Good Morning Muffins

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted… got a little busy and things had to take a back seat for a while.  Anyway, I made these muffins a couple weeks ago and man were they good!  This is a recipe I found while watching Pioneer Woman’s cooking show.  I really enjoy her show and the type of food she makes.  So much of it is just good, simple, comfort food!  While watching the episode I was a bit skeptic about her use of TWO jars of marmalade in one batch of muffins, but I did the same and I really liked the balance of flavor and texture.

On the recipe she suggests using less if you don’t like the bitter taste of marmalade, but I don’t really feel like it is bitter so don’t be afraid to use it all.  The recipe I followed was also slightly different than what I watched her make on the show (I imagine it got altered a bit) and only listed 2 cups of marmalade, but on the show she says she just goes ahead and uses the two jars as it’s close.  Another difference I found when searching was the use of either just butter, just shortening, or a mix.  On the show she states that she likes the mix best so I went with that.

The muffins are nice and moist, with a great orange flavor, and have a little bit of sweetness and crunch on the top.  She uses a good deal of nutmeg in the topping, so you might consider cutting back a little if you aren’t a big fan.  She also uses salt which I found to be a great addition that sort of cuts through the sweetness a bit, but if you don’t like that sort of thing you can leave it out.  This recipe makes a lot of muffins, perfect for sharing, or just portioning out through the week for breakfast or a quick snack.  I think you can freeze them too if you like.

 

Makes : 24 muffins

Ingredients :

• 4 C. flour
• 1/2 C. sugar
• 2 T. baking powder
• 4 T. unsalted butter (cold)
• 1/4 C. shortening
• 1 1/2 – 2 C. marmalade (or 2 jars)
• 1 C. orange juice
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs, beaten

Topping :

• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1/4 C. brown sugar
• 2 T. melted butter
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• wheat germ

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray muffin pans with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients.  Using a pastry cutter or two knives cut in the butter and shortening until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl combine your wet ingredients, then gently stir into your dry ingredients.  Use very few turns of the spatula to combine it. 
4. Mix your toppings in another bowl and sprinkle a heaping tsp. over each muffin.  Also sprinkle about a 1/2 tsp. of wheat germ on each muffin.
5. Bake 20-22 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Eggs Baked In Bread

I picked this recipe because I was honestly  just curious how it would turn out.  It sounded good… bread, eggs, cheese and broccoli.  I was just curious as to how the egg would actually turn out, and also the broccoli.  As I was preparing it for the oven I had a lot of doubts.  I imagined the broccoli would dry out or burn, and the eggs would either become very hard or spill off the side.  During assembly one of the eggs actually did spill over the side because I hadn’t made the hole big enough or perhaps I just put too much cheese and broccoli in.  I wiped up the mess so it wouldn’t burn and managed to salvage that yolk and most of the whites so I just put it in as it was.  I was baking my bacon at the same time and checking on that often so every time I would peak in there and see the eggs were nowhere near set up I would panic and start thinking of a back-up plan in my head.  Really up to the last minute I was sure it wasn’t going to turn out…… but somehow magic happened and it not only worked, but surprised me in the textures of the egg and broccoli.

The bread did not burn as I feared it would at that temperature for that long, though the ends did get pretty crusty since it was already a crusty piece of bread.  The broccoli sort of steamed in the bread leaving it moist and keeping the bread soft inside which was a nice contrast to the crusty outsides.  The eggs on the ends did cook more fully and the yolks, while not unpleasant, were solid.  I chose to make one large roll rather than cutting them into individuals prior to cooking so the two inside eggs didn’t turn completely solid like the two outside ones.  They were fully cooked, but the yolks took on a thick creamy sauce-like texture that really took this to the next level.  I would suggest cutting your bread before hand to ensure even cooking, and also to dispose of the very ends of the bread as they get a bit too hard.

The recipe was kind of general on some things… such as using a “sourdough sandwich roll” and how to stuff the ingredients inside.  I bought one of those really large sourdough loaves, and rather than cut it in half like you would if you were making a sandwich roll I just took enough off the top of the roll to level it off and make the entire thing crust-less on the top.  I wanted to make sure it was deep enough for stuffing and that worked out well.  One tip I have would be to not only make your holes big enough to accommodate an egg and some cheese and broccoli, but when putting the eggs on top do it very slowly and sort of stretch the holes a little with your fingers to allow the egg to settle into the bread rather than sit on top, or in the case of one of mine spill off the side!  The recipe called for mozzarella but I found I was out when I went to grab some and so I just used some pepper jack instead.  I am sure you could use whatever cheese you like though.  Same thing with the seasonings… the recipe mentioned chili powder in the list of ingredients, but then it wasn’t mentioned in the steps so I left it off not really thinking I wanted any on and it was good with just salt and pepper.

There are probably many ways you can alter this to suit your tastes, or improve on it, but the basic idea is definitely simple and also a little bit fun.  Perhaps some fresh herbs on top, or bacon crumbles.  Throw some ham inside.  Kick it up with a little hot sauce.  The sky is the limit.  All you have to do is put those doubts aside and trust that it will work!  As I mentioned the recipe I followed was little unclear on a couple of things so I am going to just elaborate on the recipe below to include the steps I took.

 

serves : 2-4

Ingredients :

• 1 large sourdough loaf (unsliced)
• 1/2-3/4 cup broccoli florets (make them on the small side)
• 1/4-1/3 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh Parmesan, grated

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 350 F., and line a baking sheet with foil. 
2. Slice just enough off the top of the roll to leave a leveled crust-less top on your bread.  Make 4 holes across evenly spaced, digging out some of the bread.  There should be enough room for a little bit of broccoli, cheese and an egg in each hole. 
3. Start by putting some of your broccoli into the bottom of each of those 4 holes, then stud the bread all around the holes by poking the broccoli into it.  Next put cheese into the holes over the broccoli, but leave room for the eggs.
4. Carefully crack an egg over each of the 4 holes, going slowly, and taking time to stretch the holes a bit to settle the egg into the bread without breaking the yolks.  Season to top with salt and pepper, sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake about 20-25 minutes or until eggs are set and bread is toasted. 
5. **** Alternately, cut your roll into halves or fourths before stuffing them and arrange side by side to ensure more even cooking.  See notes above regarding the outer yolks cooking through more than the inside ones when left as one long roll.

Recipe from Divine Cusine Viva la Food!

Stromboli

Emeril Lagasse really knows what he’s doing!  This all comes from him, from the homemade dough to the finished product, and though it’s labor intensive it is SO worth it.  Not only is it beautiful to look at, and would certainly wow anybody you served this to, but it tastes amazing with all the peppers, onion, meats, olives and cheese!  Plus the dough is seriously awesome, and is a dream to work with.

If, like me, you have always been afraid to make your own pizza crust I strongly suggest you just take the plunge and try this recipe.  It was very simple to make, and as I mentioned it was absolutely amazing to work with when forming the stromboli and pizza.  I actually made two batches of the dough because I had first thought that I might have gotten it a bit dry as I was having to add flour to my surface during the kneading process.  So for the second time I reserved a little (about 1/4 cup) of the initial 3 cups and used that during the kneading instead.  They both turned out fantastic though, and I used half of the first batch on a pizza for my son and froze the rest.  It is nice and airy/soft, but gets a good crunch on the ends where it brown.  Seriously probably the best homemade pizza I have ever had as far as crust is concerned.  I usually use frozen store bought dough, or Pilsbury dough, or even a pre-made crust.  The frozen stuff usually results in a good enough crust, but not only do you have to remember to thaw it out first, but ones I have tried have been a bear to roll out and take forever to actually get to the point where they won’t just shrink back up on me.  This dough took 2 minutes tops each time.

You could certainly adjust the fillings to your tastes, but the combination Emeril creates for this recipe is perfect.  I used pepperoni because the salami I had was looking a bit turned, but I my original plan was to use half and half between the two.  As I mentioned before I don’t particularly like sausage, but again it was crumbled up small enough with the fat rendered out that it didn’t bother me… except for the fennel in the particular sausage I bought lol.  I especially liked the combination of mozzarella and provolone, as well as the crispy Italian cheese blend on the top.  It called for finely grated parmesan and had I read that far ahead I would have gotten a block and done it myself, but when I read grated I assumed they meant the powdery type as I equate shredded with the other.  I definitely don’t think that would have worked though so I used some of the 4 cheese Italian shred I had on hand.  I also put a bit of course salt and fresh ground pepper on the top of the stromboli after brushing on the egg wash which really makes a nice crust.  And one last tip… when rolling it up just go slowly press down on your fillings a bit to keep them flat so you have less chance of breaking your dough.  Also try not to roll it out too thin to begin with and stick with the measurements he suggests.  Oh and I guess one more little tip I found really helped… I lined my baking sheets with foil first and then sprayed that and it really made clean-up a breeze since some of the grease escapes out the bottom.

 

Makes : 2 stromboli               Time to make :  3.5  hours total

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 C. warm water (110 degrees, important)
• 1 (1/4 oz) envelope dry active yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 T. + 1 1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 C. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp.  salt

Stromboli:

• pizza dough as directed
• 1/2 lb. Italian sausage, crumbled and casings removed
• 1/2 C. thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 1/2  C. thinly sliced green bell pepper
• 2 T. thinly sliced jalapeno, seeded
• 1 C. yellow onion sliced
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 lb. sliced ham
• 1/4 lb. sliced pepperoni or salami
• 1/2 C. sliced black olives
• 2 C. grated provolone
• 2 C. grated mozzarella
• 1 Lg. egg, beaten with 1 T. water to make an egg wash
• 1 C. finely grated Parmesan
• course salt and fresh ground pepper  (my addition)

Directions:

Dough:

1. In a large bowl combine warm water (110 degrees), yeast, sugar, and 1 T. oil by stirring together.  Then let sit without touching it for about 5 minutes until it is foamy.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth.  Continue adding flour 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky. (I reserved about 1/4 cup for the kneading the second time and that worked better) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured flat surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.  (If you have never kneaded dough before I suggest a quick youtube search for technique)
3. Place remaining 1 1/2 tsp. oil into a large bowl and roll the ball of dough around in it until covered on all sides.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm dry place with no drafts (I placed mine in the oven with the light on) and allow to rise until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Stromboli:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.   Grease a large baking sheet and coat with non-cooking spray. (I used two medium baking dishes that would fit side by side in my oven and lined with foil before spraying each.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and fat is rendered, about 5 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain the grease off.  The recipe says next to remove about a Tablespoon of grease from the pan, but I didn’t have any from my sausage so I actually added a little bit of olive oil before the next part.  Throw in your onions, peppers, and jalapenos and cook stirring often until very soft.  Add in garlic and Italian seasoning and cook about 1 minute more stirring.  Remove from heat and allow to cool (add the sausage back in as well).
3. Punch down the dough and divide in half.  On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 10×14 inches.  Spread half the cooled sausage mixture onto each rectangle leaving a 1-inch border all the way around.  Overlapping slightly, layer half of your ham next onto each stromboli, then your pepperoni or salami, olives and cheeses.  Using a pastry brush, pain the border of 1 long edge with some of your egg wash.  Starting on the opposite long side roll up your dough into a cylinder, pinching together the edges to seal.  You can sort of pinch and tuck the ends under.  Place on prepared baking sheet/s and allow to sit and rise for 20-30 minutes.
4. Brush on your egg wash to the tops of each Stromboli and if you choose so, sprinkle a bit of course salt and fresh black pepper on top now.  Bake until nearly completely golden brown all over, about 20 minutes.  Sprinkle each stromboli with parmesan cheese and return to the oven for about another 5 minutes until cheese has melted and starts to brown. 
5. Let stand 10 minutes out of the oven before slicing thickly and serving.

I couldn’t quite decide on one picture so I am going to share a few, including a quick snap from before I put the egg wash on of the assembled Stromboli.

Double Chocolate Banana Walnut Bread

The best of both worlds!  Banana bread and chocolate, what more could you ask for?  This is a gorgeous bread both in flavor and appearance and is pretty easy to make.  I stumbled upon this on food gawker, and I was amazed at how dark the chocolate must have been to get the bread as dark as they did.  I didn’t quite get it, but I only used ghiradelli cocoa in mine and I am sure there are plenty of other rich dark cocoas available.  If I recall I may have had to bake this longer than stated, but as long as you make sure the knife comes out fairly clean you are ok.

Anyway, my family really enjoyed this, and especially with a bit of marscapone spread on top!  I am glad I found this in my archive of photos so I can make it again now.  There goes that diet I haven’t even started yet!

 

makes : 1 loaf

Ingredients :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter, at room temp.
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions :

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets one on top of the other.  This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
3. Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute  until soft.  Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas.  Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.  Still on low, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is just incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.  Scrape batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake for 3o minutes.  Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40-45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 and 75 minutes), or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs.  Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding it.  Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

Kicking off the Fall Season with some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

Let me just start off by saying WOW!  My house sure smells amazing right now!  Not only were these muffins quick, and delicious, but they were also made from things I had on hand which is always a good thing.  This is especially true when you are trying to bake on a budget so to speak.  Maybe not everyone has cans of pumpkin on hand but I usually have at least three at any given time.

We really enjoyed these muffins, and my only thought is that it could stand to have even more spice to it, whether you use cinnamon or pumpkin spice, or nutmeg or ginger or whatever.  The recipe actually called for 2 Tsp. of cinnamon but I did 1 Tsp. cinnamon and 1 Tsp. pumpkin spice.  I also did 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup brown sugar for these.  I am pretty sure the recipe called for milk chocolate chips, but I tend to prefer dark chocolate so that is what I had on hand.  I don’t think you can go wrong with chocolate though.

I realize Fall has already started, and even the weather of late has been right on track for this great season.  However, in my house it isn’t truly Fall until October when we get to decorate for Halloween and start making all the yummy fall treats.  It’s also the month of my oldest son’s birthday so it’s always extra special now.  Anyway, these were the perfect thing to round out a day of decorating, and I hope everyone else is enjoying their fall as much as we are!

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Serves : 28-30 muffins            Time to make : 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 16 oz. canned pumpkin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 12 oz. chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine the eggs through oil into a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl combine the flour through salt and then gradually incorporate into the wet ingredients until mixed well.
3. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Fill muffin cups (greased or lined)  3/4 full and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 16-20 minutes.

 

Day 79 : Carrot Pineapple Muffins

While shopping recently I found so many adorable muffin pan/cupcake liners.  I was able to refrain from buying them all, as well as a bunch of picks, and sprinkles, but I didn’t walk away totally empty handed either.  I have quite the collection building of liners and sprinkles, and gadgets now.  Of course I can’t use most of them right now since I am trying to make smarter choices for a while and the idea of cupcakes just doesn’t fit in well with that after the last batch wasn’t even made a week ago.  However…. I figure muffins allow me to at least use the liners and are considerably more healthy.  To make them even more so I took the liberty to alter the recipe a bit using less sugar, replacing half the oil with applesauce, and substituted some whole wheat flour in for half of the all purpose flour.   They turned out quite well, and the best thing is that even my picky son liked them!  If you knew my son you would know how big that was!

The idea with the carrots and pineapple reminded me so much of carrot cake, and they do taste like it, only without all the butter and less sugar lol.  You could almost slap some cream cheese icing on these and consider them dessert, but they make a great breakfast or snack as is.  Using the substitutions mentioned above resulted in a nice fluffy muffin, with a good balance of moisture and flavor.  You do taste the wheat flour, and my husband refers to it as a sort of grittyness, but I promise you it’s not in a bad way.  If you have ever tried the Ww 1 point pancakes it is a lot like that, and we definitely enjoy those!  The original recipe called for a cup of sugar but that seems to me like it defeats the purpose of a healthier snack, so I used about half and did part white sugar and part brown.  The applesauce is the perfect alternative to the oil, and I might even try to sub all of it next time.  I also might add some walnuts to them next time, I just didn’t want to take TOO much liberty with these the first time around.  They puffed up beautifully, but not really high, so you do need to fill the liners all the way.  For me the 20 minute suggested baking time was just right.

 

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

Serves : 12                   Time to make : 35 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup sugar (you can get away with half)
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil (I subbed half with applesauce)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugar and oil together until well combined.
3. Add eggs and mix until well combined.
4. Stir in vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
6. Add to the sugar mixture and stir until just combined, taking care not to over mix.
7. Stir in carrots and pineapple until just combined.
8. Spoon into liners filling all the way.
9. Bake 20 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.

 

Day 68 : Fresh Orange Muffins

I figured I would continue with my orange theme from yesterday and make some yummy orange muffins.  I have made other recipes for them before, but never have I used an entire orange, peel and all in them before!  I was intrigued if not a bit skeptic.  They turned out WONDERFUL, with such a light and fluffy texture, and such a lovely fresh taste.

Not only were they delicious, but they were so fast and easy to make!  Seriously, just quarter the orange and throw it right in the processor along with a few other things and then stir in your dry ingredients.  It doesn’t get much easier and they did just what they were supposed to in the oven and came out looking beautiful golden brown with just a hint of orange color to them.  I decided to make them even more fun and added about a half cup of chopped pecans to mine and some orange decorating sugar to the tops of 6 of them.  That went over really well with the kids!

They were the perfect ending to a chaotic day, but I can totally see them as the perfect beginning to any day as well.  I am including two pics today because I think they are very different in appearance.  One with the sugar topping and the liners for the kids, and one I made in a ramekin for a larger sized muffin.

Fresh Orange Muffins

Serves : 12                 Time to make : 25 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 orange, quartered and seeds removed (with peel)
• 1/2 cup orange juice (I used Sunny D)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine (I melted and cooled mine just so it would combine easier)
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray muffin tin (12) with non-stick cooking spray or drop in liners.
2. Put orange quarters in food processor with orange juice and blend until pureed.
3. Add egg and butter and combine well, then pour into a large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl combine your dry ingredients, then dump into your orange mixture all at once.
5. Stir to combine. (Here I added the nuts as well)
6. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full, then bake for 20 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes before removing muffins. (I sprinkled a bit of sugar on top before baking)

 

Day 61 : Huckleberry Muffins

My son has to be THE pickiest eater on the planet!  Even his pediatrician was surprised at the severity of his pickiness.  Most kids go through phases where they will only eat a handful of things, and those things often include things like noodles, hotdogs, mashed potatoes, cookies, cake, ice cream, toast, various other desserts, maybe a basic sandwich etc.  Not my child….. the only things he eats are poptarts, chicken nuggets (ONLY dinosaur shaped or occasionally McDonalds), fruit (the one thing he is not picky about), mac and cheese (again only specific ones), and a very small handful of other things, none of which have a heck of a lot of nutritional value.

Anyway, we worry about the fact that not only are those the only things he likes, but he also has an insane irrational fear of trying new foods.  It seriously goes beyond the average child who won’t try something.  He acts like we are trying to give him poison.  We are constantly on the look-out for new things he might agree to try because we want him to get a more balanced diet.  The trouble is he SAYS he will try something and then we make it and he won’t even eat a crumb’s worth.

In trying to find a new breakfast option for him I decided to make some muffins.  He will occasionally try a cupcake so I figure I could convince him that these weren’t much different.  He said he’d try…..  Well he did try one little bite and CLAIMS he liked them, but then wouldn’t eat any more. (This is also a major struggle with him)  We know he likes things, or would but the few times he tries something he says he likes it before it barely touches his tongue and then says he’s done lol.

We however felt these were pretty good.  They aren’t really the best muffins I have ever had, but they were easy to make, I had the stuff on hand, and they did taste good.  I just prefer my muffins a bit more moist, and I am not sure I liked the sugar and nutmeg topping much.  The original recipe calls for blueberries which I did add a few of, but I had huckleberries so used those instead.  I figure they are pretty similar.  I liked the berry to muffin ratio of these.  Every bite had plenty of berry in it!

 

Huckleberry Muffins

Serves : 12                 Time to make : 40 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups huckleberries
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions :

1. Beat butter with a mixer in a large bowl until creamy.
2. Add in the sugar and mix until pale and fluffy.
3. Add one egg at a time and beat until well incorporated.
4. Beat in the vanilla, baking powder, and salt.
5. Using a large spoon or spatula fold in half the flour and then half the milk.  Repeat with remaining flour and milk.
6. Fold in the berries.
7. Spoon into a greased muffin pan using an ice cream scoop.
8. Sprinkle the mixed sugar and nutmeg on top of each muffin and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and springy in texture.

 

Day 22 : Three Berry Scones (Weight Watchers) & Raspberry Butter

Since I know my husband is reading this I am going to take this moment to do a little hint dropping….. I NEED a good macro lens!  I have been eyeballing a very nice one for quite some time, but haven’t been able to justify the hefty pricetag.  Through doing this blog I am quickly starting to see the justification with all these close-ups.  They could be SO much better with a nice macro lens…….

Ok, so today features another weight watchers recipe, though I did not choose it because of that.  It was one that happened to make it up on the front page of the Key Ingredients site, and I thought it looked good by the pictures posted there.  Breads in general are one of the things I don’t often make because to be honest they sort of intimidate me.  This recipe however was quite simple and though I feared how it might turn out after seeing how messy my scones looked before they went in the oven they in fact turned out quite nice and actually even look like scones!

Both Jeff and I felt that for taste these deserved at least a high 4, but that factoring in the health factor they were definitely a 5 for us.  They aren’t really sweet, so if you like your scones a bit sweeter I recommend whipping up some raspberry butter to go along with them.  That’s what I did and they were PERFECT together, even if it made the points value a little higher lol.  As a little bonus I am going to throw that recipe in today too!

The butter is great on biscuits, scones, toast, pancakes, or anything else you would normally put butter on.  It’s a great thing to set out for a brunch that will really wow your guests!  It can be made with whatever flavored preservatives you prefer as well.  It will look a little “curdled” in appearance but don’t worry about that.  It spreads on smooth and it doesn’t effect the taste at all.

I followed the recipe pretty closely since, as I mentioned before, I am not really comfortable when it comes to adjusting bread recipes.  I actually used a 4 berry blend though (it’s what I had) that included raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.  I did cut some of them up because it seemed a bit crazy to have a whole strawberry in there and my blackberries were HUGE.  Oh and I did need to make my own buttermilk again, and had no issues with it.

I saw somewhere that these were 2 points per scone, but I didn’t double check.

Three Berry Scones

Serves : 12                    Time to make : 30 minutes

Ingredients :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups frozen unsweetened mixed berries

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. Mix in butter until mixture is size of fine crumbs.
5. Stir in buttermilk, then berries.
6. On a prepared baking sheet, shape dough into two 7-inch circles.
7. Cut each into 6 wedges; coat with butter-flavored cooking spray.
8. Bake until cooked through and golden, about 20 minutes.

Raspberry Butter

Makes : 3/4 C.           Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 C. butter, room temp
• 1/4 C. seedless raspberry preserves

Directions :

1. Simply place butter and preserves into a food processor, and blend til smooth.
2. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to come back!

Day 12 : Smoked Cheddar Cornbread With Scallions and Red Pepper

Ever had one of those chaotic days where you just can’t wait til bedtime?  You know, the ones where your kids get this crazy idea to annoy you at every chance they get, and not listen to a word you say…..   Well that was my day today.  And to top things off it snowed last night again of course meaning that Jeff needed to snow blow the driveway after work, which means I did not get a chance to run to the store for the chicken.  That left me scrambling to find something to make for today’s blog entry, but I got lucky when I stumbled upon this cornbread recipe since it used a few things I needed to finish off anyway.

Of course getting the time to make it was another story….. between the kids getting into everything, and me running around trying to keep them happy and where they needed to be I am surprised I didn’t cut my finger off or burn down my house!  Somehow I made it through though, and now I get to enjoy delicious savory cornbread!  It’s not a very sweet version like some I have made in the past, but the flavor from the onions and peppers is a great blend and would compliment a chili or Mexican meal very nicely.

The only changes I made to the recipe were to use about 1/2 cup of the onions as well as the peppers, using regular mild cheddar, and I made mine into muffins because it’s easier.  In doing so, I cut back a little on the baking time since they cook faster in the muffin tin.  I actually got a dozen regular sized muffins out of this and about a dozen mini muffins as well.  I was hoping the novelty of the mini sized muffins would convince my son to try them…. but no such luck.  Anyway, I baked the regular sized ones for about 18-20 minutes, and the mini ones only took about 10-12 minutes.

Another great tip….. if you find you don’t have buttermilk on hand, which I rarely do, you can make your own by adding 1 T. of lemon juice or vinegar (I have only tried the lemon juice) to 1 C. low fat milk.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes and viola!  Buttermilk!  That is what I used for this recipe tonight.

 

Smoked Cheddar Cornbread With Scallions and Red Pepper

Serves : 12                              Time to make : 40 minutes

Ingredients :

• 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup smoked cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup scallion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red sweet bell pepper, finely diced

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 400°F Pam a 9X9X2 baking pan.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients in medium bowl. Blend in butter with pastry cutter. Beat the butter milk and eggs in a large bowl. Add cormeal to liquid and blend.
3. Gently fold in grated cheese, scallions, red peppers. Blend until evenly ditributed throughout the batter.
4. Transfer batter to pan. Bake until corn bread is golden and a toothpick comes out clean about 35 to 40 minutes.

 

 

Now I’m off to get my house back in order for our playdate tomorrow morning after today’s chaos!