Strawberry Cream Muffins

Ah, spring! One of the best things is when the strawberries are plentiful and affordable in the grocery stores and farmer's markets. This is one treat we make every spring and they are very tasty. I think they're probably more cupcakes than muffins, but we'll keep the muffin title so we can still have them for breakfast!

Strawberry Cream Muffins

▪ 1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped

▪ 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar, divided

▪ 1/4 cup butter, softened

▪ 1 egg

▪ 1/2 tsp almond extract

▪ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

▪ 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

▪ 3 tsp baking powder

▪ 1/2 tsp salt

▪ 1 cup half-n-half cream

▪ 1 cup finely chopped vanilla or white chips

▪ 2 Tbsp brown sugar

In a small bowl, toss strawberries with ¼ cup sugar; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with cream. Stir in chips and reserved strawberries.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Combine brown sugar and remaining sugar; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

Quick bite: Instead of strawberries, try fresh blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries or cranberries. Dry or cooked breakfast cereals, wheat germ, granola and nuts also make scrumptious additions to many muffins.

Grilled Cheese Margarita

I came up with this idea when I didn't want to join my kids for some ramen noodles for lunch. It's so simple that I don't know why I've never thought of it before.

2 slice of sandwich bread
2 thin slices of mozarella cheese
1/2 a small tomato
sprinkling of basil leaves
sprinkling of garlic powder
butter

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Put one slice, butter-side down on a hot griddle. Add one slice of cheese, sliced tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic powder, then the next slice of cheese. Top with the other slice of bread, butter-side up. Toast on each side!

Empanada Gallega

Jenny asked me to post this recipe. We had these when we were traveling in Northern Spain and so I found a recipe to make them at home.

EMPANADA GALLEGA

• YIELD: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients

Pork:

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika or hot paprika
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips (or you could use ground pork)

Dough:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten (eggs are small here so I have to use two)
  

Filling:

• Cooking spray
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups thinly sliced sweet onion
• 2 cups red bell pepper strips
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped Spanish serrano ham or prosciutto (about 1 1/2 ounces) –I only use this if I happen to have some in the fridge)
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• Dash of crumbled thread saffron
• Remaining Ingredient:
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

• To prepare the meat, combine the first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag, and add the pork to bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.
• To prepare the dough, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine the water, the oil, and egg in a medium bowl. Gradually add the oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly until smooth. Divide dough in half. Cover with plastic; let rest about 30 minutes.
• To prepare filling, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add the pork mixture; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 5 minutes or until pork loses its pink color. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato, ham, wine, and saffron; cook 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Working with 1 portion of dough at a time (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), roll each portion into a 13-inch circle on a floured surface. Place 1 portion of dough on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spoon filling onto dough using a slotted spoon, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Place remaining portion of dough over filling. Pinch edges to seal. Cut several slits in top of dough to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden brown; cool. Cut into wedges.

Source: Cooking Light AUGUST 2001

Tomato Orange Soup

I realize that soup season is on its way out... but my brother-in-law brought this recipe to dinner tonight, and I am in love. So delicious, I must share!

Enjoy!


TOMATO ORANGE SOUP

1/2 C. unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 C. fresh orange juice
1/2 C. heavy cream

In a saucepan, melt butter; add onion and saute until translucent. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Puree in a food processor or blender, strain through a sieve or food mill.

Return to saucepan and stir in orange juice. At this point, the soup can be refrigerated until ready to serve.

At serving time, add the whipping cream and heat gently, stirring constantly, bringing to a simmer and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Mango Sticky Rice

This is something we have tried several times at our favorite restaurant in Salt Lake--Thai Siam. I found a recipe that's ALMOST as good as theirs.

3 cups sticky rice, prepared (I used Jasmine)

Boil together:

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup sugar

a pinch of salt

Pour over the sticky rice.

Add 1-2 Tbsp of coconut oil (optional).

Mix and serve with fresh mangoes.

A few notes:

***Our version is quite a bit more runny than Thai Siam's. Next time I make it, I'll try to reduce the coconut milk and see if it thickens it up a little.

***I accidentally added 1 tsp of salt, because I was trying to make two different recipes at once. It didn't taste too salty, but next time, I think I'll try 1/2 tsp salt.

Heavenly Honey Oatmeal Bread

I got this recipe from my friend Rainey. I used half the recipe to make two loaves. I should have made all four loaves because we ate what we had way too fast!

2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

4 cups boiling water

2 packages yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2/3 cup honey

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon salt

11 cups flour

Place oats in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle the yeast over the ½ cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir to mix and let stand 5 minutes to dissolve. (If using quick rise or instant yeast, just stir dry yeast directly into the flour and add the ½ cup warm water to the oat mixture before mixing in the rest of the ingredients.)

Add the honey, butter, salt and yeast to the oats. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in enough of the flour so the dough can be handled. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Knead until dough is elastic but still rather sticky, adding flour as needed. Don’t add too much at a time.

Place dough in a greased bowl and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour). Punch down dough and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into quarters. Shape each piece into a loaf. Place the loaves into greased bread tins. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes or so.

Bake in 350°F oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack. Makes four loaves.

Quadruple Cheese Macaroni with Smokey Bacon

I personally haven't tried this recipe...
but it sounds so yummy good, I'll be trying it real soon!!

1 pound rotini pasta
1 pound Applewood smoked bacon
4 Tablespoons butter, divided
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon onion flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 ounces shredded mozzarella
8 slices American cheese slices
3 Tablespoon panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350^o F. Spray a 3-quart baking dish that can also withstand the broiler with cooking spray. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Cook rotini pasta according to package directions and drain.

Cook bacon until crisp and transfer to a dish with paper towels to absorb the fat. Pour of bacon fat drippings, reserving 2 Tablespoons in the pan. Add 1 Tablespoon butter.

Whisk flour into butter and bacon fat until smooth and cook for one minute to remove flour taste. Whisk in milk. Stir in onion flakes, garlic power, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmering about 2 minutes. Toss together cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella cheese. Remove sauce from heat and whisk in the American cheese and about 1-1/2 cups of the cheeses. Toss the bacon with the remaining shredded cheese.

Combine cooked pasta with the cheese sauce. Pour half of it into the baking dish. Sprinkle with a heavy-hand of the bacon-cheese mixture. Repeat with one more layer. Melt 3 Tablespoons butter and combine with 3 Tablespoons panko breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the top layer.

Bake for 20 minutes and then broil for 3-5 minutes to get the top nice and brown and crunchy.