsley. Pulse until well minced and combined
2. Add in ½ of the cheese, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and minced onion. Pulse until combined

3. Remove mixture from the processor and place in bowl.

4. Salt a pot of water and bring to a boil.
5. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain
6. While the pasta cooks, in a large sauce pan, sauté the garlic with a little cooking spray
7. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and combine with a spatula
8. Add in the canned tomatoes and their sauce and stir to combine

9. Once the sauce has thickened, add in most of the remaining cheese and cream

10. Add the vegetable mixture to the sauce and stir to combine
11. Serve the sauce mixture over the cooked pasta

Crawfish!!!

Alright, so throw your stones, gripe all you want. I know its been almost a month since I posted. I've wanted to, I just couldn't get to it!! I haven't forgot though, I've been taking pictures in hopes of posting soon. Lots to come, including a tested-ly (oh yeah, its a word) delicious coffee cake that you can adjust to your liking!

Over Easter we had a crawfish boil, and it was delicious. Of course, we always have more than we can eat, so we spend that last half of the meal peeling the leftovers (and drinking beer!).

With the leftovers, the muffinman requested Crawfish Etouffee. While I wasn't in the mood to cook tonight, I did a quick google search and found this recipe. Its easy and quick, and I think it turned out delicious!! I alternated Nunu's (from some fellow cajun friends) and some blackened fish seasoning until I got the flavor to where I wanted. In addition, I didn't follow their instructions for cooking rice.... I just made up a few servings according to the package directions.

You can substitute shrimp if you'd like, but this was an excellent way to use my first batch of leftover crawfish! More to come on what else becomes the crawfish's fate...

My goal this week is to cook dinner from whatever is in the house. My freezer is overflowing (mostly with veggies and homemade sorbet), and I have a good amount of pasta in the pantry....I just think its time to use up some of this stuff! If I had the time (or motivation) I'd clean out my pantry and inventory the contents for ya, but we all know thats not happening. Hope you have an awesome week!

Cooking Extravaganza!

Yes, you read it right! After I came home and deep cleaned my kitchen, I proceeded to destroy it again! :-) Since I am leaving the dear muffinman to fend for himself this weekend, I wanted to make a few things for him to have to eat. In addition, I wanted to make something for a co-workers birthday tomorrow and something to bring to my parents.

For the birthday, I opted for one of my favorites....and something very easy. Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies, you can find the recipe I use here. For my parents, delicious bread (I really wanted to try out the soft pretzel recipe, but I didn't have the right dough made! Stay tuned, that will definately be in the near future). My husband was so enthralled with the loaf of bread I made, I had to quickly mix up another batch of dough so he could have a loaf for this weekend!!

So, my list of items cooked tonight.....macaroni and cheese, au gratin potatoes, chocolate chip blonde brownies, mexican chicken casserole (made with leftover bbq chicken, so Im sure it tastes more like bbq chicken casserole), 2 loaves of white bread, and prepped the ingredients for a crokpot venison stew (Thanks April for the excellent recipe!!). In addition, I made dinner. That consisted of baked chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, and asparagus with goat cheese and walnuts.

If you even like asparagus in the slightest amount, you will have to try this super simple recipe. It looks pretty and sounds elaborate, so it's a great one to serve at dinner parties or holidays!

Roasted Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
(print my recipe @ TastyKitchen.com)

Ingredients
10 spears Asparagus

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Walnuts, Chopped
about 1 ounce  Goat Cheese, Chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Rinse and trim the asparagus.
3. Add olive oil to a small rimmed baking sheet.
4. Add asparagus to the oil and shake to coat.
5. Sprinkle with walnuts.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes (until tender).
7. Remove from the pan, place on a serving dish, and sprinkle with goat cheese, adding more if desired.

Ole!

Look at me, 2 posts in one day!!! While I continue to bask in my success, I have a favor to ask of all you reading (ok, maybe it really is just the 4 followers, but I'm hoping theres others!) I'm wanting to really try to make this blog take off, so if you would, PLEASE add yourself as a follower so I can judge how many people actually read! I have a goal of 50 by the end of April, we will re-evaluate then and hopefully up the goal! In addition, please feel free to pass this blog along to anyone who you may think have an interest!

Made a great casserole with the leftover shredded pork from the carnitas last week. It's super easy (especially if you already have the meat cooked and shredded!). If so, just skip to step 5 and when it calls for cooking liquid, add the 1 cup of chicken broth.


In addition, I used a smidge of olive oil instead of cooking spray in the pan (I keep forgetting to print my list off smart shopper when I go to the store!). While we are on the subject....the smart shopper is another great gift I received this year. While it might seem hokey, its a cooks best friend...really! I no longer have to remember in my head when I use the last of something while cooking. I can just step to the fridge, hit record, and speak what I need (note: be sure you don't have a husband yelling random items in the background, it hasn't perfected distractions yet).

Mexican Chicken Casserole (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1 cup ff, less sodium chicken broth

2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles (I omitted these)

1 3/4 lbs skinned boned chicken breasts

1 cup chopped onion

1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup milk

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese (I used mexican blend)
1/4 cup (2 oz) light cream cheese

1 10oz can enchilada sauce

12 (6 inche tortillas)

Cooking spray

1/2 cup shredded reduced fast extra sharp cheddar cheese (used mexican blend)

1 oz tortilla chips

Directions

1. Combine broth and 1 can of chiles in a large skillet; bring to a boil.

2. Add chicken; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once.

3. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving cooking liquid; cool chicken.

4. Shred meat with two forks, and set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 350°.

6. In a large skillet, add 1 can chiles, onion, and garlic

7.Sauté 3 minutes or until soft.

8. Add reserved cooking liquid, milk, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well.

9. Stir in shredded chicken; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

10. Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray.

11. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas.

12. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture.

13. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips.

14. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

15. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*As I mentioned, I had about a cup and a half of shredded pork leftover, so I halved this recipe. It made 6 servings, which is perfect to leftovers for lunch!

So Long, Farewell!!!

Yes folks, crockpot week is over, and I, for one, am elated.Crockpots are cool and all, but most food tastes better cooked other ways (in my opinion).

Friday I opted not to cook, and we, instead, went out for the husbands birthday. We always enjoy The Keg, and this visit was no different. A great dinner accompanied by some good wine and conversation with excellent bartenders made our evening complete (thanks Chris and Ryan!).  Here you can see Chris pouring me (yet another) glass of Jaboulet Cotes du Rhone "Parallele 45."

Saturday, I recovered! We decided to grill because the day was just too gorgeous to be stuck inside! I found a neighborhood Walmart Market nearby that I never knew existed....and love it! We bought a whole organic chicken and some ribs to grill. As you can see below, husbands are excellent at splitting chickens! :-) Its that Texas A&M degree....

Accompanying the great meat were grilled vegetables, and excellent roasted potatoes.  It was a great way to round of the closing of a weekend! Stay tuned this week for some leftover casserole recipes!

Happy Birthday Muffinman!!!

Yes, its the love of my lifes birthday....but I was under the impression he would not be home tonight, so I was ill prepared!! For one, I planned tonight as the crock pot dinner he would not eat....ooops. For 2, I was planning on making his cake tomorrow! So, I was in high speed when I came home!

While this was excellent to get things done, it resulted spilling a full glass of water on the floor, bonking my head on a cabinet while taking out the trash, dripping salsa on my computer (the hazards of using a computer for my recipes), and my smoke alarm going off for a good 10 minutes. After cleaning up my messes and consoling myself and muffindog (i was saying "my poor head" while he was in the far corner of the yard trying to get away from the smoke detector), I literally had about 30 minutes to finish up.

Alls well in the muffin household now. Muffinman is home. Muffindog in sleeping. And this muffinwoman is having a glass of wine before pie! I'd say the husband summed up the meal best... "The peppers are good. Num Num. The bread is like the ultimate bread ever. Num, Num, Num. Can I have some more bread?"

Tonights crockpot meal is truly a no-fuss option! A lot of crockpot meals require a significant amount of prep time (still worth a cooked meal when you come home, but it takes up time in the morning). This one took me about 10 minutes last night, and maybe 5 this morning. (only because I dumped one of the peppers over when filling it with sauce and had to re-assemble!!) Even if you aren’t a fan of bell peppers, you can eat the filling and steer clear of the pepper!

Once I realized I needed to make muffinmans birthday “cake” tonight, I repeated the carrot and parsnip side dish for dinner as well….and of course, I had to bake some bread!! This time, I added a little butter and rosemary to the top of my loaf!

I halved the recipe below, making enough filling for 3 peppers, but only filled 2. Stored the rest of the filling in the fridge and plan on making a pepper for lunch sometime in the next few days.

Crockpot Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

6 tall green bell peppers

1 lb ground beef, extra lean

1 cup rice, uncooked (I used brown)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large carrot, shredded

1 tsp beef bouillon

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 can water

Directions

1. Cut the top off of the peppers, and remove the inner seeds. Rinse inside and out

2. In a medium bowl, combine the beef, rice, onion, carrot, bouillon, salt, and pepper.

3. Fill each pepper with the beef mixture about 2/3 way full (rice will expand)

* you can stop here, wrap the peppers in saran wrap, and refrigerate over night

4. Place the peppers in your crockpot.

5. Mix the soup and water with a whisk

6. Pour the soup mixture over the peppers.

7. Cook on low for 8 hours

Snickers Pie

Ingredients

14 oz semisweet baking chocolate

4 tbs butter

1 (9inch) baked pastry shell

25 caramels

1 cup, 1/3 cup, and 5 tsp heavy cream

1 ½ cup salted peanuts

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 snickers bar, cut into small pieces.

Directions

1. In a sauce pan, melt the chocolate and 3 tbs of butter

2. Using ¼ cup of the chocolate, spread all over the sides and bottom of the crust.

3. Place crust in the refrigerator to harden, set the remaining chocolate aside

4. In a separate sauce pan, melt 20 caramels, and 1/3 cup cream, stirring frequently

5. Remove from heat and stir in the peanuts

6. Spread the peanut layer over the chocolate layer and return to the fridge.

7. Beat 1 cup of the cream with the vanilla until soft peaks form

8. Fold 1/3 of the cream into the reserved chocolate (be sure its cooled down before adding the cream)

9. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate mixture

10. Spread the chocolate cream into the pie crust.

11. Refrigerate until set

12. In the same saucepan you used for the caramels, melt 5 caramels, 5 tsp heavy cream, and 1 tbs butter.

13. Sprinkle the chopped snickers over the pie, then drizzle with the caramel sauce.

14. Keep covered and refrigerated until served.