Muffins

     Last week I made these chocolate chip muffins for a breakfast with a few students at school.  I packed one in Wren's lunchbox as a special treat and my mom sent me a picture of her loving it.  This inspired me to explore healthier options for muffins.  I did a little research and purchased a mini muffin tin.  Our first batch of mini muffins were zucchini and applesauce.  Wren ate two in one sitting.  They were a perfect size and she was one happy babe.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
coarse sugar for sprinkling

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
1. Toss flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.  Set aside.
2.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar.  Then mix in the milk, oil, and vanilla.  Fold in the dry ingredients and mix using a wooden spoon.  Be careful not to overmix. 
3. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Pour the batter into a muffin tin lined with liners or sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with coarse sugar.
5. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes.  Without removing the pan, reduce the temperature to 375.  Baker for 25-26 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden.
6. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Applesauce Mini Muffins

*I cut this recipe in half and made 24 mini muffins
Ingredients
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup applesauce-I used unsweetened
2 large eggs
1/3 cup walnut or flaxseed oil
1 1/4 tbsp vanilla

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Combine the flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a large bowl. 
2. Mix the zucchini, applesauce, eggs, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
3. Fill muffin tins, lined or sprayed with cooking spray, 3/4 full.  If using mini muffin tin, bake for 10 minutes.  For regular muffins, bake 17 minutes. 

Father's Day

     Yesterday we celebrated Arnauld's first Father's Day and my Dad's 30th!  Arnauld insisted on being "honored" all day, which is just crazy because Wren and I honor him every day!  We made Father's Day a little more festive by showering him with gifts and good food.  We also invited a few of our favorite people to join in on the celebration.
     Arnauld wanted to make ribs.  After finding a new local butcher he went to work mixing up his favorite rub and barbeque sauce. He gets very serious and moves quickly around the kitchen when preparing these...a very serious chef.  His hard work paid off though because his ribs were a big hit!  I finished off the menu with an old favorite, baked macaroni and cheese, along with a few new dishes and a new key lime pie recipe (one of my Dad's favorites!).


Baby Greens, Strawberry, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients
6 cups baby greens
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 avocado, cubed
1/2 cup feta
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Toss all of the salad ingredients together.
2. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a shaker bottle or a jar.  Shake until mixed well.
3. Top salad with dressing and toss to coat evenly.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients
Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup white chocolates, grated or finely chopped
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp canola oil
Filling
1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp grated lime rind
3 large egg yolks
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
Cool Whip for topping

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Combine the crumbs, sugar, salt, and chocolate in a bowl to begin making the crust.  Stir to combine.  Add the butter and oil and use a fork to toss. 
2.Press the crumbs into a 9 inch pie plate coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until it begins to brown.
3. For the filling, place the yogurt, lime juice, lime rind, yolks, and condensed milk in a bowl.  Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour the mixture into the crust.
4. Bake for 14 minutes or until set.  Cool completely before topping with whipped cream and serving.

Power Salad

Power Salad

Ingredients
5 Cups Chopped Kale
1 Cup Steamed Edamame
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/4 Cup Craisens
1 Green Apple, Chopped

Dressing

1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup

Jerk Chicken

     Today is Arnauld's 30th birthday.  He is so hard to excite when it comes to meals and food.  Give me a bowl of ice cream or a fun new salad and I couldn't be happier.  Arnauld of the other hand always has the same reaction, "it's fine."  Today I have a personal day to celebrate his birthday...he has to work.  Poor guy.  I have been thinking and thinking about what to make for dinner tonight because I want his birthday meal to be somewhat special-even if he has to work late.  I finally came up with something that I think just might make him smile-jerk chicken.  Whenever jerk chicken is on the menu for lunch at his job, he always comments on it.  Hopefully my recipe comes close to that of the executive chefs at his work cafeteria.

Jerk Chicken

Ingredients
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmet
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp thyme leaves
1 lb chicken
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. Combine all of the spices in a large ziplock bag.  Add the chicken and toss to coat.  Refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
2.  Pour the oil into a baking dish.  Add the chicken.
3. Bake for about one hour and 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Fried Ice Cream Dessert

    My mom made this for Mother's Day.  I made it as a make ahead dessert to bring to a gathering of "The Hens".  Unfortunately, I didn't get to taste the final product because my own little hen was too tired and had to go home to bed.  I did hear that it was delicious though!

Fried Ice Cream

Ingredients
3 cups corn flakes
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
1.5 quarts of vanilla ice cream (allow to thaw a bit before using)
1 container of Cool Whip
1/2 tsp cinnamon
honey for drizzling

Method
1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan.  Add the sugar and corn flakes.  Fry for a few minutes, until the sugar is melted and the corn flakes are completely coated.
2. Spread half of the corn flake mixture into the bottom of a brownie pan. 
3. Use a hand mixer to blend together the ice cream, Cool Whip, and Cinnamon. 
4. Spread the ice cream over the cornflakes in the pan.  Top the ice cream with the remaining cornflakes.
5. Cover and place the pan in the freezer for a few hours before serving.
6. When serving, drizzle with honey.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

     Last week we had our first family photo shoot with our super talented and amazingly kind wedding photographer,  Katie Slater.  We have loved Katie since we met her and were so happy with our wedding photos.  She made us feel so relaxed and she captured our day better than we could have ever imagined.  Since our wedding, I have followed Katie on Facebook and have enjoyed seeing the others wedding she has done, pictures of her own lovely boys, and read her blog posts.  One blog post from a while back has stuck with me.  It was all about family and the value of photos to capture the love within a family.  Arnauld and I said the day of our wedding, that when we had kids, we wanted Katie to take pictures of our family.  It was so surreal to have that happen nearly three years later.  Our shoot was scheduled for day one of three of a May heatwave.  We smiled and loved Wren as sweat dripped down our brows and backs.  But in those moments frizzy hair and wrinkled clothes didn't matter.  No matter how those pictures turn out, I know that our love will radiate through and someday we will look back at those pictures and marvel at how young we looked and how tiny Wren once was.

     These cookie bars were just a small token of our appreciation that we brought for Katie and her family.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups dark chocolate chips
coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Method
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
1. Spray a 9x13in baking dish with a non-stick baking spray or line the baking dish with parchment and then spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set this aside.
3. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Continue to stir the butter with a wooden spoon until the butter begins to brown slightly.  As soon as this happens, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the butter to a large bowl to cool.
4. Once cool the butter cools, transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer and add the dark brown sugar and sugar. Cream the ingredients together. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until each is incorporated. Next add the milk and the vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
5. Now in ½ cup increments add the dry mixture to the wet, mixing completely.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips until mixed thoroughly and then transfer the cookie dough to the prepared dish.
7. Press the dough down with your finger tips, until it reaches the edges.  Sprinkle with sea salt.
8. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until the edges begin to brown slightly.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool on a drying rack before cutting and serving.

Homemade Almond Butter

     Arnauld recently got hooked on a new snack, almond butter.  We have purchase jars from Trader Joe's and occasionally Whole Foods.  Well, for about the last 3 weeks, almond butter has fallen off the face of the earth.  Every time I'm at the store, I search the shelves hoping to surprise Arnauld with a special treat (for those who know him, there aren't many sweet treats that get him too excited...).  No luck.  I finally got around to reading about how to make my own and I found out that it's pretty easy!  The recipe I read online had a lot of information about raw almonds vs. roasted almonds and the amount of time it takes for almonds to actually turn to a buttery consistency.  Roasted almonds are best because in the amount of time it takes the almonds to break down, the mixture gets pretty warm.  In the end, the almonds are cooked and the whole process just takes less time if you start with pre-roasted almonds.  The site I read also said that in the food processor, the process can take up to 20 minutes...that's a long time grinding!  It didn't end up taking me that long and the results were fantastic.  Of course, I was so proud to share my creation with Arnauld, who quickly informed me that he prefers chunky.  I quickly chopped a few more almonds, stirred them in, and the process was complete.  No bits of hard shell and it even turned out cheaper than buying the pre-made stuff.

Almond Butter

Ingredients
3 cups almonds

Method
1. Place 3 cups of almonds in the food processor.
2. Puree until the almonds oils have been released and the almond butter is at a consistency that you like.  This may take anywhere from 8-20 minutes, depending on your food processor.  If the nuts stick to the side of the bowl, use a spatula to scrape them down.
3. Store almond butter in a sealed container in the refrigerator.