Donut Muffins

Donut muffins are tasty, light, fluffy and delish. I'm going to make them again this week - my family loved them! I did not make them "healthy" but I will make some substitutions this round.

For Muffins:
3 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar, plus 1/8 cup of sugar
1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
For Topping
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Combine the vanilla, milk and heavy cream.
3. With a spoon, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then mix in a third of the milk mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don’t over mix.
4. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup. Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, about 25-30 minutes.
5. To finish, melt the butter for the dipping mixture in a small bowl. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Summer Salads

I love this time of year fresh fruit and veggies are an abundance. We eat salads all summer, a yummy side salad or make one for our meal. Here are two salads that I have been over the past few weeks. A Strawberry Spinach Salad and a BBQ Chicken Salad. They both were mighty tasty! Really you can make a salad to your own tastes and likes. This time of year is the best time to experiment with local veggies and produce or even something from your own back yard!
One thing that i want to try this summer is making my own dressings. The dressings i used were bottled and I am wanting to stay away from that. Please share with me any dressings that you love to make at home!

I served the Strawberry Spinach Salad along with our meal. It was tasty and refreshing!



I bag spinach chopped
1/2 cup strawberries sliced
1/4 cup red onion chopped
candied pecans
bottled or homemade poppy seed dressing

Toss all your ingredients together, mix in the dressing. Enjoy!



The BBQ Chicken Salad I served as our main meal - YUMMY!!



BBQ Chicken Salad

2 BBQ chicken breasts (grilled or baked)
1 bag of mixed greens chopped
1 tomato chopped
2-3 green onions chopped
1/2 c cilantro chopped
1/2 c black beans drained
1/2 c frozen corn
1/3 -1/2 c shredded cheese I used monetary jack
Tortilla Chips crushed
I used a BBQ Ranch Dressing


Mix all the ingredients together except the chicken. Arrange salad ingredients on a plate, add the chicken and tortilla chips to the top. Drizzle your favorite dressing on top! Enjoy!!

Quinoa - what is this stuff?

QUINOA??? That is what I have to say! What is this? What does it taste like? Everybody except me is eating you? Well i decided it was time for me to try you.

I bought some at my favorite Super store - it was a little expensive but it seems as though it lasts. I found a recipe on Vivi's blog and followed that. WOWWWWWWWW!!! We loved it!!!! Even the kids liked it. I did not take a picture of that recipe - we just gobbled it it before I remembered too.

It has a weird texture sort of chewy and a little crunchy. By it self it does not have any flavor but add some ingredients to it and WOW! you will not be disappointed.
I was searching some recipes sites and blogs to find another recipe that used Quinoa. It appears that you really can add what you want to Quinoa.
I had these ingredients on hand tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil! Caprese Quinoa here you come!



Oh it was so tasty and refreshing! Of course the kids did not like this recipe.
Quinoa is going to be a common staple around our house. I have found several recipes with Quinoa that I am excited to try.

Here is my recipe - i really just threw this together.

Caprese Quinoa

1 cup quinoa follow directions
1/2 c fresh mozzarella
1 tomato chopped
handful of basil chopped
1/3 c olive oil
a few dashes of balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Once it cooked let it cool in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
Once cooled add the mozarella, tomoto and basil to the quinoa. Mix together the dressing and gently toss into the Quinoa.

If you have some delish recipes using Quinoa please pass them onto me!

A visit from Seattle

My dear and bested friend since high school came for a little visit with her husband a few weeks ago from Seattle. It has been about a year that I had seen her. I went out to Seattle last Memorial Weekend to visit her.
They came out for a visit 5 years ago before they got married. So it had been awhile since she was back to her hometown of St.Paul. That can only mean one thing lots of yummy places to go and eat! It was so nice to have a long weekend with them and spend time together. Can't wait to see you both again!

Here is what our agenda was (basically to see how many restaurants we could get in this visit) :

Friday - Indian lunch Buffet at Sambol, drove to J's home that she grew up in (we just looked at it from the outside and took a few pictures her family is all in the UK now), went to Cecils bakery, J and I went to see the movie bridesmaids, the guys stayed home with the kids and BBQ
Saturday - Guys went golfing, J and I went to Cafe latte for lunch and dessert, walked around Grand Ave in the wind and rain, dinner Bar La Grassa with the Youngs.
Sunday - Guys went golfing again, Brunch at WA Frost with the girls, dessert before dinner we had ice cream at Grand Old Creamery, dinner at Green Mill with the kids.
Monday - brunch at Keys Cafe and dropped them to airport. :(

Here are a few pictures - i did not take as many as J did.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

We do not eat a lot of pasta. I wish we did because I LOVE it!!! It's not the healthiest and my kids are not pasta eaters. If I make it there is a lot of complaining, whining not happy people in my house. Tyler will eat spaghetti with just sauce and Mira wants meatballs.

Since I like pasta and decided to look for a recipe that we would all enjoy! And enjoy we did!

I made this recipe a few weeks ago when it was still cold in these parts, when we were not sure if we were going to have a spring. It's a great hearty meal on a cooler day, serve with a salad and yummy crusty bread! I'm craving it again!

It had the right about of spice and everything else you can think of. It was a bit time consuming but worth the effort. I made it on a Friday evening so I had more time to spend in the kitchen. The whole family loved it!



Ingredients
3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
1 pound Fettuccine ( I used whole wheat)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
½ whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
½ cups White Wine
1 cup Heavy Cream ( I used skim milk)
Cayenne Pepper To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Salt To Taste
Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste
Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!
Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.
Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.
With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!
Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.
Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!

Source; Pioneer Woman

Kefir

Hello!! Life has been busy choir concerts, birthday celebrations, changes at my work end of the school year, my dear friend J visiting from Seattle.

I guess i have a lot of catching up to do! I want to first start with a little interesting experiment I have been doing at home.
I have been making home made kefir! What is Kefir??

Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.There are many health benefits to drinking Kefir. Here is a link to check out the benefits: www.kefit.net

A woman that I work with was talking about how she makes homemade kefir and loves it. She has made smoothies and cheeses! I looked up the info and it sounded interesting along with many health benefits. She was very generous to give us some kefir grains.
I was a little creeped out at first - this is a live fungus, bacteria that I am growing in my kitchen. Yikes!
I have been very surprised - it's easy to make and the smoothies are tasty! I have lost some weight and actually feel better this is with me drinking it for a few weeks.

Here is a picture of the Kefir grains:



To make kefir you put the grains in a glass and pour about 1/2 c to a 1 cup of skim milk over the grains. Put a little plastic wrap on top of the glass. It can just stay on your counter for a 12 to 24 hours. You can let your kefir sit out longer and it will be thicker consistency. Do not let any metal touch your kefir grains. After the "culturing" process I strain my kefir into a glass bowl. You then rinse the grains with water and start the process over with the milk.
I let the kefir that was made sit in the fridge to get cold and then make a smoothie the next day Each day the grains are producing more kefir so you do not run out. The grains start to get bigger and multiply. That is is weird part! But i can share them with my family or friends if they want to get on the kefir diet!
Kefir is cleansing for your system so you are suppose to drink it for 20 days and then take a rest for 10 days. Start it up again after the 10 days!

I have been making a smoothies out of my kefir and drinking it for breakfast.

I use about a 1/3 c of frozen fruit ( I use strawberries)
1/2 c of kefir
1 tbsp of honey - you will need to adjust the taste based on how sweet you want it
throw it in my magic bullet and i have a homemade kefit smoothie for breakfast!



Enjoy!!

Blueberry Muffins

I have a little someone who LOVES blueberry's! I wanted to make some blueberry muffins for her. Of course i wanted to sneak a few healthy ingredients. I am still trying to learn how to replace some of the "bad" ingredients with "good ingredients when I bake. It seems to be more complicated then when you are cooking a dish and substitute :bad" with "good".
I replaced the milk with nonfat Greek yogurt and added flax seed. I should have added whole wheat flour but did not want to throw off the little lady that much with the taste.
Well. the muffins were a big hit with her and I'll be whipping up a batch again this week!




5 tablespoons unsalted butter ,softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup Non fat Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup flax seed
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup blueberries organic frozen

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. Mix until combined. Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in your blueberries. The dough will be quite thick (and even thicker, if you used a full-fat Greek-style yogurt), closer to a cookie dough, which is why an ice cream scoop is a great tool to fill your muffin cups. You’re looking for them to be about 3/4 full, nothing more, so you might only need 9 instead of 10 cups. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen