the best gingerbread muffins

Gingerbread! Gingerbread!

Winter is here, you guys, and I cannot think of a more comforting smell than the spicy warmth of gingerbread. And these muffins delivered just that and more. We made them for day-after-thanksgiving-brunch, and they were amazing fresh out of the oven, but I think they got better overnight. I am resisting going back for a second mid-afternoon snack as we speak....

I will be eating one of these a day (if I have that much self control) until they are gone.

I highly recommend you put this on your Sunday afternoon to-do list. Quick, easy, and you will reap the benefits of delicious muffins and a delicious smelling house. Double whammy. 

Healthy Gingerbread Muffins

• ½ cup coconut oil
• ⅓ cup molasses
• 1 egg
• ½ cup real maple syrup
• ½ cup light sour cream
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• turbinado sugar for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the coconut oil so it's in liquid form. In a small bowl, whisk the liquid coconut oil with the molasses.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, maple syrup, sour cream, milk, and ginger. Let the mixture come to room temperature so that you can easily add the the coconut oil (30-40 seconds in the microwave is fine if you're rushed). When it's at room temperature, add the coconut oil and molasses from step one. The coconut oil should stay liquified.
3. Add the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir a few times until just combined. Scoop into a muffin tin and sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the tops are puffy and firm to the touch. Cool for a few minutes before serving. Makes about 12-16 muffins. 

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Hope you all had warm and blessed Thanksgivings! 

baked berry oatmeal

So, I said I'd share... and here it is! This delicious breakfast went fast over Thanksgiving, when I introduced it to my family, and I'm looking forward to trying lots of different berries over this winter. So far we've just had blackberries and raspberries {both absolutely delicious, but we were partial to the raspberry.} Adds a nice spark of color, don't 'ya think?

Yum. Mouth watering just looking at this picture... re-living the taste over here! So, I hope you try this one! It's a great cozy morning breakfast. Enjoy!

Baked Berry & Banana Oatmeal

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans chopped (I used Trader Joe's slightly sweetened and salted)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 cup milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 bananas, sliced into 1/2 inch thick pieces
3/4 cup fresh berries (any kind)

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease or spray an 8x8inch pan with either butter or cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, toss together the oats, pecans, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, and half of the melted butter, and the vanilla.

Place the sliced banana pieces in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared pan.  Sprinkle about two-thirds of the fresh berries over the top of the bananas.

Cover the fruit with the oat mixture, then drizzle the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the milk as evenly as possible.  Lastly, sprinkle the remaining berries over the top of the oats.

Bake the oatmeal for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the oats have set.
Remove the oatmeal from the oven.  Drizzle remaining butter over pan, plate, and serve with additional maple syrup if desired.
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Now, we were first served this by our friends the Kramers with good bacon (makes a difference) and cinnamon applesauce. It's a great combo, so throw some eggs in there and make it a meal! It's completely worth it. Happy breakfast-ing!

its fall in my kitchen.

Quite the name, and quite worth it. A delicious blend of late summer-early fall goodness.

 

Here's what you need:

Pastry for a single crust pie
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
6 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored, and cut into cubes
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup instant tapioca
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup flour
4 Tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes

* Now is when I took care of the apples... peeled, cored, sliced, then cubed. Set them aside. I did forget to take a picture.... can't win 'em all.

While the mixture is sitting, add the salt to the caramel remaining in the pan and cook, stirring often, a few minutes more to reduce it to a thick syrup. Do not let it scorch. Remove from the heat and set aside. Probably a good time to preheat the oven to 375 degrees too!

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. {Time to be patient.} Now let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Just before serving, drizzle any remaining caramel (reheat if necessary) over the pie.

As you can see, mine turned more into a "crumble" as I was impatient in the cooling process. Or maybe this is just how it turns out - we'll find out next time. Happy fall baking!!

oh, rhubarb

I stumbled across this delightful recipie from another blogger, and after the easy baking process and the delicious result, I needed to share. Despite being pretty low in sugar, and with the whole wheat modifications, there is no shortage of taste! So behold, our current obsession. Thank you Joy for ALL of this!

Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until just blended.

Now, I use what's called a potica pan instead of your classic loaf pan {for a few reasons, #1 being that my mom does, and #2 being that we find the bread bakes more evenly when the pan is not as thick. We always had trouble getting the center of the bread done without the edges getting overdone.} Enter the potica pan. A longer, shallower version of the loaf pan. You can either use 2 loaf pans, with the batter divided evenly, or a muffin pan. I assume there would be no difference.

Grease your "pan of choice" and sprink with a cinnamon sugar topping {a mixture of 1 Tbsp. melted butter, 1/3 cup of sugar (half white, half brown) and 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or so. {yields 2 loaves or 18 - 24 muffins}

This is a delightful addition to our repotoire of breads, and now I have a springtime favorite! Thanks Joy for sharing your recipie!

summer eats

Summer food is here! My windows are open, and although it's dinner for one tonight... (Bethel baseball made the playoffs - good - that means no hubby for me - bad) I am so enjoying this fresh and summery food.

It's a pretty basic combo, but I haven't been able to get enough of it lately. Ok, so maybe it's just the avacado I can't get enough of... but the whole thing is really top notch. Spinach + shredded chicken + sunflower seeds + little bit of feta + grape tomatoes + avacado! + Brianna's blush wine vinagarette. It's full of light summery-ness, Mmmmm. Throw in some fresh green beans, peppers, apples, and I'm set!

So there. I'm sure you all have been on pins and needles to know what I'm eating tonight, (ahem, not.) but I just had to document the freshness. Until the hubby gets home, I plan on enjoying the breeze, looking at the lush trees in the backyard, munching on my apple, and effectively choosing to ignore the piles of laundry that taunt me in our closet. Hey, I cleaned the kitchen when I got home. Take that, laundry.

Happy "summer" night!

Quesas

We love quesadillas! I found this recipie and had to try it. Relatively healthy... easy.... that's a recipie for sucess if you ask me. I highly recommend putting this one in your meal queue this week! We paired it with a strawberry spinanch salad and some salsa. My favorite part about these is that if you put enough avacado on (yes, please) and much less cheese than you would think, you a) don't get the greasy drippings like most quesadillas, and b) the avacado is "dressing" or moisture in and of itself, so you don't need the calories that come from ranch, or any dressing! Love.

Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Quesadillas

4 medium-sized flour tortilla shells
1 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 cup scallions, diced
8 strips of bacon, cooked & crumbled

*side note on the bacon. I have recently discovered making bacon in the oven on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. MUCH less grease! And spatter too. Lay them on a cooling rack in a cookie sheet, oven at 400 degrees, 15 minutes per side. (or until your desired doneness. I dig the fryed crunch.)

1or 2 avocado, diced
Sharp cheddar and fresh Mozzerella cheese
2 tbsp butter

Add a small amount of butter to a skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions and saute about 2-3 mins until softened. Add the chicken in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 mins or until chicken is golden and cooked through, flipping just once during cooking. Remove the chicken and scallions to a plate and rinse out the skillet.

Add about 1/2 tbsp butter to the skillet over medium heat. When foamy, add a tortilla and swirl it around to get it nice and buttery. Layer one side of the tortilla with chicken, bacon, avocado, scallions and a little cheese. Use tongs or spatula to flip the other half of the tortilla over and press down. Cook the tortilla for about 1-2 mins on each side or until golden brown and crispy.
Turn the heat down, repeat with the rest of the tortillas, adding butter to the skillet as needed.
Enjoy!

It's a blogothon week... I'm quite behind and Jared is "gone" all weekend through tuesday. So be prepared! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Happy Birthday Jared!

Well, as you already saw, Jared's birthday started out in the morning with some really scrumptious muffins! His grandma Barb sent me the recipe after finding out for herself how "truly glorious" they just were, and we had to agree! They definitely get you started to a healthy and tasty day. My favorite ingredient was the shaved apple. I will adding more of its goodness next time I make them!

Glorious Morning Muffins

2 eggs                                        2 tsps cinnamon

3/4 c. veg. oil                            1 1/2 c. shredded carrots

1/4 c. milk                                 1 c. shredded apple (peeled)

2 tsps vanilla                             1/2 c. coconut

2 c. flour                                    1/2 raisins

1 c. packed br. sugar               3/4 c. sliced almonds

2 tsps. baking soda

Heat oven to 350 and spray muffin pan with cooking spray (Pam)

In large bowl beat eggs, oil, milk, & vanilla until well blended.  Add flour, br. sugar, baking soda & cinnamon.

Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in carrots, apple, coconut, & raisins, and 1/2 c. almonds.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full.  (use all the batter if I’m using the jumbo muffin cups)

Sprinkle remaining 1/4 c. nuts over batter.

Bake 20 - 25 min. 

Delightful with a ice cold glass of milk

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Jared and I spent the rest of the day just doing things we love. "Plans" didn't come until the evening, and sometimes, the best fun comes when you don't have a plan at all. That's how we went about our afternoon and it proved to be one of the funnest yet! And we can't forget about the free Caribou Coffee on your birthday! While we were out and about (on a whim) we decided to head into DSW to "just wander." Mistake. We definitely both walked out with a new pair of kicks. Cute though, huh?

After a tasty dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (my favorite location for a burger), we nixed our previous plans and decided to spend the evening in... together. Add in the cake, a movie, some homeade popcorn and it's a wrap! I had been busting at the seams to give Jared his present this year. For the record, keeping secrets isn't my "strongest suit" to put it nicely... so this was a huge accomplishment for me! And I think I can safely say... we are BOTH absolutely pumped! It might be just as much a present for me! (But of course I kept that to myself...) ;)

And yes, I have a 23 year old boy who still likes funfetti cake. And I love that about him.

We brought in the closer for the night! Homeade popcorn and a movie. (2 T olive oil to 1/2 cup corn - try it!) Yum! It was, as the whole day proved to be... truly glorious! Happy 23rd birthday sweetheart!!!

Here's to a great weekend!

In my book, this man is a legend - and ask any member of my high school choir graduating class and they will agree. My experience in choir throughout high school was one of my top 5 experiences of all time. Ranks right up there with my high school volleyball team. :) Jared joined myself, along with 12 other of my classmates, to wish the choir director, Woody, the best at his final Christmas concert before he retires. Now, I would have to write a book to describe to you the traditions and emotions behind this renowned Christmas concert. But to keep it short and sweet, it's awesome! :) Silent Night - however often I hear it, will always bring me back to opening the concert. And the Hallelujah Chorus - however infrequently I hear it, will always bring me back to the close. And everything in between I have on DVD to watch. :)
Singing for Woody was an honor, and I will never ever lose the memories I have of those 4 years. Thank you for your love for your students, and sharing the blessing on music with me!

After my wonderful reminiscent evening... we settled in for a weekend of dogsitting and baking! I decided on three christmas cookie recipies this year. One from my childhood, one from my "adult childhood" and one new one. I think I have to say that the new one takes the cake! White chocolate-Macadamia-Cranberry cookies. Yum. If you haven't finished your baking yet, (or even if you have!) I'd reccomend these!! See the recipie below. :)

White Chocolate Macadamia Cran Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2-3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

375 degree oven. Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl cream butter, brown sugar and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg.
In another bowl, combine flour and baking soda; stir into sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips, nuts, and cranberries. Drop by spoonfulls onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. For best results, take them out while they are still a bit doughy. Cool for a minute or so before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Well, my precious puppy stayed with us this weekend while Mom & Dad went out of town. I honestly think I can say that Jared loved it more than I did! At one point all 3 of us were cuddling... me on one arm, the dog on the other! :) Never having grown up with a dog, Jared has taken to Sami quite well. He's smitten. I actually heard a bit of a whine on Friday night that she couldn't sleep on the bed with us. :)

Enjoy the week before Christmas!! "For unto us a child is born, to US a Son is given...!!"