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!  

 

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

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I've been experimenting with more cupcake recipes in my lovely cupcake book. I'm having so much fun baking and tasting all of these pretty desserts. We had some over-ripe bananas in the kitchen a little while ago, so instead of making the usual banana bread, I opened up this recipe for banana chocolate chip cupcakes.

Ingredients: 
2 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. sour cream
5 oz. semisweet chocolate (chunks or chips)
1 1/4 C. chocolate frosting (I use homemade)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Line (about) 20 standard muffin cups with paper baking cups.   
  
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl; mix well. Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and flurry. Add eggs, one at a time,e beating well after each addition. Add bananas and vanilla; beat until well blended. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips or chunks. Spoon evenly into prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove to let cool completely.

4. Place frosting in pastry bag and pipe icing onto cupcakes as you desire.

Yields: 
About 20

Enjoy! 

xoxo,

Laura

Boston Cream Cupcakes

A couple weeks ago, a friend and coworker celebrated a birthday. I decided it was a good time to put my new cupcake recipe book to good use. Since I didn't know what her preference was, I went with my gut. Due to the fact that she's a Boston native, I went with Boston Cream Cupcakes.

Last week, a friend and coworker celebrated a birthday. I decided it was a good time to put my new cupcake recipe book to good use. Since I didn't know what her preference was, I went with my gut. Due to the fact that she's a Boston native, I went with Boston Cream Cupcakes. 
I'll share two versions for you all. One is the simple way, one is from scratch. Take your pick!

Ingredients for Cupcakes: 
-1 package yellow cake mix, plus ingredients
-1 cup milk
-1/2 cup french vanilla instant pudding

Ingredients for frosting: 
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 stick butter
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions for Cupcakes:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake liners in cupcake pans. 

• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

• Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners. 

• Bake 15-20 minutes, or until cupcakes look golden on top. 

• Meanwhile, whisk milk and pudding mix in medium bowl for 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until set. 

• Gently poke a small hole into the top of each cupcake with tip of a knife. Spoon pudding into pastry bag fitted with a small, round tip. Insert tip into tops of cupcakes; squeeze bag gently to fill cupcakes with pudding. 

Directions for Frosting: 

• Mix sugar, cocoa powder, and milk together in a large saucepan. 

• Cook over medium-high heat until large bubbles form. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.

• Return to medium-high heat and boil until thickens. Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth.

Frost when cakes are cooled. 

Yields: about 22 cupcakes

Enjoy!

xoxo,
Laura

Banana Nut Mini Muffins

I've been on such a baking kick lately, and my parents are pretty good at instigating. Little hints like "we could use some cupcakes around here" and "we don't have many sweets in the house" are typical triggers to my baking shenanigans. I love it.

Being that I'm a huge fan of anything banana flavored, and my mom likes anything that has nuts in it, we decided to make a bunch of banana nut mini muffins for our on-the-go breakfasts in the mornings.

So here's a recipe for making banana nut muffins. We went for mini muffins, but any size will do!
Also, many recipes call for 1 and 1/2 stick of butter, but we like the healthier alternative of applesauce! The substitutes are 1:1, so if you prefer butter, it would be 

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 chopped nuts (your choice)
(we chose walnuts)

Also, many banana nut recipes call for butter, but we like the healthier alternative of applesauce! The substitutes are 1:1, so if you prefer butter, it would be 3/4 cups of butter (1 and 1/2 sticks)  

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, lightly butter 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. Whip the remaining bananas and sugar together until well blended. Add the applesauce (or butter), eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway.

Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields: about 24 mini muffins

Enjoy your quick and easy breakfast muffins!

xoxo,
Laura

Cherry Chocolate Fudge

With little-to-no plans this past weekend, I thought it would be a good time to start making some Valentine's Day treats. I always enjoy spreading the love around the office and leaving sweets in the kitchen for everyone to enjoy. Yesterday, for the sake of being festive, I made some cherry chocolate fudge. 

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
7 ounces marshmallow cream
1 package white chocolate chips
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 jar (12 oz) maraschino cherries (chopped)
red food coloring (if desired)

Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil and grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside.
In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cream and remaining the butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 4 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the white chips and marshmallow cream. Add the chopped cherries and red coloring (if desired) right before pouring into the prepared pan.

For chocolate topping: Melt chocolate chips in a double-boiler and spread over the the fudge. Swirl as desired with knife or toothpick. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Discard foil; cut into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 
Yields: about 3 pounds.

Make sure to share with your loved ones!

xoxo,
Laura