Apple Muffins

As I was sitting on the couch this evening watching Ghost Adventures, I was thinking of my blog and how I really wanted it to be a baking blog and I had this urge to just bake something.  In my mind I was going through the options I had to bake "The bananas aren't ripe enough for bread...I don't have a full bag of chocolate chips, damn my chocolate cravings!" I remembered then that I bought a bag of apples at the grocery store and decided to use those for something. Apples are the best during fall, crisp and juicy, and I love to bake with them. I found the original apple muffin recipe from The-Girl-Who-Ate-Everything.  As I speak (a.k.a write this) the house is starting to smell like apple-brown sugar-cinnamon goodness.

EDIT:  I brought some muffins to a couple of my co-workers and they both LOVED them.  One asked for the recipe, and the other said she doesn't even like apples that much but thought the muffins were amazing.

Ingredients you'll need:
2 cups granulated sugar2 eggs
1 cup oil (I used about 1 1/4 cup oil...I'll tell you why further down)
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract (the original recipe called for 1 tbsp but I thought that seemed like a bit much)
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups of diced apples, peeled and cored (I used 5 small apples and it was just a little over 3 cups)
brown sugar for topping, optional

1. Peel, core, and chop the apples.  This is the most tedious part of this whole process, in my opinion.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners

3. Combine sugar, eggs, 1 cup oil, and vanilla in a bowl.

4. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon to wet ingredients and stir until  just combined. The batter is supposed to be really thick and DO NOT OVER-STIR! I REPEAT, DO NOT OVER-STIR! I think I over-stirred using my mixer and totally effed something up.  The "batter" was so dry it was more like wet sand (you could have totally made batter castles with it) than batter.  I added more oil, about 1/4 cup more and a little bit of water until the "batter" became more like thick batter. Crisis averted though!

5. Add apples to batter and stir to combine.

Love those apple chunks! 

6. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and sprinkle with brown sugar, if desired. After baking, the brown sugar gives a nice crunch to the muffins.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Considering I messed up the batter I think the muffins turned out pretty darn good! I had to tell myself to keep in mind these are apple muffins, not apple-cinnamon muffins.  I would have preferred more of a cinnamon taste myself so if  I make these again I will definitely be adding more cinnamon. Until next time, Fire Away!

Before the muffins went in the oven

after the muffins came out of the oven

Chili

One of my favorite things about Fall and Winter is the yummy, warm comfort food. I love the colder weather (summer is my least favorite season) and chili is definitely a staple in our winter diet and it's a delicious combatant to the cold Minnesota winters. Now that the air is getting a bit nippy I knew I had to make chili and soon! The only problem is that I put beans in my chili which, according to the great Dr. Sheldon Cooper, makes it not chili.  But it's delicious, whatever it is. :)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (I go with the petite diced but regular is fine)
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 - 15.5 oz can kidney beans, drained (light or dark, depending on your preference. I use dark)

Now this is where I'm going to pause and let you know that these ingredients can be tweaked to your own taste, but this is how I usually make the recipe.

4-5 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
8-10 shakes of Cholula original hot sauce
5-6 shakes red pepper flakes
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 tsp minced garlic

Off-topic tangent: Every single time I write "tsp" I think of Sleeping Beauty when the fairies making Aurora's birthday cake and Fauna says, "Now, yeast, one tsp. Tsp?"
Merryweather: " one teaspoon"
Fauna: "one teaspoon, of course!"

Now back to the recipe.

Brown the ground beef, drain, and set aside.

In a large saucepan (or large 5 qt deep saute pan) combine the canned ingredients (tomatoes, tomato sauce, and drained kidney beans) and stir. Make sure the pan you're using is large enough to stir all of the ingredients together without making a huge mess!  Add the chopped onion and stir again.

Add all of the seasonings and stir well to combine all the ingredients. I usually taste-test after adding all the ingredients to see what's missing.  Add the ground beef and stir well.

Cover the pan and simmer for at least an hour.  I find the longer it simmers, the better it tastes.  Stir occasionally, maybe every 20 minutes or so. I taste-test while it simmers as well because I find the flavors meld together while it simmers and the spicy ingredients (hot sauce and pepper flakes) get spicier.

After it simmers for however long, dig in!

I always serve our chili with cornbread and it's SO good. Until next time, Fire Away!

Caprese Pasta

I. love. pasta. I will eat almost any kind of pasta and as much as I love  sauce, I do also try to find pasta recipes that don't require sauce (to save calories, really) and I found a recipe for One-Pot Caprese Pasta.  Anything caprese is usually a win in my book and fresh basil is amazingggg! Just ask Nala...she tried to eat the basil plant.

Ingredients you'll need:
2 1/4 cup water
1.5 tbsp olive oil
8 oz bow-tie pasta
1/2 of a clamshell of grape tomatoes, sliced
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil (about 8-10 leaves, depending on their size)
1.5 tsp minced garlic
Handful of baby spinach (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

First, add all the ingredients into one pot (water, olive oil, pasta, tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt and pepper, spinach if you want) except for the mozzarella cheese. I added a handful of baby spinach for some extra nutrition but the original recipe I found doesn't call for it and it's not necessary. I only used about 1/4 cup of spinach but I think I'll use more next time.

Cook over high heat until boiling. The garlic and the  basil made the house smell absolutely heavenly. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally while cooking for another 11-12 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and water is reduced.

Remove from heat and let stand for a couple minutes.  Stir in mozzarella cheese until thoroughly combined. Feel free to garnish with some extra basil and a little extra cheese. Serve (and eat!) immediately.

I didn't want to stop eating this dish, it was THAT good. I'm bringing the leftovers to work tomorrow for lunch. Until next time, Fire Away!

Sloppy Joes

Growing up, I kind of got tired of having the same meals over and over again.  Then I went to college and craved things like real homemade mashed potatoes, tacos, and my mom's sloppy joes. For my birthday one year I actually requested that we have sloppy joes because I missed homemade cooking. Andy used to eat Manwich sloppy joes (I despise Manwich) and I had to beg him to let me cook sloppy joes without Manwich and after I did, he's never wanted Manwich again.  I am going to preface this by saying this is not a healthy recipe...for me, it's comfort food that I craved when I couldn't be home, and for my picky boyfriend it's a meal he'll actually eat over and over again (because it's not healthy), and sometimes even requests it. We have sloppy joes about once a month and it's so simple. My mom actually found this recipe in the Star Tribune back in the 80's. It's a recipe that has stood the test of time and I've had other sloppy joes and they don't taste as good as these, in my opinion.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (we use 85/15 but obviously any kind will work)

1/2 cup chopped onion (optional if you don't like onion...we usually add more than 1/2 cup!)

1 cup ketchup

1 tsp yellow mustard

1 beef bouillon cube (or 1 tsp beef bouillon granules)

2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup water

1. Brown hamburger with onions in a fry pan and drain the fat. 

2. Add the ketchup, mustard, bouillon cube, sugar and water to the beef.  Stir well so all the beef is covered by the sauce. 

3. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until bouillon cube is dissolved and sauce has thickened. 

4. TA-DA! All done. I usually top my sloppy joes with pickles or banana peppers. Enjoy! 

I don't need to put this recipe in the fire-proof box because it's in my mind.  Until next-time, Fire away! 

I'm baaaaaack!

Goodness gracious, has it really been almost 2 YEARS since I last posted?  that makes me a little sad, but it's been a busy two years.  Andy and I moved into a house, I got a promotion at work last Fall which has been keeping me incredibly busy, I had 2 nieces and one nephew born last year, and to top off all the excuses, I kind of forgot about the blog for a while. But, here I am again.  I'm trying to cook more so we eat out less, and I finally have my KitchenAid mixer! I got it for my birthday last December and the color is espresso, which is perfect for our coffee-themed kitchen.

Long story short, I'm really hoping I can keep up with my blog again.  It's nice to have a hobby. :) And I get to share all the delicious recipes I've found, tried, failed at, ya know.

Lasagna Roll-ups

Okay, I really think that I'm going to stop saying I've found stuff on Pinterest.  Unless otherwise stated, I probably found most of these recipes on Pinterest.

I love pasta and I'm ALWAYS looking for recipes I've never tried before, seem easy, and I could possibly make for years to come. I found a recipe for lasagna roll-ups and I made them the other day, and this recipe is going in my arsenal.  I just really like the options that come with this recipe but be sure not to over-stuff your noodles because they won't roll up easily. The recipe I found called for a spinach and ricotta cheese filling. This may make me sound stupid but I always thought ricotta cheese was like cottage cheese because ricotta cheese is found next to the cottage cheese in the grocery store.  Anywhos, if you don't know yet...ricotta cheese is the fluffy white cheese found in lasagna.

Ingredients you'll need:
- 8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
-16 oz Ricotta cheese
-Fresh spinach
-Minced garlic
-Smidge of butter
-Italian sausage (or not if you want to keep this dish vegetarian)
-Fresh mushrooms, chopped
-1 jar spaghetti sauce, your choice.  I used Newman's Own Roasted Garlic spaghetti sauce.  Once I tried Newman's Own Roasted Garlic spaghetti sauce, I vowed to never buy any other sauce ever again. It is sooooo good.

First, I boiled the lasagna noodles according to package directions and once they were soft, I laid them out on a cookie sheet covered in foil (to prevent sticking) and just left them.  Because Andy is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, I then browned up some Italian sausage to put in our lasagna roll-ups. I cut up some fresh mushrooms and set them aside...the recipe didn't call for mushrooms but I love mushrooms and wanted to add them to my mixture.  In a separate bowl, I wilted spinach with a little bit of butter and minced garlic.  in the microwave for two minutes, stirring every 20-30 seconds.  I used 3-4 handfuls of fresh spinach because it really condenses when it's wilted. I love garlic and wish I had used more.  I used about 2-3 teaspoons of garlic.

In a separate bowl I mixed together 16 ounces of ricotta cheese, the wilted spinach, and the mushrooms.  I mixed and mixed until the ingredients were well-blended and the cheese was fluffy. I then started spreading the cheese mixture onto the  lasagna noodles and sprinkled the meat over the cheese mixture.  I left one noodle meatless so I could try it without the sausage.  I definitely like my lasagna roll-ups meatless...sorry, Andy.  Anyways, roll your noodles up after filling them. Make sure when rolling them that the noodle remains tight without ripping.  I liken it to rolling up a sleeping bag.  Leave at least one end of the noodle empty of filling and start rolling at the opposite end.  The sticky, empty end of the noodle will stick to the outside of the rolled-up noodle and keep it from unrolling.

I sprayed some cooking oil on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and put the roll-ups (seam side down) in the pan.  I used one jar of spaghetti sauce and spooned it out over the roll-ups.  If I were to do it again, I'd pour some sauce in the bottom of the pan (after spraying with oil) and then pour the rest over the roll-ups.  Bake in the oven, covered, at 375 for roughly 30-40 minutes, or until hot. I waited until the sauce started boiling, which took about 30 minutes for my oven. Different ovens have different cooking times so just keep an eye on it once it gets around the 20-30 minute mark.

This recipe is great because it is easy and I like that it can be vegetarian or not. It is time-consuming but oh man...it is worth it. Now that I know how time-consuming it is, I won't wait until 5:30 to begin preparation for it. This recipe is going in my Fireproof Box...just so ya know.

Until next time...Fire Away!

Apple Crescents

 I dragged Andy to an apple farm  a couple weekends ago and we stocked up on apple butter, apple pie, apple cider, cider doughnuts, and also bought some local, organic  honey.  Oh, and apples we picked ourselves, of course.  Haralson apples were available for picking and they were very crisp and sweet and amazingly delicious.  According to the apple farm website, they are perfect for eating and baking and I can attest to that fact.

I found a recipe on Pinterest (again!) and I knew I needed to use up some of the apples we had left and the recipe seemed easy-peasy.


Ingredients you'll need: 
-1 tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls (I used the big and flaky ones)
- 2 or 3 small apples, or 1 large apple
- Ground cinnamon
- Sugar
- 4 tbsp of margarine or butter, melted  (or as much as you think you'll need to sufficiently cover the crescent rolls).  

Optional:
-Caramel topping
-Ice cream
-Whipped cream

      

First, I cored the apples and sliced them into eighth's.  Some of the apples we had picked were very small so I was able to actually use two apple slices in my crescent rolls.

 Second, I unrolled and separated the crescent dough. I just put them on the pan that I was going to bake them on.  I then poured some sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and mixed them up.  I melted the butter in a separate bowl and immediately started spreading the melted butter on the rolled-out crescent rolls.

As soon as I put the butter on all the rolls, I started sprinkling my cinnamon-sugar mixture on the buttered rolls.

 I then placed the apples on the long edge of the rolls and rolled them on up! I had to be careful with the rolls that had two apples in them because the apples kept trying to squeak out the ends. I made them behave in the end.  Start rolling at the long end so the pointed end / small end is on the outside.

I then sprinkled some more of the cinnamon-sugar mixture to the tops of the rolls before I baked them.









Bake the rolls according to package directions, until golden-brown on the top.  The butter/cinnamon-sugar mixture spilled out a little bit and cooked and it tasted like a cinnamon-caramel.  YUM.

I followed the instructions on the main recipe link and drizzled the crescents with caramel as soon as I put two of them on a plate.  I then decided to serve them hot out of the oven with some cinnamon ice cream and whipped cream.  I wanted to cry this was so delicious.  It is seriously the best dessert I've ever made.  Want to drool?   Look at these om-nom-nommy pictures.

Make this. Make this now.  Seriously, what are you waiting for? I'm putting this recipe in my Fireproof Box.

Until next time...Fire Away!