Tri-Berry Muffins

I was given several new cookbooks for Christmas and one of the books was Barefoot Contessa at Home. I have three other books of Ina's and I refer to them all of the time. With that being said, I knew that this cookbook would probably be no different than the others as far as having a plethora of tasty "go-to" options. Sure enough, this book is filled with fabulous ideas for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. When I cam across these tri-berry muffins I was sold. Muffins chock full of assorted berries had to be delicious, right? Well, they were definitely just that. The sugar gives the muffins a delicious crunchy shell and make them even more delectable with every bite

You Will Need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnnamon
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

Here We Go:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Line muffin tins with paper liners
• Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl
• Stir with a wooden spoon
• In another bowl, combine the milk,eggs,and melted butter
• make a well in the middle of the dry mixture, pour the wet mixture into the well, and stir until just combined
• Add blueberries, raspberries,strawberries, and sugar
• Stir gently to combine
• Spoon the better into the muffin cups to fill the liners
• Bake for 20-25 minutes,until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops are browned

Makes 16-18 Muffins
Happy Feasting!

TC's Apple Cake with Caramel Butterscotch Frosting

If you are like me, then the past few weeks have been filled with Christmas cookies, breakfast casseroles and too much wine. With that being said, I am sure that your New Year's resolution is too eat less, drink less and maybe even to get more sleep. Well, before the New Year is in full swing,  I had to post this scrumptious apple cake that has been in my family for years. This was my grandmother's apple cake that has since been passed down to my mom and now subsequently me. It is heaven in a cake and the butterscotch,caramel frosting puts this cake in a category of it's own. I know that technically your New Year's resolution probably does not include this indulgent cake, but if you make an exception you will not be disappointed. This will be worth each additional calorie and you can start your health kick tomorrow!

You Will Need:

For the Apple Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped into tiny pieces
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like for taste)
• 1 cup broken walnut pieces (optional)

For the Frosting

• 1 lb light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Here We Go:

For the Apple Cake

• Combine sugar and apples and let stand for 3 hours or overnight
• Add oil, eggs, and vanilla to apple mixture
• Sift flour, soda, salt and cinnamon together
• Add second mixture to first
• Fold in nuts with wooden spoon, if desired
• Pour into 2  greased and floured  9 X 13-inch baking pans
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until center toothpick test comes out clean

For the Frosting

• Combine sugar, milk, sour cream and vanilla
• Cook over medium temperature stirring constantly
• Add chips as mixture cools
• Watch carefully as mixture can stick or burn easily
• Be sure all ingredients come to full boil
• Pour hot liquid on warm cakes that have been punctured with a toothpick

Makes 2 Cakes
Happy Feasting!

Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese

This spiced pumpkin cream cheese takes all of ten minutes to make and is the perfect topping for your morning bagel or toast. Every bite tastes like you are eating pumpkin pie. Ezra Pound Cake also suggested serving it as a dip with crackers or pretzels, saying that it really shines when paired with some salt.

Source: Ezra Pound Cake

You Will Need:

• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened (Microwave for 15 seconds.)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Here We Go:

• In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, pumpkin and sugar until smooth with wooden spoon or electric mixer
• Add the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Makes 1 1/2 cups
Happy Feasting!

Pumpkin Spice Bread

It is hard to believe that this is the last week of October and I had yet to make anything pumpkin until now. This pumpkin spice bread is so indicative of the season. It carries such an aroma of Fall and it the perfect snack, dessert or even breakfast. This recipe makes two loaves so could be the perfect gift for a friend or neighbor. If you make this bread this weekend your house will be filled with flavors of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg just in time for Halloween!

Source: In Good Taste

You Will Need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (16-ounce) can pure pumpkin

Here We Go:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F
• Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans, line the bottoms with wax paper or parchment paper, then grease the paper
• Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl and set aside
• Beat the sugar and oil in a large bowl until blended
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended and then beat in the pumpkin
• Add the flour mixture and stir until just blended
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans
• Bake for about 70-75 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
• Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes before un-molding to cool completely before serving
• Remove the wax paper before slicing

Makes 2 Loaves
Happy Feasting!

Pancakes with Blueberry Butter

One great thing about the weekend, is that you can have lazy mornings and spend more time on breakfast than you usually would during your normal weekday routine. This blueberry butter is so unbelievably delicious with the perfect amount of sweet and salty with every bite. Perfect for Sunday morning pancakes or toast. It will keep in the refridgerator for up to one week and the best part is that the recipe calls for only three ingredients!

Source: Not Without Salt

You Will Need:

• 1 stick butter, salted (or add 1/4 tsp salt), softened
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Confectioner’s sugar
• 3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Here We Go:

• Combine the butter and the sugar
• Mash the blueberries with the butter until the butter is lightly colored from the blueberry skins
• You still want to maintain lots of nice blueberry chunks, so be careful not to over mash.
• Store in the fridge for up to one week

Happy Feasting!

Bird's Nest for Brunch

I must admit that until I got married I had never had a bird's nest (I know, I know). My husband grew up having these tasty treats and I guess I was deprived. I had my first bird's nest last year and ever since I have been hooked. My parents came into town this weekend for my birthday and to see our two new pups (hank and polly)! We ate most of our meals at home because we wanted to spend time with the new puppies.
Liven up your Sunday brunch with these cute bird's nests. It is a great creative way to enjoy your fried egg with toast. Serve this with some fresh fruit and bacon and you've got yourself quite the tasty breakfast!

You Will Need:

• 1 egg
• 1 slice of bread
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt and pepper

Here We Go:

• Crack the egg into a bowl and set the bowl aside
• Use a 3-inch cookie cutter or the top to a jar to cut a shape out of the piece of bread
• Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat
• Place the bread in the pan and fry it lightly on one side
• Flip the bread over and reduce the heat to low
• Carefully crack the egg into the cut-out hole in the middle of the bread
• Cover the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the egg has set in the bread "nest"
• For an over-easy egg, flip the egg and bread and cook it on the other side
• Salt and pepper to taste




Serves 1
Happy Feasting!

 

Chocolate Chip Cherry Muffins

One of my favorite things to do while I was living in New York City was to go out for brunch on the weekends. Brunch in NYC can be quite the affair. Crowds line up outside of their favorite neighborhood spots and are willing to wait for hours as long as they get to have their go-to eggs benedict or banana pancakes. We lived on the upper east side and we spent many Saturdays and Sundays at Sarabeth's sipping on mimosas and enjoying baskets of their famed muffins and homemade jams...Ah, how I miss those brunches!

I had some bing cherries that I needed to use and some leftover chocolate chips from my Toffee and Chocolate Chip Cookies so I thought what better way than to make chocolate chip cherry muffins for the weekend. Now I don't know if I would say that these are as good as Sarabeth's, but I bet that it had something to do with the company (my old roomies) and the NYC hustle and bustle of the city that made Sarabeth's muffins seem so tasty at the time. So neither of us might be having a New York City brunch this weekend, but make these muffins and have some eggs benedict and I assure you that you will be so very happy that you did.

 You Will Need:

• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup diced bing cherries, de-stemmed and pit removed
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Here We Go:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, cane sugar, baking powder and salt
• In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, oil and extract
• Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened
• Gently fold in cherries and chocolate chips
• Fill paper-lined muffin cups or greased muffin pan half-way full
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean

Makes 9 Muffins

Happy Feasting!

Frozen Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

As part of the packing process, we are also in the process of cleaning out the freezer and refrigerator. I decided this morning that I had enough frozen fruit for a quick and healthy breakfast smoothie. This smoothie is easy and delicious and a great way to start your day!

You Will Need:

• 1 frozen banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp honey

Here We Go:

• Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth
• Pour into glasses and serve.

Makes 2 11oz Servings

Happy Feasting!

Sandy's Banana Bread and Happy Birthday Susan!

My mom is a wonderful cook and I think it is because she was taught by her mother who was the best cook I have ever known. There are certain things that my mom makes that just don't taste as good when I try to make them. I follow her recipes down to the last step, yet there is always something that isn't exactly as I remember it. While I was living in New York, my mom used to make her spaghetti sauce, freeze it and bring it to me in freezer bags whenever she and my dad came to visit ( I know...great mom!). I think it usually lasted me a few days...I eat a lot of pasta. Like her spaghetti sauce, her banana bread is one of a kind. I actually think this time, though, that mine might have turned out as tasty as when she makes it!

This banana bread is seriously the best that I have ever had. I don't know if I am biased because it is my mom's recipe, or if because the extra hit of banana cream pudding puts it over the top, but regardless it is to die for.

My friend Susan has been asking me to post a banana bread recipe. Her birthday was last week and she celebrated with brunch yesterday in NYC (as we have done for the past three years!). I couldn't be there this year, so I figured that I could at least give Susan her banana bread. Here you go Suz, happy birthday!

You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 overly ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 box banana cream pudding mix (Instant or cooked)
• 1 heaping tsp vanilla extract

Here We Go:

• Preheat Oven to 300 degrees F
• Grease and flour 1 large or 2 small loaf pans
• Cream butter and sugar together
• Add eggs and vanilla and beat well
• Blend in sour cream and set aside
• Mix flour, box of banana cream pudding mix, soda, and mashed bananas together
• Blend in with other wet ingredients and mix well 
• Pour dough into greased pan(s)
• Bake for 65 minutes for large pan or 55 minutes for small pan
• Be sure and check center before removing from the oven

Note: Can also be used for french toast and sprinkled with fresh bananas and warm maple syrup...and it is unreal!


Makes Roughly 10 Slices
Happy Feasting!

Blueberry Blast Smoothie

I am not one of those people who can eat the same thing for breakfast everyday. I try to switch it up- peanut butter english muffin, yogurt, egg, oatmeal, cereal. This smoothie recipe is delicious, quick, friendly for the waistline and will hold you over until lunch time!

Adapted from Ellie Krieger

You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup non-fat milk
• 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt ( I used greek yogurt)
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tsp. honey

Here We Go:

• Pour ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Makes 1 2-cup serving
Happy Feasting!

Orange Scented Blueberry Muffins

I was in the mood to bake this weekend and thought I would make my staple blueberry muffins that are about as basic as you get yet still seem to be a crowd pleaser. I was about to settle on making these good ole' muffins when I remembered that I had seen on one of my favorite food blogs, A Sweet Pea Chef, a recipe for orange scented blueberry muffins and her pictures alone made my mouth water. I had never thought of adding orange zest to a blueberry muffin, but I decided that a little orange zest and some crumb topping might be just what my muffin recipe was lacking. You all will be pleased to know that these might be the best blueberry muffins I have ever eaten (bold statement I know).

You Will Need For the Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3/4 Tbsp freshly grated orange zest
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and de-stemmed
• softened butter to grease muffin tin

You Will Need for the Crumb Topping:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Here We Go:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and butter muffin tin or line with muffin liners and set aside
• Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and kosher salt in a medium mixing bowl
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine vegetable oil, egg, milk and orange zest
• Add above mixture, all at once, to the dry flour mixture
• Stir until just moistened (Note that the mixture will be lumpy & thick)
• Gently fold in the blueberries to the wet mixture
• To make the crumb topping, combine 1/4 cup sugar, brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cubed butter & ground cinnamon in a small mixing bowl
• Spoon muffin batter into the buttered (or lined) muffin tin, filling until almost full
• Generously sprinkle the crumb topping over the tops of each muffin cup
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffin tops are golden brown
• Remove from heat and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes 

Makes 12 Muffins
Happy Feasting!

The Elvis

While I was living in New York one of my favorite things to do was go out for any meal. Dinner, lunch or brunch- it didn't matter what meal it was, it was just the fact that we lived in a city with so many incredible restaurants and I wanted to take advantage. There are many "stand-outs" in my mind...the lobster ravioli from Cornelia Street Cafe, the truffled bechamel croque monsieur from Bagatelle, the devils on horseback from Freeman's...the list goes on and on. There was, though, one simple sandwich from a cute little place called Peanut Butter & Co. that I loved and continue to recreate quite a bit for breakfast on an english muffin or for lunch-The Elvis.

 

You Will Need:

• 2 slices of bread or an english muffin
• 1-2 Tbsp peanut butter (I prefer Jif)
• Honey
• 1 small banana

 

Here We Go:

• Toast bread or english muffin to preference
• Spread peanut butter on both sides of bread or muffin
• Slice bananas about 1/4 inch thick and lay on sandwich
• Drizzle a light layer of honey over bread or muffin

Happy Feasting!



Cinnamon Banana Pancakes

Pancakes are definitely a favorite in our house on weekend mornings! I love me some chocolate chip pancakes and my husband prefers these cinnamon banana pancakes. He could never understand why anyone would want to eat chocolate for breakfast. The base for this recipe is our good ole' friend Bisquick and I have added bananas and cinnamon for a very tasty combination.

You Will Need:

• 2 Cups Original Bisquick mix
• 1 Cup Milk ( for thinner pancakes increase milk to 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Ripe Banana
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon

Here We Go:

• Slice banana into thin pieces and set aside

• Stir mix, milk, eggs and cinnamon until blended
• Add bananas to mixture
• Pour mixture (less than 1/2 cupfuls) onto hot non-stick griddle or large saucepan
• Cook until edges look dry and pancakes stop bubbling in the center



Makes 18-22 Pancakes
Happy Feasting!