My Monthly Muffin Challenge

Last night I read my friend Danielle's blog entry about her personal challenge of 50 cupcakes - 1 type of cupcake for every week for the rest of the year. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with. Danielle is just about the most creative person I know!

Her cupcake entry got my wheels turning - that I too should challenge myself - what do I have to lose? The number 50 intimidated me though, so I figured a monthly challenge might be more my speed since, unfortunately, I am not the talent that Danielle is! 12....now that's a number I can handle.

The idea of a monthly muffin was a little bit of a cheat on my part. See, I already planned on trying out a new muffin recipe for this weekend anyway. I'm going over my friend Sam's house for a grown-up girls only slumber party (woohoo!) and I thought some muffins for the next morning would be a nice contribution to the affair. But in my defense when thinking about what type of food I could challenge myself too, muffins first came to mind not only because of the obvious fact that I planned baking a batch in just a few days, but also because I don't have many muffins in my repetoire. So, if all goes well I should have 12 new recipes (or more if I get really ambitious) in my pocket by the end of this year.

That is, of course, only if this challenge is enough motivation for me to fire up my oven in the summer months!!

Paula does it again!

Amid a flurry of butter, heavy cream, and mayonnaise, Paula Deen and her recipes continue to consistently impress me. Last night I made "The Lady's Cheesy Mac" for dinner. This will definitely replace my usual Mac 'n Cheese recipe. I didn't make any changes except for using small shells instead of elbow macaroni (since that is what I had in the house). All I can say is this is among her "Best Dishes" ;-)

The Lady's Cheesy Mac

(from foodnetwork.com)

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained

2 cups grated Cheddar

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add the cheddar.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture. Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese if desired.

"Healthified" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week while on the food section of Martha Stewart's site I clicked on a banner add for Eat Better America (http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/) and came upon a recipe for "Healthified" Chocolate Chip Cookies. I decided to try them out today.

Several reviewers of the recipe noted that the sugar and brown sugar could be substituted for Splenda and the Splenda Brown Sugar blend so I decided to go that route since I have both in house - go big or go home, right? The cookies turned out a tad puffy and did not really spread out on the pan much, but I actually expected this since the same has happened to me when using Splenda as a substitute in the past.

On my taste test I found the cookies to be a tad dry and my husband agreed. Overall though, the cookies are by no means bad, just not as indulgent as your normal chocolate chip cookie. But all things considered, I really can't complain considering it's "healthified!" And as I type this it's obvious that Greg isn't complaining either since he just went to get his 4th cookie in a 10 minute time span! Save room for dinner, geez!

"Healthified" Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup granulated sugar*
3/4 cup packed brown sugar*
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips


Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat sugars, butter, oil, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until very light golden brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

*In place of granulated sugar and brown sugar, I used ¾ Splenda and ¼ plus 2 tablespoons Splenda Brown Sugar Blend respectively*

Shredded BBQ Crockpot Chicken & Beer Bread!

Yesterday my husband and I were going to be out a decent chunk of the day, so I figured I'd be lazy and put something into the crockpot so I wouldn't have to cook when I got home. I stumbled two recipes on allrecipes.com recently that I thought would make a good combination for a hearty meal and I was quite happy with the results! Using a bbq chicken recipe on allrecipes.com as inspiration, I made significant changes to it compared so I even gave it a different name. Based on the reviews for the Beer Bread, I made some minor changes to the recipe and incorporated those below. Both were a hit with us, the beer bread (which by the way I made in the morning ahead of time and just reheated it to serve later) in particular with my husband who consumed 3 rather large slices in one sitting!

Shredded BBQ Crockpot Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup barbeque sauce
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix all other ingredients. Pour over the chicken. Cover, and cook 6 hours on low. Before serving, shred chicken with two forks within crockpot and mix back into sauces before serving. (I put my chicken in frozen, if they're not frozen I'd suggest cutting down the cooking time).


Beer Bread I

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tablepoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons white sugar

1 tabelspoon brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix together the sugars, baking powder, salt, and flour. Add beer and continue to mix, first using a wooden spoon, then your hands. Batter will be sticky. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan. Let batter sit in pan for 20 minutes to rise. Pour melted butter over top of bread before putting in oven.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 55 minutes. The top will be crunchy, and the insides will be soft. Serve warm.

Brownies from scratch

I realized that I have a bunch of brownie recipes that I've dog-eared in cookbooks or saved on websites that I have never actually made, in fact, I've never even made a brownie from scratch before.

So I set out to try baking up my first batch of homemade brownies and decided to start with a basic recipe. The only change I made to the recipe to add only 3/4 cup of pecans and then about 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter.

While the brownies are good, I found the batter to be quite light in color when I was mixing it and they were still light colred when they came out of the oven. Luckily I had already decided to frost them and had a bowl of homemade chocolate frosting waiting for when they cooled. I would have liked a richer chocolate taste for these brownies. This is not to say I will never make the recipe again, I will probably just tweak it in the future, either with more chocolate squares or substituting a small amount of flour for cocoa powder. The frosting definitely upped the chocolate factor on the current recipe. Since the combination of the brownie and frosting was quite good, I was reasonably happy with the overall product. I may never open a tub of premade frosting again (sorry, Betty Crocker) since the frosting recipe below was so easy and so delicious.

Basic Brownies
(from myrecipes.com)
1 cup butter or margarine
4 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups chopped pecans (optional)

3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate morsels (optional)

Microwave butter and chocolate squares in a 1-quart microwave-safe bowl at high 2 minutes or until both are melted, stirring once.

Beat eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer; gradually add sugar, beating well.

Add flour, salt, and vanilla, beating well. Stir in chocolate mixture, and, if desired, chopped walnuts. Pour batter into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan.

Bake at 325° for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Frosting
(from myrecipes.com)

1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Beat all ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

Deli-Stuffed Eggwich

So I got myself some new cookbooks recently - "Nigella Express" (wow, it looks fabulous, can't wait to try some recipes out of that!) and Rachael Ray's "Just in Time." (Yes, Rachael Ray, Dani, I know you are cringing right now hahaha!).

Well one of the recipes in RR's book caught my attention immediately - "Deli Stuffed Eggwiches" - I thought it was a perfect quick meal idea (which it should be, after all, that is her "thing"). I decided to give it a go the other day for quick and easy lunch. This got rave reviews from the hubby who gave his "eggwich" two thumbs up. I'll definitely making them again, trying it with different meats and condiments. For this one I used some honey mustard on the sandwich. I also want to try different breads (I used a Kaiser roll for this one - RR called for regular bread). Really the options on this sandwich are endless. I tell you, this recipe makes me want a panini press even more than I already did!

So here's my version.....

Deli Stuffed Eggwich
(adapted from Rachael Ray's Deli-Stuffed Eggwiches from "Just in Time")

1 egg
Splash of milk
Salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 Kaiser roll
4 slices of deli ham
2 slices of sharp cheddar
Honey Mustard (amount of which is up to you)
1/2 tablespoon butter

In a shallow bowl beat egg, milk, honey, and salt & pepper to taste. Set aside.*

Spread honey mustard on one side of each bun slice generously. With spread sides facing in, make sandwiches of ham and cheese.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Dip sandwich in egg mixture - at least 30 seconds on each side allowing egg mixture to soak into bread a bit - and place on skillet. Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until deeply golden brown and warmed through (cheese should be melty). Halve the sandwich and serve hot.

(*Note: I only made one sandwich at the time and had plenty of egg mixture leftover to make at least 1 to 2 more).

Dad finally gets his Chicken & Dumplings

For as long as I can remember, my father has been asking my mother to make chicken and dumplings for him. According to him, she's never made them in their almost 30 years of being married. Last winter I had discovered this chicken and dumplings recipe and made it myself a couple of times and even shared the recipe with my mother (who claims I never did). Still, no chicken and dumplings for Dad.

Well, we had my parents over for lunch yesterday and guess what? Dad got his chicken and dumplings.

The recipe as it is written here, calls for onions, which I left out yesterday (but normally would use). I also used 98% fat free cream of chicken yesterday. To make up for lost taste, I added a few spices to this recipe, and I also added baby carrots to make it a balanced meal (meat, veggies, and carbs!). Celery would probably be great in this too.


Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings
(as adapted from allrecipes.com)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
2 tablespoons butter
2 cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 finely diced onion (I used 1/2 tsp onion powder yesterday instead)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 teaspooon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt plus a dash
2 packages of large buttery biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Place all ingredients in 6 quart slow cooker and stir to mix. Fill with enough water to cover ingredients.

Cover and cook 4 to 5 hours on low (if you leave the chicken breasts whole, which the original recipe calls for, cook 5 to 6 hours on high).

About 30 minutes before serving, tear biscuit dough into 1 to 2 inch pieces and place on top of ingredients in slow cooker being sure to cover entirely with biscuit pieces (tear your biscuit dough as you go, since most likely you will not need the entire 2 cans). Sprinkle a dash of salt on top of biscuit layer. Place cover back on slow cooker for 30 minutes or until dough is no longer raw in the center.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Crisp

Say this three times fast:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Crisp
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Crisp
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Crisp

Ok, I couldn't even type that three times in a row accurately, nevermind say it!

Creative boredom and overly ripe bananas got the best of me on New Year's night. See, I really can't stand overly ripe bananas or normally ripe bananas for that matter, I like them, well, slightly greenish to be honest. So, I pondered what I could do with those bananas, with what I had in the house before they went bad. It just pains me to throw food away if it can be avoided.

I thought of two yummy combinations with banana - peanut butter and chocolate (hey, even Elvis liked that combo). So I dreamt this little diddy up and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Crisp was born. My husband really loved which is good since I really made it for him. (No desserts for me for awhile since I'm trying to shed a few pounds). I call this a 2-3 person portion - it didn't make a ton - so expect to increase the amount of ingredients if you want to make it for several people.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Crisp


2 to 3 ripe bananas cut into 1/2 inch slices

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup quick cooking oats

2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

2 -3 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces

"Handful" semi-sweet chocolate chips (very precise cooking measurement, huh?)

Preheat oven to 350 (or in my case your toaster oven). Spray small baking dish with cooking spray. Mix banana slices and peanut butter in small mixing bowl and place in cooking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of banana mixture.

Combine oats, brown sugar, and flour. Cut in butter pieces until crumbly. Sprinkle oat mixture on top of bananas and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until bananas are soft and topping is "crisp-like" (yeah, that's another very precise and technical cooking term). Serve with whipped cream (or ice cream would be good too!).

My BFF Honey Mustard

I really love honey mustard - I'll put it on anything. Honey Mustard is my friend....like a friend you shouldn't be spending so much time with because deep down you know that in large doses, this friend is a bad influence on you - or at least your waistline.

My husband is not battling his waistline right now, so therefore he and honey mustard dressing can "hang out" together all they want. I decided to make him some chicken salad sandwiches for lunches this week from a extra chicken breast I had cooked. Instead of making just plain old chicken salad, I made honey mustard chicken salad (i.e. replace mayonnaise portion with honey mustard dressing - the base of it is mayo anyway) using a recipe I got from my "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2" book I mentioned in an earlier post. And it's yummy (ok, I snuck a taste....or two....).

Outback Steakhouse Honey Mustard Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Grey Poupon mustard

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and chill to store. Makes 3/4 cup.

Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookie Cake

I found this recipe in my last edition of the seasonal Kraft Foods magazine I get and bookmarked it for another time. Well that time was New Year's Eve/Day. I brought it to my husband's grandparents' house on New Year's Eve and the next day it was completely gone (family members gather there on both days). I probably should have made 2 while I was at it, it was so easy! I've made some slight modifications to this recipe (tried to make it a bit healthier, not that this is by any means healthy ha!) so that is how it is posted here. However, I'm borrowing the picture from the Kraft Foods website since I neglected to take one of my own and I feel as though this is the kind of recipe that a visual is really helpful.


Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookie Cake
(recipe and picture from Kraftfoods.com)

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix
4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut up
1 pkg. (8 oz.) 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 8oz tub thawed light Whipped Topping
12 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, coarsely crushed

Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package in two 9-inch round baking pans. Cool 5 min.; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Trim cakes if needed so that they will lie flat when placed on a serving platter.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and crushed cookies. Place one cake layer, top-side down, on serving plate. Spread top of layer evenly with cream cheese mixture. Cover with remaining cake layer, top-side up.

Microwave chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min. Spoon chocolate glaze over top of cake. Let stand until set. Store in refrigerator.