Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe on Food Network

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup chocolate chips plus ¼ cup for sprinkling on top

1 cup milk

1/3 cup plus 2 tsp. applesauce

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare muffin tin.

Combine dry ingredients and the wet separately.  Then mix them together and add the chocolate chips.  Spoon into muffin tins and sprinkle the ¼ cup chocolate chips on top of that.  Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Mango/Blackberry Cream Pie

I made this strawberry cream pie a few weeks ago and it was delicious, but we decided a mango one would be great too.  

So I changed the recipe a little to go with the tartness.  

Ingredients:

1 baked pie crust, cooled ( I LOVE Paula Deen's recipe. )

1 cup heavy whipping cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1-2 fresh mango cut into strips or a can of mango puree

Optional toppings:  strawberries, raspberries, or your favorite jam

Beat the cream cheese until malleable.  Add the cream and whip together.  Add the yogurt when the cream starts thickening.  When the mixture forms peaks add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  

Place this mixture in the cooled pie crust and place any desired fruit on top or glaze with mango puree or jam.  

Store in the fridge until ready to serve. 

We had fun trying lots of different toppings.  We liked them all.

Doll Bed and Clothes

My daughter's birthday is a month away and I found this cute pattern for doll beds here. 

I decided to start early because I wanted to do it while she is at school.  But while making the doll bed I realized my one year old would need one and THEN my four year old son caught me sewing and begged me to make another one for his stuffed tiger.   

 I made it pretty manly out of an old pair of jeans.

 Then I realized her American Girl doll needed some new clothes and I'm too cheap to buy them so I made them out of scrap fabric.  Cost me nothing.  So awesome!

Caramel cake

Ingredients:

Caramel Cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

salted caramel sauce

2 cups sugar

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature

1 cup heavy cream, room temperature

1 tsp. salt

Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

5 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature (divided)

1/3 cup heavy cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate ganache

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

For the caramel cake:
   Prep 3 8 inch cake pans by rubbing a little shortening on a bit of paper towel.  Rub the paper towel on the sides and bottom of the pans.  Then dust with flour. Or you can line each pan with a circle of parchment paper.  I always spray it with Pam too because its not worth risking the cake not coming out.
    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
    Mix butter and sugar together until fully mixed.  Add the eggs one at a time.  Scrape the bowl.  Add the vanilla.  Then add the flour and buttermilk a little at a time alternating between the two. Don't over mix.  Mix the baking soda and vinegar together in a separate glass.  Add this to the batter, but only mix as much as you need to just mix it together.
   Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pans for about 5 minutes and then remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
   
 After the cake cools I always like to wrap them in plastic wrap and foil and then freeze.  They always frost easier.  If you don't have time you don't have to do this.

For the caramel sauce:
    In a heavy bottomed saucepan (large) pour the sugar in an even layer.  Whisk on medium heat until melted.  This can burn easily so do not stop mixing and lower the heat if you need to.  It will take about four minutes.  Remove from heat.  Cool the sugar after it has melted.  It should be amber in color.  Add the butter and whisk until combined.  Whisk until the butter has melted.  Slowly pour in the heavy cream and whisk.  Add a dash of salt.  Cool for 10-15 minutes.  Store in the fridge.

Caramel Frosting-
    In a heavy bottomed pot whisk the brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter over medium heat until melted.  Boil for 10 seconds.  Remove from heat and pour in the heavy cream.  Whisk until smooth.  Cool to room temperature.
   In a mixer cream 3 oz. of butter and cream cheese.  Scrape the sides and keep mixing.  Add salt and then add a slow stream of the brown sugar mixture.  Add the powdered sugar slowly until smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
    Chocolate ganache-
    Boil cream in the microwave or in a saucepan.  Add the chocolate chips and let sit for five minutes.  Then stir.  

Assembly
     Poke holes in the tops of each cake.  Spoon caramel sauce over the cake.  Then add a layer of chocolate ganache.  Then put another layer of cake.  Repeat the caramel and ganache.  

Spread a layer of caramel frosting over the second layer.  Repeat with the last layer of cake.  Save the last of the chocolate ganache and caramel to decorate the top. Refrigerate until ready to eat.  

Honey Lime Enchiladas

I have a hand full of recipes I'm constantly being asked for and this is one of them.  They also freeze great.  I also won an Enchilada competition with this recipe.

I had a friend just have a baby so I made a giant batch of these babies and somehow made three pans!

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Ingredients:

   For the chicken marinade:

    7 Tbsp. honey

     Juice from two large limes

    1 Tbsp. chili powder

    1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all together in a bowl and set aside.

For the enchiladas:

   4 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

 small  package of tortillas 

   caramelized onions (1/2 a sweet onion chopped fine and cooked with a Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar on low for 1/2 an hour.)

   24 oz. monterey jack cheese shredded

    20 ounces green enchilada sauce

   1 cup heavy cream

    can of black beans drained and washed.

    Mix the shredded chicken and the marinade together and sit int he fridge for about a 1/2 an hour.  Preheat your oven to 350.    Reserve the extra marinade.  Mix the chicken, beans, and onions together in a bowl.  Spoon the filling mixture into the middle of a tortilla and add a dollop of cheese.  Roll up and place in a 8 x 13 pan with a tiny bit of the green enchilada sauce spread on the bottom.  Fill your pan with the rolled and filled tortillas.  Mix the cream, left over marinade, and the rest of the enchilada sauce and pour over the enchiladas.  Top with the rest of the shredded cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.  

 Enjoy!  To freeze, bake like normal and then let cool completely.  Wrap with foil twice and freeze.  

.

black beans

caramelized onions

marinated chicken

Best rolls

I have tried A LOT of roll recipes.  This is my new favorite.  I had a craving for Texas Roadhouse Rolls and I found this.  We fell in love.

Ingredients:

4 tsp. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups milk

3 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup sugar

7-8 cups flour

2 eggs

2 tsp. salt

     In a small saucepan mix the milk, butter, and sugar over medium low until the butter melts.  Stir constantly.  Let cool.  Meanwhile, in another dish dissolve the yeast into the warm water until frothy (about 10 minutes).  In a stand up mixer with the dough hook knead all of the ingredients together until it comes together, but is still slightly sticky.  

  

    Place in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle and fold the dough back over itself.  Press it down lightly with a rolling pin to seal the two together.

Cut it into squares using a pastry cutter and place on greased baking sheets.  Let rise covered for thirty minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your rolls.  When they come out of the oven immediately rub a stick of butter over the tops.

These freeze great!

Cronuts!

My husband has a lunch at work every Christmas where they compete over who brings the best food.  We always try every year and two out of the four years we did win.  We won one of those years by bringing Cronuts.  For some reason I can't make doughnuts, but I can make cronuts.

This recipe is adapted from here. 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp. fine salt

2 1/2 Tbsp. white sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

4 1/2 cups flour

12 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature, divided

Sprinkle 2 1/4 tsp. yeast over the 1/2 cup warm water.  Let stand about 10 minutes until foamy.  Add sugar, salt, milk, butter, vanilla, egg, and nutmeg.  Mix well.  Add the flour starting with 2 cups and add more as needed.  I use my stand mixer with the dough hook but you could do this by hand.  Knead for about three minutes.  It will be a slightly sticky dough.  

  Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.  Place it in the fridge to relax.  Meanwhile take your butter and cut it into separate tablespoons and place between two pieces of plastic wrap about 10x 14 inches.  Roll out the butter using a rolling pin until smooth and flat.  If you can roll it into a rectangular shape about 3x6.  Its kind of difficult.  Place the plastic wrap on a sheet pan and into your freezer for about 5 minutes until hard.  

   Roll your dough into a 9x18 inch rectangle.  Place your hardened butter on the middle 1/3 of the dough.  Fold each side of the dough on top of the butter.  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in your fridge to harden again.  If you need to speed this up you can put it in your freezer.  Every 1/2 hour take your dough out of the fridge and roll out into a 9x18 rectangle and fold into thirds.  Repeat this process three times until the butter is layered through the dough.  

   Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.  Roll out dough until 3/8 inch thick.  Cut out doughnuts.  We don't have proper doughnut cutters so we use a tomato paste can that has been washed and dried.  

Lay out the dough to rise for one hour until doubled.

Then we just fry them up.  1 minute on each side until golden brown.  

 
This time for the chocolate frosting I whipped up 2 cups of cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and then added a box of instant chocolate pudding.  It was very yummy.  For the vanilla I just whipped up 2 Tbsp. melted butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 2 tbsp. milk, and 4 cups powdered sugar.

We had fun decorating them.  I even added crushed Oreos to some.