Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Loaded Morning Glory Muffins

Talk about loaded!! *-*

Think....carrots/pineapple/coconut/apples/raisins/nuts and you get just a taste of this amazing muffin!
{I added the "Loaded" name to this recipe title.}

Rest assured, with all those tasty ingredients, this is a very moist muffin.

I found the recipe online at Taste of Home online.


It's hard to stop at just one, but you can't eat very many at once either because they are very filling.

Confession...I tried eating several and ended up with a belly ache - they were sooo good I couldn't stop!

I'd eaten 2 before I thought about putting cream cheese on them, so of course I had to go for a couple more!  lol

(Needless to say, this was my 'dinner'...I didn't feel like eating anything else at mealtime=)

But oh how I enjoyed every delectable bite!


I made this recipe from scratch when serving in a college kitchen this past June. I made a quadruple (5X) batch to make 10 dozen because we needed to use up the carrots/pineapple in stock.


I didn't get to taste them that day as we headed for home before they were finished baking, (a big storm was on the way!) so naturally I had to try them at home.

And I'm SOOO glad I did!

A few of them went into the freezer - I pull them out in the morning, wrap in a paper towel and warm in the microwave.  Oh sooo good with my morning coffee!

Here's the recipe - with a couple of healthy tweaks I added for our own eating plans.
LOADED MORNING GLORY MUFFINS
(From The Better Baker & Taste of Home)

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
(I substituted 1 c. of whole wheat)
1-1/4 cups sugar
(I used 3/4 c. Splenda & 1/2 c. sugar)
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
(I used a healthy substitute of 3 Tb. of flax seed meal mixed with 1 Tb. water for 1 of the eggs - it adds fiber and a touch of nuttiness)
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
1 medium tart apple, peeled and grated
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts




In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in carrots, apple, pineapple, coconut, raisins and nuts.


Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

 Yield: 2 dozen.

Linked to Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Tea Party Tuesdays
Muffin Monday
Recipe of the Week
     Ingredient Spotlight: Tea

Friday, July 22, 2011

Double Berry Crisp

Blueberries are still in season - I hope you'll give this awesome dish a try.

I made this delicious treat for our July 4th celebration and am just getting the post typed up. 

What a busy summer it's been!!

After I won a dessert contest online back in March (click here to see the post about my prizes) I've been anxious to use these darling star-shaped ramekins.

On the morning of July 4th, it dawned on me...I already had what I needed to make this recipe and divide it up into my new ramekins.

I was soo excited!

OH HOW I LOVE SPECIAL TOUCHES!  And using these for July 4th was perfect!


You cook the berries (I threw in a handful of frozen blackberries also) with sugar, cornstarch, orange juice and orange peel; place the sauce in the ramekins, then top with the crunchy mixture.


I prefer using cornflakes instead of flour for a bigger CRUNCH in the topping, but you can choose.

A great dish any time of year...and another favorite from my cookbook.
(I do hope you don't get weary of me telling you that!=)

I enjoy my crisp best when it's warmed, topped with ice cream.

OH SO BERRY DELICIOUS!!!!



DOUBLE BERRY CRISP


1 c. sugar (I use half xylitol)
1/4 c. cornstarch
(I like to add a tad more if using frozen berries)
2 Tb. orange juice
1 tsp. grated orange peel
2 C. fresh or frozen raspberries
2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:

1 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. crushed cornflakes
(for less crunch, use all purpose flour)
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
(I use 1/4 c. Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt  (I omit)
1/4 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. In large saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, orange peel and berries until blended.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.  Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. In a bowl, combine the oats, cornflakes, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt; using a fork or pastry blender, blend in the butter.  Sprinkle over top of berry mixture.  Bake 25 - 30 minutes (less time if using Splenda) or until filling is bubbly.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

(If using frozen berries, do not thaw before adding to berry mixture before cooking)

I've also used strawberries in this recipe - use what you have, and you're sure to enjoy every tasty bite!




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         Linked to Fit & Fabulous Friday
                         Hugs & Cookies Tasty Tuesday
                       Wonka Wednesday
                       Sweets for a Saturday

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Easy "Homemade" Ice Cream Flavored-up!


OF COURSE WE CAN'T!!!!!

This is something fun I found at USA Weekend & Three Many Cooks blog.

USA Weekend is a weekly paper 'magazine' that is tucked into our newspaper.

I'm not a huge ice cream fan...mostly because I like to have something to BITE into...I don't just want smooth and soft...I want crunch too.

So this idea really appealed to me.  And I've included a fun video (at link above) to watch this mom and her two daughters at Three Many Cooks create some yummy ice cream dishes with B.I.T.E. 

Hurrah!!!!!!!!

These are DIY instructions to have your own "Cold Stone" ice cream!

credit: Three Many Cooks
Be sure to watch the video to get all the details.
1. Start with 1 pint of store-bought premium ice cream.
2. Smash in your favorite flavors.
3. Enjoy the party for your taste buds.

 
Tips for Mixing: Don't soften the ice cream too much - you want it firm but pliable.
 Quickly cut the carton away from the ice cream and then cut the ice cream into chunks on a work surface to facilitate folding.


Return the ice cream to the freezer to firm up and for flavors to blend -- 30 minutes to 2 hours. After that, the crunchy ingredients start to soften.
Here's a couple of vanilla variations...

Lemon Meringue: Fold 1/4 c. prepared lemon curd, 1 cup crumbled meringue cookies and 1 cup crumbled graham crackers into vanilla ice cream.


Strawberry Shortcake: Mix 1 cup sliced strawberries with 2 Tbs. strawberry jam.  Fold into vanilla ice cream along with 2 slices pound cake (about 1-1/2 cups crumbled) and 1 cup crumbled meringue cookies.  

Chocolate variations...

Turtle: Stir 1/4 cup caramel sauce, 1/2 cup chopped pecan pralines or candied pecans and 1/2 cup chopped semi- or bittersweet chocolate into chocolate ice cream.

Chocolate-Hazelnut: Stir 1/4 cup Nutella, 1 cup crumbled Famous Chocolate Wafers and 1/2 cup roasted chopped hazelnuts into chocolate ice cream.

(Sounds Scrumptious!!)
Coffee variation..

Cookies and Coffee:  Stir 1 cup crumbled refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough and 1 cup crumbled chocolate chip cookies into the slightly softened coffee ice cream.

Hope this helps you keep 'deliciously' cool this summer!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Wanda's Strawberry Spectacular Dessert

As the saying goes...LIFE IS SHORT...EAT DESSERT FIRST! 

You'll thank me for sharing this simple and scrumptious dessert with you! 


I took pictures as my sweet Alaska friend, 'Wanda Lou' (Her real name is Wanda Denise, but we gave her this nickname long ago and it stuck) made this fantastic dessert while we were in Spokane together, which was lots of fun, because it's rare that I ever get hands in my foodie pictures!

It was oh-so delicious!  I'm not overexaggerating when I made up the name. *-*

It goes together quickly and is delicious and always a winner!

THIS IS MUCH LIKE HAVING STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE IN A PAN! 

Tear the angel food cake into bite size pieces and place in 9" X 13" pan.



Mix softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together
and drizzle over cake pieces...


These are the ingredients you will top the recipe with..


 STRAWBERRY SPECTACULAR DESSERT
(From The Better Baker & 'Wanda Lou')

1 baked angel food cake (large size, you'll need more than one small)
1 (8 ozs) box of Cream Cheese
1 (14 ozs) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 (12 ozs) Large container Cool Whip
2 (10 ozs) containers frozen (sweetened) strawberries in their juice, thawed.
Enough fresh strawberries to decorate the top

Break angel food cake into bite size pieces into a 9" x 13" dish. Fill the pan nicely..not clear full (some cakes are smaller than others, so be sure you have enough)


Cream together cream cheese & sweetened condensed milk and drizzle  over the pieces of cake.


Pour thawed strawberries, juice and all, over the top, then
cover with Cool Whip - then top with fresh strawberries

(hover over photo to pin) 

You can imagine how good that looks dished up!  But we took it to a funeral dinner and I didn't take pictures there...so I guess you'll just have to try it to see for yourself!

YOU WON'T BE SORRY!!!

Did you see my guest post?

Hello Friends and Fans...

My intention was to repost this on Monday.....I forgot, so here you go.

Just in case you didn't get to see my guest post at Lark's Country Heart last Friday - check it out. I shared two of my most favorite blueberry recipes...MMM!

Peach-Blueberry Crisp

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