Cinnamon Swirl Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze

Ah, muffins. It's be awhile since we last danced. Months, in fact. Not only because we spent a month in Oregon, but also because I just can't remember the last time I made muffins. The hubby has been chowing down on breakfast burritos for awhile now, so I decided to give him a breakfast break. He's nutty about cinnamon, so I knew this recipe was right up his alley.

Now, about these muffins. So good! They taste like a cinnamon roll, but without the hassle and elbow grease of dealing with yeast. In fact, they are super easy. I threw them together in about 20 minutes. The muffins are moist, and I love the ribbon of cinnamon-sugar goo running throughout the muffin. Another thing I love about this recipe? It makes 8 muffins. That's fantastic news for a 2-person household. The glaze tastes very much like cream cheese, so if you are a person who likes a more subtle cream cheese flavor (like me) you might want to add more sugar and milk to the glaze to diffuse the flavor a bit. You'll end up with more glaze than you need, but a more toned down flavor.

A funny side story for the day- the hubby and I went to the gym today. After I was satisfied with the amount of cardio I'd done, I joined the hubby on the basketball court to shoot the ball around. I don't think I've even picked up a basketball since high school. I couldn't believe how heavy it was to shoot, and even to pick up. Basketball, much like riding a bike, was something I obviously took for granted as a kid because I never once thought about the weight of a basketball. Things like that are funny. Like hoola hooping. Have you ever tried to hoola hoop as an adult? Awk-ward.

Anyhoo, my arms are spent and my tummy is happily full of cinnamon swirl muffin. Happy Friday indeed :)

Ingredients:

Muffins:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar (divided)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter + 1 tbsp, melted (divided)
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. To make muffins- In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup melted butter, milk, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tbsp melted butter, forming a paste. Add wet ingredients (milk/egg mixture) to the dry ingredients (flour/sugar). Mix gently and only until ingredients are just combined. Add cinnamon mixture to the bowl, but do not completely mix in. You want a swirl of cinnamon goo running through the muffins. Spoon mixture into muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool muffins completely before glazing.
3. To prepare glaze: Combine cream cheese through vanilla in a small bowl. Add more milk (if needed) until you reach a desired consistency for dipping. Dip the muffin tops into the glaze before placing on a cooling rack to set completely. Let glaze completely set before storing muffins.

*Recipe adapted from Recipe Girl*

The Best Blueberry Muffins

My love of blueberry muffins goes back to childhood. My mom used to make the best blueberry muffins, I loved them straight out of the oven, toasty and warm, and slathered with butter. The thought still makes my mouth water. These may not be my mother's blueberry muffins, but damn, they be good!

Me, being the curious baker that I am, find great pleasure in testing out different muffin recipes. When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to try it. This recipe is different from others I've tried in that you make a fresh blueberry jam that is swirled throughout the muffin. That ribbon of blueberry goodness is to die for! The outside of the muffin develops a crisp crust, while the inside is moist and soft. These are freakin' amazing!

I made a dozen the other day, and between the hubby, his coworker, and my in-law's, these muffins are long gone. I found them best when they were heated in the microwave for 20-30 seconds before eating. Yummy!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins):

Jam-
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tsp sugar

Muffins-
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat blueberries and sugar over medium-high heat. Cook 5-6 minutes, or until blueberries have cooked down. Stir often, mashing blueberries down with the back of your fork. Set aside, and let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 425º. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray, set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In another small bowl, whisk to combine the sugar and eggs. Whisk about 45 seconds, or until texture is consistent. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, melt butter in microwave, about 15-30 seconds. Whisk in canola oil. Whisk in egg mixture. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla.
6. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Using a spatula, stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries.
7. Divide batter among the muffin tin. Scoop about 1 tsp of the jam onto the tops of the muffins. Using a skewer, swirl the jam into the muffin batter.
8. Bake in preheated oven 14-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool in tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storage.

Recipe courtesy of See Brooke Cook

Tuesday Tidings

Time: 9:07 am

Weather outside: 73º and sunny, with a high of 91º. Humidity- 83% right now, at 9 am. Translation- it's going to be disgusting out at the height of the day.

On my desk: Numerous US Weekly's, World War Z, and Deadlocked. I'm behind on my reading, but I'm currently trying to catch up. I finished that cheerleading book, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay last week!

On my nightstand: Right now? Nothing, except an empty bottle of water. But tonight? You might find World War Z there, I'm a couple of chapters in. 

On my DVR: Game of Thrones! Holy cow, the hubby and I just watched "The Red Wedding" last night, and let me tell you, I think I'm still processing it. I'm walking around in shock. I can't believe it. The hubby and I are watching the season finale tonight, what else are they going to throw at us this season???

In my ears: The Today show.

In my garden: Currently waiting on basil and cilantro!

In the oven: Nothing yet, but I've got all the fixings to retry making cheesecake. It will happen this week.

In my tummy: Kashi's Go Lean Cinnamon Crisp cereal with banana slices and almond milk. My favorite breakfast. I've tried other breakfasts, but I find I actually miss this breakfast. It's just not worth skipping for me :)

In my future: Working out. Laundry. I'm behind on couponing by about a month, really need to that. Possibly baking. Making something yummy for dinner. Reading World War Z. My life is hard, huh? LOL.

On tap for dinner: Beer Braised Chicken Taco with Cabbage Apple Slaw. So good. 

Latest obsession: Homemade Samoas!

On my mind: I need to get some chicken defrosting. I need to set out some butter and eggs to come to room temperature. The dogs want to go for a walk. I really need to start the laundry. The house needs to be vacuumed. All these things can wait because this cup of coffee is so damn good!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is one of my most favorite holidays. Mexican food is beloved by me, I look for any excuse to make it, eat it, drink it... Margaritas= amazing! My plan to make chicken enchiladas was derailed last night (by Kroger, those rat finks), but I made Mexican-inspired rice, as well as a Mexican-inspired salad. I will be making enchiladas in the near future however, now that I've got enchiladas on the brain.

The hubby worked quite hard in the yard this weekend. He put in underground pipes to funnel water away from the house. This turned out to be quite a laborious task as he had to rent a trencher, dig trenches for the pipes, and then shovel dirt on top of the trenches. Mission accomplished on the pipes! He was also able to sprinkle grass seed on the side yard, and cover it with straw. We are on our way to having a mud-free yard!

Gizmo watched intently from his watch post, whining every so often because he could see the hubby right in front of him, he just couldn't get to him.

Reunited at last!

I did some small, indulgent couponing deals this week. I picked this up at CVS for a grand total of $3.99. Pretty good for a $30 product! It's going straight to the top of my "testing" pile :)

I got a ton of nail polish at Rite Aid for a total out-of-pocket expense of... $2.74. I really love these Covergirl nail polishes right now. The brush is easy to use, the formulas are easy to use, they have a wide variety of colors, and the polish is pretty chip-resistent. I can't wait to try the glittery taupe I bought!

These Sally Hansens' were also included in my Rite Aid haul. I'm excited to try all the shades.

So, how did Kroger ruin my Cinco de Mayo dinner? Their rotisserie chickens (I was going to shred the meat, and put it in my enchiladas) looked like crap. Total crap. I couldn't bring myself to pay for what looked like tiny, roasted hamsters. I was steamed. I picked up a fresh chicken, and decided to try my hand again at roasting a chicken.

I finally got it right. 4th time. Phew. The hubby said it was by far the best chicken I'd ever cooked. Anyways, by the time the chicken was done roasting, it was too late to go through the whole dog-and-pony show of making enchilada sauce, making the filling, stuffing tortillas, and baking the whole she-bang.

But, at least the chicken was stellar :)

It made for some delicious-smelling homemade chicken broth.

Starting Monday off on the right note. The hubby is out of town all week in Nashville, so Mama is cooking for 1. Started off the day with an egg white scramble with peppers and onions, a smidge of mozzarella cheese, and a smattering of salsa. With strawberries on the side, of course. So good!

I'm off to do some cleaning, laundry, and then make big batches of Quinoa Taco Salad (lunches this week) and Vegetable Soup with Pasta and Kale (dinners this week).

I hope everyone had a fantastic Cinco de Mayo!

2/8/13: A Day In The Life

Time: 10:02 am

Weather outside: 39 degrees and cloudy. We are not getting a blizzard like the rest of the East Coast though, so I am thankful.

On my desk: A new issue of Self Magazine, Cooking Light's Everyday Baking cookbook, and a rough draft menu plan for next week, complete with a mass of cross-outs and numbers scritch-scratched all over it.

On my nightstand: My iPhone. I like to catch up on my blog reading before I go to bed. It helps me fall asleep. Hmm. It doesn't sound like much a compliment that reading everyone else's blogs put me to sleep. 

On my DVR: The American's, Justified (yum!), The Soup, Rachael and Guy's Celebrity Cook-Off (go Hines!), and... Supermassive Black Holes. Umm, yeah. That's not mine. And that's astronomy related, get your minds out of the gutter peeps! :)

In my ears: Live with Kelly and Michael, and the wind howling outside.

In my garden: Nothing yet. Please plant the basil, cilantro, and parsley, hubby. Mmm k?

In the oven: I haven't decided. I'm seriously considering making these Snicker's Brownie Bites though.

In my tummy: Kashi's Go Lean Cinnamon Crisp cereal with banana slices and almond milk. My favorite breakfast.

In my future: Working out. Not looking forward to that today. And maybe baking. Looking forward to that!

On tap for dinner: Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale, and a French baguette.

Latest obsession: Raspberry Banana Oat Muffins, and Middle Sister's Red Table Wine.

On my mind: Dreading working out. How much longer it takes to clean a 1800-square foot house vs. a 600-square foot house. How annoying it is that Kroger's ad for next week is not out yet. Where am I going to find a rustic wooden planter box to put in my living room? Needless to say, there's a lot on my mind :)

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend!

Raspberry-Banana Oat Muffins

In my quest to get healthy in 2013, I've been seeking a healthy breakfast muffin that would provide enough energy for a good workout. This recipe is adapted from a Healthy magazine recipe, and still tastes delicious! I just made sure that I pulled the muffins from the oven as soon as the toothpick came out clean to keep them from being too dry. I find healthy muffins really lack taste and texture if they are over-baked. Bonus: The muffins are only 213 calories each!

Ingredients (makes 16 muffins):

2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 mashed bananas
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp non-fat milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups raspberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour through salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix egg through vanilla extract until well combined. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stir until just combined. Fold in raspberries. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.
4. Bake muffins in preheated oven 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool in tin 10 minutes, remove to a cooling rack until completely cool.

Recipe adapted from Healthy magazine.

Orange Scented Muffins with Creamy Orange Glaze

I've had 3 lonely oranges in the fridge, practically since the day the hubby and I moved into the house. I had no idea what to do with them, but I knew I wanted them out of the fridge. I was also out of breakfast muffins, and needing another fix. I was set to make Cinnamon Roll Muffins, but since I've been doing so well watching what I'm eating... I decided to put those off to another day. They still sound delicious though...

Moving on.

Orange muffins, I thought, trying to get the idea of ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls out of my mind. The first recipe I came across for Orange Muffins, while sounding ferociously yummy, also called for a stick of butter. Better not, I finally concluded. So I came across this recipe which was much, much healthier.

Sigh.

It's hard being good. That being said, these muffins are a great healthy alternative. Do they taste like cake? No, but there is only half a cup of sugar in them. I put an orange glaze on them to give them even more of an orange-y taste. The outside turned out nice and crispy (I almost thought I over-baked them!), but the inside is soft and fluffy. So good! So if you are looking for a healthy breakfast muffin, I recommend giving these muffins a whirl.

Ingredients:
Muffins-
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla

Glaze-
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp fat-free vanilla creamer
1 tbsp orange zest

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine flour through salt. Whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine orange juice through vanilla. Whisk to combine.
4. Add juice mixture to flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool completely.
6. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar through orange zest. Add more liquid a little at a time until you reach a desired texture for drizzling. Divide the glaze among the muffins, and let set for 5-10 minutes, or until glaze has hardened.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

Banana Nut Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel

Same old story.

I had 3 very ripe bananas sitting on my counter, calling my name. I had to let them fulfill their banana destiny. And I wanted to make muffins. Let the girl eat her muffins :)

This is a marriage and adaptation between two different recipes, a muffin recipe from Simply Recipes and a streusel recipe from Cooking Light. The muffin recipe called for walnuts, which I didn't have. However, I did have a half bag of chopped macadamia nuts. Nice, little, salty chunks of macadamia nut. Perfect. The streusel recipe was created for a different muffin, but works very well on these muffins, if you ask me.

They were the perfect breakfast for a birthday girl. The birthday girl being me. Yes, it's my birthday. And yes, I'm old. I've officially left my twenties behind, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I take that back. I do know how I feel, I'm not happy about it. 29 sounds so much younger than 30. Sigh. The hubby is taking me out for margaritas later to ease the pain.

In the meantime, another muffin may drown my sorrows :)

Ingredients:

Muffins (makes 12)-
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Streusel-
6 tbsp oats
5 tbsp flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, cold
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix mashed bananas with melted butter with a large mixing spoon. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over mixture, stir to mix. Add flour to the bowl, mix until just combined. Fold in macadamia nuts.
3. To make streusel, combine oats through cinnamon into a small bowl. Cut into mixture until it forms a coarse crumb.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 way full, finely sprinkle each muffin with crumb mixture.
5. Bake in the oven 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes and Cooking Light.

Pics: First Week of July

A diet worthy breakfast- whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter and sliced bananas.

Cuddlebunnies :)

Picked up some beauty treats at Walmart- a couple of masks and a new mascara to review.

Red Robin lunch on a Cincinnati trip. BLTA croissant and clam chowder. Yum!

We brought some new bones home for the boys.

Working on breaking in my new running shoes. Love them!

Sidled up at the water trough.

Mist rolling in through the hills.

Pretty July sunset.

A Memorable May

Ah, it's the last day of the month... Where did it go? For us, it flew by in a flurry of contract signing, loan paperwork, and never-ending packing. In between all the house stuff though, we did manage to have some fun! Here's May in pictures:

It was good start to the month, with margaritas and Coronas to celebrate Cindo de Mayo.

It wouldn't be a complete month without snapping pics of my dogs. We got the dogs some little bones at the beginning of the month.

They get pretty crazy over those little bones.

Gizmo returned to even more of his normal self, a little more everyday.

I love that little tongue.

Many of the hubby's dinners got a thorough stare-down.

Gizmo took many naps with his favorite person.

Brothers loved on each other :)

When one howls, so does the other.

Haloti can't even keep his eyes open while begging for food.

Here's my favorite things I baked this month:

Chocolate Chip Coffee Muffins

Lemon Curd Fruit Tarts

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite recipes of the month:

Spicy Basil Chicken

Grilled Tomato Basil Bread

Raspberry Peach Lime Lemonade (with vodka, of course!)

And finally, on Mother's Day, in the middle of a complete downpour, the hubby put up our new mailbox at the property. One step closer in our journey!

While May was awesome, I don't think it can touch June and moving out of where we are now. Hope everyone had an amazing May!