Peach Muffins

Another week, another muffin recipe…

Yes you guessed it, I made muffins again for Dan and I for breakfast for the week. I decided I needed to shake things up a tad and buy some different kind of fruit, besides blueberries, strawberries and bananas. I ended up with peaches. Honestly, Im not a huge fan of peaches. As a kid my mom and I swear every daycare provider had those peaches in those small plastic cans in that disgusting syrup. Just thinking about the sliminess of them makes my stomach turn…and not in a good way…anyways…I decided to try again on my relationship with peaches…this time with fresh ones. The muffins turned out decent…I’d almost make them again…so maybe my relationship with peaches has some hope…but only in small doses.

1 egg, slightly beaten
1/8 cup melted butter
1/8 cup applesauce
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup old fashioned oats (ground in a food processor or blender)
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 cup peeled and diced peaches (about 1 ½ peaches)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Grease cupcake pan or line with paper liners.

3) Combine egg, butter, applesauce, sugar, salt, cinnamon, lemon juice and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.

4) Ground old fashioned oats in a food processor or blender. Mix flour, ground oats and baking powder in a small bowl.

5) Alternate adding in flour mixture and milk to large mixing bowl, stirring until just blended.

6) Fold in peaches. Bake for 18-20 minutes in preheated oven.

Lasagna

Although we are trying to eat healthy it is hard to not resist some good home cooking. During the week I try to make dinners that result in leftover, aka an easy night. I made some homemade sauce over the weekend and decided to make some lasagna. There is nothing better than lasagna the next day. Having leftovers makes the nights I got to kickboxing much easier and lets be honest with working all day its nice to come home to an easy night.

So before it becomes too hot in your house at night to cook anything, how about you give into temptation and make some lasagna.

Ingredients
1 box of lasagna noodles
1 jar of your favorite sauce
1 ½ cups shredded cheese
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1 container (15oz) ricotta cheese
1 box frozen spinach (thawed, drained, and squeezed dry)
2 garlic cloves
2 eggs
Hamburg or sausage (cooked)

1) Cook pasta.

2) Grease a 9X13 pan. Place sauce in the bottom with meat (if you used sausage- chop into small pieces).

3) Place three noodles on top.

4) In a bowl combine shredded cheese, red pepper, ricotta cheese, spinach, garlic cloves, and eggs.

5) Place ricotta mixture on top of noodles.

6) Place another three noodles on top.

7) Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.

8) Cover with foil (stray foil with Pam before putting on top) and bake for 45 mins. Remove foil and cook for another 10 mins at 350.

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Happy Memorial day everyone! Today is the day we celebrate those who have served and are serving in the military. These men and women sacrificed their time and lives to serve this country. Thank you to all of those who are serving and have served. No amount of thank you(s) can truly compensate you for your sacrifices. So if you happen to come across a service member in your travels, or know a parent or grand parent of a service member, take the time today to thank them for their service or their family’s service. Believe me even a simple thank you from a stranger can make a difference.

Although today is a day of reflection is it also the official start to summer. Many of you, myself included, will be spending time with family and friends, throwing back couple of beers and eating some good BBQ. But lets be honest, a cookout isn’t a cookout without potato salad. I normally follow my grandmothers recipe, which is a very basic potato salad that is legend in our family (recipe coming soon) but sometime you have to shake things up. Last summer I found a ranch, bacon, cheese potato salad that has become a staple for my family. This is the first batch of the summer! So lets fire up those grills, and take a moment and reflect on those who served and have served.

5 lbs red potatoes, unpeeled and cut in half
1 cup mayonnaise (if you want to make this healthy…you can sub in greek yogurt)
1 cup sour cream
1 1-oz package of dry ranch mix
6 green onions, sliced thin (usually I omit the onions because I’m not a fan)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I normally add more than ½ a cup…normally I just keep adding cheese until it looks like enough to me and most of the salad is covered with cheese)
8 slices of bacon, cooked until very crisp and crumbled (prepare right before serving)

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook potatoes until tender, but still firm enough to cut, about 15-20 minutes. Cut into small cubes and chill in refrigerator for 3 hours. (Or if you’re in a rush, run some cold water over the potatoes to chill them faster and put them in the freezer for a few mins)

2) In a small bowl combine mayo, sour cream and ranch mix.

3) When ready to serve, toss together potatoes, ranch, green onions, cheddar cheese and bacon. Serve immediately.

Banana Bread scones

Hi everyone Happy Wednesday! We’ve finally made it half way through the week and we’re one day closer to the long weekend. As I mentioned in my Monday post, I’ve been trying to make breakfast items for Dan and I to grab during the week. I decided to try my hand at making my own scone recipe. I took a basic recipe from my betty crocker cook book…because you can’t go wrong with betty crocker…and put a Jen spin on it. I think I still need to play with the consistency of these, but they’re not bad for a first try. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones

Ingredients
1 ¾ cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
4 to 6 Tbsp whipping cream
3 bananas
1 bag chocolate chips

Vanilla Glaze

 

1) Heat Oven to 350.

2) In large bowl, mix flour, 3 tbsp sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3) Cut in butter and mix until the flour mixture resembles crumbs.

4) Stir in egg, vanilla and just enough of the 4-6 tbsp on whipping cream so dough leaves side of bowl.

5) Add in bananas and chocolate chips.

6) Place dough on a floured surface and knead 10 times. Pat dough into 8 in circle and cut into wedges.

7) Place wedges in a cookie sheet and bake for 14-17 mins.

Vanilla Glaze

• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream (or milk)

Hunting Cake

Last week we had the opportunity to make a cake for one of my co-workers who leaving. We don’t make to many cakes for men, so I definitely had fun with this one.