BLT Poached Eggs with Avocado Hollandaise

This is kind of a spur-of-the-moment post, as I actually just made this dish the day before yesterday. I say "spur-of-the-moment" because usually I spend weeks or months working on a post. Making and remaking a recipe so I can take and retake photos. Rearranging the pictures in the post. And then, I usually spend a couple of weeks looking at the photos daily, deciding if I want to share them.

Things sure have changed since I first started the blog 😂 

This dish is so tasty though, I couldn't wait to share it. It's pretty darn easy and fool-proof for how delicious it is. You won't believe how simple it is to make the Avocado Hollandaise, I think it's 100 times easier than real Hollandaise! I also like the flavor better than the real stuff, but I digress. Let's talk about this dish and my inspiration for it! 

25 Seafood Recipes

Time for a round-up!

I haven't posted a round-up since September, so it's definitely time. And this has to be one of my favorites because seafood? I would eat it at EVERY meal if I could. Seriously! But there's another reason I'm posting a round-up today-

I've spent the last 2 days in the kitchen, up to my ears in potato parts and banging my head against the counter. What's going on? Gnocchi, that's what. I've been trying my hand at homemade gnocchi. You know, those little Italian potato dumplings that are like little clouds of dreaminess? It has not been going well. It turns out there are lots of mistakes to be made while attempting gnocchi. So far, I've had gnocchi that fell apart in the pot, I've had mushy little balls with a texture that can only be compared to snot, and finally, I had a dough that came apart at the seems. 

Wrapping Up December: 2016

Ok, so I know it's 4 days into the New Year but......

December was way too busy and waaaaay too much fun to not wrap up 😁 This post is long and picture-heavy, and I have so much to discuss that I'm not even going to waste time on an introduction. Let's go!

That first picture is the garden on December 1st. The marigolds had finally had it, and so had pretty much everything else. I've still got some rosemary and some thyme alive, but that's it. The cold weather we had in Kentucky while the hubby and I were in Oregon even got my parsley. Darn it. 

Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish

All right. Here's the deal- 

Over the next couple of days, I'm going to be crafting a recipe with my alpine strawberries. I know I said last month that my strawberries were starting to peter out, but I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, WRONG. They are still going and I'm collecting about 20 berries every 2 days. Something needs to be made with these lovely little berries...

Over a year ago (geez) the hubby and I went to Oregon for our 2015 trip. Whilst on our fantastic trip, my brother's girlfriend whipped up a couple of desserts for us. Her parents own an upscale hotel and restaurant in Ashland, OR, and it's safe to say cooking skills and knowledge were passed from parent to child. She made a delectable homemade raspberry tart with the most amazing filling. One of the best parts of the tart, however, was the crust. Oh, that crust. I asked her for the recipe and I've had it in my back pocket for well over a year now. I'm guessing you know where this is going...

Recipe Redux: Chocolate Chip Coffee Muffins

This girl is ready for spring!

We've had some weird and wacky weather around here lately. The chihuahuas couldn't be more displeased. Especially Mariota. I've never had a dog that does his business so fast. I mean, even with 4 inches of wet, sloppy snow on the ground, Haloti will follow his nose outside until the iciness of his poor little paws catches up with him. Gizmo keeps wanting to cross the snow field over to our neighbor's house. Those 2 want to smell things all. day. long, even with snow on the ground. But Mariota? His process is more like this: run out the door, hike leg on small trees the hubby and I planted by the front sidewalk, run like hell back to the house. Done. It's amusing. 

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Ah, Eggs Benedict. A brunch time classic. And one of a handful of recipes that the hubby is an expert at. There are a 2 recipes that I can always remember the hubby having made, since the beginning of our relationship. One is this Broccoli Rigatoni that I shared in February, but the other is Eggs Benedict. Classic Eggs Bene, I mean. The hubs has been making it practically since Day 1. Granted, on Day 1, I told the hubby I hated Hollandaise and Canadian Bacon and ate my "Eggs Benedict" basically as an Egg McMuffin. As in, English Muffin, Egg, and slice of American Cheese. LOL. I can't imagine how that made him feel. Preparing a gourmet breakfast for a girl you had just begun dating, only to have her turn it into America's favorite fast breakfast. Sigh. 

I'm lucky he still agreed to marry me :)

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

We've made it to another Friday! TGIF!

Politics are not the normal fodder here on the blog, but I'm guessing a lot of people watched the GOP debate last night. If only to see what Donald Trump would do. After his tasteless jab at Rosie O'Donnell (not a huge Rosie O'Donnell fan, I just don't like to see any man call any woman a fat pig), I pretty much could see how the night would go. In fact, the little bro and I came up with a GOP debate night drinking game while the hubby was at work yesterday. I won't regale you with all the rules, I'll just share a couple of my favorites:

Eggs Poached in Marinara with Arugula

Happy Friday folks! I've got a great, brunch-y recipe for you today. Perfect for a late Saturday morning meal with your significant other. Or for dinner. We have breakfast-like meals for dinner quite a bit. Eggs, Bacon, and Toast is one of the easiest dinners to pull together at the drop of a hat. It's also a meal the hubby can fix when I don't feel like cooking :) Mwhahaha. But I digress. 

Recipe Redux: Almond Poppyseed Muffins

-aka Copycat Costco Poppyseed Muffins

Hello friends! Time for this month's Recipe Redux-

In all honesty, I really wanted to bring you another dish for my Recipe Redux post this month. And that dish was Cooking Light's Kung Pao Chicken, for which I have my own version of on the blog that I used to make all the time. Which is why I chose it for my Recipe Redux. However, I hadn't made it for at least 2 years when I made it again last week. I don't know what's changed, but the hubby and I hated it. Have our palette's changed? The recipe certainly hasn't changed, so I'm bamboozled. Anyhoo, that recipe is going to take more work so I thought I'd bring you a practically foolproof recipe- Almond Poppyseed Muffins!

Blueberry Breakfast Bars

Happy Wednesday!

I'm going on my 3rd day of not leaving the house. We are currently buried under 6-7 inches of snow. The roads are snow-covered and icy, and the hubby hasn't even been driving his car. His car has been parked at his office all week, because thankfully, his boss gave him a huge 4-wheel drive truck to tackle the weather with.

Swirled Strawberry Lemon Smoothies

Oh friends.

Remember the hubby and I's snowy adventure up to Chillicothe on Monday? Well, we finally heard back from the dealership at 4 pm yesterday. And it was not good news. Apparently, there is something wonky with the transmission, sooooooooo....

The Best Carrot-Bran Muffins

These are not your mama's bran muffins.

What do you think of when you think of bran muffins? I think of dense little hockey pucks that are so dry you're left chewing a mouthful of what can only be described as dirt. I've never been a fan of bran muffins. Yuck.

So what's a girl to do when the hubby asks for bran muffins? Why, turn to Google of course! What did people do before the Internet? They didn't have access to billions of recipes, that's for sure. I'm very thankful that I have the Internet because I was able to track down a healthy, yet fabulous-tasting bran muffin recipe. These are still healthy muffins- low in sugar, made with almond milk, Greek yogurt and whole wheat flour, and a substitution of carrot for the raisins. They just taste better than the garden variety bran muffin.

This muffin recipe utilizes a classic cupcake technique to add levity- creaming of the butter and sugar. This made the recipe different from most muffin recipes where you throw everything together in a bowl. I really think the creaming allows for an airier muffin than the standard dense muffin. The recipe also makes good use of the classic trifecta of spice cake- cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The hubby goes nuts for this combination. He's a spice cake man, through and through. Whatever the case, the spices work beautifully in this muffin and especially with the carrot. The hubby took these muffins as a snack all last week, and he raved over them. I have a feeling I haven't seen the last of these muffins :)

I think I mentioned last weekend that I was going to remedy my hummingbird situation here at the house. And I did! I bought a beautiful, colorful new feeder that Mr. Hummingbird has become obsessed with. We seem to get the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds around here, which I've read are very territorial. Indeed. Mr. Hummingbird likes to guard his feeder all day. He sits on it and chases all the other birds away. He even gets buzzy when I go out there to change the feeder. He must be watching from the trees or something because anytime I get near that feeder, he's buzzing around my head. I'm not too concerned, it amuses me to no end. This picture is hard to make out (it was taken through the screen on my living room window) but I got a pic of Mr. Hummer guarding his post-

Even that blurry picture puts a smile on my face. I heart wildlife :)

And what's on tap for this weekend? Honestly, I don't know. The hubby is on day-shift right now, and he's working the next 6 days straight. That means all weekend. Boo. So, whilst I'm alone this weekend, this is the plan (in no particular order)-

1. Run

2. Bake

3. Read

4. Catch up on couponing

5. Clean

Now that I look at this list, I realize it is actually in order of what I'd like to do vs what I'd least like to do. LOL. Funny how that works out.

Have a great weekend, my lovely friends! :)

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins):

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp kosher salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temp

3/4 cup almond milk

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup wheat bran

1 cup carrot, shredded

garnish- quick cooking oats (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Line a cupcake pan with liners, set aside. 

2. In a small bowl, combine flours through salt. Whisk to combine, set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Add eggs, beat to incorporate. Add almond milk through vanilla, beat to incorporate.

4. Fold wheat bran and carrot into batter with a spatula. Mix until just incorporated.

5. Divide batter among muffin tin. Top each muffin with quick cooking oats, if using. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. *For best results, do not over bake*.

6. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storage.

Printable Recipe

Helpful links:

Ruby Throated Hummingbirds

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Spinach and Mushroom Frittata with Fresh Thyme

Frittatas are like summer's soup. They are cheap to make, low-fuss, and you can toss whatever you want in them. Really. Anything. Some leftover stir-fry veggies taking up room in your fridge? Throw em' in! Leftover rotisserie chicken? Sure! Chopped bacon or ham? Perfect frittata fodder! I've found with frittatas it really is as easy as mixing your ingredients with egg, pouring the mixture in a skillet, and then popping the skillet in the oven for a quick bake. If you keep an eye on how long you bake your frittata, they are practically foolproof. And as for that leftover chopped bacon- I just happened to have a couple of tablespoons leftover that I sprinkled over the top of my frittata, but that would be a totally optional call. This recipe can stand on its own, with or without the bacon.

Frittatas are just one of the amazing things you can make with egg. I like the frittata, which is similar to a quiche but without the trouble of making a crust. They make a lovely light meal, all you have to serve on the side is a light salad or some fruit. If you have family members with large appetites, you could serve this with bacon and English muffins as a breakfast for dinner. Or heck, just make this for breakfast. I'm not much of a morning cook, so we make this for dinner.

The recipe I used called for ground thyme so, of course, I swapped that out for garden fresh thyme. I love the smell of fresh thyme. Actually, you'd be hard-pressed to find an herb I don't like the smell of.  It's pretty normal for me to walk by my herb garden, grab a mint leaf, and rub it between my fingers just to enjoy the scent. Mmmmm. These were the first of the thyme sprigs I've harvested, and I was not disappointed. I don't know what I'm going to do this winter when I don't have fresh herbs anymore. I'm going to be really sad, I'll tell you that much. And cranky from having to spend money on them :)

This recipe makes a fairly large frittata. I'd say it would serve 6 people with large portions, 8 if you are serving this with side dishes. Normally, I quite enjoy eating leftover frittata cold. However, I don't always put spinach in my concoctions. I found I wasn't overly thrilled with the texture of the spinach in the frittata when it was cold. I'd recommend covering the frittata with a damp paper towel, and gently heating it back up in the microwave if you are eating it the next day. 

Wanting to re-purpose some leftover frittata? I didn't get a chance to experiment with this frittata, but I was inspired by an idea for the leftovers I read about online. Fried rice! Take some leftover rice, chop up your leftover frittata, and toss it with the rice. Easy, peasy fried rice. Something I plan on experimenting with sooner rather than later.

Happy Friday! And start of a 3-day weekend for most people. We're due for a gorgeous weekend here. Sunny, but not too hot. No rain. No humidity. I'm most excited. The hubby has to work nights all weekend, so we won't be doing much. I am going to Columbus on Sunday with a girlfriend for a girl's day. Brunch and shopping at an outdoor mall. And Memorial Day sales? Yes, please! As for today, I'm going to be baking Mixed Berry Cupcakes, which I'm hoping I can get baked and photographed in time to post on Monday. I've actually got a couple of desserts on tap for soon, including Chocolate Malts with Caramel Cream, and Dark Chocolate and Fresh Mint Cookies. Heck yeah!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone! Stay safe :)

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

3 sprigs fresh thyme, minced

3 cups spinach, roughly chopped

10 eggs

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 strip bacon, crumbled (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add onions. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Add garlic to the pan. Sauté 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and thyme. Sauté for 5 more minutes. Add spinach to the pan, sauté for 1 minute or just until wilted. Remove from heat, and allow to cool a few minutes. 

3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, salt, pepper, and feta cheese. Whisk briskly to combine. Add slightly cooled vegetable mixture to egg mixture, stir. 

4. Wipe skillet out with a paper towel. Spray liberally with cooking spray, you don't want your frittata to stick to the pan. Place skillet over medium heat, and allow pan to heat. 

5. When warm, pour egg mixture into pan. Sprinkle bacon over pan. Place in oven, and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or just until the center of the frittata is set and doesn't jiggle anymore. 

Remove from oven, slice into sections, and serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Food Reference.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays

Mocha Swirl Muffins

This is one awesome muffin recipe. Coffee flavored muffins, with a creamy vanilla swirl, and studded with chocolate chips. These muffins rock with a cup of coffee, and they aren't bad for dessert either. I found myself reaching for these after dinner, as well as with my morning cup of joe. I passed a couple of these to the hubby's aunt and uncle (as well as the hubby), and everyone has put their stamp of approval on them. Honestly, it's hard to screw up any muffin with chocolate chips in them.

I had to make up this recipe on my own. My original idea was for a Coffee and Cream Muffin. The name didn't sound exactly right, and sure enough, I had a hard time finding prototypes for my muffins on Google. Not a lot of swirled muffins out there on the net. This did not deter me however, as I already had a batter I had in mind for the "cream" portion. 

Ok, I'm interrupting this post.

I did not save the recipe I used to adapt my coffee batter from, and it just took me 30 minutes to find it on Google! I couldn't even remember what picture I clicked on to get to the recipe, and that's usually my saving grace. I always remember the picture that caught my eye. LOL. Not this time! Luckily, I found it. Whew. 

So the coffee batter! There's a cup of very strong coffee in the batter, as well as cocoa powder and chocolate chips. What an amazing combination. I made a large, normal amount of the coffee batter and a tiny portion of the cream flavored batter. Most of the muffin is the coffee flavored, but I took a spoonful of the cream batter, dropped it into the coffee batter, and swirled liked crazy with a toothpick. I love the marbled look this gave the muffins.

I've found with coffee flavored muffins that they dry out significantly when they are over baked. It makes them tough, and chewy. Therefore, it's important to keep an eye on these muffins and pull them as soon as you can. Mine baked in my convection oven for 22 minutes, I pulled them as soon as the toothpick came out clean. The result was perfectly moist and delicious muffins.

Even with making 2 batters, these muffins really didn't take long to make. You could even just make the coffee flavored muffins on their own, minus the vanilla swirl. I found this recipe made 14 muffins with the extra cream batter, but I think this would make an even dozen muffins if you eliminate the cream. But why would you want to do that? I recommend going the extra mile and swirling in the cream. It's worth the extra effort. 

Happy Wednesday! Another week is flying by. How does this happen? I'm left shaking my head. I got my last 2 container plants for my garden yesterday, 2 roma tomato starters. All in all, when it comes to tomatoes, I've got 2 beefsteak, 1 red cherry, 1 yellow cherry, and 2 romas. I'm going to have lots of tomatoes! I can't wait. I'll be transplanting them later today, and setting them out with the rest of my containers. I wish I could say my little garden looks pretty and is organized, but right now it's a hodgepodge of planters sitting on my porch. I think the hubby is going to make some stands so I can artfully arrange my pots, but all in due time.

Well, it's time for this girl to get her butt in gear. I wasted way too much time on Google this morning. Have a great day everyone!

Ingredients (makes 14 muffins):

Vanilla Batter:

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Coffee Batter:

1 egg

1 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line muffin pans with liners. Set aside.

2. Prepare the vanilla batter: In a small mixing bowl, combine milk through butter. Whisk to mix. Add flour through salt. Using a spatula, fold ingredients together until they are just combined. Set aside. 

3. Prepare the coffee batter: In a larger mixing bowl, add egg, coffee, and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Add flour through salt. Using a spatula, fold all ingredients together until they are just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Be careful not to over-mix the batter, or the muffins will be tough.

4. Using a spoon, place a spoonful of coffee batter into muffin cup. Follow with a dollop of cream batter. Follow with more coffee batter, and finish with another dollop of cream batter. Using a toothpick, swirl the muffin. Repeat until both batters are gone. Make sure the spoonfuls of coffee batter are larger than your spoonfuls of cream batter.

5. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Printable Recipes

Coffee batter recipe adapted from Kitchen Daily. 

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays

If you enjoyed this recipe, you also might enjoy these recipes:

Chocolate Chip Coffee Muffins

Raspberry-Filled Vanilla Muffins

Apple Pie Danish with Vanilla Glaze

Heavenly...

That's what I've got to say about these Danish's.  I don't make Danish's very often, but when I do, I do it right. Everything works on these little pastries. The apple pie filling delectable, the crust perfectly golden brown, the almonds are oh-so crunchy, and of course, that creamy, wonderful glaze. Breakfast was awesome this week. The hubby was a little shocked I hadn't made him his normal Cream Cheese Danish, but I had 2 apples that were on the cusp of going to the other side. He was quickly convinced after eating one of these, however.

Apple pie is one of my favorites. It's another one of those things that reminds me of childhood, because I always, always, always think of my mom's apple pie. My mom's is the perfect Old-Fashioned Apple Pie, with the traditional top and bottom crust. And oh boy, that crust! I loved when Mom would accidentally under-bake the pie and the bottom crust would be a little moist and softened. But the filling was always the star of the show. Apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon make one of the most intoxicating combinations around, and one that's hard to beat. The filling in these Danish's definitely captures the essence of apple pie. I cook the filling on the stove to soften up the apples a bit, since Danish doesn't bake in the oven nearly as long as a pie. This resulted in perfectly cooked apples in the middle of the Danish.

Now, I'm still a small-time blogger with constraints on what I can do. I do what I can with supplies, techniques, lighting, ingredients, etc. However, I furnish all of these items myself. I do not have a stand mixer yet. It's on my list, but when you have a brand new house, sometimes putting up a fence and pouring a driveway is more important than buying items for Jessica's hobby. To that, yes, I use commercially made puff pastry. I will definitely give that go when I've got my mixer, but even professional chefs use commercial puff pastry due to its laborious nature. I watched an episode of Anne Burrell's "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" in which she talked all about store-made puff pastry. If it's ok for her, it's ok for me. If you have a knockout recipe for Danish dough, by all means, go for it!

Is everyone happy it's Friday? I sure am! The hubby has the day off, and we've got a lot of preparation to do around the house before my brother and his wife arrive. It's also supposed to be 70º today, so I'm planning on sneaking in an easy 5 miles. I didn't run as much as I would have liked over the cold months (due to my hatred of the Treadmill), so I'm feeling like I lost some endurance. Not good when one of this year's goals is to run a 10k. But it's only March, I guess I've got plenty of time to get my endurance back up. Starting with today!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (makes 4 pastries):

Danish-

1- puff pastry sheet, slightly unthawed

1/4 cup butter

1 and 1/2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2- Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced

1 egg, lightly scrambled

Icing-

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp butter, melted

1/4 tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp milk

Garnish- toasted almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. Melt butter on stove in a small saucepan over medium heat. When melted, add flour to form a paste. Cook for 1 minute, then add water, sugars, and apple. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes, or until apple starts to soften. Remove from heat.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry sheet. Cut pastry into 4 squares. Divide apple filling among 4 pastries. Using a pastry brush, brush the 4 corners of the pastry with egg. Fold pastry into a little packet around the filling, pinching the seams shut. Place the packets on the cookie sheet.

4. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely before icing.

5. To prepare icing, in a small bowl mix powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Slowly drizzle milk into mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture resembles heavy cream. Drizzle glaze over pastries, top with toasted almonds. Serve immediately!

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Cunning Ladies' Friday Party

Nutella-Swirled Banana Bread

We're finally getting a break from the polar vortex!

Oh my goodness, it was 46º yesterday. It felt like a veritable heat wave. The boys (who have a touch of cabin fever) got to be outside for about an hour yesterday. This may not seem like a long time, but I say their total daily outdoor time has been 10 minutes or less for the past week. For Chihuahuas, an hour is a long time. I love it too though. How wonderful to not have to strap on 5 layers to walk out the door! The high for today is supposed to be 55º, which naturally has me chomping at the bit to run outdoors. I haven't ran outdoors since my last 5k, which was December 19th. I think it's time. I'm really going to start February on the right note :)

And then... I can come home and gobble up this quick bread, which (let's be honest here) is basically glorified cake. I guess if you did qualify banana bread as cake, it would be one of my favorites. I'm one of those people who's pretty much anti-frosting. It's all about the cake for me. If it's moist and flavorful, I scrap the frosting right  off the cake. Which makes banana bread perfect for me. While frosting may be the enemy,  I am not, however, opposed to Nutella swirled throughout the cake. I love finding the little pockets of Nutella nestled inside the bread. I strongly suspect kids would especially love the Nutella addition.

Short entry today- I've got a full to-do list today. Doggie time, running, doing a photo shoot for my Loaded Baked Potato Soup, making Homemade Egg McMuffins for the hubby, making Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce for the Superbowl tomorrow (Yippee for the Superbowl!!!), shower, studying "The Science of Good Cooking", and making dinner. Whew.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temp
2 tsp vanilla
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a loaf-pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer until there are no more lumps. Mix in eggs. Mix in vanilla. Mix in bananas. Using a spatula, add dry ingredients. Fold together until batter is just barely moistened. You don't want to over mix and end up with a tough bread.
4. Spread half the batter into the loaf pan. Drop 1/4 cup Nutella in spoonfuls on top of batter. Using a knife, swirl the batter. Spread the remaining batter on top of the swirled batter. Drop the remaining Nutella in spoonfuls on top. Using the knife, swirl the top of the batter.
5. Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes. Check bread to make sure top is not browning too much. Cover the bread with aluminum foil if it looks too brown on top at any point. Bake bread a total of 45-65 minutes. Bread is done when a clean knife inserted comes out clean, or the internal temperature is 190º.
6. Remove from oven. Cool in loaf pan 30 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Allow bread to cool another 60 minutes before slicing to ensure bread cohesion. Cool completely before storage.

You also might like my Simple Banana Bread!

Puffy Apple Muffins

I learned something new about muffins while baking these lovelies, and that was how to make tall, puffy muffins. Not something I'd ever aspired to do before, but nevertheless, all techniques must be mastered at some point. It's actually quite easy to come up with a puffy muffin. It all comes down to a combination of baking powder and an initial heat spike when you put them in the oven. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I pulled these muffins at the end, but I was pleasantly surprised to see these muffins rose a ton.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a post on these puffy muffins, or as Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction refers to them, "Sky-High" muffins. The technique to mastering these tall muffins is to start with a really hot oven. I usually bake muffins around 350º, but for the first 3 minutes baking these I baked them at 425º. The higher temperature allows the muffins to rise quickly. After 3 minutes, I lowered the temperature back to 350º and finished baking the muffins for another 15-20 minutes. Perfection! The end result was a soft, moist interior with a tall, crunchy exterior. Another tip- make sure and fill the muffin cups all the way full. 3/4 or 2/3 full will not yield a tall, puffy muffin. The batter ends up very thick and spoonable, so it's easy to fill the muffin cups as much as you like.

The hubby wanted me to add that these muffins have a large stamp of approval from him. I liked mine best after heating in the microwave for 20 seconds, but the hubby prefers his the way nature intended- room temperature :)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! The hubby and I both have colds, and there's about an inch of snow on the ground here. Needless to say, we are holing up and camping out in Casa de Jarrell today!

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins):

Streusel topping-
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp old-fashioned oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter

Muffins-
3 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup almond milk (you can sub regular milk)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp apple yogurt (I used Chobani Apple Cinnamon)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
2 apples, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray, set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar through cold butter to make streusel topping. Cut into the mixture with a sharp knife until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. To prepare the muffins, combine flour through nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. In a separate mixing bowl, combine almond milk through eggs. Whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to the wet. Fold mixture until mixture is just barely mixed. Over-mixing will result in a dry, tough muffin. Fold in the chopped apples.
4.  Fill the muffin tin with the batter. Batter will be very thick. Fill muffin cups all the way full. Bake in preheated oven for 3 minutes, then lower temperature of oven to 350º. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool muffins in tin for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Serve immediately, or cool completely before storage.

Recipe courtesy of Sally's Baking Addiction.

Homemade Egg McMuffins

The Egg McMuffin. The breakfast sandwich. The everlasting combination of English muffin, egg, cheese, and bacon or sausage (depending on your preference). I, myself, am a sausage girl, but the hubby is parked firmly on the bacon side. He's also a big fan of McDonald's, but at this stage in our lives, it's just not healthy to eat there often. I've been making the hubby breakfast burritos to freeze, but I've also been getting the impression he was needing some variety.

I think homemade Egg McMuffins was one of the first pins and/or ideas I pinned on Pinterest. That was over a year ago. Today seemed like a good day to seize the opportunity to experiment. The basic idea is to the bake eggs in a muffin tin or ramekin to ensure they are the perfect round shape for an English muffin. After studying my jumbo muffin pan, I came to the conclusion that the base of the pan is no bigger than my regular muffin pan. I opted to bake my eggs in these ramekins instead.

And the ramekins worked perfectly. The eggs were perfectly cooked and they slid right out of the ramekins (the ramekins were coated with cooking spray). I wish I'd tried this recipe before! It was super easy, pretty fast, and now the hubby's stocked up on breakfast sandwiches and burritos. Wife score! I wrapped these up to freeze, but by all means, assemble these for immediate consumption.

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous, if cold, week :)

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches):

4- eggs
Salt and pepper
4- whole wheat English muffins
4- strips of thick cut bacon (double if you are using regular bacon), halved
4- thin slices of cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat 4 ramekins with cooking spray, set ramekins on a cookie sheet for easy access. Break 1 egg into each ramekin, slightly scramble it with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until egg is set. Remove from oven, set aside.
2. Cut English muffins in half. Using a toaster, toast each half until golden brown. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, place on a paper towel to dry.
4. Assemble the muffins. Place 1 egg on each muffin. Egg should slide out of ramekin, if it sticks a little, run a knife around the edge to loosen. Place a piece of cheese and 2 bacon slices on top of the egg. Place remaining English muffin half on top of bacon. Serve immediately, or wrap sandwiches in aluminum foil to freeze.