Homemade English Muffins and Egg Sandwiches

I've been wanting to try to make my own English Muffins for a while.  The recipe I used was extremely vague on the times and stuff so I'm going to try to improve it for you.

English Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. white sugar
3/4 Tbsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup melted shortening
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

   Warm the milk in a saucepan until it bubbles then remove from heat.  Mix in the sugar.  Stir until dissolved.  Let this cool until its lukewarm in a large bowl you will be doing the mixing in (save yourself a dish!).  Dissolve the yeast in warm water in another bowl for about ten minutes.

  Combine the yeast and milk mixture in that large bowl.  Then add the shortening and 3 cups flour.  Beat until smooth.  Then add salt and the rest of the flour until it makes a soft dough.  I didn't use all of the flour.  Knead.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for an hour and 1/2 until doubled.

   Punch down.  Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick!  This is important!  Half of mine were too thick and 1/2 were too thin.  Cut out with anything you have that is round.  I used a glass.  Sprinkle cornmeal on top of a couple pans, place the muffins on the cornmeal, sprinkle some cornmeal on top of these, cover, and let these muffins rise for another 1/2 hour. 

   Heat a griddle and spray with non-stick spray.  Cook muffins on the griddle for about 10 minutes on each side.  Mine needed a little less time.  Then place in a 270 degree oven to keep warm while you make the rest.

Split and toast.  Spread with your favorite toppings.  Or make up some fried eggs, place some ham on top of that and you have a fantastic egg sandwich.

Enjoy!

Banana Nut Bran Muffins

I'm posting this recipe because I need a copy of it for myself.  I got it off the back of a box of Millville Bran Flakes.  They turned out great.  The baby loves them.

Banana Nut Bran Muffins

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

2 cups bran flakes cereal

1/3 cup milk

1 cup ripe bananas

2 egg whites

¼ cup butter, softened

½ chopped walnuts

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the cereal, milk, and bananas.  Let it stand for two minutes until the cereal is softened.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add this and the butter to the cereal mixture. 

Add flour and walnuts.  Stir until just combined.  Pour into greased or lined muffin pans.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. 

Better Than Sex Cake

First off, this cake is a great conversation starter even if the conversation isn't exactly savory.

Ingredients:

German Chocolate Cake Mix (Or make your own from scratch.  My favorite recipe is found HERE.)
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 jar of hot fudge sauce (Or make your own from scratch.  My favorite recipe is found HERE.)
1 jar of caramel sauce (Or make your own from scratch.  My favorite recipe is found HERE.)
12 ounces whipping cream, whipped with 1/2 cup powdered sugar (or use cool whip, but it won't be as good.)
3 Heath Bars, crushed (optional, but it won't be as good.)

Bake cake according to instructions.  Stab with the end of a wooden spoon straight out of the oven.  Combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel.  Pour on top of the cake.  Let this sit in the fridge for 1/2 hour then spread on 1/2 cup hot fudge.  Let set in the fridge until ready to serve.  Spread on sweetened whipped cream and Heath Bars.

Enjoy!

 Now you can decide if this dessert lives up to its name.

Artichoke Stuffed Chicken with Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped canned artichoke hearts
1 Tbsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 chicken breasts pounded

Pound out the chicken by placing the breast between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Then make a meat tenderizer and go at it.  Its great when you feel frustrated to let it out on a piece of chicken!

Combine cheese, artichoke hearts, basil, oregano, garlic, and salt. 

Spread cheese mixture in the middle of the chicken breast.  Not too much, about 2 tbsp. depending on the size of the chicken breast. 

Roll up the chicken breast with filling at center.  Roll up into plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 30 minutes or until ready to grill. 

Cook for 10 minutes on each side on grill or in a saucepan.  If on the grill turn down the temperature at the end and close the lid and cook for another 10 minutes.  I did mine on a saucepan because our grill ran out of propane and I put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees to make sure it was done in the middle. 

The internal temperature needs to be 170 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Serve with marinara sauce.  Delish!

Spaghetti Primavera

Spaghetti Primavera

Adapted from Rachel Ray

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken broth and another 1/2 cup for later
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. minced garlic
1 pound spaghetti (I broke the spaghetti sticks in half because they would not fit in my skillet otherwise.)
1 onion thinly sliced
1 zucchini chopped into thin sticks
1/2 cup carrots cut into thin sticks
(It would be better to error on more veggies than less in my book.)
2 tsp. thyme (I used crushed because its what I had, fresh would of course be best.)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup parmigan cheese (fresh is best)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley chopped

Directions:

In a saucepan simmer the broth over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the olive oil with the butter over medium-high heat.  Stir in the garlic and the spaghetti and toast lightly for about two minutes.  Add the onion, carrots, zucchini, and thyme.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until the veggies soften a little, but are still firm.   (About five minutes.)  Add the 1/2 cup broth and cook until completely absorbed. 

Cook like you're making a risotto and add broth a little at a time until absorbed and spaghetti is al dente.  This takes about 12 minutes. 

Stir in the cream, parsley, and the cheese and stir until combined.  Serve.

Alphabet Vegetable Soup

I've been wanting to make my own Alphabet Vegetable Soup so I kind of made one up the other night and I thought it turned out really well.

Alphabet Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 onion chopped

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

2 cups Vegetable Cocktail juice (V8 or whatever)

2 cups beef broth

1 package frozen mixed vegetables

1 1/2 tsp. parsley (I used fresh)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup alphabet noodles or pasta of choice

    Saute Onion and carrots in olive oil until tender.  Then add broth and vegetable juice.  Bring to a boil.  Add the frozen vegetables and spices.  Depending on cooking time on vegetables and pasta add them so they will all finish at the same time.  My vegetables cooked in about five minutes and the pasta took one.  They were very small noodles.

Serve immediately and enjoy the amount of vegetables you get from it.

Other ideas for vegetables:  spinach, cabbage, etc. 

Tie Onesie

When I had my first son we found a tie onsie at a store and I loved him in it.  Then when I had my most recent son my sister made me a bunch more.  They are really easy to make. 

I used old stained clothes for the tie material.

Made a pattern for the tie or bow tie.

Cut it out and used my thickest stitch setting to sew it on.  You could even use fusible interfacing to make it easier.