Cinnamon Applesauce Banana Muffins

Now that I'm a certified work-from-home lady for the next few weeks, I've brought up my homemaker skills to the next level. My brain is on Central time and my body is on Eastern time while I work my Nashville job from west Michigan, but I am finding more time to get things done around the house now that I'm not commuting to and from work and traveling to client meetings.

Yesterday I kicked ass in the kitchen. Slow-cooked pulled BBQ pork, chocolate cake with buttercream icing, and these delicious cinnamon applesauce banana muffins. I found a pretty generic muffin recipe online and decided to add my own spin on it. I love adding applesauce to muffins for extra moisture and flavor. You can see similar mini-muffins I made last year by clicking here. 

Ingredients:
+ 3 bananas, mashed
+ ½ tsp. salt
+ ¾ sugar
+ 1 egg
+  ⅓ butter, melted
 + ⅓ C. applesauce
+ 1 tsp. cinnamon 
+ 1½ C. all-purpose flour
+ 1 tsp. baking powder
+ 1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray if you don't have liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 

2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, applesauce, cinnamon and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from tray once cooled. 

Makes approximately 6 large muffins or 14-18 mini muffins.

 I'll be eating these bad boys for breakfast all week. 

Enjoy!  

 

Tea Box Express // Review & Giveaway

If you didn't already know, the two of us have a major thing for coffee and tea. We were recently sent two monthly subscription boxes from a fantastic company called Tea Box Express. It is a monthly box of tea goodies that includes brand-name tea and three or four fun tea-related products. They source quality teas and interesting accessories for you to throw a tea party of your own. We were so excited to open our boxes and see what kind of goodies were inside. 

We were given the January and February Tea Box Express boxes. 

We thoroughly enjoyed every moment of baking our easy-to-make scones, sipping on earl grey tea, tasting our clotted cream and strawberry jam, and sharing conversation. There is something so symbolic about sharing tea with loved ones. It was a perfect opportunity for us to sit down and catch up. 

To share the love of these fantastically fun products, we're offering one of our lucky readers a box of goodies from Tea Box Express! All you need to do is fill out the entry form below and comment with your email address! 
Sorry, this giveaway is open to U.S. readers only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Spinach, Egg and Bacon Breakfast Mini-Muffins

In preparation for a family Christmas party a few weeks ago, I spent some time trolling blogs and Pinterest looking for a delicious brunch recipe. Since our theme was "breakfast foods", I knew I wanted to whip up something with egg that was easy to bake and non-messy. That's when I stumbled upon this awesome recipe from The Cooking Jar and knew I struck gold. I swapped out the regular sized muffin tins for minis, as I like all food when it's cute and small. It's easy-to-make, savory, and will last you all week if you're not sharing with 20 others. ;]

Spinach, Egg, and Bacon Breakfast Mini-Muffins

Ingredients:

+ 12 large eggs, beaten
+ 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  + 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
+ 6 slices bacon, chopped / ½ cup bacon bits (add more if desired)
+ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
+ Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix together all the ingredients and whisk until smooth
Grease 2 mini muffin tins and fill each cup about ⅔ of the way full
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-23 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean
Cool for 5 minutes before prying muffins loose
Dish and serve hot

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Yields: about 32 mini muffins

They are so easy to make, you'll be amazed!

Recipe // Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Earlier this week I decided to make something for dinner that I haven't already made before. One of my favorite dishes when we go out to a favorite local restaurant (The Winchester) is their stuffed poblano. It has the right balance of spicy and hardy. It's even a great dish for sharing with others at the table as an appetizer. 

Anyway- I decided to try a recipe of my own that sort of resembled my Polish roots but still had some Spanish flair. It turned out to be spectacular and my husband ate the leftovers for the next few days.

Ingredients: 

1 lb. ground  beef

4-5 poblano peppers

2 tbsp. chopped onion

2 tbsp. chopped jalapeno

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. black pepper

1 can tomato sauce

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

1 cup long grain rice

Directions: 

Set oven to 350 degrees. 

Cut ends off poblano peppers and take seeds out, rinse if necessary. Boil peppers in large pot for 10-15 minutes. 

Cook rice in separate pan until soft, set aside.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet or sauté pan. Once browned, add rice, chopped onion, jalapeno, and garlic powder and black pepper, set to medium heat. Stir well. Stir in tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to mixture. 

Remove peppers from water. Spoon in beef mixture until peppers are filled to the brim. Continue with each pepper and top with cheese. Place peppers into casserole dish. Spoon any remaining mixture into the dish or on top of peppers if desired (I had lots of extra because I made a double batch).

Bake for 35 minutes. 

 

Enjoy!

xoxo,
Laura

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

I love pumpkin everything. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin soup, and so I thought it was only the right thing to do to make a pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving this year. I had to work, so I wanted a recipe that would make enough for Alex to take some to my family, and so I could bring some to work. I've made plenty of cookies in my day, and this is BY FAR the best cookie/dessert I've ever made! You can check out the original recipe here.

What you'll need:

2 cups butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

4 cups all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat the 2 cups of butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and the nutmeg. Beat until combined. Beat in the eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Beat in the flour by slowly adding a cup at a time.

2. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are set.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.

3. For frosting, in a small saucepan heat the 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until smooth (I used 3 cups and it was the perfect amount). Spread frosting on cookies. ENJOY!
These cookies were gone in a matter of minutes once I shared with everyone! They're so soft and delicious, I couldn't tell you how many I had. What are some of your favorite pumpkin recipes?
xoxo,
Katelyn

Homemade Chicken Pot Pies

I am a total sucker for comfort foods. I love nothing more than a rich, delicious dinner that has me feeling like I could pass out moments after filling my belly. One of my all-time favorite comfort food dishes (aside from mashed potatoes) is homemade chicken pot pie. Ever since our visit to The Old Mill restaurant in Pigeon Forge during our honeymoon, where I ate the largest and most delicious southern pot pie I've ever tasted, I've been working to perfect a recipe of my very own. I've made this one a few times now, and my husband and I love it.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen carrots
• 1 bag frozen peas
• 5-7 red skin potatoes, chopped
• 1 48 oz. box chicken broth 
• 2/3 C. flour
• 1/2 C. 2% milk
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. celery seed, pinch celery seed, divided
• dash salt, to taste
• dash pepper, to taste
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts
• ramekins or small pie plates

 Directions:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes and sauté in a frying pan with olive oil and a pinch of celery seed. 

2. Pour chicken broth into a large pot over high heat, bring to boil. Once boiling, set to medium heat. Add cooked chicken, frozen peas, frozen carrots, and potatoes. Boil and cover for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set to low heat.
3. Add 1 tbsp. celery seed and 2/3 C. flour. Stir well to thicken until no clumps of flour remain. Add milk and stir.
4. Prepare ramekins or pie plates by lining them with pre-made pie crusts. 2 pre-made crusts should make 2-4 pies, depending on size.
5. Use ladle to pour pie filling into the pie crusts. Once pies are filled, use remaining pie crust to cover the filling.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until crusts turn golden brown. Let cool before eating, insides get very hot!

Serves: 2-4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

This quickly became one of my favorite recipes. I typically prefer baking over cooking, so making pies for dinner is enjoyable. I hope you all love this delicious dinner recipe as much as I do!
Enjoy!

xoxo,
Laura

Laura's Bridal Shower #3 - McKellar/Piszczek Family

Earlier this afternoon, Laura had her third (and final!) bridal shower. The decorations, food, drinks, games and even desserts were so beautifully put together. Myself along with my mom and a few of our Aunts all collaborated, and if I do say so myself, it was executed to perfection. Take a look for yourself. I would like to give a little shout out to Pinterest for a lot of these ideas ;)

There were so many fresh flowers and burlap! It was simply stunning. 
The cutlery was even adorable! For food we decided to go with sliders, baked beans, corn on the cob, fruit & other misc. items. My mom made the most adorable little desserts in small mason jars!
They were so yummy, too!

Add some homemade apple pie moonshine & a flower crown, and it was the perfect shower!
(How freaking adorable did Laura look?!)


Laura's wearing: Dress- LuLu*s // Shoes- Hautelook // Necklace- Forever21 //
Floral Crown- Handmade by my grandma

I couldn't be happier for Laura and Steve! I love that they are so excited for the wedding, but they are more excited for their marriage. Sometimes everyone gets a little caught up in the details of the wedding day, and forget to focus on building a relationship that will last for eternity. You both are such a light in my life and everyone's around you. I love you guys!

xoxo,
Katelyn