Anything Muffins

I call this recipe "anything muffins" because you can add pretty much any flavor, fruit, or confection to them and they taste amazing. From this one recipe I can make blueberry, orange, lemon poppy seed, cheddar, cranberry, chocolate chip (the kids favorite), and many more. The possibilities are endless. No matter what you add to this base recipe your muffins will be perfect and impressive. You'll never go back to those disappointing mixes.

You will need:
2 cups all-purpose flour (if you haven't switched to King Arthur...hurry up!)
3 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk (more on what kind later)
1/4 cup oil



Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I know it seems high. I would never bake a cake at 400 and cookies never bake at higher than 325, but the higher temperature is necessary for muffins. It's what gives them their dome tops!



Add your flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to a large mixing bowl. If you use King Arthur you don't need to sift. :) Mix well.



Add your milk to a 2-cup measuring cup. Now, what kind of milk. It really doesn't matter, but remember that the higher the fat content, the fluffier the muffin. So use whole if you have it or mix 1/2 skim and a 1/2 whole or 2%. I used a mixture of skim and half and half. It makes a difference and let's face it, you aren't making muffins because they are healthy. Add the egg to the milk cup. (Thank you Smores for donating the egg.) Mix the egg and milk with a fork.



Now add your oil to the milk cup.



Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients.



Add your milk, egg, oil mixture all at once.



Stir just until combined. Overstirring will make tough muffins. The batter will be lumpy.

The fun part! This time around I made chocolate chip muffins for my girls. I added 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips. Okay...I dumped a good portion of the bag into the mix and it was probably more like 1/2 cup.



Orange muffins: add 1 tsp of orange extract and 1/2 tsp of orange zest, drizzle with an orange powdered sugar glaze
Lemon Poppy seed: 2 tsp lemon extract and 1 tsp poppy seeds
Bacon and Cheddar: 1/4 cup bacon and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
Blueberry: 1 cup blueberries
Cranberry: 3/4 cup dried cranberries that have been soaked in apple juice (or use craisins)
Snickerdoodle: 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (decrease baking powder by 1/4 tsp) and sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar
Peanut Butter Cup: 3/4 cup chopped peanut butter cups

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and evenly divide batter between each cup. I added a bit too much to each of my muffin cups this time around and only ended up with 11 muffins. You'll get 12 muffins out of this recipe just like I always do...except this time because I was taking pictures. If you do end up with an empty spot or two keep the liner in the cup so that the pan doesn't scorch while the muffins bake. And please excuse the sad state of my muffin tin. It has been baking muffins for me for 15 years and can't help how old and abused it looks.



Bake for 18-20 minutes. Check them at 16 minutes. If they have started to brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean, they are done. Nothing worse than a dry, overbaked muffin.



(My new green frying pan wanted to be in the picture. I never put it away because I like looking at it.)



So fluffy, so tender, soooo delicious. The perfect weekend morning treat!



I don't make these for the kids during the school week because of all the white flour, but they are the perfect muffin for the weekend. Just keep them in a bowl under a towel and your family can snack on them all weekend. They also freeze really well. Wrap in tin foil, place in a freezer bag, and pull one out whenever you want a quick treat. Let it thaw and then warm one muffin in the microwave on half power for 8 seconds.



Enjoy!!

Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos

Those baked chickens in the warmers at the grocery store smell so amazing that sometimes you just can't resist buying one, right? But then you are left with a ton of meat on your bird. This recipe is perfect for jazzing up leftover baked chicken! If you don't have leftovers you can always bake a few pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts sprinkled with a little Montreal Chicken seasoning or poultry seasoning. The quantities of tortillas, tequila, and lime you will need depend entirely on how much chicken you have leftover. I will list the basic amounts needed for about 2 cups of chicken. You can increase or decrease to fit your needs. This recipe makes 6-8 tacos.

You will need:

2+ cups of shredded chicken
4 T lime (1-2 limes)
2 T tequila
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 T oil or butter
6-8 whole wheat tortillas
************
toppings for your tacos:

sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
anything else you like on a taco!!




Add your tequila to a small bowl and then add your squeezed (or measured) lime juice. I only needed one lime this time around.



Pour the mixture over your shredded chicken and make sure it is evenly coated. You can cube your chicken, of course, but I much prefer it shredded. I think it soaks up the flavors better. Let it sit while you saute the veggies.



Add the oil or butter to a frying pan and then add your veggies. Cook over medium heat until they are a bit colored, but are not completely soft. They will go from this...



to this...



and will be done when they look like this:



Remove your veggies from the frying pan and set them aside.



Add the shredded chicken to the same pan and reheat over medium. You don't need to cook the chicken at all, just warm it up. Doesn't take but a couple of minutes. Stir often.



While the chicken is warming, warm your tortillas in a pan over medium high heat. You don't really need to add any oil or butter to the tortillas, but I sprayed them with a little pan spray on each side. (If you aren't using a nonstick pan then you should probably give the pan a spray, too.) Heat on both sides for one minute each.





When the tortillas are warm and slightly brown, remove them from the pan and immediately flip them in half. If you wait they will harden a bit and you won't be able to fold them in half. Just stack them on a plate.



Now just fill your tacos with the chicken, veggies, cheese, sour cream, whatever you like!






You will turn boring, leftover baked chicken into a whole other meal that is easy on your wallet and tastes amazing! The lime and tequila give the tacos a refreshing bite and the whole wheat tortillas add a nutty flavor. Out of this world!

Enjoy!

Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback Potatoes originated in Scandinavia sometime in the 1700's and quickly became a common European dish, although they may be known by other names. (They are accordion potatoes in Ireland.) These potatoes are incredibly easy to make and come out looking like they belong alongside filet mignon.



No measurements with this recipe. Use as many potatoes as you need of any variety and scrub them clean.



I use this little guy to get the potatoes squeaky clean...



Cover any pan with sides in foil and either use cooking spray or oil to grease it. Slice the potatoes in about 4mm intervals about 3/4 of the way down. Place them in the pan, drizzle with oil (any type), and sprinkle them with salt. I used Kosher salt, but you can use garlic salt, pepper, slices of fresh garlic, parsley, or even red pepper to spice them to your tastes.



Bake at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes or until tender.

Honey Mustard Pork and Pears

This recipe is simple, delicious, and easy on the budget.



I took about a 1/3 cup of honey mustard and added 1T of oil. (Any spicy mustard with 1T of honey can substitute.)



I spread the mustard mixture over a pork loin (less than $10) and baked at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.



While it was baking I chopped up two pears. I left the skin on, but made sure to wash them with soap and hot water. So important to wash your fruit! Even bananas and cantaloupe. After 25 minutes I removed the pork from the oven, added the pears, and continued cooking for 20 minutes. (The pork should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.)



I sliced the pork and drizzled it with the drippings from the pan. Since I am going the way of the diet, I chopped up my pork and pears and put them over a bed of lettuce. I used a lowfat honey mustard vinaigrette on top.