Sunny Morning Muffins

Not sure where I found this recipe, but it is a winner.  It calls for 1 cup of chopped walnuts, but I had some toasted almonds so I put those on the top of most of the muffins. My adult children don't care for nuts in their sweets. I know, who doesn't like pecans in their desserts?




Printable Version
Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1 cup sugar, plus 2 T
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lemon zested (I also used the juice)
1/2 pint blueberries
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together strawberries and the 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit 15 minutes until strawberries give off juices.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, 1 cup sugar, strawberries, and lemon zest and juice if using.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the blueberries and walnuts.
Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes outy with a few crumbs but not wet, about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature.

Trisha's Old Fashioned Potato Beef Casserole

Found this recipe on Trisha Yearwood's show.  The only thing I would do differently next time is to add fewer potatoes.  I only used 2 pounds of potatoes and it was too much for me. So, I will give the recipe like I would do it next time. I did not really like this recipe, so I probably won't make it again.



Printable Recipe Ingredients:
1 pound of red potatoes
Salt
Vegetable oil, to coat the pan
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup unseasoned dry breadcrumbs
Method:
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with water to cover by 1 inch. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Potatoes cook quickly. Test often for tenderness and don't overcook them.
Drain the potatoes and arrange in a 6 X 9 casserole dish.

In a large skillet, add a little oil to coat the pan. Combine the beef and onion and cook together over medium heat until the beef is browned and the onion softened, about 10 minutes. Drain excess fat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and the flour turns light brown in color. Gradually whisk in the milk and continue to stir while cooking over medium heat. When the mixture thickens, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the cheese and browned beef and onion mixture.

Pour the ground beef mixture over the potatoes and bake for 20 minutes, until heated through and bubbling. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of the casserole and bake until the crumbs are toasted, about 5 minutes longer.

Starbucks' Lemon Pound Cake w /Icing

We love Starbucks' Lemon Pound Cake so I Googled it and found this recipe by Todd Wilbur Here
The only thing I changed was to add 1 zested lemon to the cake batter.   You could also add one to the glaze.
He also forgot to tell you to add the vegetable oil.





Printable Version
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 lemon zested (optional)
Icing:
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Use an electric mixer to blend together eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract, vegetable oil, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Pour wet ingredients into a well-greased 9X5" loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean. Make the lemon icing by combining ingredients in a small bowl with electric mixer on low speed.
When lemon loaf is cool, remove it from the pan and frost the top with the lemon icing. When the icing has set, slice the loaf into eight 1-inch-thick slices.

Ham Quiche

I made ham for our Easter meal and used the left-overs for several different things.  I made a soup which I have already posted Here
This was the quiche I made with more left-over ham.  I used Tyler Florence's recipe and adapted it to what I had on hand. His recipe is Here  The following is what I did.





Ingredients:
pie crust
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
6 eggs
1 pint heavy cream
2 cups ham
1 zucchini
1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Method:
Either make your favorite pie crust or buy one, like I did. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large skillet add 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to medium heat. Add onion and cook until carmelized (it takes about 20 minutes).  Add the ham and zucchini. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Put this mixture into an uncooked pie crust.  Mix eggs and milk together and add salt and pepper. Pour over the ham mixture and bake for 1 hour covered with aluminum foil. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15-30 minutes until the filling is solid.













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Custard-Filled Eclairs

We had chocolate eclairs at Becky and Bill Millers house. They were awesome. I made the mistake of thinking that I could make them even better by making my own custard instead of using her recipe.  BIG MISTAKE!  Don't ever try to make an awesome dessert even better. I am going to give you Becky's recipe which came from B.J. Wachel. Stick with this because it is really good and much easier.



Ingredients for Eclairs:
1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Method:
Bring 1 cup of water and 1 stick of butter to a boil. Add 1 cup of flour and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and forms a ball.  Let cool. Beat in 4 eggs, one at a time.  Drop the dough onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for approximately 30 minutes until light brown.

Ingredients for the Custard Filling:
1--6oz. box vanilla instant pudding mix
3 1/2 cups milk
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method:
Beat the milk and vanilla pudding together until smooth. Add softened cream cheese and beat until incorporated and smooth.

Chocolate topping:
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Method:
Heat the whipping cream until hot, but not boiling. (You can do it on the stove top or in the microwave)  Take it off the heat and add the chocolate chips. Continue stirring until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It said to use mint chocolate chips.  I used Andes, Crème De Menthe Baking Chips. They turned out really good. I made up 1/2 the recipe to take to San Antonio, and froze the other 1/2.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies from Pinterest







Printable Version
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Mint Chocolate Baking Pieces- (I used Andes, Crème De Menthe Baking Chips)
Method:
1. Mix flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth.
3. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk
4. Add vanilla.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon.
6. Fold in the mint chocolate baking pieces.
7. Chill for 1 hour--(I did not do this and they turned out great)
8. Remove from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside
10. Roll the dough into balls. Place balls with about 3 Tablespoons of dough in each ball.
11. Bake 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and under baked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This recipe came from The Express News in San Antonio, TX. It was submitted by Chris Dunn.

Printable Version

Ingredients:
1-2 tablespoons peanut or other high temperature oil, divided use
1 1/2 cups shitake or button mushrooms, chopped
1 - 5-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 rotisserie chicken breasts, bones and skin removed, small diced
3 green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
salt and pepper to taste
8 large whole iceberg lettuce leaves
Stir Fry Sauce:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions:
1. When the pan is very hot, add mushrooms and saute for about 30 seconds.
2. Add additional 1 tablespoon oil, if needed; then add water chestnuts and saute, while stirring for 30 seconds longer.
3. Add chicken, green onions, and garlic to pan and saute for a few seconds.
4. Add Stir-fry Sauce to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stirring constantly until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Transfer to a warm bowl.
5. Place the bowl with the chicken filling on a platter surrounded by lettuce leaves. Let each person take a lettuce leaf, top it with filling and drizzle with desired amount of Sriracha sauce. Roll up and enjoy.
Note: If using shitake mushrooms, discard the woody stems before chopping.
For Stir Fry Sauce: Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and seasme oil together in a small bowl.
I did not use the Sriracha sauce: