Meaningful Muffins

I wear many hats these days - wife, mother, volunteer, personal chef, cake baker, caterer and now - food blogger.  I love each and every one of my jobs but I'm sure that every woman (and man) can relate to the fact that it's a constant juggling act to keep everything in balance.  


No matter which job I am doing, I can be sure that I will be preparing food for someone at some point during the day.  I know that I've mentioned this before but my "love language" is food and I show my love and gratitude for other people through food.  Food generally makes people happy - for a lot of different reasons.  I love the reaction on people's faces when I deliver a meal or a cake.  I also like to hear my kids say "thanks mom" after dinner.  


Another way that I get to bless other people with food is through an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Bible study at my daughter's school.  Last year, I volunteered to send in a snack every week for this group of middle school kids who meet once a week before school.  The kids were so enthusiastic about the small treats that I would send, that I offered to send  the snacks again this school year.  I am not sure who is more blessed by the snack; the kids, or me?  Almost every time that I walk into the school, a child from FCA tells me how much they enjoy and appreciate the snack.  Did I mention that I love my jobs?

Chocolate Muffins
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Line 12 muffins cups with paper liners.  Place unsweetened chocolate in a bowl and melt in double boiler.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt.
In bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in brown sugar until creamy.  Stir in egg, vanilla and chocolate.  Beat until combined.
Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk.  Mix until just smooth.
Fold in the chocolate chips and spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake 20 minutes.

I finally made the investment in a cupcake carrier for my daughter transport the muffins to school.  I really don't know how we made it a year without one of these.  My poor child had to carry a bookbag that was way too heavy, her lunch box and balance a box of muffins all the way to school.   There is no telling what the muffins looked like when they arrived at school.

I looked at the Wilton cupcake carrier but it only held 12 regular sized muffins.  I really needed a carrier that could hold at least 24 muffins or cupcakes.  I found this carrier from Chef Mate at Target and it really seems to do the job well.  I feel much more confident about sending muffins to school in this carrier.  I will keep you updated about how well it holds up as this school year progresses.

Bon Appetit!

Make ahead dinner

When my husband and I first got married, I was not a very good cook.  Not because I lacked culinary skills, mostly because I lacked the time to devote to grocery shopping or preparing decent meals.  I was teaching a full day Kindergarten class and my husband had his own full time job in the military.  All of my free time seemed to be consumed with creating bulletin boards, writing lesson plans and conferencing with parents.  I have so much respect for teachers and the hard work and dedication that it takes to be a teacher. 

My husband was very patient and he never complained about the dinners that were thrown together with very little thought or planning.  They were less than gourmet - except when we had guests for dinner.  That's when I broke out the "company food".  With a little extra planning and preparation, I could pull off an extravagant meal with all trimmings.  Now, after 18 years of marriage, I think I have finally figured out how to plan and prepare delicious meals in spite of my busy life.  It makes me laugh to think back at how "busy" we thought we were when it was just the two of us.  Two teenagers and two careers later, I had no idea what it meant to be truly busy.

As busy as my life seems now, I know that there are a lot of you who have a whole lot more "on their plate" than I do.  Hang in there and "give thanks in all circumstances."  1 Thessalonians 5:18 

I want to share one of my favorite "make ahead" recipes with you so that you can create a delicious meal for your family - even on a busy night.  I used to reserve these pecan and bourbon stuffed pork chops for "company food" but I have learned that we can have them anytime by preparing them up to 2 days in advance.  This is also a great meal to serve at a dinner party because the chops can be prepared ahead of time so you're not scrambling to cook or clean up just before your guests arrive.  I also delivered this fully cooked meal along with heating instructions to a family from the church that needed "easy to reheat meals."

Stuffed Pork Chops
14 Tablespoons butter     
1 onion, diced              
1 cup celery                  
¼ cup smoked ham              
3 Tablespoons bourbon       
1 cup bread crumbs              
4 Tablespoons pecans, chopped    
8 ounces heavy cream
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
8 pork chops, thick cut with bone in
3 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons chicken boullion
2 cups hot water

Melt 6 T. butter in skillet.  Add ½ c. onion, 1/3 c. celery and ham.  Cook 10 minutes.  Add bourbon and bring to a boil.  Reduce.  Remove from heat and stir in breadcrumbs, pecans, ½ t. thyme and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper. 
Cut deep pocket in chop and divide stuffing evenly among chops.

Melt 3 T. butter in skillet.  Add chops and brown on both sides.

Remove from pan and add additional 2 T. butter.  Add 2/3 c. onions and 1/3 c. celery.  Cook 5 minutes.

Add 1 T. flour and cook 1 more minute.

Combine bouillon and water and slowly whisk 1 cup into vegetable mixture.   Raise heat to medium and stir in ½ t. thyme, ¼ t. pepper and ¼ t. salt.  Scrape bits from bottom of pan.

Return chops to pan and add remaining bouillon.  Baste chops with liquid.  Bring to a fast simmer and turn to low and cover with a lid.  Cook 1 ½ - 2 hours, basting every 20 minutes.

Blend 2 T. flour with 2 ½ T soft butter.

Remove chops from pan and bring gravy to a boil.

Add butter-flour mixture.  Simmer 3 minutes.  Add ½ - 1 cup cream until gravy thickens. 
Serve chops with gravy.

These pork chops are definitely not low in fat or calories but they are worth the indulgence every once in a while.  Don't be afraid of the long list of ingredients or the lengthy instructions.  Plan about 40 minutes to get the pork chops ready and another hour and a half of cooking time. 

This recipe makes 8 pork chops so you may end up with some leftovers.  When I have pork chops left over, I transfer the cooked chops to a pyrex dish to cool.  Once they're cool, I cover and refrigerate or freeze them.  When I am ready to reheat the pork chops, I cover the pan with foil and put it in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they are warmed through. 

Bon Appetit!

Meatloaf Makeover

My daughter LOVES meat - hamburgers, steaks, pot roast, ribs, and especially meatloaf.  Last year I asked her what special dinner she wanted me to make for her birthday - meatloaf!  I blame my husband for this meat loving gene that she inherited.

I get tired of making plain old meatloaf and I don't like to serve beef more than once a week so I decided to mix it up tonight and pull out my recipe for spinach filled turkey meatloaf.  As you could imagine, the kids scraped out the green filling and ate the outside of the loaf.  My only hope is that somehow some of the nutrients from the spinach seeped into the turkey during the cooking process.  (Unlikely, but I'm hanging onto the dream.)  My husband and I quite enjoyed the meatloaf AND the filling.

Spinach Filled Turkey Roll
½ pound mushrooms                  
¼ cup green onions           
¼ cup chopped celery                  
1 Tablespoon butter                   
1 package frozen spinach, thawed               
1 egg
2 slices of bread, crumbled
1 Tablespoon herb and garlic soup mix
1 pound ground turkey
         
Saute mushrooms, onions and celery in butter.  Stir in spinach and salt.  Remove from heat.  Cool.  Combine eggs, bread, onion, soup mix and pepper.  Crumble turkey on top.  Mix.

On a piece of foil, pat turkey into a  8x5” rectangle.

Spread spinach mixture to 1” on edges.

 Roll up starting with a long side and place seam side down on a baking dish.

Cover and bake 50 minutes at 350.  Uncover and bake 10 minutes more.  Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

I made this meatloaf early in the afternoon and put it in the refrigerator until dinner time.  I love having dinner ready before the kids get home from school.  Things are always busy from the time they walk in the door until we sit down for dinner.  I am more available to help with homework when I am not busy with dinner preparations.  (Although, I'm really not all that much help these days - not sure how I ever passed Chemistry.)  I hope that your family enjoys this meatloaf recipe and much as mine does.  Maybe one day my kids will even eat the "green stuff" in the middle. 

Bon Appetit!

Doughnuts in a jiffy

I have fond memories of my mom making home made yeast doughnuts for my brother and I when we were kids.  We could hardly wait until they were cool enough to handle before we started eating.  She usually let me help by dipping them in a sugar glaze or rolling them in powdered sugar after she fried them.   I have tried to carry on the tradition of making yeast doughnuts for my family at least once a year - usually around Halloween.  Now that you are sufficiently hungry for home made doughnuts, I should let you know that this isn't my mom's recipe for yeast doughnuts.  (That was cruel - I know.)

Since it isn't always possible to invest a couple of hours into doughnut making, I use this super simple recipe for doughnuts when time is short.  They are really good and they take less than 10 minutes - start to finish.  Eat them while they are warm and chances are - there won't be any leftovers. 

Biscuit Doughnut Holes
1 tube of refrigerated biscuits
Canola oil for frying
Powdered sugar

Cut each doughnut into quarters.  Roll each piece into a small ball.  Pour oil into a small skillet and heat over medium low heat.  Drop the balls of dough into the warm oil in several small batches.  Be sure to turn them frequently so they don't burn.  Use a tongs or a spider strainer to remove the holes from the oil and place them on a plate that is lined with paper towels.  Drain for several minutes.  Sprinkle the doughnuts with powdered sugar and transfer to a serving dish.  Just before serving, dust doughnut holes again with powdered sugar.

I will blog the recipe for my mom's famous yeast doughnuts this Fall, but in the meantime give these doughnuts a try.  They are so simple and delicious, you may find yourself making them once a week.

Bon Appetit!

Messy but worth it

This is one of the easiest recipes for chicken wings that I have ever seen and they were by far the best.  I took this recipe from the 2011August/September issue of Cooks Country.

Grilled Chicken Wings
1/2 cup salt
2 pounds chicken wings
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pepper

Dissolve salt in 2 quarts of cold water in large container.  Prick wings all over with a fork.  Submerge chicken in brine, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.  Combine cornstarch and pepper.  Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.  Add to bowl with cornstarch mixture and toss to coat evenly.  Heat Big Green Egg to 325 and place the wings directly on the cooking grate.  Grill about 12 minutes, flip chicken and grill another 10 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a platter, tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes prior to serving. 

As you can see we were pretty messy while we ate our wings - some of us more than others. Despite the messiness (or possible because of it) my family LOVED these wings.  Any food that my kids can eat with their hands, just seems to taste better.  I tossed our wings with little bit of barbeque sauce just before serving.  I will definitely make these again and I wouldn't change a thing.

Bon Appetit!

Patty Melts

I am usually a chicken eater so it's pretty rare that I get a craving for a thick, juicy hamburger but when I do - this is the one that I make.  These patty melts are smothered in Swiss cheese, topped with caramelized onions and served on marble rye bread.  Craving satisfied.

Patty Melts
10 slices rye bread             
2 Tablespoons milk               
3/4 teaspoon onion powder         
1 1/4 teaspoons salt           
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
3 Tablespoon butter
2 onions, sliced thin

Combine 2 slices of bread, milk, onion powder and 3/4 t. salt in a food processor.  Pulse.  Add meat and pulse until combined.  Form into 4 oval patties.  Melt 1 T. butter in skillet and cook patties - on one side - for 5 min.

Transfer to a plate - browned side up.  Repeat with 2 more patties.  Pour off fat and add onions and 1/2 t. salt to skillet.  Cook 8 min. until onions are browned.

Place patties on top of onions and reduce heat and cook 5-10 min.

Divide cheese between 4 slices of bread.  Top with cooked patty and onions and anther slice of bread.  Clean skillet and melt 1 T. butter.  Cook sandwiches until golden brown on the outside.

My husband and my son loved these Patty Melts.  My daughter wanted to know if we were out of "regular" hamburger buns.  She ended up eating the entire burger but still wasn't completely sold on the rye bread.  Maybe someday she will learn to appreciate really great bread.   

Bon Appetit!

Black and White Salsa

My family was invited to a "Back to School" party over the weekend and we were asked to bring chips.  Even though my husband suggested picking up a bag of chips at the supermarket, I just couldn't bring myself to show up at a party with a bag of Doritos.  Don't get me wrong - I love Doritos but I didn't want that to be my contribution to the party.  I don't know if it was the lack of creativity or the lack of thought that is involved in purchasing a bag of chips but I just couldn't do it.  I ended up buying a bag of tortilla chips and making a chunky salsa to go along with it.   

I have seen quite a few versions of this recipe.  It is especially popular in the south for some reason.  I call mine Black and White salsa because I usually use white shoepeg corn and black beans.

Black and White Salsa
15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed   
Juice of 2 limes
10 ounces frozen white corn  (I used yellow this time because I was out of white corn.)             
1 jalapeno, thinly diced and ribs removed
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced              
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 red tomato, diced                     
½ teaspoon salt              
1/8 teaspoon pepper
fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients and a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.  Serve with chips.  Our favorite is Baked Scoops.

I love avocado and I think it makes just about everything taste better so I added avocado to my portion of the salsa.  (Pictured at the top of the blog.)  Unfortunately not everyone shares my love of this creamy vegetable so I left it out of the salsa that I was taking to the party.  It was a big hit.

Bon Appetit!